The Society for Conservation Biology, a global community of conservation professionals, seeks to advance the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity. With over 12,000 members world-wide, SCB is the largest international network of conservation scientists and practitioners.
In the early 1980s, the founders of the Society for Conservation Biology envisioned a community of mission-oriented conservation professionals dedicated not only to high quality scientific research, but even more importantly, to the application of that research to the conservation of biological diversity. David H. Smith envisioned a fellowship program that would transform young scientists into communicative, precocious leaders, able to apply the findings of their research to the challenges of everyday conservation.
Together, SCB and the Smith Fellowship Program help connect Fellows to successful and innovative mentors from a diverse community of conservation professionals while also providing them the resources to engage in high-quality applied conservation research.
All Smith Fellows are awarded lifetime memberships to SCB and receive lifetime subscriptions to Conservation Biology and Conservation magazine.
The science and practice of conserving
The primary goal of the Smith Fellowship Program is to foster creative and successful applications of science to the practice
of conservation. Conservation scientists conduct research for a purpose - to inform conservation practitioners and advance
conservation efforts. The Society for Conservation Biology seeks to make transparent the links between conservation science
and its application through its two core publications: Conservation Biology and Conservation In Practice.
The flagship journal of conservation, Conservation Biology, was founded by the Society for Conservation Biology 20 years ago to provide a home for applied scientific research focused on conservation. Subsequently, a magazine named Conservation In Practice was designed to provide fresh insights, practical ideas, and innovative solutions to conservation challenges, and to be accessible to anyone interested in conservation.
The following articles, pulled from the pages of both the journal and the magazine, provide good starting points to learn more about how science is used in the practice of conservation, the value of fresh and unexpected connections between seemingly disparate fields of study, and the exciting insights technology can provide to conservation.
Effectiveness in conservation practice: Pointers from medicine and public health. (opens in new window)
David H. Smith was an ambitious and caring medical doctor who later used his skills to champion conservation
efforts. Learn more about the similarities between the philosophies of conservation and medical sciences...
Improving the practice of conservation: A conceptual framework and research agenda for conservation science. (opens in new window)
Making conservation effective depends on a well-developed toolbox of practical measures, strong guiding principles, and
a the knowledge to adaptively manage conservation projects. David H. Smith created the Smith Fellowship Program to arm young conservation scientists with these very tools.
