A global analysis of the bidirectional relationship between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction

Biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction are globally interlinked and increasingly addressed together to achieve sustainable development. Amid diverse interventions and scarce funding, it is imperative to examine their bidirectional relationship to guide resource allocation. We conduct a global analysis by disaggregating the interaction between 29 kinds of conservation actions and 6 dimensions of poverty (livelihood capitals), using data from 473 cases containing 952 trials across 67 countries. We find that the impact of biodiversity conservation on poverty reduction (conservation-poverty relationship) exhibits a stable pattern of approximately 55% positive, 25% negative, and 20% non-significant outcomes across time, regions, and methods. Outcomes vary across poverty dimensions and are shaped by the scale at which interventions are designed and assessed. In contrast, the impact of poverty reduction on biodiversity conservation (poverty-conservation relationship) lacks sufficient intervention-based evidence to indicate a consistent outcome pattern. We specifically identify conservation interventions associated with the most poverty reduction benefits and risks, noting that no interventions entirely ‘do no harm’. Our findings suggest that trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction are structurally embedded in their multidimensional interactions. These trade-offs signify necessary negotiation spaces and adaptive management rather than policy defeat. This synthesis provides an evidence base for more strategic, resource-efficient decision-making under global funding constraints.