Description:
Despite unprecedented advances in conservation science, biodiversity loss continues at a global scale. Why? In this talk, I reflect on three decades of work at the interface of science, policy, and practice to examine a central challenge: the gap between what we know and what we do. Drawing on examples from collaborative research and national and international science-policy, I argue that the problem is not a lack of knowledge, but how knowledge is translated into action within systems shaped by power, incentives, and competing ways of knowing. I propose a decision-centered theory of change in which science is designed for use from the outset, aligned with decisions, co-produced with users, and embedded in decision processes, and suggest that achieving this shift will require rethinking not just how we do science, but the institutions that support it.
Biography: Leah Gerber is a professor of conservation science in the School of Life Sciences and founding director of the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) at Arizona State University. Leah’s research, teaching, and leadership advance the integration of science in decision processes to achieve sustainable biodiversity outcomes. She frequently serves on globally significant bodies charting the future course of conservation and is passionately committed to communicating the relevance of science in tackling the complex environmental challenges of the 21st century. Her research reveals new approaches to conservation planning and management, including in conservation priority setting, ecosystem-based management, adaptive monitoring and management, marine recreation, endangered species recovery plans, and estimating extinction risk. Since founding CBO in 2014, Leah’s vision and strategic leadership have established CBO as a center of interdisciplinary academic excellence, where faculty, partners, and students are making key discoveries, creating solutions to mitigate biodiversity loss, and collaborating across sectors to bring scientific knowledge into conservation action.
The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and the Nature Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Nature Network, or its researchers.
