A 2017 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity

Peer-reviewed paper by William Sutherland, Phoebe Barnard, Bonnie Wintle, Nancy Ockendon, Steven Broad, Mick Clour, Ben Connor, Isabelle Côte, Lynn Dicks, Helen Doran, Abigail Entwistle, Erica Fleishman, Marie Fox, Kevin Gaston, David Gibbons, Zhigang Jiang, Brandon Keim, Fiona Lickorish, Mark Spalding, Femke Tonneijck
Published on 10 January 2017

Summary

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.

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