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Practitioner and scientist perceptions of successful amphibian conservation

Meredith, Helen M.R., St. John, Freya A.V., Collen, Ben, Black, Simon A., Griffiths, Richard A. (2017) Practitioner and scientist perceptions of successful amphibian conservation. Conservation Biology, 32 (2). pp. 366-375. ISSN 0888-8892. E-ISSN 1523-1739. (doi:10.1111/cobi.13005) (KAR id:63241)

Abstract

Conservation requires successful outcomes. However, success is perceived in many different ways depending on the desired outcome, which can vary according to numerous factors. We analysed perceptions of success among 355 scientists and practitioners working on amphibian conservation from over 150 organisations in more than 50 countries. Respondents identified four types of success: species and habitat improvements (84% of respondents); effective programme management (36%); outreach initiatives such as education and public engagement (25%); and the application of science-based conservation (15%). The most significant factor influencing overall perceived success was reducing threats. Capacity building was rated least important. Perceptions were influenced by experience, professional affiliation, involvement in conservation practice, and country of residence. More experienced conservation practitioners associated success with improvements to species and habitats, and less so with education and engagement initiatives. Whilst science-based conservation was rated as important, this factor declined in importance as the number of programmes a respondent participated in increased, particularly amongst those from Less Economically Developed Countries. The ultimate measure of conservation success – population recovery – may be difficult to measure in many amphibians, difficult to relate to the conservation actions intended to drive it, and difficult to achieve within conventional funding timeframes. The relaunched Amphibian Conservation Action Plan provides a framework for capturing lower-level processes and outcomes, identifying gaps, and measuring progress.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/cobi.13005
Uncontrolled keywords: amphibian declines, amphibian conservation, evaluation, frog, salamander, caecilian, inventory and monitoring
Subjects: Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Funders: NERC Environmental Omics Facility (https://ror.org/036g3b009)
Depositing User: Richard Griffiths
Date Deposited: 05 Sep 2017 15:48 UTC
Last Modified: 10 Jan 2024 09:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/63241 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

St. John, Freya A.V..

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Griffiths, Richard A..

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5533-1013
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