1. Anjali Goswami – Defra: Making effective environmental policies YouTube video by Conservation Evidence

How should governments use evidence to set and deliver biodiversity targets?

Prof. Anjali Goswami FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra, walks through the full policy cycle behind the UK's legally binding biodiversity targets under the Environment Act.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHhn...

🆕 Check out our latest synopsis: global evidence for the effects of interventions to conserve vegetation🌿 in inland aquatic habitats💧

>500 summaries, >370 publications, >200 actions

Interactive version: conservationevidence.com/data/index?s...

PDF version: conservationevidence.com/synopsis/pdf...

Delivering effective conservation practice: the role of funders | About Conservation Evidence Simon Wightman, Patricia Cremona and Sophia Cooke present some key takeaways for funders from our 'Delivering Effective Conservation Practice' mee ...

New blog post 👇

Key takeaways for funders from our recent Delivering Effective Conservation Practice meeting

By @simonwightman.bsky.social (@esmeefairbairn.bsky.social) + Patricia Cremona and @sophia-cooke.bsky.social (Environmental Funders Network)

about.conservationevidence.com/2026/02/12/d...

Biodiversity conservation has an evidence problem — it’s time to fix it Globally, more than one million species are threatened with extinction, but often interventions intended to protect biodiversity are not rooted in robust research. The field has an opportunity to chan...

Nature's latest editorial highlights the "evidence emergency" in conservation.

Inspired by our conference in Cambridge last month. "Stronger evidence for what works and what doesn't is sorely needed."

Great to see our work recognised here 🌍

➡️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Delivering Effective Conservation Practice – a view from a conservation practitioner | About Conservation Evidence Jez Dagley shares his highlights from our recent 'Delivering Effective Conservation Practice' meeting.

New blog post:

Read a conservation practitioner's perspective on our recent Delivering Effective Conservation Practice meeting.

Written by Jez Dagley, Director of Conservation at Essex Wildlife Trust @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social

1. Anjali Goswami - Defra Making effective environmental policies

The videos are now live from our "Delivering Effective Conservation Practice" conference! 🎬

🔗 tinyurl.com/2saph669

150 in the room, 400 online – catch up on all the talks from our fantastic speakers.🌿

Thrilled to welcome Conservation Collective to our Evidence Champions network! 🏆 Conservation Collective are a global network of 21 locally led Foundations supporting grassroots action for nature. They now require grant applicants to consider the evidence behind their proposals. 🌍🙌

🐍 Don't let this eel research slip past you! A decade after 4 million young eels were released into Lake Ontario, a new paper in the Conservation Evidence Journal finds they're still surviving and growing, and locks are helping them bypass "impassable" dams.
bit.ly/3NjAKGn

On Friday 9 January 2026 (10:20 to 17:30), Conservation Evidence, Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), and @CSciPol are hosting a conference on Delivering Effective Conservation Practice.

Register to join online! tinyurl.com/mrxkv4fc

Agenda: tinyurl.com/y2nypf9y

Read Open Access Here!
doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

Our 2026 Horizon Scan is out. 15 emerging issues for conservation — from TinyML transforming wildlife monitoring to weight-loss drugs reshaping land use to mirror biomolecules that don't exist in nature.

We also revisited 2016. One prediction? "Artificial superintelligence." 😅

Weir removal is a positive step in rewilding urban rivers. A research paper by Don Catchment Rivers Trust, co-designed with volunteer citizen scientists, has demonstrated improved river health upstream of a weir removal, through the study of freshwater invertebrate indicators.

Link bit.ly/4o8KrVv

Prioritizing future evidence needs for marine and freshwater mammal conservation action To improve conservation practice, decisions should be informed by the available evidence on the effectiveness of conservation actions. Here, we review the comprehensiveness of this evidence base for ...

Our research reveals a major challenge in aquatic mammal conservation: a biased lack of evidence. Studies are focused on too few regions and species, leaving many threatened animals un-researched. We need to fill these gaps to make conservation effective. dx.doi.org/10.1111/acv....

A world-first study from Paignton Zoo, @plymuni.bsky.social , and collaborators creates an "evidence map" for endangered species care! The database hosts evidence for 424 management interventions. Helping zoos worldwide make decisions based on science. 🦁 Link: doi.org/10.19227/jza... #Conservation

A fascinating new study from Perkins et al. @rspbscotland.bsky.social (published in Conservation Evidence Journal) reveals that autumn-sown 'green manure' crops are doing just that, supporting breeding corn buntings alongside other benefits for farmers! 🌱 🪶

➡️ Read the full story: bit.ly/46mGgPT

Huge welcome to Essex Wildlife Trust @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social! 🎉 They've joined our Evidence Champion programme, showcasing their commitment to evidence-based conservation across their 8,400+ acres! We're thrilled to collaborate for a Wilder Essex.

Coral Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Actions Coral Conservation: Global evidence for the effects of actions provides an essential resource for anyone dedicated to conserving or restoring corals. This comprehensive synthesis of global scientific ...

🪸 Coral Conservation 🪸 bit.ly/42GnYG1 published by @openbookpublish.bsky.social.

🐚 From transplanting fragments onto giant clam shells or bommies

To stimulating 🪸 coral growth using electricity ⚡, establishing MPAs to physically removing coral-eating snails 🐌.

We have summarised the evidence!

BirdLife DataZone | BirdLife DataZone BirdLife International is a world-leader in conservation science. The BirdLife DataZone provides decision-makers and conservation practitioners with biodiversity data, knowledge and tools.

Birdlife International just became an Evidence Champion! 🦜 Their new DataZone now links species directly to Conservation Evidence actions. Science-backed bird conservation at your fingertips! datazone.birdlife.org @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social #conservation

Read the study here: bit.ly/CEJ221825

🚨UK's Voluntary Shift from Lead Shot in Pheasant Hunting Fails🚨

The SHOT-SWITCH research project reveals that despite commitments from UK shooting organizations in 2020 to transition away from lead ammunition by 2025, 99% of wild pheasants are STILL being shot with lead.

Photo shows regrowth on sprayed (left) vs unsprayed (photo copyright Wildlife Trust BCN).

Paper in Conservation Evidence Journal bit.ly/3EXXR5g finds Trico deer repellent spray is effective at reducing deer browsing of hazel coppice with significantly fewer visible signs of browsing and significantly higher average re-growth for sprayed coppice than for an unsprayed control.

Introducing the new Conservation Evidence synopsis: Eel Conservation in Inland Habitats | About Conservation Evidence Vanessa Cutts and Anders Clarhäll explore the fascinating and challenging world of eel conservation

Check out our latest blog post about our newly released synopsis about eel conservation! How can we best conserve these mysterious and fascinating creatures?

about.conservationevidence.com/2025/02/27/i...

Butterfly and moth conservation: results from a global synopsis of evidence - Journal of Insect Conservation Butterflies and moths face a range of anthropogenic threats with many of the best-studied populations in decline. In response, butterfly and moth conservation programmes are implementing a diverse set...

Review of the butterfly and moth research on actions shows most evidence covers butterfly conservation, focuses on community-level responses, originates from UK and USA, from studies using least robust designs, assesses actions about agriculture.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

➡️ If you have time to speak to the team or answer some questions by email please reach out to our team here: iteamscambridgece@gmail.com

Thank you in advance.

A picture of the Conservation Evidence Team

Hello!

With a group of @cambridgeuni.bsky.social students we are exploring the development of a tool to help create and evaluate Biodiversity Net Gain management plans to help people find the evidence they need to make these effective and deliverable. We want to know what you think!

📢 New research shows at the end of a five year voluntary transition from lead to non-lead shotgun ammunition ...

ALL red grouse tested contained lead shot ❗

➡️ Paper by Green et al. in the Conservation Evidence Journal bit.ly/40MS6hR finds.

Excited to share the new Conservation Evidence Toolkit!
A guide to a collection of tools 🛠️ and resources 📃for embedding evidence in conservation and improving practice. Tools were co-designed with practitioners, funders, policymakers.
Download here: tinyurl.com/CEevidencetool

Approaches for integrating evidence of the effectiveness of actions in conservation funding to inspire more effective practice Snow leopards, like many predators, are threatened by retaliatory killings by livestock herders. Conservation interventions, such as predator-proof corrals, are widely used to reduce the threats of p....

Conservation funders urged to embrace evidence-based approaches for greater biodiversity recovery. 🌱 ⬆️

New research by 18 global wildlife conservation funders encourages evidence-based decision making when awarding grants.

To read the full paper, visit: doi.org/10.1002/2688...

The journey to evidence-based practice Four of our Evidence Champion organisations share insights from their transition to evidence-based conservation

🚨News Flash! Bill Sutherland is speaking at @britishecolsoc.bsky.social about revolutionizing conservation with the power of evidence! 💪🌱Check out our latest blog featuring stories from our evidence champions on how they're using evidence. ✨ #BES2024 tinyurl.com/EviCham

How can we ensure that businesses engaging with biodiversity actually deliver for nature? 🤔

Our new blog post by Dr Tom White argues that we need evidence-based action to achieve this. 💪
tinyurl.com/CEBlogCE