title: Cost-effective global conservation spending is robust to taxonomic group.
abstract: Priorities for conservation investment at a global scale that are based on a single taxon have been criticized because geographic richness patterns vary taxonomically. However, these concerns focused only on biodiversity patterns and did not consider the importance of socioeconomic factors, which must also be included if conservation funding is to be allocated efficiently. In this article, we create efficient global funding schedules that use information about conservation costs, predicted habitat loss rates, and the endemicity of seven different taxonomic groups. We discover that these funding allocation schedules are less sensitive to variation in taxon assessed than to variation in cost and threat. Two-thirds of funding is allocated to the same regions regardless of the taxon, compared with only one-fifth if threat and cost are not included in allocation decisions. Hence, if socioeconomic factors are considered, we can be more confident about global-scale decisions guided by single taxonomic groups.
authors.affiliation: The Ecology Center, School of Integrative Biology and Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland, St. Lucia 4072, Australia. mbode@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: Kerrie A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: Will R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Russell A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mittermeier
authors.forename: Marissa F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: Emma C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.forename: Hugh P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Possingham
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors