An Attainable Global Vision for Conservation and Human Well-Being

Authors

Heather M. Tallis, The Nature Conservancy
Peter L. Hawthorne, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Stephen Polasky, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Joseph Reid, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Michael W. Beck, University of California, Santa Cruz
Kate Brauman, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Jeffrey M. Bielicki, The Ohio State University
Seth Binder, St Olaf College
Matthew G. Burgess, University of California, Santa Barbara
Emily Cassidy, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
Adam Clark, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Joseph Fargione, The Nature Conservancy
Edward T. Game, University of Queensland
James Gerber, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Forest Isbell, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Joseph Kiesecker, The Nature Conservancy
Robert McDonald, The Nature Conservancy
Marc Metian, International Atomic Energy Agency
Jennifer L. Molnar, The Nature Conservancy
Nathan D. Mueller, University of California, Irvine
Christine S. O'Connell, Chapman UniversityFollow
Daniel Ovando, University of California, Santa Barbara
Max Troell, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Timothy M. Boucher, The Nature Conservancy
Brian McPeek, The Nature Conservancy

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-16-2018

Abstract

A hopeful vision of the future is a world in which both people and nature thrive, but there is little evidence to support the feasibility of such a vision. We used a global, spatially explicit, systems modeling approach to explore the possibility of meeting the demands of increased populations and economic growth in 2050 while simultaneously advancing multiple conservation goals. Our results demonstrate that if, instead of “business as usual” practices, the world changes how and where food and energy are produced, this could help to meet projected increases in food (54%) and energy (56%) demand while achieving habitat protection (>50% of natural habitat remains unconverted in most biomes globally; 17% area of each ecoregion protected in each country), reducing atmospheric greenhouse-gas emissions consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement (≤1.6°C warming by 2100), ending overfishing, and reducing water stress and particulate air pollution. Achieving this hopeful vision for people and nature is attainable with existing technology and consumption patterns. However, success will require major shifts in production methods and an ability to overcome substantial economic, social, and political challenges.

Comments

This article was originally published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, volume 16, issue 10, in 2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1965

Recommended Citation

Tallis HM, Hawthorne PL, Polasky S, et al. 2018. An attainable global vision for conservation and human well-being. Front Ecol Environ 16(10): 563–570, https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1965

Copyright

The Ecological Society of America