Welcome to the SCB Discussion Forum on "Some Guiding Concepts for Conservation Biology"

In 2010 we published an article entitled “Some Guiding Concepts for Conservation Biology” in the journal Conservation Biology.
The concepts we propose in the article are:

1. Successful conservation management requires achievement of consensus on explicit goals and objectives
2. The overall goal of biodiversity management will usually be to maintain or restore biodiversity, not to maximize
   species richness
3. A holistic approach is needed to solve conservation problems
4. Diverse approaches to management can provide diverse environmental conditions and mitigate risk
5. Using nature’s template is important for guiding conservation management, but it is not a panacea
6. Focusing on causes, not symptoms, enhances efficacy and efficiency
7. Every species and ecosystem is unique, to some degree
8. Threshold responses are important, but not ubiquitous
9. Multiple stressors often exert critical effects on species and ecosystems
10. Human values are diverse and dynamic and significantly shape conservation efforts

1. an open-ended, unmoderated discussion about the guiding concepts we have proposed; and
2. a place where new guiding concepts and case studies of these concepts in action can be proposed.  These will be moderated.

Professor David B. Lindenmayer, The Australian National University
Professor Malcolm L. Hunter, University of Maine