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Evaluating past and future contributions of conservation programs to species recovery

Abstract:
Impact evaluation of conservation actions is a crucial step in global efforts to curb the biodiversity crisis. Through robust impact evaluation, practitioners can assess the effectiveness of conservation strategies and optimize use of limited resources. Despite a proliferation of methods and tools for evaluating conservation impact, no standardized method exists to assess and compare the impact, and global contribution, of species recovery programs. We aim to address this gap with an evaluation framework based on the IUCN Green Status of Species (GSS), a global standard for measuring species recovery. This universal method for assessing species recovery programs will allow program delivery partners, such as NGOs, government agencies and funding bodies, to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs in contributing to global species recovery. Based on peer-reviewed global GSS assessments, these program GSS assessments will provide practitioners with a standard, straightforward and cost-effective way to communicate conservation successes and expected future impact. By producing metrics assessing the past and short-term future impacts of a species recovery program (program legacy and projected program impact, respectively), results can be compared with the global recovery of a species (conservation legacy and conservation impact), indicating a program’s contribution towards the recovery of the entire species. These new metrics are calculated using two scenarios adapted from those estimated for the global assessment, to allow an estimation of the past and expected future impact of a program.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1111/cobi.70183

Authors


Publisher:
Wiley
Journal:
Conservation Biology More from this journal
Volume:
40
Issue:
2
Article number:
e70183
Publication date:
2025-11-25
Acceptance date:
2025-09-15
DOI:
EISSN:
1523-1739
ISSN:
0888-8892


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
2326963
Local pid:
pubs:2326963
Deposit date:
2025-11-14
ARK identifier:

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