Yesterday’s post got us looking through the MacArthur Foundation’s website, and lots of worthy material there to investigate, including this news we missed a couple months back. In some ways the findings are intuitive, and maybe seem not surprising; but the scientific evidence of the challenges facing biodiversity on the planet are certainly useful for policy planning, not to mention strengthening our resolved commitment to entrepreneurial conservation:

Most Biodiverse Countries Spending the Least on Conservation, Study Finds

Countries that contain most of the world’s species biodiversity are also spending the least on a per-person basis to protect these natural assets, according to a MacArthur-supported study by theWildlife Conservation Society and the University of Queensland. Countries near or in the tropics, where most of the world’s diversity is located, spent the least on biodiversity conservation. The report recommends engaging leadership of these countries and promoting conservation through existing social traits within cultures that do not currently prioritize conservation. 

Excerpts from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s press release we find most interesting:

…Using open-source data from several international and research organizations, the authors found that cultural factors, such as individuality, defined as self-sufficiency, the equality of the society, and the strength of the rule-of-law governance organization are associated with relative spending on conservation activities. The problem is that countries spending the most are not located where the species diversity is most concentrated, which could undermine efforts to protect most the world’s biodiversity unless spending and policies change.

“Our finding that the countries most in need of conservation are also not investing in saving it relative to their population numbers and economic output, indicates that more cross-cultural and culturally-specific initiatives are needed to conserve the Earth’s species,” said Dr. Tim McClanahan, Senior Scientist for WCS and co-author of the study. “Promoting conservation after economic development and cultural values change is a recipe for more species extinctions.”

The authors reasoned that cultures change slower than the rapid rate at which species are being lost, and this requires a new set of conservation strategies that promote economic development and wealth before acting to conserve species. While these factors were associated with per capita spending on conservation, there is a need to act quickly with the current-funding constraints…

…Overall, the research revealed that cultures near or in the tropics—where most of the diversity is located—spent the least on biodiversity conservation. Social factors such as group identity and hierarchical leadership increase with proximity to tropical regions, but these factors do not indicate an inclination toward investing money in conservation. These same cultural attributes are associated with weaker rule-of-law governance, according to the authors.

Interesting outliers, such as Costa Rica, Croatia, and Thailand, spend more of their GDP on conservation. Similarly, some countries like Germany, Luxembourg, Israel, and Latvia, spent less than what would be expected for their cultures of individuality and stronger rule-of-law governance organization…

Read the whole press release here.