Southeast (SE) Asia holds high regional biodiversity and endemism levels but is also one of the world's most threatened regions. Local, regional and global threats could have severe consequences for the future survival of many species and the provision of ecosystem services.
In the face of myriad pressing environmental problems, we carried out a research prioritisation exercise involving 64 experts whose research relates to conservation biology and sustainability in SE Asia. Experts proposed the most pressing research questions which, if answered, would advance the goals of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in SE Asia. We received a total of 333 questions through three rounds of elicitation, ranked them (by votes) following a workshop and grouped them into themes.
The top 100 questions depict SE Asia as a region where strong pressures on biodiversity interact in complex and poorly understood ways. They point to a lack of information about multiple facets of the environment, while exposing the many threats to biodiversity and human wellbeing. The themes that emerged indicate the need to evaluate specific drivers of biodiversity loss (wildlife harvesting, agricultural expansion, climate change, infrastructure development, pollution) and even to identify which species and habitats are most at risk. They also suggest the need to study the effectiveness of practice-based solutions (protected areas, ecological restoration), the human dimension (social interventions, organisational systems and processes and, the impacts of biodiversity loss and conservation interventions on people). Finally, they highlight gaps in fundamental knowledge of ecosystem function. These 100 questions should help prioritise and coordinate research, conservation, education and outreach activities and the distribution of scarce conservation resources in SE Asia.
1.Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Biol Sci, Singapore, Singapore 2.Univ La Verne, Dept Biol, La Verne, CA USA 3.Bogor Agr Univ, Bogor, Indonesia 4.Wetlands Int, Quezon City, Philippines 5.Univ Washington, Sch Marine & Environm Affairs, Seattle, WA 98195 USA 6.Univ Washington, Jackson Sch Int Studies, Seattle, WA 98195 USA 7.Sunway Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia 8.Univ Santo Tomas, Coll Sci, Dept Biol Sci, Espana Blvd, Manila 1008, Philippines 9.Univ Melbourne, Sch Geog, Melbourne, Vic, Australia 10.Univ Sheffield, Western Bank, Dept Anim & Plant Sci, Sheffield S10 2TN, S Yorkshire, England 11.Environm & Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Serv, Ottawa, ON, Canada 12.Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Geog, 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570, Singapore 13.Univ Tennessee, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Knoxville, TN USA 14.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Shenzhen, Peoples R China 15.Chinese Acad Sci, Xishuangbanna Trop Bot Garden, Ctr Integrat Conservat, Beijing, Peoples R China 16.BirdLife Int Asia, 354 Tanglin Rd, Singapore, Singapore 17.Conservat Int, Betty & Gordon Moore Ctr Sci, 2011 Crystal Dr 500, Arlington, VA 22202 USA 18.Sabaragamuwa Univ Sri Lanka, Fac Sci Appl, Dept Nat Resources, Balangoda, Sri Lanka 19.Natl Pk Board, Singapore, Singapore 20.Nanyang Technol Univ, Asian Sch Environm, 50 Nanyang Ave,Block N2-01-C, Singapore 639798, Singapore 21.Sun Yat Sen Univ, State Key Lab Biol Control, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Peoples R China 22.Sun Yat Sen Univ, Sch Life Sci, Guangzhou, Guangdong, Peoples R China 23.Indonesia Program, Wildlife Conservat Soc, Bogor, Indonesia 24.World Agroforestry Ctr, Bogor, Indonesia 25.Smithsonian Trop Res Inst, Ctr Trop Forest Sci, Forest Global Earth Observ, Washington, DC USA 26.Nanyang Technol Univ, Asian Sch Environm, Singapore, Singapore 27.Wildlife Conservat Soc Thailand, Nonthaburi, Thailand 28.Borneo Futures, Block C,Unit C8,Second Floor,Lot 51461, Kampung Kota Batu, Brunei 29.Oxford Brookes Univ, Dept Social Sci, Oxford, England 30.Conservat Int, 308 Tanglin Rd,01-02 Phoenix Pk Off Campus, Singapore 247974, Singapore 31.Univ Leicester, Sch Geog Geol & Environm, Leicester, Leics, England 32.Univ Cote Azur, CNRS, INRA, ISA, Nice, France 33.Univ Southampton, Sch Biol Sci, Univ Rd, Southampton SO17 1BJ, Hants, England 34.Ctr Int Forestry Res CIFOR Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia 35.Wildlife Conservat Soc, Singapore, Singapore 36.Singapore ETH Ctr, ETH Zurich, Singapore, Singapore 37.Univ Oxford, Dept Zool, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3PS, England 38.Univ Lancaster, Lancaster Environm Ctr, Lancaster, England 39.World Wildlife Fund, Bangkok, Thailand 40.Natl Univ Singapore, Sch Design & Environm, Dept Architecture, Singapore, Singapore 41.Vietnam Acad Sci & Technol, Inst Oceanog, Hanoi, Vietnam 42.TERN, Piliyandala, Sri Lanka
Recommended Citation:
Coleman, J. L.,Ascher, J. S.,Bickford, D.,et al. Top 100 research questions for biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia[J]. BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION,2019-01-01,234:211-220