Synthesis: The present and future of translational ecology

Background/Question/Methods

In 2005, the ESA Visions committee produced a report calling for changes in research perspectives.  The committee also proposed action plans that included building effective partnerships with natural resource managers and producing knowledge that would better inform policies. There are many explanations for why science may play only a small role in shaping environmental policy, not the least of which are competing objectives such as short term economic gains or special interests.  However there are other explanations that point toward the scientific community.  

Results/Conclusions

I will suggest it is time that we dramatically broaden the community of scholars that tackle environmental problems by going well beyond the natural sciences and even beyond social science fields that are now within the collaborative comfort zone of environmental scientists (e.g., economics).  With this expanded group, we must then experiment with turning the tables and asking policy-makers and policy-influencers what they need from the scientific community, we must focus on identifying the pathways of solution instead of the processes leading to the problems, and we must ensure our research questions are co-defined by much a broader array of scholars working together with policy groups at the outset.  I will describe various ways in which we can begin to do this “actionable science” and what the potential outcomes might be.