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Biodiversity Convention

In October 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity will meet to assess the current condition of global biodiversity and to propose and agree on priorities for its future conservation. In this context, Rands et al. (p. 1298; see the News Focus section; see the cover) review recent patterns of biodiversity conservation, highlighting successes, as well as current and future threats. They argue that biodiversity should be treated as a public good, with responsibility for its conservation integrated across sectors of society and government, rather than be confined to the business of environmental agencies, and review the conditions under which this goal might be achieved.

Abstract

The continued growth of human populations and of per capita consumption have resulted in unsustainable exploitation of Earth’s biological diversity, exacerbated by climate change, ocean acidification, and other anthropogenic environmental impacts. We argue that effective conservation of biodiversity is essential for human survival and the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Despite some conservation successes (especially at local scales) and increasing public and government interest in living sustainably, biodiversity continues to decline. Moving beyond 2010, successful conservation approaches need to be reinforced and adequately financed. In addition, however, more radical changes are required that recognize biodiversity as a global public good, that integrate biodiversity conservation into policies and decision frameworks for resource production and consumption, and that focus on wider institutional and societal changes to enable more effective implementation of policy.

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Science
Volume 329 | Issue 5997
10 September 2010

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Published in print: 10 September 2010

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Acknowledgments

The authors are all members of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), a strategic collaboration of Cambridge-based conservation researchers and practitioners working together to deliver innovative approaches to understanding and conserving biodiversity. CCI is generously supported by the Arcadia Fund. We thank G. Rands and the referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript.

Authors

Affiliations

Michael R. W. Rands* [email protected]
Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1AG, UK.
William M. Adams
Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK.
Leon Bennun
BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK.
Stuart H. M. Butchart
BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Cambridge CB3 0NA, UK.
Andrew Clements
British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU, UK.
David Coomes
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK.
Abigail Entwistle
Fauna and Flora International, Jupiter House, Cambridge CB1 2JD, UK.
Ian Hodge
Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9EP, UK.
Valerie Kapos
United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK.
Cambridge Conservation Forum, c/o Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Jörn P. W. Scharlemann
United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK.
William J. Sutherland
Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Bhaskar Vira
Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK.

Notes

*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected]

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