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The Role and Value of Conservation Agency Research

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Abstract

Governments charge their conservation agencies to safeguard biodiversity through protected areas and threat mitigation. Increasingly, conservation management and policy need to be supported by rigorous evidence provided by science. As such, institutional arrangements should consider and enable effective scientific research and information dissemination. What role can in-house agency research play in responding to this challenge? We examined the research capabilities of three conservation agencies from Australia, South Africa, and United States. Seven indicators were used to characterize the reliability and relevance of agency research. We found similarities among agencies in their patterns of peer-reviewed publication, cultures of research collaboration, and tendencies to align research with organizational objectives. Among the many and diverse activities that constitute the role of a contemporary agency researcher, we emphasize two key research dimensions: reliability, achieved through peer-reviewed research output, and relevance, achieved through active stakeholder engagement. Amid increasingly challenging realities for conservation of ecosystems, agency science functions are vital to providing the evidence base required for effective management and policy development.

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Acknowledgments

We particularly thank Chloe Vandervord for assisting with the compilation of bibliographic information for NSW OEH, and Jacques de Vries for assisting with the analysis of bibliographic information from ALWRI. We also thank Susan Fox, Alan Watson, Peter Novellie, Tony Auld, David Eldridge, and David Keith for their thoughtful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. The comments of two anonymous reviewers helped us to rethink and improve the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Melodie A. McGeoch

    Present address: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Services, South African National Parks, Private Bag X6531, George, 6530, South Africa

    Dirk J. Roux

  2. Sustainability Research Unit, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Private Bag X6531, George, 6530, South Africa

    Dirk J. Roux

  3. Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Richard T. Kingsford

  4. Department of Society and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, USA

    Stephen F. McCool

  5. Scientific Services, South African National Parks, P.O. Box 216, Steenberg, 7947, South Africa

    Melodie A. McGeoch

  6. Scientific Services, South African National Parks, Private Bag X402, Skukuza, 1350, South Africa

    Llewellyn C. Foxcroft

  7. Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    Llewellyn C. Foxcroft

Authors
  1. Dirk J. Roux
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  2. Richard T. Kingsford
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  3. Stephen F. McCool
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  4. Melodie A. McGeoch
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  5. Llewellyn C. Foxcroft
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dirk J. Roux.

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Roux, D.J., Kingsford, R.T., McCool, S.F. et al. The Role and Value of Conservation Agency Research. Environmental Management 55, 1232–1245 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0473-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-015-0473-5

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