Skip to content

Prioritizing global land protection for population persistence can double the efficiency of habitat protection for reducing mammal extinction risk

Published Article

Global

Publication date: November 17, 2023

File format: url

View resource

A global analysis of 861 threatened terrestrial mammal species reveals that prioritizing habitat protection based on population‑level persistence nearly doubles conservation efficiency compared to species‑level approaches. The study maps high‑priority areas worldwide to guide effective strategies for reducing mammal extinction risk.

Subject Tags

  • Large scale protection
  • Biodiversity

Abstract

Halting the alarming rate of species extinction, driven primarily by habitat destruction, motivated the international community to adopt the Global Biodiversity Framework (2022) and its targets aimed at reversing habitat and species loss. Because of urgency and resource constraints, a key challenge is meeting targets effectively and efficiently. Here we conduct a global prioritization linking 70,492 unique population maps and life history characteristics for 861 threatened terrestrial mammal species. Incorporating individual population data to identify priority areas for conservation nearly doubled the likely long-term persistence of species for the same amount of land compared with a typical approach based on species distributions alone. We map and rank global mammal persistence priority areas and assess how well the current protected area (PA) system captures these important regions. Our results offer a clearer, quantifiable link between conservation actions and global extinction risk than previously possible at a global scale.

Citation

Wolff, N. H., Visconti, P., Kujala, H., Santini, L., Hilbers, J. P., Possingham, H. P., ... & Game, E. T. (2023). Prioritizing global land protection for population persistence can double the efficiency of habitat protection for reducing mammal extinction risk. One Earth, 6(11), 1564-1575.

TNC Authors