Perspectives on forest conservation: building evidence at the frontier between policy and conservation science

Citation

Winkel G & Jump A (2014) Perspectives on forest conservation: building evidence at the frontier between policy and conservation science. Biodiversity and Conservation, 23 (14), pp. 3359-3372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0824-1

Abstract
The conservation and sustainable management of forests is a topic of significant interest for scholars and policy makers alike. Yet, this is a multifaceted issue that raises important questions related to different societal and scientific perspectives, while values of the multiple services that forest ecosystems deliver for society must also be taken into account. However, perspectives on forest conservation may differ with regard to region and scale. This paper summarizes the contributions of a special issue on forest conservation that brings together diverse disciplinary and regional perspectives. First, we explore the necessity for interdisciplinary perspectives on forest conservation, and particularly the urgent need to bridge between social and natural science views in order to better understand complex socio-ecological systems. Second, we discuss a variety of case studies on forest conservation in different spatial and socio-economic contexts. Third, we focus on the science-policy and science-management interface as the critical "zone" where knowledge about forest conservation is exchanged. Finally, we emphasize again the diversity of possible perspectives on the issue, and conclude by identifying some possible ways of thinking about issues such as integrative versus segregative forest conservation, and science-policy-management interactions.

Keywords
Interdisciplinarity; Conservation policy; Science policy interface; Science management interface; Governance; Socio-ecological systems

Notes
Output Type: Editorial

Journal
Biodiversity and Conservation: Volume 23, Issue 14

People

Professor Alistair Jump

Dean of Natural Sciences, NS Management and Support