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A collaboration between the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) and the Center for Behavior, Institutions, and the Environment (CBIE) at ASU aims to unify social and biological science research and provide a more unified methodology to analyze and code coupled social-ecological systems (SES) in order to mitigate biodiversity declines.

Two CBO- and CBIE-affiliated graduate students, Maria del Mar Mancha-Cisneros and Ute Brady, are working with other graduate students and postdoctoral research associates at ASU and other U.S. and Canadian universities to begin standardizing analytical practices for SES in order to attain more successful conservation outcomes.

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The King’s College of London, on behalf of the PLuS Alliance organization, hosted a workshop to develop ecosystem typologies for the new Global Red List of Ecosystems in April 2017. This initiative was born from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Although many typologies of species already exist in the world, most are based on biogeographic and bioclimatic data. These are useful features, but they present limitations to endangered species conservation efforts by lacking representation of “ecological processes, especially those that operate at the scales of landscapes and seascapes,” explained Professor David Keith from the Center of Ecosystem Science at the University of New South Wales.

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Scientists argue that funding allocation for saving endangered species is failing, costing many more species to go extinct. Dr. Leah Gerber, Founding Director of ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, makes that case in a recently published article in Outside.

Although the idea of prioritizing species conservation efforts might seem controversial, decisions need to be made during this time of rapid biophysical, institutional, and cultural change. “There’s a level of discomfort with this, but we have to face hard choices,” explains Gerber.

For the last couple of years, Dr. Gerber has been working closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help develop a decision-making tool to assist with effective funding allocation for rescuing endangered species.

A Thought Leader Series Piece

by Leah Gerber & Penny Langhammer

After a half-century of isolation, the Republic of Myanmar has reengaged with the international community following democratic elections in 2015. The country is experiencing rapid political, social and economic change, presenting it with both risks and opportunities.

Comprising a large portion of the Indo-Burma region, Myanmar is home to a remarkable diversity of unique species and ecosystems. While the country has maintained this rich biodiversity for centuries, Myanmar now faces challenges in sustainably managing its natural life-support systems and must address climate variability, water scarcity, agricultural productivity and energy security.

Recognizing that biodiversity underpins a range of ecosystem services that are required for sustainable development, Myanmar updated its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan in 2015 and confirmed its commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals last year.

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The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology have partnered to host a series of dialogues exploring ways in which institutional transformation can lead to diversity and inclusiveness in STEAM+H (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics and health) opportunities.

The series, titled “Community of Scholars Committed to Inclusive STEAM+H Pathways,” has drawn active participation from approximately 25 faculty and deans.

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In March, two representatives from Arizona State University attended the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s 2017 Liaison Delegate meeting in Montreux, Switzerland. Amy Scoville-Weaver represented ASU’s Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO), and William Brandt attended on behalf of ASU LightWorks.

The WBCSD is a CEO-led organization of forward-thinking companies that galvanizes the global business community to create a sustainable future for business, society and the environment.

The conference, Roadmap for Impact in Today’s Reality, focused on the drastic political changes over the past year, implications for sustainability and the critical opportunity for the private sector to engage in new ways on sustainable development. As part of the conference, WBCSD released its CEO Guide to the Sustainable Development Goals.

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As the current presidential administration rolls back numerous environmental regulations, Senior Sustainability Scientist Leah Gerber considers the consequences of losing the Endangered Species Act – another item queued for the chopping block.

In an April 2017 commentary in Christian Science Monitor titled "Is the endangered species act facing extinction?," Gerber touts the services biodiversity provides us - among them, food, medicine, clean water and air. Not only do these enhance rather than impede our lifestyle, in Gerber's opinion, the plants and animals that make up our ecosystems enrich our lives in ways often ascribed to art.

According to Gerber, who directs ASU's Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, these benefits provide solid ground for a bipartisan effort to strengthen the ESA's ability to protect endangered species rather than to limit or invalidate it.

"For those species that we deem worthy of protection, we must promote their recovery and be willing to pay for it," Gerber writes. "For the losing species, we need to prepare for the consequences of their disappearance from Earth."

Today, State Press published a featured story covering the ASU-Conservation International (CI) Knowledge Partnership managed by the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO). As part of the partnership, ASU recently welcomed six CI scientists as Professors of Practice.

“The idea [behind this partnership] is to create additional research, education and engagement activities for students and faculty in the realm of biodiversity conservation,” explained Beth Polidoro, CBO Associate Director of Research and professor of environmental chemistry.

Students will have the opportunity to be mentored by the Professors of Practice, enhancing their ability to bridge academic knowledge and practical applications to help solve real-world biodiversity conservation issues. In addition, they will be exposed to networking opportunities and one-on-one career mentoring.

Amy Scoville-Weaver, CBO Project Manager, coordinates this initiative and helps create connections within the university. “Sustainability, it's across disciplines, and I think it doesn't matter what you're doing, even if you're a literature major and are interested in biodiversity," she explains. “Ultimately, everything is connected back to the foundations of life.”

In a recent publication by the Ecological Society of America (ESA), Dr. Leah Gerber, Founding Director of ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, shared advice to early career ecologists on why it matters to engage with the business sector and best approaches.

“Engaging with big business offers an opportunity to have tremendous impact on the decisions that are made by these companies,” explained Gerber. “One reason NOT to engage is the hope that deep pockets will provide untapped basic research funding.”

On February 2017, Dr. Gerber was named an ESA Fellow. Gerber was selected for her pioneering efforts to integrate marine ecology and conservation science into tenable policy and decision-making tools.

On March 27-30, ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) researchers will lead a workshop in Myanmar to identify ways in which biodiversity conservation can enhance human well-being (e.g. food security, climate regulation, flood protection) in the country. This workshop is part of CBO’s Ecosystem Services and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) project, supported by the Science for Nature and People Partnership.

Myanmar is a biodiversity hotspot, abundant in unique species and ecosystems. 2015 democratic elections in this country have led to rapid political, social and economic change. In recognizing that their social and economic success depends on their natural wealth, last year Myanmar stated its commitment to the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

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In partnership with Conservation International (CI) and the Nereus Program, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes is hiring a full-time postdoctoral research associate to work in the Honolulu, CI Hawaii offices.

This postdoctoral fellow will develop high-impact science to support sustainable management and conservation interventions in global fisheries and aquaculture.

The fellow will directly support the three goals of the ASU-CI Knowledge Partnership: protect biodiversity, promote sustainable development (particularly in food production and fisheries), and train the next generation of conservation biologists

For more information and to apply, click here>>

This week, Samantha M. Cheng with the Science for Nature and People Partnership at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara is visiting ASU.

During her visit, Cheng will meet with faculty to explore opportunities for collaboration. On Wednesday, March 22, she will be presenting her research on mapping evidence for impacts of conservation on human well-being at a Hugh Hanson Seminar, sponsored by the School of Life Sciences.

During the presentation, Cheng will discuss how their team developed a map of 1000+ relevant studies linking conservation interventions to human well-being. She will explain how to interpret the map, key findings and ways to explore it.

As a key program within the Knowledge Partnership between the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and Conservation International, ASU welcomed seven Professors of Practice in March 2017.

These scientists will devote time to teaching, mentoring and service initiatives at the university, all aligned toward advancing the three goals of the partnership: protecting biodiversity; promoting sustainable development, particularly in food production and fisheries; and training the next generation of conservation biologists.

“Right now we’re in a race, a race that will not be easily won,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “The forces of nature and the negative force of our impact on nature are accelerating. The acceleration of those forces are such that they will contribute to our need to have something we don’t have, which are better theories, better ideas, better tools, better solutions, better implementation, better translation – none of which comes naturally.”

As the New American University, ASU supports local and global partnerships to ignite innovative solutions to pressing biodiversity conservation issues around the world.

Next week, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO), in partnership with Conservation International (CI), will welcome six scientists from CI’s Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans as Professors of Practice (PoPs). The PoPs will be instrumental in advancing the three goals of the Knowledge Partnership established with CI in September 2016:

1. Protecting essential natural capital for human well-being.
2. Transitioning producers to sustainable production methods through science, engagement and technology.
3. Training the next generation of conservation leaders.

During their welcome week, PoPs will participate in a series of planning workshops to strategize research and teaching. They will present lightning talks and discussion, followed by one-on-one meetings with faculty.  They will also facilitate undergraduate and graduate student workshops.

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Attendees at the ASU Annual Tempe Night of the Open Door on Saturday, February 25, got their hands dirty at the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) booth. Guided by CBO Project Manager Amy Scoville-Weaver, NatureNet Fellow Kelly Gravuer and School of Sustainability graduate student Leigh-Ann Tower, kids of all ages participated in two fun, interactive activities designed to teach them about the natural world.

The first activity, under the careful supervision of soil expert Gravuer, gave kids the opportunity to pull plastic bugs out of a large bin of soil and win prizes for how many they “caught.” This activity was designed to teach children more about soil and the living things that support and depend on a healthy soil ecosystem. The second activity, a Living Landscapes game designed by Tower, asked children to determine which animals live in which landscape. Children were given the choice of a marine ecosystem in the Galapagos Islands and Yellowstone National Park. Prizes awarded included (fake) insects and snakes, as well as erasers and reptile-themed stickers.

“It is so wonderful seeing children learn about the wonders of the world not only surrounding them, but also the world beneath their feet,” said Scoville-Weaver. “We had over 500 prizes and we gave out just about all of them! They loved it.”

CBO looks forward to participating in Night of the Open Door in 2018.

Dr. Tewksbury is the Director of the Colorado Global Hub of Future Earth; Executive Editor of Anthropocene – Innovation in the Human Age; Research Professor in the Sustainability Innovation Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder; and Senior Scholar in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at Colorado State University.

Hugh Possingham, Ph.D., Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy—the world’s largest environmental non-government organization—recently visited ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes to meet with faculty, students, and administrators and present a series of talks.

In partnership with the ASU Sustainability Solutions Festival and the Arizona Science Center, Dr. Possingham delivered a presentation on how math and funds prioritization can augment our capacity to protect certain endangered species.

“I have translated human’s hopes, dreams and fears into algebra,” said Possingham. “If you want to go do something, go save a plant … or you can make up a formula and save 250 species.”

Understanding that there is a finite amount of time, money and resources, our knowledge and application of the mathematics of decision science is crucial in finding answers to intriguing conservation questions, such as which species should we save—koala bears or polar bears; where should we place marine protected areas, and what is the point of gathering more data.

On Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes (CBO) will host a series of talks with Hugh Possingham, PhD, Chief Scientist at The Nature Conservancy — the world’s largest environmental non-government organization.

Dr. Possingham is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow at the University of Queensland. In 2016, he was elected a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, the most prestigious science academy in the world. He is one of less than 500 foreign associates — and the only one resident in Queensland.

In the afternoon, he will tell us “Four Real Stories on How Science Impacts Environmental Policy (Or Not!),” followed by a Graduate Workshop. The day will close with an evening presentation at the Arizona Science Center as part of the ASU Sustainability Solutions Festival, titled “How Math Helps Save Species.”

“We are looking forward to engaging Hugh in discussions about innovative approaches to achieve outcomes in conservation science,” said Leah Gerber, CBO Founding Director. “We hope everyone can join!”

Over 80 sustainability professionals from 56 businesses and organizations came together in Phoenix on       February 13 to redefine corporate value—measuring its true costs and profits—during a GreenBiz pre-conference titled “Redefining Corporate Value: Changing the equation for cities, food, materials and climate by placing true value on natural and social capital.”

The event was the third annual World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) North American member meeting and was facilitated in partnership with GreenBiz, ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, and ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes.

Learn more about WBCSD’s initiative on redefining value.

Senior Sustainability Scientist Leah Gerber, founding director of ASU’s Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, has been named a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, according to an announcement released by the ESA. Gerber was selected for her pioneering efforts to integrate marine ecology and conservation science into tenable policy and decision-making tools.

Gerber's notable achievements include a publication portfolio of more than 100 papers, receiving the “Inspirational Faculty Award” from ASU, and her role as a lead author for the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.