How can we save Earth’s last best places while creating value? Global leaders and the scientific community agree that protecting significant habitats is crucial to addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. Every living organism—flora and fauna—plays a role in sustaining healthy ecosystems.
Rethinking Protection: Beyond National Parks
Conservation today extends beyond traditional national parks. Most wildlands exist within a complex patchwork of national parks, Indigenous territories, and working wildlands—landscapes where conservation and sustainable use must coexist. While 17% of the world’s land is in protected areas, another 17% is managed by Indigenous peoples, often serving as de facto conservation areas with little recognition or support.
The Sabin Center’s Protected Areas Strategy
The Sabin Center aims to bridge the gap between conservation needs and real-world land use challenges. Our approach acknowledges the economic, political, social, and natural factors shaping ecosystems. We foster partnerships among public and private stakeholders, accelerating conservation efforts both in the U.S. and globally.
Investing in Conservation Science
We support conservation by equipping protected areas with scientific resources, expertise, and management strategies. Without solutions that work for people, conservation efforts will ultimately fail.
Real-World Applications: From Yellowstone to Peru
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – We explore innovative ways to census wildlife and provide landowners with tools to coexist with species like wolves and bison while maintaining their livelihoods.
Peru’s National Parks – Led by Senior Fellow Dr. Carol Mitchell, our Science for Parks initiative strengthens the scientific capacity of Peru’s national parks. Partnering with SERNANP and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, we provide park managers with critical research and data to protect biodiversity hotspots like Manu National Park.
Science-Driven Conservation Solutions
Our “Science in Parks” approach uses protected areas as living laboratories to tackle major conservation challenges. We apply advanced tools such as:
- Thermal videography for wildlife monitoring
- Remote sensing for habitat mapping
- AI-powered analytics to improve conservation effectiveness
These innovations help track wildlife populations across three continents and monitor illegal deforestation in the Amazon.
The Future of Conservation
Conservation isn’t just about protecting pristine places—it’s about integrating national parks, community-managed lands, and sustainable-use wildlands into a single, functional network. Achieving this vision requires science-driven management strategies that support both nature and the people who depend on it.