Knowledge to action
There is a persistent disconnect between the production of conservation research, the application of this knowledge to policy and decision-making by institutions on the front lines of biodiversity challenges, and the achievement of conservation outcomes. To reduce this loading dock problem, we produce implementable solutions that are science-based and informed by the needs of end-users to bridge the gap between science and practitioners.
We seek to understand what types of scientific strategies and organizational structures best translate conservation science research into useful, socially beneficial outcomes. To do so, we engage partners from all sectors to apply research results to achieve real-world change. As we implement our actionable science model, we study ourselves to improve this approach, increase our success rate, and serve as a scalable model other institutions can apply across the globe.
Current projects
Actionable science, boundary spanning, and co-production
While there has been exponential growth in conservation research, much of this work fails to inform practice and policy. This project aims to better link the production and use of knowledge in conservation. By ensuring that conservation research is driven by the knowledge needs of practitioners, conservation practitioners will have access the knowledge they need to make informed and effective decisions.
Data to decisions in biodiversity
CBO strives to make conservation research data accessible, understandable, and usable for conservation practitioners and policymakers. This project works to achieve this goal by identifying steps for effective co-production and creating a guide for researchers engaged in co-production in order to ensure that research produced is aligned with data needed. We will also create an accompanying decision support tool and interface.
Past projects
Decision science for endangered species pesticide risk assessment
CBO worked with Bayer to develop a decision-making tool to estimate the range of potential operational, reputational, legal, and regulatory risks associated with compliance with the U. S. Endangered Species Act. For agricultural industries in particular it is important to estimate the costs of compliance concerning actions affecting species already listed or under consideration for listing. Understanding these costs allows companies to make more informed decisions around regulatory risk and help to understand protection for endangered species.
Conservation Solutions Lab
This collaborative initiative led by CBO and Chemonics International employed an evidence-driven interdisciplinary approach to bring knowledge of what works to conservation and development practitioners to advance effective and equitable engagement of communities in conservation programs. The lab’s network was formed by experts in the field of community-based conservation efforts who conduct research, produce knowledge, and implement solutions around the topic of community engagement in biodiversity conservation.
Effective action
The corporate sector has shown a growing commitment to sustainability issues over the past decade. Increasingly, businesses are recognizing the value of natural capital and the importance of conserving the earth’s limited natural resources. In addition, the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), the Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Nature Positive Initiative are pushing businesses to innovate and adapt in the face of an evolving policy landscape. These changes present opportunities for conservationists to engage with the corporate world to achieve better biodiversity outcomes.
By developing a return on investment approach to conservation, we work to enable companies to quantify their impacts on biodiversity and examine alternative actions that would improve these impacts. Moreover, our work will allow companies to understand the financial costs and benefits associated with activities along their supply chains. As the biodiversity crisis worsens and calls for action from policymakers and the public are increasing, this work is critical for providing an avenue for the private sector to take concrete action to support the natural world.
Current projects
Return on investment in biodiversity conservation
Global biodiversity loss is occurring at an unprecedented rate, due in part to a significant shortfall in funding. This project seeks to answer: “How much does it cost to achieve a conservation outcome?”
Mainstreaming biodiversity in the business sector
We are working with several corporate partners to bring together biodiversity data from multiple sources and create new methods to integrate the data into corporate decision-making.
Action to outcomes
Through partnerships with government agencies and conservation practitioners, we investigate what information policy makers need when designing laws and plans for conservation actions.
A central challenge in conservation is the inequity between global conservation decision making and actions, and rural communities that live in and around areas of conservation importance who tend to bear the costs of conservation but receive few of the benefits. We aim to engage in co-production and community science with these communities to more equitably distribute conservation benefits.
We work to include knowledge that has historically been excluded from conservation science to push the discipline toward more effective biodiversity conservation. By linking diverse knowledges to actions, we study methods for effectively and respectfully bridging knowledge systems.
Past projects
Species recovery tool
We developed a tool to compare different funding strategies for actions to recover endangered species. This work was motivated by recognition from USFWS of past critiques of its recovery allocation process.