Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management
Abstract
1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.
Citation
Downey , H , Amano , T , Cadotte , M , Cook , C N , Cooke , S J , Haddaway , N R , Jones , J P G , Littlewood , N , Walsh , J C , Abrahams , M I , Adum , G , Akasaka , M , Alves , J A , Antwis , R E , Arellano , E C , Axmacher , J , Barclay , H , Batty , L , Benítez-López , A , Bennett , J R , Berg , M J , Bertolino , S , Biggs , D , Bolam , F C , Bray , T , Brook , B W , Bull , J W , Burivalova , Z , Cabeza , M , Chauvenet , A L M , Christie , A P , Cole , L , Cotton , A J , Cotton , S , Cousins , S A O , Craven , D , Cresswell , W , Cusack , J J , Dalrymple , S E , Davies , Z G , Diaz , A , Dodd , J A , Felton , A , Fleishman , E , Gardner , C J , Garside , R , Ghoddousi , A , Gilroy , J J , Gill , D A , Gill , J A , Glew , L , Grainger , M J , Grass , A A , Greshon , S , Gundry , J , Hart , T , Hopkins , C R , Howe , C , Johnson , A , Jones , K W , Jordan , N R , Kadoya , T , Kerhoas , D , Koricheva , J , Lee , T M , Lengyel , S , Livingstone , S W , Lyons , A , McCabe , G , Millett , J , Strevens , C M , Moolna , A , Mossman , H L , Mukherjee , N , Muñoz-Sáez , A , Negrões , N , Norfolk , O , Osawa , T , Papworth , S , Park , K J , Pellet , J , Phillott , A D , Plotnik , J M , Priatna , D , Ramos , A G , Randall , N , Richards , R M , Ritchie , E G , Roberts , D L , Rocha , R , Rodríguez , J P , Sanderson , R , Sasaki , T , Savilaakso , S , Sayer , C , Sekercioglu , C , Senzaki , M , Smith , G , Smith , R J , Soga , M , Soulsbury , C D , Steer , M D , Stewart , G , Strange , E F , Suggitt , A J , Thompson , R R J , Thompson , S , Thornhill , I , Trevelyan , R J , Usieta , H O , Venter , O , Webber , A D , White , R L , Whittingham , M J , Wilby , A , Yarnell , R W , Zamora , V & Sutherland , W J 2021 , ' Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management ' , Ecological Solutions and Evidence , vol. 2 , no. 1 , e12032 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12032
Publication
Ecological Solutions and Evidence
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2688-8319Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Ecological Solutions and Evidence published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Description
HD and WJS thank Arcadia and MAVA for funding.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.