Opportunities for improving conservation early warning and alert systems

Conservation early warning and alert systems (CEAS) provide tremendous opportunities to inform strategic and effective environmental responses. However, these systems are not systematically evaluated based on how they are contributing to conservation outcomes. We survey the current state of systems enabled by satellite monitoring to support tropical forest management and highlight their recent proliferation and the sparse evaluations of these systems in terms of user adoption and application for improving conservation decisions. To guide practitioners, funders and policymakers to choose the appropriate tool for the application, we distinguish two types of CEAS, Rapid Response and Targeted Response, characterized by the user application and the timeframe for decision-making. These tools are distinct from monitoring tools used for policy and planning which require routine, high-accuracy and quantifiable estimates of land cover change. We see a need for more systematic evaluations quantifying their environmental and socioeconomic benefits and improved indicators measuring progress toward achieving conservation outcomes. To inform system developers, we summarize best practices for increasing system adoption and use gleaned from seasoned applications of early warning and alert systems for conservation and humanitarian applications. Engaging diverse stakeholders, building permanent capacity, increasing accessibility and interpretability of the information, and communicating the information value to decision-makers help root these systems into decision-making processes. Incorporating local knowledge and on-the-ground monitoring information from stakeholders can improve alert accuracy while respectfully honoring local knowledge and garnering stakeholder trust in the systems. Strengthening cross-institutional networks, building political support, and allocating adequate resources empower decision-makers to act upon the information. Addressing today's urgent conservation challenges requires linking accessible, trusted and effective CEAS to empowered people taking conservation actions.

Automated summary

The development of existing conservation early warning and alert systems is increasingly thriving, however, their evaluation lacks systematics and requires more research quantifying environmental and socioeconomic benefits. To assist practitioners, funders and policymakers in choosing the appropriate tool for application, the systems have been classified and summarized, emphasizing the best practices for enhancing system adoption and use.