title: Assessing the Cost of Global Biodiversity and Conservation Knowledge.
abstract: Knowledge products comprise assessments of authoritative information supported by standards, governance, quality control, data, tools, and capacity building mechanisms. Considerable resources are dedicated to developing and maintaining knowledge products for biodiversity conservation, and they are widely used to inform policy and advise decision makers and practitioners. However, the financial cost of delivering this information is largely undocumented. We evaluated the costs and funding sources for developing and maintaining four global biodiversity and conservation knowledge products: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Protected Planet, and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. These are secondary data sets, built on primary data collected by extensive networks of expert contributors worldwide. We estimate that US$160 million (range: US$116-204 million), plus 293 person-years of volunteer time (range: 278-308 person-years) valued at US$ 14 million (range US$12-16 million), were invested in these four knowledge products between 1979 and 2013. More than half of this financing was provided through philanthropy, and nearly three-quarters was spent on personnel costs. The estimated annual cost of maintaining data and platforms for three of these knowledge products (excluding the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems for which annual costs were not possible to estimate for 2013) is US$6.5 million in total (range: US$6.2-6.7 million). We estimated that an additional US$114 million will be needed to reach pre-defined baselines of data coverage for all the four knowledge products, and that once achieved, annual maintenance costs will be approximately US$12 million. These costs are much lower than those to maintain many other, similarly important, global knowledge products. Ensuring that biodiversity and conservation knowledge products are sufficiently up to date, comprehensive and accurate is fundamental to inform decision-making for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Thus, the development and implementation of plans for sustainable long-term financing for them is critical.
authors.affiliation: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), 219 Huntingdon Road, CB3 0DL Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Juffe-Bignoli
authors.affiliation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.|World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna 4031, Philippines.|Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart TAS 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.|Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stuart H M
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Butchart
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: Nature-based Solutions Group, IUCN, 28 Rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kaia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boe
authors.affiliation: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), 219 Huntingdon Road, CB3 0DL Cambridge, United Kingdom.|International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: IUCN Species Survival Commission, Amphibian Specialist Group, Toronto M8W 1R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Ariadne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Angulo
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Steve
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authors.lastname: Bachman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Neil
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authors.lastname: Brummitt
authors.affiliation: IUCN Marine Biodiversity Unit, Global Species Programme/ Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kent E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: NatureServe, 4600 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203, United States of America.
authors.forename: Pat J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Comer
authors.affiliation: IUCN CI Biodiversity Assessment Unit, IUCN Global Species Programme, c/o Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202, United States of America.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Annabelle
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authors.lastname: Cuttelod
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: William R T
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Darwall
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, 4072 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Moreno
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8902-4193
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authors.lastname: Di Marco
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lincoln D C
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Fishpool
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Bárbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goettsch
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Melanie
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authors.lastname: Heath
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hilton-Taylor
authors.affiliation: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), 219 Huntingdon Road, CB3 0DL Cambridge, United Kingdom.|Luc Hoffmann Institute, WWF International, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hutton
authors.affiliation: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), 219 Huntingdon Road, CB3 0DL Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ackbar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Joolia
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.|New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, Hurstville, New South Wales 2220, Australia.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Keith
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States of America.
authors.forename: Penny F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Langhammer
authors.affiliation: IUCN Species Survival Commission, Amphibian Specialist Group, Toronto M8W 1R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luedtke
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Eimear
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authors.lastname: Nic Lughadha
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Maiko
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authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: May
authors.affiliation: Nature-based Solutions Group, IUCN, 28 Rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.|IUCN Global Ecosystem Management Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Provita, Apdo. 47552, Caracas 1041-A, Venezuela.
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oliveira-Miranda
authors.affiliation: American Bird Conservancy, 1731 Connecticut Avenue, Washington DC 20009, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mike
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authors.lastname: Parr
authors.affiliation: IUCN Global Species Programme, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
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authors.initials: CM
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authors.affiliation: IUCN Marine Biodiversity Unit, Global Species Programme/ Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ralph
authors.affiliation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.|Provita, Apdo. 47552, Caracas 1041-A, Venezuela.|Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Apdo. 20632, Caracas 1020-A, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Jon Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell'Università 32, I-00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rondinini
authors.affiliation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.|Biodiversity Conservation Group, IUCN, 28 Rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.affiliation: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), 219 Huntingdon Road, CB3 0DL Cambridge, United Kingdom.|International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stuart
authors.affiliation: BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andy
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authors.lastname: Symes
authors.affiliation: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
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authors.affiliation: World Commission on Protected Areas IUCN, 64 Juniper Road, Chelsea, QC J9B1T3, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3074-6578
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authors.lastname: Woodley
authors.affiliation: NatureServe, 4600 N. Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bruce
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authors.affiliation: United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), 219 Huntingdon Road, CB3 0DL Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D038622:Internationality