Advancing conservation science and practice through a geographic approach: Platforms, personnel, and partnerships

Abstract

Rapid declines in biodiversity necessitate global action and spatial tools that can inform how to set and implement action for new conservation targets. GIScience (the science of geographic information systems, or GIS) has proven useful for conservation decision-making, driving the development of new data, tools, and mapping solutions. Combined with urgent conservation needs, it is an ideal time to examine additional opportunities to advance a geographic approach to conservation. Here, we outline a hierarchy of needs that should be prioritized to ensure that GIScience and geography can support the new, and growing, wave of global conservation targets. Based on a participatory workshop involving conservation and GIS researchers and practitioners, we recommend six actions organized around three themes: platforms, personnel, and partnerships. Those six actions include: (1) build standard platforms for data sharing and maintenance; (2) design predictive models for decision support; (3) develop open educational materials that stress problem solving; (4) infuse co-design into courses and learning materials; (5) support a GIS Conservation Corp and culture; and (6) sustain engagement across academia and practice. Implementing this agenda will lead to bridged knowledge systems, greater trust in spatial evidence, new funding pathways, and durable connections between spatial scientists, conservationists, and decision-makers translating geospatial innovation into measurable biodiversity gains.