Symposium
Our symposium, titled “Advances in approaches for evaluating conservation impacts and their strength and limitations”, highlighted exciting recent advances in evaluating the impact of different conservation interventions. Discussions spanned a wide range of approaches, including protected areas, marine areas, community managed forest areas, payment for ecosystem services, and education through mass media, and were enriched by case studies from six countries (Peru, Indonesia, Nepal, Bolivia, Tanzania & Madagascar). Together, these contributions provided insights across all three of FinCEAL’s focus regions: Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Our speakers were Judith Schleicher, Megan Barnes, Johan Oldekop, Jonas Geldmann, Julia Jones & Diogo Veríssimo and myself.
The symposium was very well received, drawing around 50 participants from across the research community, NGOs, company representatives and students. The event also opened the door to promising collaborations and potential new research grants. Importantly, it helped raise awareness of the Society for Conservation Biology’s newly established Impact Evaluation Working Group. With many speakers among its founding members, the symposium served as an energizing kick-start to this initiative and its future activities!
