Attaining Aichi Target 11: How well are marine ecosystem services secured by protected areas?

I am a Professor of Conservation Science in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, where my research focuses on how to reconcile biodiversity conservation with meeting human food needs and other land-demanding activities; the costs and benefits of retaining intact ecosystems; and identifying what works in conservation. I collaborate closely with conservation practitioners and with colleagues in other disciplines, including economics and psychology. In my book Wild Hope he argues that cautious, evidence-based optimism is vital in tackling environmental challenges. I helped establish the Student Conference on Conservation Science, the Cambridge Conservation Forum, Earth Optimism, and most recently the Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits.

I am Chief Scientist at BirdLife International where I lead a team who help to provide the scientific basis for the conservation programmes of the 115 Partners that form the BirdLife International Partnership. This includes assessing extinction risk for the world’s birds for the IUCN Red List, coordinating the standards and protocols for identifying and monitoring Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) globally, identifying key threats to birds and their habitats, determining the priority actions required (for species, sites, habitats and along flyways), understanding the how people depend upon the ecosystem services delivered by IBAs, developing biodiversity indicators based on bird data, and ensuring that sound science underpins BirdLife’s policy, advocacy and communications activities.

I am a post-doctoral researcher working with the Global Marine Team of The Nature Conservancy, and a visiting scholar with the Cambridge Coastal Research Unit, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. I am conducting a literature review of the coastal defence services of mangrove ecosystems, focusing particularly on wave height reduction, storm surge reduction and surface elevation change in the face of sea level rise. 

I work on both the science and policy of seabird conservation. I coordinate BirdLife’s work to identify and protect marine Important Bird Areas and oversee the management of the Tracking Ocean Wanderers database, one of the largest tracking databases in existence. In addition, I input science products to a range of global and regional marine policy mechanisms, and represent BirdLife on a range of international groups such as on the Scientific Steering Committee of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, the World Seabird Union, High Seas Alliance, Sustainable Ocean Initiative and the UN Pool of Experts on the World Ocean Assessment.

Since graduating from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology in 2010, I have worked as a research assistant on a variety of projects, all relating to ecosystem services. These include modelling and mapping above-ground biomass and fishery productivity by mangroves, producing data sets that will feed into future work, as well as compiling a synopsis on natural pest control in agriculture. Beyond ecosystem services, I am interested in ways of making science relevant and available to policy makers and conservation practitioners.