1. Training future generations to deliver evidence‐based conservation and ecosystem management
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Andrew Wilby, Sarah E. Dalrymple, Mark J. Whittingham, Tien Ming Lee, William J. Sutherland, José A. Alves, Charlotte Rachael Hopkins, Will Cresswell, Jamie Gundry, Richard W. Yarnell, Oscar Venter, Masashi Soga, Dylan Craven, Veronica Zamora, Louise Glew, James J. Gilroy, Julia Koricheva, Charlie J. Gardner, Stuart W. Livingstone, Hope O. Usieta, Mar Cabeza, Szabolcs Lengyel, Jon Paul Rodríguez, Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, Nibedita Mukherjee, Takehiro Sasaki, Alison J. Cotton, Jonathan Millett, Rachel L. White, Carl D. Soulsbury, Sandro Bertolino, Maureen J. Berg, Lorna J. Cole, Rachael E. Antwis, Ruth Garside, Gavin B. Stewart, Chloë Montes Strevens, Ricardo Rocha, David L. Roberts, Tom Hart, Olivia Norfolk, Daphne Kerhoas, Andrew J. Suggitt, Neal R. Haddaway, Takeshi Osawa, Steven J. Cooke, Nuno Negrões, Erica Fleishman, Matthew Grainger, Carl D. Sayer, Julia P. G. Jones, Sarah Papworth, Joseph W. Bull, Sini Savilaakso, Jennifer A. Dodd, Gilbert B. Adum, Timothy C. Bray, Eduardo C. Arellano, Taku Kadoya, Arlyne Johnson, Joshua M. Plotnik, Caroline Howe, Carly N. Cook, Tatsuya Amano, Ashley Lyons, Duan Biggs, Nick A. Littlewood, Roy A. Sanderson, Anita Diaz, Grania Smith, Sara A. O. Cousins, Euan G. Ritchie, Munemitsu Akasaka, Kirsty J. Park, Alienor L. M. Chauvenet, Mark Cadotte, Stephanie Greshon, Jérôme Pellet, Gráinne McCabe, Ana Benítez-López, Joseph R. Bennett, Alec P. Christie, Jan C. Axmacher, E. F. Strange, Barry W. Brook, Ralph R. J. Thompson, Alejandra G. Ramos, Neil R. Jordan, Dolly Priatna, Kelly W. Jones, Friederike C. Bolam, Ian Thornhill, Harriet Downey, Holly Barclay, Zuzana Burivalova, Amelia A. Grass, Jessica C. Walsh, Mark I. Abrahams, Lesley Batty, Mark D. Steer, Sam Cotton, Zoe G. Davies, Rosie Trevelyan, Adam Felton, Jeremy J. Cusack, Adam Moolna, Stewart Thompson, Rob M. Richards, Masayuki Senzaki, Andrea D. Phillott, Andrés Muñoz-Sáez, Jennifer A. Gill, Robert J. Smith, Arash Ghoddousi, Hannah L. Mossman, Nicola Randall, Amanda D. Webber, David Gill, Downey, H [0000-0003-1976-6973], Cadotte, M [0000-0002-5816-7693], Jones, JPG [0000-0002-5199-3335], Walsh, JC [0000-0002-5284-4323], Antwis, RE [0000-0002-8849-8194], Brook, BW [0000-0002-2491-1517], Bull, JW [0000-0001-7337-8977], Chauvenet, ALM [0000-0002-3743-7375], Christie, AP [0000-0002-8465-8410], Cole, L [0000-0002-3929-0530], Dalrymple, SE [0000-0002-6806-855X], Diaz, A [0000-0002-2368-0630], Hart, T [0000-0002-4527-5046], Koricheva, J [0000-0002-9033-0171], Lee, TM [0000-0003-2698-9358], Livingstone, SW [0000-0003-1031-8904], Mossman, HL [0000-0001-5958-5320], Mukherjee, N [0000-0002-2970-1498], Norfolk, O [0000-0002-2909-304X], Sanderson, R [0000-0002-9580-4751], Soga, M [0000-0003-1758-4199], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences, and University of St Andrews. St Andrews Sustainability Institute
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LB Theory and practice of education ,0106 biological sciences ,Value (ethics) ,QH301 Biology ,Applied ecology ,Zoology and botany: 480 [VDP] ,openaccess ,QH75 ,F800 ,Conservation ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Training (civil) ,criticalthinking ,QH301 ,G1 ,ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION ,Subject areas ,GE1-350 ,Sociology ,critical thinking ,Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 [VDP] ,QH540-549.5 ,open access ,ecosystem ,C150 Environmental Biology ,education ,GE ,Ecology ,evidence ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,Professional development ,criticalthinking,education,evidence,openaccess ,15. Life on land ,Environmental sciences ,Evidence-based conservation ,Critical thinking ,T-DAS ,Ecosystem management ,Engineering ethics ,LB ,C180 Ecology ,management ,GE Environmental Sciences - Abstract
Data availability statement: No data was used in this study. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1002/2688-8319.12032. Supporting Information: eso312032-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx (21.1 KB) available at: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1002%2F2688-8319.12032&file=eso312032-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Copyright © 2021 The Authors. 1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas. Making informed conservation and ecosystem management choices is based upon a sound understanding of the relevant evidence. There is an increasing wealth of conservation science available, and access to this is becoming easier. But, are conservation practitioners being trained to utilize this information? In conservation, decision-making is often based upon past experience or expert knowledge, as opposed to the full body of scientific literature (e.g., Pullin, Knight, Stone, & Charman, 2004; Rafidimanantsoa, Poudyal, Ramamonjisoa, & Jones, 2018). The failure to include scientific evidence in decision-making has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of management, or even lead to detrimental actions being undertaken (Walsh, Dicks, & Sutherland, 2015). Evidence-based conservation (EBC) seeks to avoid this by providing tools to facilitate and inform decision-making. To do this, scientific evidence is collated and critically appraised for its quality and relevance, and integrated with other knowledge, experience, values and costs (Sutherland, Pullin, Dolman, & Knight, 2004). Wider adoption of EBC requires conservation professionals to be trained in its principles and taught how to use it to inform conservation decision-making. MAVA Foundation; Arcadia Fund.
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- 2021
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