Mission

The mission of CABS is to strengthen the ability of CI and other institutions to accurately identify and quickly respond to the emerging threats to Earth's biological diversity. CABS brings together leading experts in science and technology to collect and interpret data about biodiversity, to develop strategic plans for conservation, to forge key partnerships in all sectors toward conservation goals, and to promote public awareness and involvement in facing the challenges of saving the planet's living resources.

Science in Conservation

Conservation of our planet's diversity of species and ecosystems is imperative for a multitude of reasons. We know that human populations and consumption now dominate most ecosystems. In turn, we know that this encroachment is dramatically accelerating rates of species extinction. We also have increasing evidence telling us that biodiversity leads to ecosystem stability. Nevertheless, we still have much to learn about why the world contains such enormous natural diversity, about how species diversity plays a role in ecosystem stability, and about what impacts the loss of this biodiversity will have.

To address these unknowns, conservation must turn to science. As in the practice of medicine, conservation needs highly skilled scientists who can provide early and accurate diagnoses, prescriptions for urgent actions, and long-term research. The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, signed by 175 countries, reflects a growing global consensus of the importance of biodiversity on maintaining the planet's life-support systems. Politicians and economists are finally learning that there is an unequivocal deadline for saving the planet. Hence, conservation scientists are rapidly collecting and compiling accurate information to help decision-makers conserve the most precious and most endangered areas on the planet, our global biodiversity hotspots. The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS), a division of Conservation International, is working to provide this guiding information.

Through collaborations with universities, research centers, multilateral government and non-governmental organizations, CABS is tackling the urgent, global scale questions of conservation science. CABS researchers are using state-of-the-art technology to collect data, consult with other experts around the world, and disseminate results. In this way, CABS research acts as an early warning system by identifying the most threatened areas before they are destroyed. In addition, CABS provides tools and resources toscientists and decisions-makers to support them in conducting further research and in making sound choices about how best to protect the hotspots. By providing the scientific underpinnings for conservation solutions, CABS also provides guidance to Conservation International in its larger efforts to demonstrate that human societies can live harmoniously with nature.