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Abstract Detail



Conservation Biology

Fraga, Naomi [1], Donnelly, Patrick [2].

Botanical advocacy in action: a case study promoting the conservation of Eriogonum tiehmii (Polygonaceae).

Botanists are studying plant diversity in the midst of a global extinction crisis. As scientists, our first inclination may be to undertake research with the expressed goal of increasing knowledge towards conservation relevancy. However, numerous studies indicate that peer-reviewed research in the conservation literature does not readily translate into effective conservation action. This research-implementation gap, also known as the “knowing-doing gap,” manifests in a variety of ways. The need to prioritize implementation to achieve conservation action has an increasing urgency, given increasing anthropogenic threats, a rapidly changing climate, and increased rates of biodiversity loss. Advocacy is an effective tool to advance biodiversity conservation, but it is sometimes met with hesitancy due to perceived conflicts with objectivity. However, increasing societal awareness of threats to plant diversity, and advancing policy to conserve plant diversity, are two major avenues of advocacy that can drive conservation outcomes for the plants and plant communities that botanists study. Here we present a case study of a conservation advocacy campaign in action. #TeamBuckwheat was launched in 2019 to conserve a narrowly endemic plant species (Eriogonum tiehmii) that occurs entirely on 10 acres of public land in the western U.S. state of Nevada, and is existentially threatened by a proposed open-pit lithium mine. We will discuss our approach to conservation advocacy to secure the future of irreplaceable biodiversity. This effort is spearheaded by a collaboration between a scientist and a professional advocate seeking conservation outcomes that are rooted in scientific principles.


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1 - California Botanic Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont , CA, 91711, USA
2 - Center for Biological Diversity, 7345 S. Durango Dr., B-107, Box 217, Las Vegas, NV, 89113, USA

Keywords:
conservation
rare plant
endemic
policy
Public Policy
public lands
endangered species
Eriogonum
Polygonaceae.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: CB03, Conservation Biology 3
Location: /
Date: Wednesday, July 21st, 2021
Time: 3:00 PM(EDT)
Number: CB03001
Abstract ID:939
Candidate for Awards:None


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