New Study Shows the Positive Impacts Conservation has on Biodiversity

It was the early evening when we spotted our first jaguar, a male named Timbó, who was lounging in the tall grass of Brazil’s Pantanal, waiting for night to fall. We watched him closely from the safety of our safari transport, a vehicle that Timbó hardly noticed. This was thanks to the ongoing efforts of Onçafari. This conservation initiative aims to promote ecotourism and wildlife watching within several Brazilian biomes, and in the case of jaguars—transforming the image of this keystone species from one that people might hunt for profit into a source of sustainable tourism and income. By the time our safari was through, we’d spotted six jaguars in less than three days. I’d say their efforts are working. 

A new study published in the journal Science this April shows just how successful conservation efforts can be when it comes to protecting and maintaining biodiversity. In this first-of-its-kind meta-analysis to see the effects of conservation action overall, scientists from research institutes around the globe reviewed 655 implemented conservation measures that spanned more than a century and target different levels of biodiversity, including a variety of species, ecosystems, and genetics. After evaluating the changes to biodiversity that these measures have led to, compared to what would have happened without them, the results show that in two out of every three cases, the results were positive. At the very least, they slowed declines in biodiversity. 

 “This new analysis is the best evidence to date that conservation interventions make a difference, slowing the loss of species’ populations and habitats and enabling them to recover,” says Stuart Butchart, the study’s co-author and chief scientist at BirdLife International, protecting avian species worldwide. “It provides strong support for scaling up investments in nature to meet the commitments countries have signed up to.”

Butchart is likely referring in part to the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, a nearly two-week gathering of governments from around the globe in Montreal in December 2022. Here, nations are committed to several new global goals and targets that will be achieved by 2030. These include protecting 30% of the planet’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans, emphasizing areas of particular importance ecosystem functioning and services, as well as biodiversity—which the U.N. calls “our strongest natural defense against climate change.” 

How Biodiversity Loss Affects Us 

Biodiversity supports healthy ecosystems, including everything from clean air and fresh water to the pollination of crops. In turn, healthy ecosystems reduce the effects of climate change by acting as natural carbon sinks and both absorbing and storing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Such ecosystems also allow species and organisms to work together to build strength, support life, and thrive. 

Declines in biodiversity also threaten wildlife. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, more than 44,000 species are at risk of becoming extinct, including critically endangered wildlife like the orangutans viewable on Nat Hab’s Wilds of Borneo Adventure and African forest elephants that live in the Congo and West Africa. The loss of such species would have a ripple effect, not only changing the dynamics among area wildlife but disturbing everything from the stability of an ecosystem to the livelihood of the people who depend on it. 

Some Success Stories

A few things that have been working to improve the state of biodiversity include establishing and managing protected areas, eradicating invasive species, and restoring habitats while sustainably managing ecosystems. 

According to the study, the ongoing idea is to up the ante on such conservation interventions, which would go a long way toward stopping—as well as reversing—biodiversity loss. Some concrete examples of successful conservation efforts include Central Africa’s Congo Basin, home to some of the largest tropical rainforests on Earth. Here, deforestation was 74% lower in lands set aside for logging operations under a Forest Management Plan (FMP), which promotes sustainable timber extraction practices, compared with concessions without an FMP. Another is central Idaho’s Salmon River basin, where the captive breeding and release of Chinook salmon boosted the natural population of the basin’s fish exponentially with minimal negative impacts on its wild population. 

When conservation efforts work, they can really do a lot of good. In July 2023, Nat Hab even rounded up some of the most amazing conservation wins worldwide to showcase this very point. One is the more-than-doubling of wild tiger populations in India that’s occurred since 2010 (up from 1,411 to 3,167), thanks to rigorous conservation efforts from the country’s central and state governments, support from scientific institutions and NGOs and the involvement of local communities. Another is Australia’s practicing of effective conservation strategies, including policy changes and enhanced management of fishing vessels, which have led to the elimination of gill nets (walls of netting that can entail and harm, or even kill, marine mammals like bottlenose dolphins and sea turtles) in the Great Barrier Reef. 

Although conservation efforts aren’t always successful, those implementing the programs have been able to learn from their experiences and refine their methods accordingly. There are even cases in which an effort might prove unsuccessful for the species it was targeting but unintentionally beneficial for another form of life instead. For instance, while the population of seahorses in protected sites is lower than in non-protected areas, the number of seahorse predators—including octopus—has become much higher. 

What Does This All Mean?

In essence, “Conservation matters!” says Gernot Segelbacher, co-author of the study and professor and co-chair of the Conservation Genetic Specialist Group (part of the larger International Union for Conservation of Nature). “While we so often hear about species declining or going extinct, this study shows that we can make a difference.”

Some methods of doing so include continuing to invest in nature in sustainable ways, such as focusing on the long-term benefits for people, nature, and the local economies rather than making short-term, financially based decisions. 

Another is in funding the effective management of protected areas, which safeguard critical habitats for species. 

Of course, conservation through exploration, the Nat Hab ethos, is another way of keeping biodiversity in check. Conservation travel not only showcases the value of natural habitats and the wildlife that thrives there, but it also brings economic resources to local communities and encourages them to protect the wilderness around them.