Abstract
Abstract Background Global policy initiatives and international conservation organizations have sought to emphasize and strengthen the link between the conservation of natural ecosystems and human development. While many indices have been developed to measure various social outcomes to conservation interventions, the quantity and strength of evidence to support the effects, both positive and negative, of conservation on different dimensions of human well-being, remain unclear, dispersed and inconsistent. Methods We searched 11 academic citation databases, two search engines and 30 organisational websites for relevant articles using search terms tested with a library of 20 relevant articles. Key informants were contacted with requests for articles and possible sources of evidence. Articles were screened for relevance against predefined inclusion criteria at title, abstract and full text levels according to a published protocol. Included articles were coded using a questionnaire. A critical appraisal of eight systematic reviews was conducted to assess the reliability of methods and confidence in study findings. A visual matrix of the occurrence and extent of existing evidence was also produced. Results A total of 1043 articles were included in the systematic map database. Included articles measured effects across eight nature conservation-related intervention and ten human well-being related outcome categories. Linkages between interventions and outcomes with high occurrence of evidence include resource management interventions, such as fisheries and forestry, and economic and material outcomes. Over 25 % of included articles examined linkages between protected areas and aspects of economic well-being. Fewer than 2 % of articles evaluated human health outcomes. Robust study designs were limited with less than 9 % of articles using quantitative approaches to evaluate causal effects of interventions. Over 700 articles occurred in forest biomes with less than 50 articles in deserts or mangroves, combined. Conclusions The evidence base is growing on conservation-human well-being linkages, but biases in the extent and robustness of articles on key linkages persist. Priorities for systematic review, include linkages between marine resource management and economic/material well-being outcomes; and protected areas and governance outcomes. Greater and more robust evidence is needed for many established interventions to better understand synergies and trade-offs between interventions, in particular those that are emerging or contested. Registration CEE review 14-012
Highlights
Global policy initiatives and international conservation organizations have sought to emphasize and strengthen the link between the conservation of natural ecosystems and human development
Increased monitoring of socioeconomic outcomes has been dually influenced by a need to demonstrate contributions to broader development goals, e.g., United States Agency for International Development’s Biodiversity Policy 2014, [54], World Bank Biodiversity road map [63], and by a genuine desire to “do no harm” and to ensure the longevity of natural ecosystems upon which vulnerable populations depend [64]
What are promising areas for further synthesis?. This systematic mapping process was undertaken as part of an initiative led by the international conservation nongovernment organization, Conservation International, which was concerned with the extent and robustness of the evidence base, the pathways by which conservation affects human well-being, and the role of ecosystem services in mediating these relationships
Summary
Global policy initiatives and international conservation organizations have sought to emphasize and strengthen the link between the conservation of natural ecosystems and human development. In September 2015, the United Nations launched a set of 17 new Sustainable Development Goals to shape the international development agenda for the 15 years [53]. In parallel to such policy shifts, several major international nongovernmental organizations with a historical focus on nature conservation—including Birdlife International, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy and Fauna & Flora International— explicitly reference people in their mission and vision statements and aspire to achieving socially beneficial outcomes through their conservation efforts [24]. Increased monitoring of socioeconomic outcomes has been dually influenced by a need to demonstrate contributions to broader development goals, e.g., United States Agency for International Development’s Biodiversity Policy 2014, [54], World Bank Biodiversity road map [63], and by a genuine desire to “do no harm” and to ensure the longevity of natural ecosystems upon which vulnerable populations depend [64]
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