Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program
Australia is a world leader in habitat loss and species extinction, and for many species, ecological restoration will be necessary for continued persistence. Between 2014 and 2018, the Australian federal government allocated a substantial portion of funding for threatened species recovery to a natio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accdf2 |
| _version_ | 1797747314727583744 |
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| author | Jayden E Engert Susan G W Laurance |
| author_facet | Jayden E Engert Susan G W Laurance |
| author_sort | Jayden E Engert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Australia is a world leader in habitat loss and species extinction, and for many species, ecological restoration will be necessary for continued persistence. Between 2014 and 2018, the Australian federal government allocated a substantial portion of funding for threatened species recovery to a nation-wide ecological restoration program called ‘20 Million Trees Land-care Program’, which included a competitive grant round. By comparing successful and unsuccessful grant applications, we were able to identify factors associated with restoration funding allocation. We then assessed the Program’s ability to provide benefits to threatened species by analyzing the overlap between restoration projects and threatened species habitat. We found that funding allocation under the 20 Million Trees Program was primarily driven by ‘value for money’ factors, specifically ‘cost per tree’ and number of trees planted. Additionally, projects were more likely to be funded if they mentioned threatened species in the description, but less likely to be funded if they actually overlapped with areas of high threatened species richness. Of the 1960 threatened species assessed, we found that only 9 received funding for restoration projects covering more than 1% of their range. Conversely, we found that utilizing alternative project selection schemes, such as alternative ‘value for money’ metrics or spatial planning methods, could have delivered better outcomes for some of the threatened species most impacted by habitat loss. Our results show that inopportune selection criteria for awarding of funding for ecological restoration can significantly reduce the benefits delivered by programs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:49:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-83fc35327b5a41b9b783807872760983 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:49:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-83fc35327b5a41b9b7838078727609832023-08-09T15:15:55ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-0118505402010.1088/1748-9326/accdf2Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide programJayden E Engert0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5558-2058Susan G W Laurance1Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University , Cairns, Queensland 4878, AustraliaCentre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University , Cairns, Queensland 4878, AustraliaAustralia is a world leader in habitat loss and species extinction, and for many species, ecological restoration will be necessary for continued persistence. Between 2014 and 2018, the Australian federal government allocated a substantial portion of funding for threatened species recovery to a nation-wide ecological restoration program called ‘20 Million Trees Land-care Program’, which included a competitive grant round. By comparing successful and unsuccessful grant applications, we were able to identify factors associated with restoration funding allocation. We then assessed the Program’s ability to provide benefits to threatened species by analyzing the overlap between restoration projects and threatened species habitat. We found that funding allocation under the 20 Million Trees Program was primarily driven by ‘value for money’ factors, specifically ‘cost per tree’ and number of trees planted. Additionally, projects were more likely to be funded if they mentioned threatened species in the description, but less likely to be funded if they actually overlapped with areas of high threatened species richness. Of the 1960 threatened species assessed, we found that only 9 received funding for restoration projects covering more than 1% of their range. Conversely, we found that utilizing alternative project selection schemes, such as alternative ‘value for money’ metrics or spatial planning methods, could have delivered better outcomes for some of the threatened species most impacted by habitat loss. Our results show that inopportune selection criteria for awarding of funding for ecological restoration can significantly reduce the benefits delivered by programs.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accdf2Australiabiodiversity lossecosystem restorationlarge-scale restorationrestoration policythreatened species |
| spellingShingle | Jayden E Engert Susan G W Laurance Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program Environmental Research Letters Australia biodiversity loss ecosystem restoration large-scale restoration restoration policy threatened species |
| title | Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program |
| title_full | Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program |
| title_fullStr | Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program |
| title_short | Economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation-wide program |
| title_sort | economics and optics influence funding for ecological restoration in a nation wide program |
| topic | Australia biodiversity loss ecosystem restoration large-scale restoration restoration policy threatened species |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accdf2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jaydeneengert economicsandopticsinfluencefundingforecologicalrestorationinanationwideprogram AT susangwlaurance economicsandopticsinfluencefundingforecologicalrestorationinanationwideprogram |