AI Article Synopsis

  • A horizon scan identified 63 emerging issues for biodiversity conservation in South Africa, leading experts to prioritize ten key issues using the Delphi method.
  • These issues were categorized based on social agreement and scientific certainty, revealing that most require more than just scientific solutions, necessitating social and political engagement.
  • Strategic communication and education are crucial for effectively addressing these prioritized biodiversity challenges, as none were deemed chaotic.

Article Abstract

A horizon scan was conducted to identify emerging and intensifying issues for biodiversity conservation in South Africa over the next 5-10 years. South African biodiversity experts submitted 63 issues of which ten were identified as priorities using the Delphi method. These priority issues were then plotted along axes of social agreement and scientific certainty, to ascertain whether issues might be "simple" (amenable to solutions from science alone), "complicated" (socially agreed upon but technically complicated), "complex" (scientifically challenging and significant levels of social disagreement) or "chaotic" (high social disagreement and highly scientifically challenging). Only three of the issues were likely to be resolved by improved science alone, while the remainder require engagement with social, economic and political factors. Fortunately, none of the issues were considered chaotic. Nevertheless, strategic communication, education and engagement with the populace and policy makers were considered vital for addressing emerging issues.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7128016PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01252-4DOI Listing

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