A horizon scan of biological conservation issues for 2026
We present outcomes from our 17th horizon scan of issues potentially impacting global biodiversity conservation in the next decade. Issues are novel, or represent a significant step-change in impact, and are currently not well-known or understood within the conservation community. Our panel of 26 scientists, practitioners, and policymakers scored an initial list of 96 issues, discussed the highest ranked 35 issues at a workshop, and identified the 15 top-ranked issues. This year, technology innovations, including low-power optic artificial intelligence (AI) chips and tiny machine learning (TinyML) models, could revolutionize biodiversity monitoring. We highlight impacts from changes in land-use driven by appetite-suppressing pharmaceuticals and the unknown effects of mirror biomolecules. Highlighting these issues may increase awareness of any impacts on global biodiversity conservation.
Authors
- James E. M. Watson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4942-1984)
- Nigel Doar
- Anastasiya Timoshyna
- Jeremy D. Wilson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7485-5878)
- Luke Maggs
- Nathalie Pettorelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1594-6208)
- Mark Spalding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-4533)
- Ann Thornton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7448-8497)
- Lloyd S. Peck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3479-6791)
- Jonathan Wentworth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4293-9220)
- James E. Herbert‐Read (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0243-4518)
- Daniel J. Field (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1786-0352)
- Nicolas Tubbs
- Stuart H. M. Butchart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1140-4049)
- Thiago Kanashiro Uehara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0888-2605)
- Irene R Schloss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5917-8925)
- James W. Pearce‐Higgins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1341-5080)
- Kevin J. Gaston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7235-7928)
- Hermanni Kaartokallio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3650-4628)
- Helen Doran
- William J. Sutherland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6498-0437)
- Stewart J. Clarke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0281-381X)
- Erica Fleishman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4435-3134)
- James E. Palardy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8347-7108)
- Imogen C Douglas
Institutions
- Pew Charitable Trusts (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- British Antarctic Survey (GB)
- Zoological Society of London (GB)
- Natural England (GB)
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (GB)
- Natural Environment Research Council (GB)
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (GB)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Finnish Environment Institute (FI)
- Welsh Government (GB)
- Wildlife Trusts (GB)
- National University of Tierra del Fuego (AR)
- Parliament of United Kingdom (GB)
- Horizon House (US)
- National Trust (GB)
- Conservation Leadership Programme (GB)
- BirdLife international (GB)
- Flanders' Food (Belgium) (BE)
- British Trust for Ornithology (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Trends in Ecology & Evolution
- Published
- 2025-12-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.10.016
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.84
Funders
- Pew Charitable Trusts
- Cambridge Conservation Initiative
- Christ's College, University of Cambridge