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Molecular and evolutionary research by Dr Jim Groombridge at the University of Kent, (2003 onwards, lecturer 2003-2008, Senior Lecturer 2008-2012, Reader 2012-), undertaken in partnership with the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, the Seychelles Islands Foundation and Government Ministries of both states, has identified unexpected evolutionary distinctiveness and established high conservation priority for rare populations of birds and frogs on Mauritius and Seychelles. Subsequent studies have led to the recovery of three critically-endangered species and to the alleviation of problems with wildlife disease. Groombridge's research has led to renewed investment of international conservation resources across the Indian Ocean. His work on island species conservation is particularly important because islands host a high proportion of global biodiversity and help define our understanding of evolutionary science; these `living laboratories' also host many of the World's rarest species making them a global conservation priority.
Work by Dr Robert Smith continues to be used by government agencies in Mozambique and South Africa, has already guided the development of Protected Areas (PAs) with a combined area of 25,000 hectares, and has been used by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund to identify spatial priorities for their US$6.5 million funding programme. The team's research has had an obvious, direct and significant environmental impact in those regions. It has also had a broader global impact, including shaping the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) revised Key Biodiversity Area approach and developing software and training materials for conservation practitioners working in 103 countries. Protected Areas are the most widely used international approach for conserving biodiversity. Our research in Southern Africa is leading the development of systems for designing PA networks that meet biodiversity targets and minimise negative impacts on people in surrounding communities.
Alan Chandler's `New Conservation' research into the integration of conservation philosophy, practice and pedagogy has informed the development of architectural conservation policy and practice nationally and internationally. By shaping a new Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) education initiative, Chandler has defined and demonstrated the means of establishing continuity between professional architectural education and exemplary conservation practice. By articulating the relationship between cultural, technical and philosophical aspects of Conservation, the research communicates to a new generation of Professionals ideas about the management of change within historic monuments in the UK and in Chile.
Dr Anne Goodenough and Professor Frank Chambers undertake applied ecological research with importance for conservation and management, nationally and internationally. Working with, or commissioned by, major national bodies including The Heather Trust, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales, British Trust for Ornithology and RSPB, their research on rare species and habitats influences major national policy (e.g. species conservation priorities, and degraded habitat restoration and conservation). Furthermore, their research informs evidence-based changes in management for species (leading to conservation of internationally declining songbird, the pied flycatcher, at key sites throughout the UK) and landscapes (blanket bog and heather moorland restoration in Wales and England).
The survival of many animal species is currently threatened by environmental challenges and unsustainable resource consumption. Research carried out between 2010-2013 promoted the conservation of endangered species by improving communication and education strategies of zoos and aquaria. It has:
As a result of this research, the educational function of zoos was enhanced and there has been a direct impact upon how visitors experience zoos and aquaria. These impacts have been achieved through research and consultancy in collaboration with organisations in the field.
Dr Sian Sullivan's research, which challenges neoliberal approaches to biodiversity conservation policies, has been used by environmental policy-makers and advocacy groups internationally to show that contemporary trends in environmental policy development may intensify socio-economic inequality and increase the loss of biological diversity arising from economic development and commercial enterprises. A conference paper presented in 2010 became a major focus of the debate about the tendency towards `financialising nature'. Since then Sullivan's research has been seen as a source of grounded critique of neoliberal conservation policies. Several environmental advocacy organisations have used her work to support their campaigns, and she has been invited to contribute to high-level international policy forums concerned with biodiversity conservation.
The Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management is the product of six years of international collaborative research and sector-based consultancy between Writtle College and Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (Germany). Activities at the Centre include developing a core body of internationally recognised research in the fields of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, complex systems science and adaptive management, and using the research to work with conservation organisations around the World to resolve significant environmental problems. Our sponsors include GIZ, Germany and WWF Germany, and our operations extend from Central America to the Ukraine, Russia, South Eastern Europe, China and Korea.
Research by Dr William Tuladhar-Douglas on biocultural diversity and religion in sacred landscapes in the Himalayas has had significant impact on conservation policy and practices for ecosystems in the Himalayas. His research has reinvigorated debate about culturally appropriate modes of engagement and challenged the concept of `religion' that conservationists use in their work with indigenous communities. This is particularly the case in terms of concepts of personhood which are held by certain indigenous peoples in relation to non-human creatures, and the ways in which traditional practices engage with non-human persons in the form of animals, plants and deities. Through directly influencing the policy and practice of the World Conservation Union (the leading international body in world conservation), Tuladhar-Douglas' research has led to culturally appropriate understandings of `personhood' being recovered into the management of protected areas. This has changed the interplay between local cultural variation, threats to biodiversity, indigenous perspectives and international conservation norms. Furthermore, his work has determined that there is greater capacity to engage with traditional peoples in conservation, helping to transform them from being `paper stakeholders' to genuine participants. The resulting policy changes are likely to help achieve resilient and successfully protected sites.
Scientists at the Institute of Zoology (IOZ) led the development of the IUCN Red List, the foremost tool for assessing species extinction risk. We further developed systems to evaluate the status of biodiversity at the national level (National Red Lists), quantify population changes (Living Planet Index) and robustly measure changing biodiversity (Sampled Red List Index), and global indicators of the status of biodiversity for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These are used to drive conservation policy and public engagement by Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations, and national governments, and underpin measurement of adherence to CBD Targets for 2010 and 2020.
The Peoples-based Conservation Project (PBC) has challenged conventional heritage conservation practice by privileging a community's cultural systems over universalised concepts of heritage, through participatory practice. This transformed conservation practice by transferring the focus from material preservation to developing and preserving the connections between people, their cultural heritage, and each other. This new approach has developed a shared responsibility between the National Trust and Maori in the UK and New Zealand for the care of Hinemihi, an historic Maori meeting house which is no longer conserved as an object of built heritage, but as the living focus of a network of reciprocal social relationships.