Theory for global biodiversity conservation (2006-2011)

The world is losing its biodiversity at an alarming rate. We will use decision theory tools to devise efficient solutions for three pressing national and global problems. We will work with international agencies to determine how to allocate scarce conservation dollars amongst regions with high concentrations of biodiversity to maximise the number of species saved. We will develop entirely new theory that embeds environmental monitoring within a decision theory framework so that information gain and environmental management are simultaneously optimised. We will incorporate the possibility of catastrophes into marine conservation theory and tools so that whole systems of marine reserves are more resilient and more cost efficient.