Trends and gaps in protection of the world’s biodiversity

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 coordinate technical aspects of BirdLife’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) programme and have a particular interest in the African IBA network, having previously been IBA coordinator for the region. Interests / responsibilities include the means by which IBAs are identified and monitored, the assessment of their condition, of the threats to which they are subject and of actions taken to mitigate them. 

Professor of Conservation Science (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment, Sussex Sustainability Research Programme) at Sussex University. Previously worked as a Senior Scientist on the Biodiversityteam at UNEP-WCMC.

Bastian coordinates a diverse project portfolio focusing on protected areas and their contribution to biodiversity conservation. He works with a wide range of partners to track progress on international protected area targets. This includes evaluating the coverage, representativeness and effectiveness of the global protected area system. Bastian also implements, together with a GIS specialist seconded from IUCN, the Centre’s work on natural World Heritage sites. This work benefits from his previous role as a Programme Officer in the IUCN World Heritage Programme.

Bastian has a degree in Geography and MSc in Conservation Biology. Whenever possible, he is out and about in the great outdoors.

My research focuses on mammal conservation globally, including the evaluation of past, present and future extinction risk and the identification of priority species and areas for conservation.

Lucas Joppa is a scientist in the Computational Ecology Group at Microsoft Research, where he leads the Conservation @ Microsoft research programme and facilitates Microsoft’s partnership with the IUCN Red List. He works across the science, policy, and tools and technology space with the goal of facilitating the conservation of ecological systems. Lucas is an ecologist by background, with a PhD from Duke University, and has broad research interests in predictive environmental modeling, model-driven data collection, and using technology to monitor environmental processes. He is a fellow at the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, an Honorary Conservation Fellow at the Zoological Society of London, the ‘Advisor on Science and Innovation’ to UNEP-WCMC, and serves in various other advisory roles to international environmental organisations.

My role involves the provision of technical and scientific support to the work of the Species Survival Commission – the largest global network of conservation professionals – and to foster uptake of Commission-based research and expertise in conservation-relevant decision-making. My main areas of interest are in species conservation, protected areas, and mammalian taxonomy and biogeography (particularly Africa).

I am the Head of the Science Programme at UNEP-WCMC and a Professor at the Center for Marcoecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen. I oversee the scientific work with the centre and how it relates to policy processes.

I have a track record of influencing conservation policy in sub-Saharan Africa and am a well-respected advisor to several developing country governments in East Africa. I have a long standing interest in the biogeography and conservation of African biodiversity. This has broadened in recent years to issues of the effectiveness and equity of protected areas and other conservation interventions, with regard to biological and human outcomes. I have also managed various forms of conservation projects in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe over the past 25 years, which I continue to do.