The Science of Strategic Conservation: Protecting More with Less

Billions have been spent on land conservation but too little attention had been paid to how cost-effective these investments have been. With budgets increasingly constrained, conservationists must learn to fully harness their funds to protect critical resources. Messer and Allen are pioneers in making conservation selection more successful, cost-effective, scientific, and transparent. The Science of Strategic Conservation introduces powerful mathematical tools available for project selection, using real-life examples and a practical step-by-step approach. Readers can readily apply these methods to their own work, accomplishing more with less by combining the individual benefits of structured decision-making, mathematical programming, and an understanding of market forces and human behaviour. The authors highlight tools from conservation science, mathematics, land use planning and behavioural economics, showing how they can be combined to help protect key environmental resources. This is an invaluable volume for all students, professionals and stakeholders associated with conservation programs.

Contents
Foreword Larry Selzer

1. Strategic conservation matters
2. A $100 bottle of wine and a hammer: principles of strategic conservation
3. From great ideas to costly habits
4. Avoiding budget sponges and other lessons from conservation failures
5. Moving from mission to vision to criteria
6. Transform criteria into conservation benefits
7. Enhance the evaluation of choices
8. Get the best bang for your buck
9. Harness the power of markets and behavioral nudges
10. Putting it all together: a short story
11. Do it! Exercises using optimization decision support tools
12. Do It! Exercises using the logic scoring of preference method

Appendix A. Mathematical foundations of the logic scoring of preference method
References
Index

Authors
Kent D. Messer is the Unidel H. Cosgrove Chair at the University of Delaware, and co-director of the National Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-Environmental Research. His work applies economics and behavioral science to problems at the nexus of environmental and agricultural challenges.

William L. Allen, III manages strategic conservation planning services including green infrastructure plans, data-driven decision support, and tactical conservation guidance as part of The Conservation Fund. Will serves as co-editor-in-chief and managing editor of the Journal of Conservation Planning and was a co-founder of the Society for Conservation GIS.