Other topics the researchers highlight include dam-building in the Andean Amazon, using coral nurseries to restore reefs, and the commercial use of short portions of antimicrobial proteins.
The emerging issues are the result of an attempt to pinpoint threats, opportunities and developments that aren’t widely recognised, but which need further research in case they turn into big problems for biodiversity.
The thinking behind the exercise is to identify potential concerns, so we can respond more effectively if the researchers’ projections prove accurate.
Indeed, so-called horizon scanning is used by private and public organisations to inform processes related to policy, risk assessment, strategic planning, and innovation.
“This kind of horizon scanning exercise can be useful to avoid situations where we’re ill-prepared to deal with the consequences. One example is biofuels. They were promised to be a green alternative to fossil fuels, but no-one anticipated that pristine rainforest would be cleared for them,” explains Professor Bill Sutherland from the University of Cambridge who led this study.
Sutherland led similar exercises in previous years to figure out which issues most need conservationists’ attention, given limited research funds.
In this latest study, published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, he invited 19 experts to submit up to five little-known issues they thought could affect biodiversity in the near future. The group came up with 72, which – after some debating – they whittled down to 15.
Image: Coconut - Horia Varlan from Flickr
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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