A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) soars over China Poot Bay, Alaska. World Wildlife Fund photo by Don Getty.
Wildlife’s benefits to people’s daily lives are underrepresented in science and policy discussions, an omission that an international team of researchers led by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says could have detrimental consequences for achieving global conservation targets.
Their study, published today in the first-ever issue of Nature Reviews: Biodiversity, finds that while science, business, and policy groups recognize Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP), they often assume that protecting habitats or ecosystems—rather than the wildlife species that inhabit them—will automatically preserve the benefits people rely on. The authors argue that this view overlooks the importance of individual wildlife species and the myriad roles they play.
Study authors, including Alejandra Echeverri, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM), found that of the 18 NCP categories defined by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, at least 12 are directly supported by wildlife. Wildlife plays an active role in creating and maintaining ecosystems, controlling prey populations, pollinating plants, dispersing seeds, and reducing disease risk. They also provide numerous immaterial benefits, like driving ecotourism and supporting a sense of identity or well-being within local communities and cultures.
“If people don’t recognize the full spectrum of values wildlife offers our society, including the sometimes ‘invisible’ benefits—they might miss the actions needed to protect it,” said lead author Becky Chaplin-Kramer (PhD ’10 ESPM), Global Biodiversity Lead Scientist for the WWF who studied in the lab of Professor Emerit Claire Kremen. “We have to account for the roles wildlife play across ecosystems, and the impact of their decline on human well-being in conservation policy and management.”
Three Horned Puffins (Fratercula corniculate) sit on a rock in Duck Island, Alaska. World Wildlife Fund photo by Don Getty.
The research calls for greater recognition of wildlife’s contributions to global biodiversity policies, such as the Global Biodiversity Framework, which could generate broader support for conservation efforts and ensure the benefits continue. “For years, policymakers have valued ecosystems for their tangible services, like forests for carbon storage, while ignoring the intangible,” said Echeverri. “People visit forests to listen to birds, connect with their ancestors embodied as jaguars, or be enchanted by the dusk chorus of frogs. These are the overlooked wildlife's contributions to people."
The study also highlights gaps in large-scale monitoring and modeling, emphasizing that advancements in satellite technology, AI, environmental DNA, acoustic sensing, and citizen science could improve knowledge and data, ensuring conservation resources are deployed efficiently. Such advancements, however, would require significant funding, which could be a point of discussion during next month’s resumed United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16).
Read more about the study at the WWF website, and explore the wide range of unexpected benefits provided by wildlife in an accompanying report titled “Nature’s Technicians.”
This article was adapted from material provided by the World Wide Fund for Nature.