Research Focus: Ecological and conservation implications of illicit and unregulated species translocations
What environmental challenge does your research tackle?
Biodiversity is showing a general trend of decline, with risks for people and ecosystems. In response to this decline, conservation translocations have become increasingly used, and these are the movement of species from one area to another for conservation benefit. When done right, they can have positive results for biodiversity, allowing species to return back to places where they once lived. However, a small minority of people have been releasing species illicitly or without following any of the guidelines or regulations. This has a range of consequences, both for the environment an for human societies. Gabriel’s research seeks to explore these consequences and understand why people release species illicitly or without following regulations.
What is one thing you would like everyone to know about your project?
I would like everyone to know that these illicit and unregulated species translocations are often quietly happening all around us, and they’re reshaping ecosystems and human relationships with nature, with both positive and negative
consequences, yet we still know so little about them.