Protected areas and the future of insect conservation

Anthropogenic pressures are driving insect declines across the world. Although protected areas (PAs) play a prominent role in safeguarding many vertebrate species from human-induced threats, insects are not widely considered when designing PA systems or building strategies for PA management. We review the effectiveness of PAs for insect conservation and find substantial taxonomic and geographic gaps in knowledge. Most research focuses on the representa-tion of species, and few studies assess threats to insects or the role that effective PA management can play in insect conservation. We propose a four-step research agenda to help ensure that insects are central in efforts to expand the global PA network under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Automated summary

Anthropogenic pressures are causing a decline in insect populations worldwide. Protected areas, which are important for safeguarding vertebrates, have not focused much on insect conservation. There is a lack of knowledge on the effectiveness of protected areas for insect conservation, especially regarding threats and management strategies. The authors propose a research agenda to prioritize insects in expanding the global protected area network.