Open AccessState‐level variation in conservation investment by a major nongovernmental organization
Author(s) -
Fishburn Isla S.,
Kareiva Peter,
Gaston Kevin J.,
Evans Karl L.,
Armsworth Paul R.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-263x.2008.00045.x
Subject(s) - easement , investment (military) , distribution (mathematics) , business , natural resource economics , environmental resource management , habitat conservation , habitat , economics , environmental planning , geography , ecology , political science , biology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , politics , law
Few empirical studies examine how conservation organizations distribute the resources that they have available for habitat conservation, despite numerous theoretical studies that recommend how these resources should be directed. Here we examine the distribution of conservation investments made over 49 years by a major conservation nongovernmental organization (NGO), The Nature Conservancy (TNC). We measured the level of conservation effort across U.S. states by the area protected and the upfront cost of protection, accounting for easements and land acquisitions. While correlated, we show that two measures of conservation effort (area and amount invested) cannot be used as reliable proxies for one another. The distributions of both measures of conservation effort are explained by combinations of one biological (species richness) and three socioeconomic (land price, rate of development and action of other NGOs) factors, revealing a generally strategic pattern of investment by TNC. Finally, we identify examples of underinvestment in particular states by TNC.