This is our ninth annual horizon scan to identify emerging issues that we believe could affect global biological diversity, natural capital and ecosystem services, and conservation efforts. Our ...diverse and international team, with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, as well as conservation science, practice, and policy, reviewed 117 potential issues. We identified the 15 that may have the greatest positive or negative effects but are not yet well recognised by the global conservation community. Themes among these topics include new mechanisms driving the emergence and geographic expansion of diseases, innovative biotechnologies, reassessments of global change, and the development of strategic infrastructure to facilitate global economic priorities.
This is the ninth such annual horizon scan.
Twenty-four experts in conservation research and practice, ecology, economics, policy, and science communication identified 15 topics following a wide consultation. They followed a Delphi like process to score and identify the most important.
The issues highlighted span a wide range of fields and include thiamine deficiency in wild animals, the geographic expansion of chronic wasting disease, genetic control of invasive mammal populations and the effect of culturomics on conservation science, policy and action.
We present the results of our eighth annual horizon scan of emerging issues likely to affect global biological diversity, the environment, and conservation efforts in the future. The potential ...effects of these novel issues might not yet be fully recognized or understood by the global conservation community, and the issues can be regarded as both opportunities and risks. A diverse international team with collective expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy reviewed 100 potential issues and identified 15 that qualified as emerging, with potential substantial global effects. These issues include new developments in energy storage and fuel production, sand extraction, potential solutions to combat coral bleaching and invasive marine species, and blockchain technology.
This is the eighth such annual horizon scan.
An international team with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy identified 15 issues, following widespread consultation and a Delphi-like scoring process to identify the most important.
The issues were wide ranging, and include sand extraction, blockchain technology, use of robotics to combat invasive species, and new developments in energy storage and fuel production.
We present the results of our 13th annual horizon scan of issues likely to impact on biodiversity conservation. Issues are either novel within the biological conservation sector or could cause a ...substantial step-change in impact, either globally or regionally. Our global panel of 26 scientists and practitioners identified 15 issues that we believe to represent the highest priorities for tracking and action. Many of the issues we identified, including the impact of satellite megaconstellations and the use of long-distance wireless energy transfer, have both elements of threats and emerging opportunities. A recent state-sponsored application to commence deep-sea mining represents a significant step-change in impact. We hope that this horizon scan will increase research and policy attention on the highlighted issues.
Our 13th annual horizon scan identified 15 emerging issues of concern for global biodiversity conservation.A panel of 26 scientists and practitioners submitted a total of 80 topics that were ranked using a Delphi-style technique according to the novelty and likelihood of impact on biodiversity conservation.The top 36 issues were discussed at an online meeting held in September 2021 during which issues were ranked according to the same criteria.Our 15 issues cover impacts ranging from satellite megaconstellations to deep-sea mining.Other emerging issues include floating photovoltaics, long-distance wireless energy, and ammonia as a fuel source.
We present the results from our 12th annual horizon scan of issues likely to impact biological conservation in the future. From a list of 97 topics, our global panel of 25 scientists and ...practitioners identified the top 15 issues that we believe society may urgently need to address. These issues are either novel in the biological conservation sector or represent a substantial positive or negative step-change in impact at global or regional level. Six issues, such as coral reef deoxygenation and changes in polar coastal productivity, affect marine or coastal ecosystems and seven relate to human and ecosystem-level responses to climate change. Identification of potential forthcoming issues for biological conservation may enable increased preparedness by researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers.
Our 12th annual horizon scan identified 15 emerging issues of concern for global biodiversity conservation.A panel of 25 scientists and practitioners submitted a total of 97 topics that were ranked using a Delphi-style technique according to novelty and likelihood of impact on biodiversity conservation.The top 38 issues were discussed at an online meeting held in September 2020 during which issues were ranked according to the same criteria.Six of the 15 issues primarily affect marine or coastal ecosystems and seven are related to human and ecosystem-level responses to anthropogenic climate change.Other emerging issues include complete coverage of Indian states for sustainable farming and the potential for use of self-healing building materials.
In this horizon scan, we highlight 15 emerging issues of potential relevance to global conservation in 2020. Seven relate to potentially extensive changes in vegetation or ecological systems. These ...changes are either relatively new, for example, conversion of kelp forests to simpler macroalgal systems, or may occur in the future, for example, as a result of the derivation of nanocelluose from wood or the rapid expansion of small hydropower schemes. Other topics highlight potential changes in national legislation that may have global effect on international agreements. Our panel of 23 scientists and practitioners selected these issues using a modified version of the Delphi technique from a long-list of 89 potential topics.
We present 15 issues that emerged from our 11th annual horizon scan of global biological conservation.Issues were identified by a diverse group of scientists and practitioners.The group scored the long-list of 89 issues using a Delphi-like process. Issues were ranked according to novelty, relevance, and potential impact on biological conservation.The top-38 ranked issues were debated at a workshop in Cambridge, UK, with each topic scored immediately following the discussion.Emerging themes include changes in national legislation that could affect international agreements; recognising ecocide as an international crime; and the global decline in kelp forests.Other issues include the increasing use of traditional Asian medicine; the spread of the Asian long-horned tick; use of artificial wombs in mammalian conservation; and the impact that the shrinking ozone hole may have on Antarctic sea ice.
We present the results of our tenth annual horizon scan. We identified 15 emerging priority topics that may have major positive or negative effects on the future conservation of global biodiversity, ...but currently have low awareness within the conservation community. We hope to increase research and policy attention on these areas, improving the capacity of the community to mitigate impacts of potentially negative issues, and maximise the benefits of issues that provide opportunities. Topics include advances in crop breeding, which may affect insects and land use; manipulations of natural water flows and weather systems on the Tibetan Plateau; release of carbon and mercury from melting polar ice and thawing permafrost; new funding schemes and regulations; and land-use changes across Indo-Malaysia.
We present the 15 topics identified in our tenth annual horizon scan for global conservation.
Scoring was carried out by a diverse group of experts using a Delphi-like process.
Scores were based on the topics’ novelty, likelihood, and potential for major impacts on biodiversity.
Emerging themes include conservation impacts of biotechnological advances in agriculture.
Other issues included climate change-induced release of carbon and mercury from polar ice.
We present the results of our 15th horizon scan of novel issues that could influence biological conservation in the future. From an initial list of 96 issues, our international panel of scientists ...and practitioners identified 15 that we consider important for societies worldwide to track and potentially respond to. Issues are novel within conservation or represent a substantial positive or negative step-change with global or regional extents. For example, new sources of hydrogen fuel and changes in deep-sea currents may have profound impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Technological advances that may be positive include benchtop DNA printers and the industrialisation of approaches that can create high-protein food from air, potentially reducing the pressure on land for food production.
This paper presents the results of our seventh annual horizon scan, in which we aimed to identify issues that could have substantial effects on global biological diversity in the future, but are not ...currently widely well known or understood within the conservation community. Fifteen issues were identified by a team that included researchers, practitioners, professional horizon scanners, and journalists. The topics include use of managed bees as transporters of biological control agents, artificial superintelligence, electric pulse trawling, testosterone in the aquatic environment, building artificial oceanic islands, and the incorporation of ecological civilization principles into government policies in China.
This is the seventh annual horizon scan.
A team of 24 horizon scanners, researchers, practitioners, and journalists identified 15 issues following widespread consultation and a Delphi-like process to select the most suitable.
The issues were wide ranging but included artificial superintelligence, changing costs of energy storage and consumptive models, and ecological civilization policies in China.
A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2015 Sutherland, William J.; Clout, Mick; Depledge, Michael ...
Trends in ecology & evolution,
January 2015, 2015-Jan, 2015-01-00, 20150101, 2015, Volume:
30, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
•This is the sixth annual horizon scan.•A team of 18 horizon scanners, researchers, and a journalist identified 15 issues following widespread consultation and a Delphi-like process to select the ...most suitable.•The issues were wide ranging but included new sources of energy, novel pesticides, and underground gasification of coal.
This paper presents the results of our sixth annual horizon scan, which aims to identify phenomena that may have substantial effects on the global environment, but are not widely known or well understood. A group of professional horizon scanners, researchers, practitioners, and a journalist identified 15 topics via an iterative, Delphi-like process. The topics include a novel class of insecticide compounds, legalisation of recreational drugs, and the emergence of a new ecosystem associated with ice retreat in the Antarctic.
We present the results of our 14th horizon scan of issues we expect to influence biological conservation in the future. From an initial set of 102 topics, our global panel of 30 scientists and ...practitioners identified 15 issues we consider most urgent for societies worldwide to address. Issues are novel within biological conservation or represent a substantial positive or negative step change at global or regional scales. Issues such as submerged artificial light fisheries and accelerating upper ocean currents could have profound negative impacts on marine or coastal ecosystems. We also identified potentially positive technological advances, including energy production and storage, improved fertilisation methods, and expansion of biodegradable materials. If effectively managed, these technologies could realise future benefits for biological diversity.
Our 14th annual horizon scan identified 15 emerging issues of concern for global biodiversity conservation.A panel of 30 scientists and practitioners submitted a total of 102 topics that were ranked using a Delphi-style technique according to novelty and likelihood of impact on biodiversity conservation.The top 36 issues were discussed in person and online in September 2022 during which issues were ranked according to the same criteria.Our 15 issues cover impacts from DNA-enabled biobatteries to submerged artificial light fisheries.Other emerging issues include increased demand for chitosan, accelerating upper ocean currents, and microbiome stewardship.
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