Species Conservation Planning
- Angela Findlay
- Mar 2, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 8, 2021
Image By Josh Noseworthy - Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) CC BY 2.0
In 1974 they were close to extinction with only 4 birds remaining but with numerous conservation efforts over the years and counted again in 2019, there were 400 birds. Now regarded as one of the most successful restoration projects in the world
Biodiversity is on the decline worldwide and 35,500 species are threatened with extinction right now including 40% of amphibians, 34% of conifers, 33% of reef building corals, 26% of mammals and 14% of birds according to the IUCN Red List.
Many people and organisations are fighting to help conserve Earth’s biodiversity and one of these organisations, The Conservation Planning Specialist Group is doing just that.
The CPSG is part of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is supported by a non-profit organization incorporated under the name Global Conservation Network.
The CPSG have been involved in assisting others in the conservation planning of species for 40 years by supporting conservation groups, wildlife agencies, zoos and governments who are concerned with the plight of threatened species to develop a plan to conserve them.
Jamie Copsey presented at one of our Bangor University online seminars recently, he has a BSc in Zoology, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education and an MSc in Anthropology and the Ecology of Development. He has worked with vultures in Israel, whistling ducks in Trinidad, and kestrels in Mauritius.
Jamie is currently the director of training at the Conservation Planning Specialist Group and began his talk with problems that typically get in the way of a project such as:
Unattainable goals
Poor decision making
Not sharing data in a timely manner
Excessive bureaucracy
He went on to present the CPSG 7 principles and 8 steps essential to develop and implement these plans
1) Plan to act - to promote and guide effective action
2) Promote inclusive participation of people with relevant knowledge and those affected
3) The use of sound science - science based approaches and the best available
4) Ensure good design with facilitators skilled in planning, help participants contribute their ideas freely/equally
5) Reach decisions through consensus - decisions that all participants support/accept with shared goals
6) Generate and share products quickly - process quickly, freely and widely, delays can cause missed opportunities for action
7) Adapt to changing circumstances - evolve in response to new information that can influence efforts and to review/update/improve documents
FUTURE GOALS 2021-2024
Aim to put into place effective plans for all the red list species (10,000)
Using >1,000 workshops
Training and mentoring
Want to know more? Get to know the CPSG
Support our efforts
Jamie concluded with "questions we are asking ourselves"
How do we achieve quantity without sacrificing quality?
Who can we turn to who already has capacity/skills/tools to offer?
How do we make use of academic excellence?
How do we ensure meaningfulness of our monitoring for learning, improvement and measurement?
What should the balance be between recognising global versus national or regional species conservation planning needs?
What else should we be considering?
My Thoughts
This seminar was really engaging and thought provoking and has encouraged me to consider a career in conservation, whether it be in species conservation or another area within, I am yet to decide.
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