Conservation importance of non-threatened species through their direct linkages with nature's contributions to people

Over the last half-century, nature conservation has shifted through several steps from ‘nature for itself’ to ‘nature and people’, corresponding to a new perspective that all species count to ensure ecosystem functioning, and with them that nature's contributions to people (NCPs) are effective and maintained. Yet, despite these conceptual shifts in the academic literature, conservation practices have remained largely focused on threatened species and protected areas. The last Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity insisted on the need to use biodiversity sustainably and ensure nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services for the benefit of present and future generations by 2050. Here, using recently developed tables relating a large number of species observed in the Western Swiss Alps (vascular plants and vertebrates; n = 2066) to 17 key NCPs, we show that focusing on protecting threatened species only does not ensure the maintenance of key NCPs. Our results suggest that all species (threatened or not) need to be considered, in addition to strict conservation of threatened species, to support NCP provision. Similarly, considering all species better supports existing conservation programs. Developing such direct species-NCP relationships more broadly will be needed to support spatial prioritizations and help reach the 2050 GBF goals.