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DEFINING TARGETS

How effective is global conservation effort being in halting biodiversity loss, and how can such effort be made more effective? The answer to these questions depends critically on measuring conservation outcomes (results)—the degree of success of current conservation action in preserving biodiversity. This is not a trivial task, because there is no single measure of biodiversity—it comprises a continuum of scales of ecological organization from the genetic level up to the scale of the entire biosphere. Conservation International tackles the issue by subdividing this continuum into three interrelated scales, at each of which the measurement of biodiversity is tractable, and defining conservation targets for each one of them:

The finest of these scales is the species level, where conservation strives to achieve "Extinctions Avoided" outcomes, prioritizing as targets species listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Although some of these species will require individual attention to ensure their conservation, most species are best conserved through the protection of the land or water where they live (Bruner et al. 2001). Thus targets for "Areas Protected" outcomes are defined at the site scale, through the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas.
While we know that protecting areas is essential to ensure the conservation of biodiversity, it is not sufficient: we also need to conserve the ecological processes that allow biodiversity to persist. The establishment of biodiversity conservation corridors at the landscape or seascape level is, therefore, the broadest scale for the definition of targets, for "Corridors Consolidated" outcomes.

Conservation Synthesis is structured geographically, focusing on Latin America, Africa-Eurasia, and Asia-Pacific, to enable in-depth support to Conservation International's programs and partners in establishing these targets. The department also collaborates with the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, to support the establishment of targets for conservation outcomes during the development of "ecosystem profiles." As this work progresses, it is planned that the full data justifying conservation targets for any given hotspot be published through the Biodiversity Hotspots Web site. Conservation Synthesis also works closely with the CABS GIS Laboratory to produce outcome maps of Key Biodiversity Areas and biodiversity conservation corridors.

Related Links

Defining conservation outcomes

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Key Biodiversity Areas (PDF, 3.28 MB)
Ecological Networks and Biodiversity Conservation Corridors (PDF, 2.3 MB)

CI's field programs

Outcome synthesis


	New Presentations on Hydrological Services Available Online: Sampurno Bruijnzeel, tropical hydrology expert, talks about vegetation, reforestation, and hydrological services in two CI-sponsored presentations. Oct. 16 presentation at the World Bank (8 MB PDF) Oct. 17 presentation at CI (7.2 MB PDF) New CABS Brochure Now Available: Click here to view the latest CABS brochure. Contact us to order a hard copy. The Environmental Systems Research Institute Awards CABS’ GIS & Mapping Lab: The Institute honored the Lab for the fifth time in six years, awarding it First Place in the Best Cartographic Design - Single Map Product category for the Coppename River AquaRAP by Mark Denil. View the winning map Hotspots Revisited Available Online. Hotspots Revisited details the state of the earth's biodiversity hotspots. The book identifies 34 regions that cover only 2.3 percent of the Earth's surface but are home to 75 percent of the planet's most threatened species. View Hotspots Revisited



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