Popular causes not necessarily best

Conservation policies favoring keystone animal species are insufficient to conserve the world’s biodiversity because many of these target animals don’t live in the world’s most biodiverse spots: lowland tropical forests under pressure from agriculture, logging, and other human activities. “We need a completely different approach to conservation, particularly if these [tropical forest] plants are proxy for overall biodiversity,” said former Arnold Arboretum director and Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry Emeritus Peter Ashton.

Ashton made the comments as the kickoff speaker in the Harvard Museum of Natural History lecture series “Plants Matter” on Tuesday (Oct. 16) in the Geological Lecture Hall.

Ashton used conservation efforts on the heavily deforested island of Borneo, where he spent years doing fieldwork, to illustrate his point.

Today, organizations are looking to conserve remnant upland forests in Borneo’s mountains as habitat for a variety of animal species. The effort is a reflection of a widespread emphasis on conservation of wide-ranging birds and mammals popular with the public. The reasoning of these programs, he said, is that by conserving these animals, they’ll also conserve their habitats, helping less-charismatic plants, animals, insects, and fungi.