Data, politics, and funding cause uncertainty for conservation practitioners

Abstract

Choosing management actions to protect biodiversity requires decisiveness amidst complexity. To identify barriers to effective conservation, we asked over 150 conservation practitioners working with the Canadian federal and provincial/territorial governments, non‐government organizations, and private industry about their experience with uncertainty when making decisions. Using inductive thematic coding, we identified that “data,” “resources”, and “governance” ranked as the most significant sources of uncertainty for respondents. Practitioners also proposed solutions that would reduce their uncertainty, which included improved funding processes, better collaboration, changes to governance processes, and the use of data and evidence in decision‐making. Conservation practitioners consistently mentioned elements of uncertainty that exist outside of their immediate control, indicating that substantial uncertainty in conservation decision‐making occurs due to broader dynamics in governance and society.