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The Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology
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CV
PhD research entitled "Maximising awareness and fundraising for environmental conservation through the expansion and optimization of the flagship species concept" Supervisors: Professor Douglas MacMillan and Dr Bob Smith Human activity is the main driver of the current worldwide decline in biodiversity. Facing severe funding limitations, conservationists depend largely on raising awareness and funds. An important strategic tool in this respect are ‘flagship species’ which have been successfully used to raise funds from the conservation audience in developed countries and, increasingly, to raise awareness among local communities. This project will apply methods from biology, economics and anthropology to develop a more systematic approach to explore the potential of the ‘flagship’ concept by i) identifying the key attributes of a successful flagship; ii) investigating new potential target audiences and iii) exploring how the concept can be used to target new conservation targets such as ‘ecosystem services’ and less charismatic animal groups. This knowledge will allow for the maximisation of awareness and fundraising for biodiversity conservation.
Publications Smith, R.J., Veríssimo, D. & MacMillan, D.C. (2010) Marketing and conservation in N. Leader-Williams, W. Adams, and R. Smith, editors. Trade-offs in conservation: Deciding what to save. Blackwells, Oxford, UK. in press. Smith, R.J., Veríssimo, D., Leader-Williams, N., Knight, A.T., Cowling, R.M. (2009) Let the locals lead. Nature, 462, 280-281. Veríssimo, D, Fraser, I., Groombridge, J.J., Bristol, R. & MacMillan, D.C. (2009). Birds as tourism flagship species: a case study of tropical islands. Animal Conservation, 12, 549-558. Veríssimo, D, MacMillan, DC & Smith, RJ (2011). Towards a systematic approach for identifying conservation flagships. Conservation Letters, 4, 1-8.
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