Journal article
Conservation in the dark? The information used to support decisions
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol.8(4), pp.181-186
2010
Abstract
The management requirements for protected areas are frequently complex and urgent; as a result, managers often need to act quickly and make decisions with limited supporting evidence at their disposal. Despite demands for high-quality information, it is unclear how much of this evidence conservation practitioners use to assist with their decision making. We investigated the information used to manage protected areas, based on the evidence reported by practitioners when evaluating their management performance. We examined the management of over 1000 protected areas run by two Australian conservation agencies - Parks Victoria and the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change - an unprecedented scope for this type of study. We found that very few conservation practitioners use evidence-based knowledge to support their management. The evidence used varies with the management issue, reserve type, and reserve size. Around 60% of conservation management decisions rely on experience-based information, and many practitioners report having insufficient evidence to assess their management decisions. While experience plays an important role in conservation management, the apparent lack of evidence-based information to support decision making in the reserves has the potential to compromise outcomes and jeopardize the investment made in protected areas for conservation.
Details
- Title
- Conservation in the dark? The information used to support decisions
- Authors
- C N Cook (Author) - University of QueenslandM Hockings (Author) - University of QueenslandR W (Bill) Carter (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health and Education
- Publication details
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol.8(4), pp.181-186
- Publisher
- Ecological Society of America
- Date published
- 2010
- DOI
- 10.1890/090020
- ISSN
- 1540-9295
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2010 Ecological Society of America. Reproduced here in accordance with the publisher's copyright policy.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449619902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
220 File views/ downloads
692 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Environmental Sciences
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites