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Published on: December 9, 2012
Guidelines for systematic review in conservation and environmental management
Andrew S Pullin1, Gavin B Stewart
1Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation, School of Biosciences, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. a.s.pullin@bham.ac.uk
Summary
Systematic reviews offer significant benefits for conservation decision-making. Further engagement is needed to develop and adopt evidence-based frameworks for environmental management.
Area of Science:
- Environmental science
- Conservation biology
- Ecology
Background:
- Applied disciplines increasingly use evidence-based frameworks for policy and management interventions.
- Evidence-based frameworks aim for efficient and unbiased decision-making through accessible research findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To advocate for the adoption of systematic review frameworks in conservation.
- To present guidelines for conducting systematic reviews adapted for conservation and environmental management.
Main Methods:
- Developed guidelines for systematic reviews based on a health services model.
- Included stages for protocol formation, search strategy, data inclusion, extraction, and analysis.
- Highlighted modifications for ecological data through case studies, addressing quantity, accessibility, and quality challenges.
Main Results:
- Ecological data presents unique but manageable challenges for systematic reviews.
- Guidelines were critically modified for protocol formulation, data quality assessment, extraction, and synthesis.
- A Web-based open-access library is planned for review dissemination.
Conclusions:
- Systematic reviews offer substantial benefits for conservation and environmental management.
- Increased scientific and practitioner engagement is crucial for developing and implementing evidence-based frameworks.
- Further systematic reviews are needed to fully realize the potential of evidence-based conservation.
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