Peer-reviewed Journal Articles
The Moore Center for Science at Conservation International is one of the world’s premier conservation research institutes, producing and applying groundbreaking and policy-relevant research to help decision-makers protect nature. To date, Conservation International has published more than 1,100 peer-reviewed articles, many in leading journals including Science, Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
On average, each of our scientific papers is cited more than 45 times by other scholars — a rate exceeding that of any other U.S. conservation organization as well as leading universities.
Here is an archive of our most recent research.
The uncertain future of protected lands and waters
Rachel E. Golden Kroner, Siyu Qin, Carly N. Cook, Roopa Krithivasan, Shalynn M. Pack, Oscar D. Bonilla, Kerry Anne Cort-Kansinally, Bruno Coutinho, Mingmin Feng, Maria Isabel Martínez Garcia, Yifan He, Chris J. Kennedy, Clotilde Lebreton, Juan Carlos Ledezma, Thomas E. Lovejoy, David A. Luther, Yohan Parmanand, César Augusto Ruíz-Agudelo, Edgard Yerena, Vilisa Morón Zambrano, Michael B. Mascia
Science, 364, 881-886
May 31, 2019
Protected areas are intended to safeguard biodiversity in perpetuity, yet evidence suggests that widespread legal changes undermine protected area durability and efficacy. We documented these legal changes—protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) events—in the United States and Amazonian countries and compiled available data globally. Governments of the United States and Amazonian countries enacted 269 and 440 PADDD events, respectively. Between 1892 and 2018, 73 countries enacted 3749 PADDD events, removing 519,857 square kilometers from protection and tempering regulations in an additional 1,659,972 square kilometers; 78% of events were enacted since 2000. Most PADDD events (62%) are associated with industrial-scale resource extraction and development, suggesting that PADDD may compromise biodiversity conservation objectives. Strategic policy responses are needed to address PADDD and sustain effective protected areas.
CITATION
Golden Kroner, R. E., Qin, S., Cook, C. N., Krithivasan, R., Pack, S. M., Bonilla, O. D., … Mascia, M. B. (2019). The uncertain future of protected lands and waters. Science, 364(6443), 881–886. doi:10.1126/science.aau5525
