Stakeholder Consensus on Conservation Priorities Across Scientific, NGO, and Governmental Sectors

Understanding stakeholder perception is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies. Nevertheless, it is usually unclear which aspects are favored by different actors involved in environmental management. Here, we surveyed 354 stakeholders from 22 countries across the Mediterranean Basin to identify areas of agreement in their preferences. Despite broad variation in individual choices, we found a general consensus emerging across stakeholder groups (scientists, nongovernmental, and governmental organizations) on preferred ecosystem services, biodiversity facets, protected areas characteristics, and their relative importance. Specifically, our model identifies regulating ecosystem services, taxonomic diversity, and intrinsic value of nature as priorities for stakeholders. Conversely, the preferred characteristics of protected areas (e.g., size and accessibility) vary mostly based on individual preferences. We suggest that considering areas of stakeholder agreement when discussing management actions in the Mediterranean Basin will facilitate the adoption of area-based conservation actions expected by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In the Mediterranean Basin, therefore, policymakers should strive to protect areas with high regulating ecosystem services, use taxonomic diversity to engage stakeholders, prioritize ecological targets to different characteristics of protected areas, and maintain the focus of area-based conservation on nature itself. Implementing these action points should enhance support for conservation action in the region.

This research was funded by Biodiversa+, the European Biodiversity Partnership, in the context of the “Biodiversa 2021-421” project under the 2021–2022 Biodiv Protect joint call. It was co-funded by the European Commission (Grant 101052342) and the following funding organizations: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fundación Biodiversidad (Spain), Innovation Fund Denmark (Denmark), General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (Greece), and Dutch Research Council (the Netherlands). We also consider this work a contribution to Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), funded by Danish National Research Foundation (Grant DNRF173 to J.C.S.).