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In this extended interview, Peter Kareiva, the former chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy and new head of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, talks about the connections between conservation science and cities. Among other topics, Kareiva discusses the importance of communications and creating shared values to help the public understand the urgency and potential of conservation and science.

AbstractCapitalism, globalization, consumerism and an almost religious commitment to perpetual growth are often blamed for the world's environmental woes. But does this mean that economic stagnation and Marxism, for example, would be the friend of the environment? We need to analyze the flaws of our current socioeconomic ecosystem and work to make concrete improvements. Some improvements are short term and simply reflect improved 'best practices' and more flexible frameworks for implementing existing policies. These improvements can make a difference in a matter of years and are relevant to the urgency of avoiding species extinctions in the near term. These changes are analogous to 'tuning' a car's engine. Other improvements will require fundamental changes in how our economic system works – changes such as breaking the reliance of developing nations on cheap fossil fuels. These changes are analogous to rebuilding and redesigning a car's engine. But whatever actions are explored, they must be practical and concrete. Bemoaning the avarice and resource exploitation of capitalism and its addiction to growth is a, by‐now, stale and unactionable critique of the modern world.

AbstractHuman activity is dramatically shaping all of Earth's natural systems, producing unprecedented challenges for people and nature. Climate disruption, altered hydrology, and ecosystem degradation reflect both threats to human wellbeing and changes in the 'rules of the game' that make management difficult. While ecologists, conservationists and environmental scientists clamor for radical action to reverse these threats, their own management actions in response to climate are too often business as usual. I hypothesize that restrictive and often unspoken mental models of ecological and environmental science are robbing these managers and their institutions of the flexibility required to respond to the Anthropocene's uncertain changes. The three most profound mental traps are: (1) an undue emphasis on historical reference points; (2) an ecological concept of resilience that fails to reckon with the Anthropocene's dynamism; and (3) a precautionary bias against new technologies and dramatic interventions. Caught in these mental traps, environmentalists too often reject entrepreneurial experimental approaches that could make them more relevant to policymakers, corporations and other institutions that seek to respond more proactively to impending disruption.

Now is the time for conservation science—a mission-oriented scientific enterprise that seeks to protect nature, including Earth's animals, plants, and ecosystems, in the face of unprecedented human demands upon the planet. Conservation scientists apply principles from ecology, population genetics, economics, political science, and other natural and social sciences to manage and preserve nature. The focus of this textbook is first and foremost on protecting nature and especially Earth's biota. It also contains a heavy emphasis on highlighting strategies to better connect the practice of conservation with the needs and priorities of a growing human population. Now used at over 150 colleges and universities, Conservation Science is an original and modern approach to conservation. Gretchen Daily (Stanford University) says it well: "Based on unparalleled, firsthand experience, Kareiva and Marvier explore the innovative approaches to conservation being honed around the world today. Their account is rigorous and engaging, with fresh questions, data, and quantitative analysis interwoven with vivid stories of actual conservation practice in the field." Conservation Science was primarily written primarily for undergraduates and beginning graduate students who are interested either in academic careers or working in conservation at government agencies, non-governmental organizations, or international institutions. ; https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/faculty_books/1032/thumbnail.jpg

"Spatial Ecology addresses the fundamental effects of space on the dynamics of individual species and on the structure, dynamics, diversity, and stability of multispecies communities. Although the ecological world is unavoidably spatial, there have been surprisingly few attempts to determine how explicit considerations of space may alter the predictions of ecological models, or what insights they may give into the causes of broad-scale ecological patterns. As the chapters in this book demonstrate, the spatial structure of a habitat can fundamentally alter both the qualitative and quantitative dynamics and outcomes of ecological processes." "Spatial Ecology is designed to highlight the importance of space to five topical areas: stability, patterns of diversity, invasions, coexistence, and pattern generation. Its aim is to illustrate both the diversity of approaches used to study spatial ecology and the underlying similarities of these approaches."--Jacket

Species invasions are extremely common and are vastly outpacing the ability of resource agencies to address each invasion, one species at a time. Management actions that target the whole landscape or ecosystem may provide more cost‐effective protection against the establishment of invasive species than a species‐by‐species approach. To explore what ecosystem‐level actions might effectively reduce invasions, we developed a multispecies, multihabitat metapopulation model. We assume that species that successfully establish themselves outside their native range tend to be habitat generalists and that a tradeoff exists between competitive ability and habitat breadth, such that habitat specialists are competitively superior to habitat generalists. In this model, habitat destruction, fragmentation, and short‐term disturbances all favor invasion by habitat generalists, despite the inferior competitive abilities of generalist species. Our model results illustrate that providing relatively undisturbed habitat and preventing further habitat degradation and fragmentation can provide a highly cost‐effective defense against invasive species.

The central challenge of the 21st century is to develop economic, social, and governance systems capable of ending poverty and achieving sustainable levels of population and consumption while securing the life-support systems underpinning current and future human well-being. Essential to meeting this challenge is the incorporation of natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides into decision-making. We explore progress and crucial gaps at this frontier, reflecting upon the 10 y since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We focus on three key dimensions of progress and ongoing challenges: raising awareness of the interdependence of ecosystems and human well-being, advancing the fundamental interdisciplinary science of ecosystem services, and implementing this science in decisions to restore natural capital and use it sustainably. Awareness of human dependence on nature is at an all-time high, the science of ecosystem services is rapidly advancing, and talk of natural capital is now common from governments to corporate boardrooms. However, successful implementation is still in early stages. We explore why ecosystem service information has yet to fundamentally change decision-making and suggest a path forward that emphasizes: (i) developing solid evidence linking decisions to impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services, and then to human well-being; (ii) working closely with leaders in government, business, and civil society to develop the knowledge, tools, and practices necessary to integrate natural capital and ecosystem services into everyday decision-making; and (iii) reforming institutions to change policy and practices to better align private short-term goals with societal long-term goals.