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Mainstreaming Conservation ROI: How and Why?

Mainstreaming Conservation ROI: How and Why?. Jim Boyd Resources for the Future Timm Kroeger TNC . Interim Report on TNC-RFF Partnership supported by the Moore Foundation. Mission Promote broader application of return on investment (ROI) analysis by conservation planners and managers .

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Mainstreaming Conservation ROI: How and Why?

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  1. Mainstreaming Conservation ROI:How and Why? Jim Boyd Resources for the Future Timm Kroeger TNC

  2. Interim Report onTNC-RFF Partnershipsupported by the Moore Foundation Mission • Promote broader application of return on investment (ROI) analysis by conservation planners and managers

  3. What Is ROI Analysis? • Quantitative outcome measures • Measured or predicted conservation “lift” relative to baseline • Costs, budget constraints taken into account • Measure bang for buck

  4. Motivation • Numerous studies have shown that ROI-based planning • Alters the location and targets of “optimal” conservation • Achieves more protection and higher-quality conservation outcomes • Saves money

  5. Examples • Moore et al, Biological Conservation, 2004 • 66% gain in species coverage • Murdoch et al, Biological Conservation, 2007 • Major changes in portfolio choice • Murdoch et al PNAS, 2010 • ROI yields 4x the conservation benefit, compared to “hotspot” framework

  6. Motivation 1 • Despite this, and despite leadership support • ROI analysis is rarely used in practice • Why? • What can we do about it?

  7. Motivation 1 • Despite this, and despite leadership support • ROI analysis is rarely, if ever, used by TNC • Why? • What can we do about it? These ROI analyses are of “simple” cost effectiveness • A single objective – e.g. biodiversity conservation

  8. Motivation 2 • Changing conservancy missions • Emphasize social objectives • Conserve ecosystem services • Multi-objective goals • ROI framework arguably necessary to do • Optimized planning for • Multi-objective, social/economic missions

  9. The TNC-RFF ROI Project Key questions: • How to define the “R” in ROI? • What type of ROI outputs are most useful to TNC? • What are the core technical barriers? • Data, models • Managerial barriers? • Planning/analysis frameworks, staffing, training, protocols

  10. The Project Plan Phase 1 • Evaluate current ROI analysis capabilities • What ROI products would actually be used by managers and to what end? Phase 2 • Depending on phase 1 …

  11. Phase 1 Activities (1) Six project level case studies • What is the project’s “ROI story?” • What are the outcomes associated with that story? • To what degree can the ROI story be quantified? • What is the project-level state of the art re. quantification? • What are the barriers to quantification?

  12. Internal Demand • Portfolio strategy • Use ROI to tell us where to invest over broad areas? • Project-level evaluation • Use ROI to measure project effectiveness, manage adaptively (like RBM) • Communications • Use ROI to improve messaging, to reach stakeholders, supporters

  13. The Pilot TNC Cases • Kimbe Bay MPA (Papua New Guinea) • Great Bear Rainforest (Canada) • Savannah River SRP (USA) • Valdivian Coastal Reserve (Chile) • Warm Springs Mountain Preserve (USA) • Atlantic Forest Water Producer Program (Brazil)

  14. What We’re Looking For • What is the conservation objective? • Is it clearly defined, and can it be measured? • One objective, or multiple? • Biophysical or social outcomes? • Measured baselines • Analysis of threats to conservation objectives • Measured conservation outcomes as function of conservation actions

  15. Biophysical Impact • What is the biophysical “lift”? • Measureable improvements over baseline Example: Increased species abundance Example: Preservation of species abundance, where otherwise we’d have losses Note: the lift must be attributable to the conservation action

  16. Biophysical production functions Via monitored data, predictive models, stories

  17. Results (Broadly Painted) • Projects chosen • Biodiversity planning + opportunism • Some analysis of threats, but not systematic • Evaluation of biophysical outcomes • Sporadic, with some innovative examples • Very limited support for monitoring • Evaluation of social outcomes • Almost non-existent • Costs • Usually, but not in consistent formats

  18. Warm Springs Mountain • Site selection • Sophisticated ecoregional planning • Opportunism versus cost-effectiveness • Qualitative threat assessment • Conservation experiments • Fire restoration, species impacts • Small scale invasive species control • Ecosystem services • No analysis of production functions, social outcomes

  19. Implications for Phase 2 • Social data, measures of ecosystem service benefits • Project-level models, data on production functions • egInVEST • Demonstration of portfolio-level social objectives planning • The ROI of ROI

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