University of Queensland researchers have developed a unique approach to guide conservation spending that will revolutionise the way environmental bodies allocate funding.
The new rational approach to determining how to spend money for conservation actions is a decision-support tool developed by UQ's Ecology Centre researchers Professor Hugh Possingham and Dr Kerrie Wilson along with mathematics students Michael Bode and Marissa McBride.
The model takes into account the cost of acting in an area, the biodiversity value of an area and the threats to that area. It also accounts for uncertainty in data, such as rate of forest loss
"The problem was how do we spend a finite budget among all conservation activities - how do we get the biggest bang for our buck?" Professor Possingham said.
Dr Wilson said the Nature Conservancy and Conservation International, US organisations that spend hundreds of millions of American dollars a year, had provided funding to develop the tool further.
"The approach will certainly change the way these organisations think about how they do business," Dr Wilson said.
"They are starting to think about how they can maximise their returns for every dollar invested. This research has helped them to think like that."
The mathematical model is the result of an Australian Research Council funded project, Conservation planning in a dynamic and uncertain world, and is featured in the March 16 edition of Nature (Vol 40 [7082], pp337-340).
"Existing methods ignore the cost of acting in these areas. When you include this cost your conclusions about where to spend money can change significantly," Professor Possingham said.
The Earth is currently in the midst of an "extinction crisis" and well-directed conservation action is required to address the problem, according to Dr Wilson.
"The approach prioritises areas that not only have high biodiversity values, but that are cost effective and where there is a greater risk of losing those biodiversity values and where spending in the past has been limited," Dr Wilson said.
"Accounting for all those different factors will determine where the priorities are."
The UQ model builds on the concept of "biodiversity hotspots", as developed by eminent British ecologist Professor Norman Myers, who is currently in Australia promoting conservation efforts in the country.
Dr Wilson said Professor Myers' research argued that biodiversity was concentrated - you don't have to save the whole planet to save a lot.
"Biodiversity hotspots are large regions of the world that have been identified as globally significant for biodiversity. But what those hotspots don't tell you is how to spend money between those regions," she said.
"Our algorithm is not overly complicated. It's an integrated framework to consider factors that haven't been incorporated in conservation thinking before."
Dr Wilson said she had already received interest from US organisations wanting to use the model.
"In the US, conservation organisations are business focused. They attract substantial public interest and have a lot of donors," she said.
"In Australia the model has also been well received by the conservation community."
The UQ approach looks likely to have a large impact on how conservation organisations spend their money.
"If you talk to business people they understand economic language and a lot of them are tired of conservationists saying they want more money," Professor Possingham said.
"But when you say we now have a method to deliver the best outcomes within a fixed budget they start to take you more seriously.
"It's not about how much money you get, it's about doing the best you can with the money you've got. It's all about efficiency"
Media: For more information, contact Dr Kerrie Wilson (telephone 07 3365 2709, mobile 0432 844 079) or Professor Hugh Possingham (telephone 07 3365 9766 or 0434 079 061) or Chris Saxby at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2479, email c.saxby@uq.edu.au).
