Global biodiversity conservation does save species, but could be done smarter

New analysis reveals that billions of dollars spent on habitat and species conservation have resulted in substantial reductions in biodiversity loss. Government spending on conservation efforts, such as management of national parks, has been patchy across the world, in part due to a lack of solid evidence of success. Now researchers have shown that conservation spending of 14.4 billion international dollars over a ten-year period (during 1992-2003) resulted in a decrease in the rate of subsequent declines in biodiversity (during 1996-2008). For decades, environmentalists have argued that we need to spend more on nature conservation. Our study shows global conservation spending in the past has had a major positive impact in reducing biodiversity loss today. Dr Anthony Waldron The analysis also provides a tool for adjusting the conservation budgets of individual countries, depending on their needs. The researchers looked at 109 countries that are signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity and Sustainable Development Goals , and found an average reduction of biodiversity loss of 29 per cent per country over the twelve-year period from 1996-2008.