IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Olson, D.M.; Dinerstein, E.; Powell, G.V.N.; Wikramanayake, E.D. | |
| Conservation Biology for the Biodiversity Crisis | |
| 2002 Conservation Biology (16): 1-3 | |
In a recent editorial, Whitten et al. (2001) lament the loss of Sumatran lowland rainforests and encourage conservation biologists to reexamine their efforts to save nature. We believe that the problem lies as much in the nature of the questions being asked by conservation biologists as in our lack of engagement in the nonbiological aspects of conservation. Pimm and Lawton (1998) urged us to focus more intensively on "the most pressing problems involving many species and their fate across decades to centuries, over large geographical areas." Unfortunately, most research questions remain so narrow in scope or of such limited scale that their results are unlikely to contribute to stemming widespread loss of habitat, species, and phenomena. We urge conservation biologists to allocate greater effort to four critical areas: (1) conserving those species and ecological processes that require the greatest area to persist (minimum-area requirements), (2) conserving widespread species and continental-scale phenomena, (3) quantifying patterns of beta diversity and endemism, and (4) predicting the location and intensity of threats to biodiversity. |
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