Identification of 100 Questions of High Relevance for the Conservation of Mediterranean Biodiversity in North Africa

The project in brief

• The Mediterranean region is a hotspot of biodiversity, facing multiple environmental threats and socio-economic challenges. Researchers, who have a key role in providing solutions for the conservation of biodiversity, also need to be able to answer questions that are of interest to policy makers and land managers. Therefore, identifying the top questions that need to be answered, is essential to guide scientific research, in a way that optimises nature protection, while meeting societal demands.
• Within the scope of a joint initiative of the African and European sections of the Society for Conservation Biology, we seek through this project to identify 100 priority questions, that if answered, could increase the success of conservation actions targeted at Mediterranean biodiversity in North Africa.
• Based on an adaptation of the approach developed by William J. Sutherland, questions are collected, in an anonymous way, from specialists from a wide range of institutions (universities, consultancy firms, NGOs etc.) and having expertise in the region. Participants are recruited through a variety of ways, including invitation e-mails, phone calls, meetings in person etc. For those who opt for the online tools, the consultations are made essentially via the form embedded at the bottom of the page.
• Classified into thematic categories, submitted questions will be organised, reformulated where necessary, and discussed with a committee of experts. Narrowed down to 100 research questions, the final list will be compared with the one obtained from South European Mediterranean countries. Finally, a paper will be prepared in order to be published in an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal.

For more details about this exercise and the methodology used, please read the PDF document: Project Guidelines (version 03-10-2017).