Title |
Conserving Critical Sites for Biodiversity Provides Disproportionate Benefits to People
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, May 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0036971 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Frank W. Larsen, Will R. Turner, Thomas M. Brooks |
Abstract |
Protecting natural habitats in priority areas is essential to halt the loss of biodiversity. Yet whether these benefits for biodiversity also yield benefits for human well-being remains controversial. Here we assess the potential human well-being benefits of safeguarding a global network of sites identified as top priorities for the conservation of threatened species. Conserving these sites would yield benefits--in terms of a) climate change mitigation through avoidance of CO(2) emissions from deforestation; b) freshwater services to downstream human populations; c) retention of option value; and d) benefits to maintenance of human cultural diversity--significantly exceeding those anticipated from randomly selected sites within the same countries and ecoregions. Results suggest that safeguarding sites important for biodiversity conservation provides substantial benefits to human well-being. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 3 | 23% |
Netherlands | 1 | 8% |
United States | 1 | 8% |
India | 1 | 8% |
Unknown | 7 | 54% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 7 | 54% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 3 | 23% |
Scientists | 3 | 23% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Brazil | 4 | 2% |
United Kingdom | 3 | 1% |
France | 2 | <1% |
Spain | 2 | <1% |
Malaysia | 1 | <1% |
Botswana | 1 | <1% |
Italy | 1 | <1% |
Netherlands | 1 | <1% |
South Africa | 1 | <1% |
Other | 7 | 3% |
Unknown | 239 | 91% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 68 | 26% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 41 | 16% |
Student > Master | 35 | 13% |
Other | 22 | 8% |
Student > Bachelor | 14 | 5% |
Other | 48 | 18% |
Unknown | 34 | 13% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 100 | 38% |
Environmental Science | 85 | 32% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 9 | 3% |
Social Sciences | 7 | 3% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 2 | <1% |
Other | 14 | 5% |
Unknown | 45 | 17% |