Predicting return on investment of biodiversity conservation measures

人类驱动的环境变化导致了预测，我们正在进入第六次物种灭绝事件。尽管当地物种保护取得了一些成功，但物种的整体保护状况继续下降，迫切需要科学为各国如何应对这一挑战提供战略指导。世界上大多数国家都同意通过《生物多样性公约》做到这一点，迄今所作的努力表明，为实现这一目标，必须采取高级别的战略方针。该项目将开发一种基于威胁的物种保护方法，探索通过减轻特定地点或国家的不同威胁，可能减少物种灭绝风险的可能性。这将使各国能够确定可能使大量物种受益的行动。学生将在一系列与政策和管理相关的空间尺度上开发案例研究，例如国家和项目地点，以及跨地理区域。现有全球物种数据可用于开发这一方法，该项目将探索其他数据来源，以加强该方法的预测能力、其空间分辨率和国家对这一过程的自主权。学生将发展在全球和国家范围内概念化保护挑战的能力，并确定数据需求和来源以应对这些挑战。他们将获得操纵、管理和分析大型数据集以及向政策和管理受众以及科学家传达方法和调查结果的经验。他们将通过国际自然保护联盟和一系列已经表示对这项工作感兴趣的国家，与全球保护科学家和从业人员网络密切合作。

Human-driven changes to the environment have led to predictions that we are entering the sixth mass species extinction event. Despite some local species conservation successes, the overall conservation status of species continues to decline and there is a pressing need for science to contribute strategic guidance on how countries can tackle this challenge. Most of the world's countries have agreed to do this through the Convention on Biological Diversity and efforts to date indicate that a high level strategic approach is necessary to achieve this. The project will develop a threat-based approach to species conservation by exploring the potential reduction in species extinction risk that could be achieved through mitigation of different threats in a particular location or country. This would allow countries to identify action that could benefit large numbers of species. The student will develop case studies at a range of policy and management relevant spatial scales, such as country and project site, and across geographic regions. There are global species data available that can used to develop this approach, and the project will explore other data sources to enhance the predictive capability of the approach, its spatial resolution and national ownership of the process. The student will develop the ability to conceptualise conservation challenges at global and national scales and identify data needs and sources to address those challenges. They will gain experience of manipulating, curating and analysing large data sets and communicating approaches and findings to policy and management audiences, as well as scientists. They will work closely with a global network of conservation scientists and practitioners, through the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and a suite of countries that have already expressed an interest in this work.