Mapping the Impacts of Conservation Interventions

Within the lab, our research examines the drivers, interactions, and mechanisms that influence management outcomes in marine social-ecological systems. With a global network of interdisciplinary practitioners and researchers, we integrate approaches from across natural and social science disciplines (e.g. impact evaluation, machine learning, econometrics, evidence synthesis), and synthesizing datasets on marine systems around the world (e.g. marine protected area management, oceanographic and climate data, underwater visual census surveys, socioeconomic monitoring data), to develop and test theories of the underlying factors that lead to equitable and sustainable outcomes, particularly in coastal communities vulnerable to social and environmental change.

Tropical coastal marine ecosystems (TCMEs) are rich in biodiversity and provide many ecosystem services. Coastal areas are home to increasing numbers of people and population growth is expected to continue, putting TCMEs under pressure from development and broader environmental changes associated with climate change. Attention to TCMEs by conservation organizations has increased and although a variety of interventions to promote conservation and sustainable development of TCMEs have been implemented, evidence regarding the outcomes of these – for people or ecosystems – is scattered and unclear. This study takes a systematic mapping approach to identify articles that examine the ecological and social outcomes associated with conservation interventions in TCMEs; specifically in coral reef, mangrove and seagrass habitats.

Evidence gap maps are tools that synthesize existing scientific research in a creative way, in order to: 1) help guide evidence-based decision-making and 2) identify areas where more targeted research is needed. Developed and used in the health field, they are emerging as a tool in ecology and conservation. In conservation, researchers are using gap maps to identify academic studies that suggest linkages between particular interventions and social and ecological outcomes, and identify and characterize contexts for understanding tradeoffs and synergies in conservation decision-making. In the rapidly developing field of ocean science and conservation, where conservation resources are often allocated based on anecdotes or what has been done in the past rather than current need, evidence gap maps can provide informed- and data-based direction for scientific, philanthropic, government, and non-government organizations as they decide how to invest limited resources in particular programs and policy development, and interventions. Map and assess literature on the social and ecological impacts of conservation interventions within tropical marine ecosystem to:

• gain a better appreciation of role of evidence synthesis in science and policy

• develop skills to evaluate different types of research and literature 

• become more rounded researchers, with an appreciation of the state of evidence within natural and social science conservation literature

• develop skills in presenting results of evidence synthesis work

In the first year of the project, we developed a search string to identify conservation interventions and outcomes within tropical marine ecosystems (i.e., mangroves, sea grasses, and coral reefs). We identified over 100,000 articles with our search, and selected a 10% random sample for further screening and assessment. After screening ~10,000 articles at the title and abstract level, we conducted full text screening and data extraction on almost 1000 articles.