A few years ago, we published a study in Biological Conservation* exploring which countries lead in #conservation science and the potential disconnects between where #research is generated and where it’s most urgently needed. For example, we found that much of the research on #tropical biodiversity was conducted by #scientists based outside the tropics, primarily in the US and Western Europe.

Nearly a decade later, I thought it would be interesting to revisit this analysis and see how the landscape has evolved. Below is a snapshot of who is producing conservation research within the European Union, showing (A) the total #number of scientific articles and (B) the #percentage of articles relative to each country’s overall scientific output.

A couple of interesting points stand out. First, in most #EU countries, conservation research makes up only a small fraction of their total #scientific output—even as addressing biodiversity loss becomes increasingly urgent. Second, some of the EU’s most biodiverse countries, including #Cyprus, seem to prioritize conservation research less.

This is troubling because biodiversity research is fundamental to tackling #biodiversity loss effectively. As countries continue to fall short of their biodiversity #targets, it is evident that to meet our 2030 biodiversity goals, a significantly greater #investment in conservation science is needed.

*Mammides, C., Goodale, U. M., Corlett, R. T., Chen, J., Bawa, K. S., Hariya, H., ... & Goodale, E. (2016). Increasing geographic diversity in the international conservation literature: A stalled process?. Biological Conservation, 198, 78-83.
#conservation
#conservation #research