Key Questions to Inform National Biodiversity Conservation Policies in Costa Rica
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15359/rca.59-2.4Keywords:
conservation;, research priorities;, science knowledge;, science planning;Abstract
[Introduction]: Research is critical to formulate new policies and practices that reverse biodiversity losses to date. Prioritizing is also critical for national and international agencies when making investment decisions. [Objective]: Identify and prioritize 40 research questions whose answers contribute to the formulation and implementation of public policies regarding biodiversity conservation, management, and restoration in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems in Costa Rica. [Methods]: The process consisted of 3 phases. In the first, an online survey was distributed to 436 participants about research priorities necessary for formulating and implementing national biodiversity public policy. In the second phase, responses were discussed at a national workshop, where participants prioritized the questions. Finally, the workshop results were ranked using the selection criteria to achieve the final research questions. [Results]: The online survey generated 642 research questions, and the national workshop participants prioritized them using the selection criteria to arrive at the final 40. The selected questions cover the following thematic areas: i) ecosystem structure and function; ii) populations and species; iii) protected areas and other conserved areas; iv) global change; v) effectiveness of conservation strategies; vi) human impacts, and vii) impacts of participation and governance. [Conclusions]: These questions support research funding decisions by institutional authorities, national and international organizations, and civil society organizations. They are also expected to increase the impact on the formulation of new policies and the application of existing ones.
References
Ávalos, G., Chacón‐Madrigal, E. & Artavia‐Rodríguez, L. G. (2021). Invasive plants of Costa Rica current status and research opportunities. Invasive Alien Species: Observations and Issues from Around the World, 4, 57-76. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119607045.ch37
De La Torre, J. A., González-Maya, J. F., Zarza, H., Ceballos, G. & Medellín, R. A. (2018). The jaguar’s spots are darker than they appear: assessing the global conservation status of the jaguar Panthera onca. Oryx, 52(2), 300-315. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605316001046
Fernández Luiña, E., Fernández Ordóñez, S. & Wang, W. H. (2022). The community commitment to sustainability: Forest protection in Guatemala. Sustainability, 14(12), 6953. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14126953
Gámez, R., León, P. & Hilje, L. (2021). La biodiversidad de Costa Rica en dos siglos de vida independiente, y una mirada hacia el tricentenario. Revista del Archivo Nacional, 85, e529.
Gámez, R., Obando, V. & Zamora, N. (2024). El INBio: su labor innovadora en el conocimiento y el uso sostenible de la biodiversidad en Costa Rica. Revista de Ciencias Ambientales, 58(2).
Harper, M., Mejbel, H. S., Longert, D., Abell, R., Beard, T. D., Bennett, J. R., ... & Cooke, S. J. (2021). Twenty‐five essential research questions to inform the protection and restoration of freshwater biodiversity. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 31(9), 2632-2653. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3634
Hernández-Blanco, M., Costanza, R. & Cifuentes-Jara, M. (2021). Economic valuation of the ecosystem services provided by the mangroves of the Gulf of Nicoya using a hybrid methodology. Ecosystem Services, 49, 101258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101258
Herrera-Fernández, B. & Sáenz, J. (eds.) (2022). Resumen y principales conclusiones. I Congreso Científico sobre Biodiversidad y Conservación en Costa Rica: Estado, perspectivas y necesidades de conocimiento para la gestión de la biodiversidad. Resumen y principales conclusiones (16-19 de noviembre, 2021). Heredia, Costa Rica: Instituto Internacional para la Conservación y Manejo de la Vida Silvestre, Universidad Nacional.
Hughes, A. C. & Grumbine, R. E. (2023). The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: what it does and does not do, and how to improve it. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1281536. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1281536
Karam-Gemael, M., Loyola, R., Penha, J. & Izzo, T. (2018). Poor alignment of priorities between scientists and policymakers highlights the need for evidence-informed conservation in Brazil. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 16(3), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2018.06.002
Lavery, T. H., Morgain, R., Fitzsimons, J. A., Fluin, J., Macgregor, N. A., Robinson, N. M., ... & Lindenmayer, D. B. (2021). Impact indicators for biodiversity conservation research: Measuring influence within and beyond academia. Bioscience, 71(4), 383-395. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa159
Mazor, T., Doropoulos, C., Schwarzmueller, F., Gladish, D. W., Kumaran, N., Merkel, K., ... & Gagic, V. (2018). Global mismatch of policy and research on drivers of biodiversity loss. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2(7), 1071-1074. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0563-x
MINAE (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación, Comisión Nacional de Gestión de la Biodiversidad, Fondo Nacional para el Financiamiento Forestal). (2018). Sexto Informe Nacional de Costa Rica ante el Convenio de Diversidad Biológica. Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo - Apoyo técnico para que las Partes Elegibles desarrollen el Sexto Informe Nacional para el CDB. Costa Rica: 6NR-LAC, SecCDB, GEF, PNUD.
Mukherjee, I., Coban, M. K. & Bali, A. S. (2021). Policy capacities and effective policy design: A review. Policy Sciences, 54(2), 243-268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-021-09420-8
Petrosillo, I., Aretano, R., & Zurlini, G. (2015). Socioecological systems. Encyclopedia of Ecology, 4, 419-425.
Programa Estado de la Nación. (2021). Estado de la Nación. San José, Costa Rica: Consejo Nacional de Rectores.
Programa Estado de la Nación. (2023). Estado de la Nación. San José, Costa Rica: Consejo Nacional de Rectores.
Rice, J., Seixas, C. S., Zaccagnini, M. E., BedoyaGaitán, M., Valderrama, N., Anderson, C. B., ... & Farinaci, J. S. (2018). Summary for policymakers of the regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for the Americas of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Bonn, Germany: IPBES Book. 41 p.
Rudd, M. A., Beazley, K. F., Cooke, S. J., Fleishman, E., Lane, D. E., Mascia, M. B. & Veilleux, J. P. (2011). Generation of priority research questions to inform conservation policy and management at a national level. Conservation Biology, 25(3), 476-484. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01625.x
Sutherland, W. J., Fleishman, E., Mascia, M. B., Pretty, J. & Rudd, M. A. (2011). Methods for collaboratively identifying research priorities and emerging issues in science and policy. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2(3), 238-247. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2010.00083.x
Sutherland, W. J., Dicks, L. V., Petrovan, S. O. & Smith, R. K. (2021). What Works in Conservation. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0267
Sutherland, W. J., Robinson, J. M., Aldridge, D. C., Alamenciak, T., Armes, M., Baranduin, N., ... & Thornton, A. (2022). Creating testable questions in practical conservation: a process and 100 questions. Conservation Evidence, 19, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.52201/CEJ19XIFF2753
West, S., Van Kerkhoff, L. & Wagenaar, H. (2019). Beyond “linking knowledge and action”: towards a practice-based approach to transdisciplinary sustainability interventions. Policy Studies, 40(5), 534-555. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2019.1618810
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Tropical Journal of Environmental Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
