Conservation research is not being done in the countries where it is most needed – a situation which is likely to undermine efforts to preserve global biodiversity.
That’s the conclusion of a new international collaborative study published in led by Associate Professor Kerrie Wilson from 麻豆传媒映画 of Queensland’s and the Australian Research Council (CEED).
Associate Professor Wilson said the analysis revealed that less conservation research was undertaken in the world’s most biodiverse countries, such as Indonesia and Ecuador.
The study analysed more than 10,000 conservation science papers from more than 1000 journals published in 2014.
The researchers compared the countries where these studies were done with the world’s most important countries for biodiversity conservation.
What they found suggested a mismatch between need and effort.
“If you dig a little deeper, it gets worse,” Associate Professor Wilson said.
The science conducted in these countries is often not led by scientists based in those countries and these scientists are also under-represented in important international forums.
“This adds up to a widespread bias in the field of conservation science.
“If research is biased away from the most important areas for biodiversity conservation, then this will accentuate the impacts of the global biodiversity crisis and reduce our capacity to protect and manage the natural ecosystems that underpin human well-being.
“Biases in conservation science will also undermine our ability to meet Target 19 of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).
“Target 19 states that, by 2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values, functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely shared and transferred, and applied.
“Our comprehensive analysis of publishing trends in conservation science literature suggests we won’t meet this target if these biases aren’t addressed.”
The researchers believe that a range of solutions is needed, including reforming open access publishing policies, enhancing science communication strategies, changing author attribution practices, improving representation in international processes, and strengthening infrastructure and human capacity for research in countries where it is most needed.
“We won’t change the situation by simply ignoring it,” Associate Professor Wilson said.
“Researchers need to examine their own agendas and focus on areas with the greatest need.”
The research partners are Biology Centre CAS and the University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, KPMG Botswana, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Germany, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Indonesia, Borneo Futures Initiative, Indonesia.
Media: Associate Professor Kerrie Wilson, k.wilson2@uq.edu.au, +61 07 3365 2829, +61 432 844 079.
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