Conservation funders urged to embrace evidence-based approaches for greater biodiversity recovery - People’s Trust for Endangered Species
New research by 18 global wildlife conservation funders outlines the need to transform conservation action by encouraging evidence-based decision making when awarding grants. Based on their combined 100+ years of experience, they also encourage other grant-giving organisations to direct funds towards the most effective measures only, in a bid to combat the ongoing biodiversity crisis.
The paper, titled ‘Approaches for integrating evidence of the effectiveness of actions in conservation funding to inspire more effective practice’ has been published today [10th January 2025] in leading journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.
Led by People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), alongside the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, Whitley Fund for Nature, The Rufford Foundation and other global grant-giving organisations*, the paper urges conservation funders to consider asking applicants to show evidence of how their project proposal is likely to be successful (via existing scientific studies or previous testing) and provide guidance to applicants as to where they can access evidence if needed. It is hoped that these shifts in practice, and others, will enable evidence-based decision making to become commonplace.
The 18 funders have been working in close collaboration with the Conservation Evidence team, based at the University of Cambridge, which is a free, authoritative resource that gives conservationists easy access to the latest and most relevant knowledge to support conservation policy or management decisions.
Nida Al-Fulaij, lead author and CEO of People’s Trust for Endangered Species, explains: “In the middle of a biodiversity crisis, which is impacting global and native species, as funders we need to encourage and support the most effective conservation projects in a bid to make the most of limited money and time. We know there are plenty of innovative schemes used by conservationists worldwide, such as wildlife bridges or livestock insurance, but not all interventions are tested thoroughly before being implemented. This can result in time and money being spent on a project without knowing whether it will be truly effective. Likewise, what works in one region or habitat may not work elsewhere.”
To read the full paper, visit: https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12404
Posted On: 10/01/2025
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