Year: 2025
Type: review
Abstract: We present outcomes from our 17th horizon scan of issues potentially impacting global biodiversity conservation in the next decade. Issues are novel, or represent a significant step-change in impact, and are currently not well-known or understood within the conservation community. Our panel of 26 scientists, practitioners, and policymakers scored an initial list of 96 issues, discussed the highest ranked 35 issues at a workshop, and identified the 15 top-ranked issues. This year, technology innovations, including low-power optic artificial intelligence (AI) chips and tiny machine learning (TinyML) models, could revolutionize biodiversity monitoring. We highlight impacts from changes in land-use driven by appetite-suppressing pharmaceuticals and the unknown effects of mirror biomolecules. Highlighting these issues may increase awareness of any impacts on global biodiversity conservation.
Source: Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Authors: William J. Sutherland, Stuart H.M. Butchart, Stewart J. Clarke, Nigel R. Doar, Helen Doran, Imogen C. Douglas, Daniel J. Field, Erica Fleishman, Kevin J. Gaston, James E. Herbert-Read, Alice C. Hughes, Hermanni Kaartokallio, Luke Maggs, James E. Palardy, James W. Pearce-Higgins, Lloyd S. Peck, Nathalie Pettorelli, Irene R. Schloss, Mark D. Spalding, Anastasiya Timoshyna, Nicolas Tubbs, Thiago Uehara, James E.M. Watson, Jonathan Wentworth, Jeremy D. Wilson, Ann Thornton
Institutions: University of Cambridge, BirdLife international, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts, Natural England, Environment Agency, Oregon State University, University of Exeter, The University of Melbourne, Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Government, Pew Charitable Trusts, British Trust for Ornithology, British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Zoological Society of London, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, National University of Tierra del Fuego, Argentine Antarctic Institute, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas, The University of Queensland, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $7,030
OpenAlex ID: W4416935072