Half of resources in threatened species conservation plans are allocated to research and monitoring

Given limited funding to combat biodiversity loss, conservation managers face trade-offs between actions to prevent further loss and research/monitoring to guide effective actions. Analyzing species management plans from three countries (U.S., New Zealand, and New South Wales, Australia), the study reveals that 50% of proposed recovery plan budgets are allocated to research and monitoring (RM). This proportion varies across jurisdictions and taxa, with species having higher RM allocations exhibiting poorer recovery outcomes. While more recent plans allocate less to RM, some species have seen decades of funding primarily dedicated to information gathering. The authors recommend careful evaluation of new information's value in recovery planning to prioritize actions or RM directly informing actions.

Rachel T. Buxton, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Hsein-Yung Lin, Paul A. Smith, Steven J. Cooke, Joseph R. Bennett