In recent decades, the distribution of funds intended for the conservation of biodiversity it was strongly unbalanced in favor of some speciesto the detriment of many others equally threatened. A recent study conducted by the universities of Hong Kong and Florence, published in the prestigious magazine Pnasanalyzed beyond 14,500 conservation projects financed between 1992 and 2016, revealing a worrying picture: most of the resources were intended for vertebrateswhile many other fundamental species for ecosystems have remained without adequate support.
According to the data collected, of the $ 1,963 billion allocated for conservation, 82.9% was assigned to the vertebrates, with a strong preference for the Large mammals and for the most iconic species, such as elephants and sea turtles.
On the contrary, Amphibians, invertebrates, plants and mushrooms They receive clearly lower funding, despite their crucial role in ecological balances. In particular the amphibiansamong the vertebrates most at risk of extinction, they obtained less than 2% of the total funds available. Plants and invertebrates, who received each one only 6.6% of resources. Even worse is the situation for mushrooms and algae they stopped at less than 0.2%.
Because this happens
This disproportion depends in part on Cultural and perceptive factors. Animals considered little attractive or dangeroussuch as bats, snakes, lizards and numerous insects (with the exception of butterflies), are neglected in funding, despite their fundamental role in ecosystems.
However, protect only some species without guaranteeing the survival of the others compromises the effectiveness of conservation. As the study authors point out, it makes no sense to safeguard an animal without also protecting the plants and other organisms of which they feed or contribute to its survival.
The National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC)the first Italian research center on biodiversity, supported this research, which highlights the need for a change of approach. Experts suggest not only to increase the funds intended for conservation, but also to distribute them in more fairlybased on scientific criteria and on the real needs for the protection of the most threatened species. Only with a more inclusive strategy will it be possible to guarantee effective protection of biodiversity and preserve ecosystems as a whole.
