Conservation Works Best When Nations Collaborate

It's difficult to ignore the metaphor and meaning that lies beneath the surface of this story as we look forward to a new year and a new decade with hope and purpose.

In a press release published by EurekAlert, researchers from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Queensland in Australia have determined that conservation efforts are less expensive and are more effective when nations cooperate.

A brief pause to ponder it leads one to see that it makes sense from a common sense standpoint. Things such as watershed boundaries, migration pathways, ecosystems and bio regions function without any regard for the arbitrary political boundaries that humanity has established to keep us separated. But it's terrific that this international research team has gone beyond common sense to put some measurements and numbers behind the matter.

The new study focused on the Mediterranean region, as it features all of the following: biological and ecological diversity, lots of people of differing cultures, and many sovereign nations. Looking in particular at efforts to protect native vertebrate species, the research team concludes that a coordinated, cross-border conservation effort would save nearly $70 billion compared to the conservation efforts undertaken by nations on an individual basis.

The team's findings were recently featured on the cover of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Photo courtesy of Orchi, via Wikimedia Commons