Open AccessThe major barriers to evidence‐informed conservation policy and possible solutions
Author(s) -
Rose David C.,
Sutherland William J.,
Amano Tatsuya,
GonzálezVaro Juan P.,
Robertson Rebecca J.,
Simmons Benno I.,
Wauchope Hannah S.,
Kovacs Eszter,
Durán América Paz,
Vadrot Alice B. M.,
Wu Weiling,
Dias Maria P.,
Di Fonzo Martina M. I.,
Ivory Sarah,
Norris Lucia,
Nunes Matheus Henrique,
Nyumba Tobias Ochieng,
Steiner Noa,
Vickery Juliet,
Mukherjee Nibedita
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/conl.12564
Subject(s) - optimism , evidence based policy , political science , conservation psychology , public economics , conservation science , environmental planning , mainstreaming , nature conservation , business , environmental resource management , economics , geography , psychology , ecology , social psychology , biodiversity , medicine , special education , alternative medicine , pathology , law , biology
Abstract Conservation policy decisions can suffer from a lack of evidence, hindering effective decision‐making. In nature conservation, studies investigating why policy is often not evidence‐informed have tended to focus on Western democracies, with relatively small samples. To understand global variation and challenges better, we established a global survey aimed at identifying top barriers and solutions to the use of conservation science in policy. This obtained the views of 758 people in policy, practice, and research positions from 68 countries across six languages. Here we show that, contrary to popular belief, there is agreement between groups about how to incorporate conservation science into policy, and there is thus room for optimism. Barriers related to the low priority of conservation were considered to be important, while mainstreaming conservation was proposed as a key solution. Therefore, priorities should focus on convincing the public of the importance of conservation as an issue, which will then influence policy‐makers to adopt pro‐environmental long‐term policies.