Conflicting goals for conserving biodiversity: Issues of scale and value

Differing conservation values create a multiplicity of goals toward which conservation activities are directed. Multiple and differing goals also are inherent in conservation at differing spatial and temporal scales. In many cases these different goals result in management actions that are complementary and that simultaneously benefit many species and habitats. In contrast, there are instances in which conservation for one set of values, or at one spatial scale, suggests a management action that would violate other conservation goals. I define the goals and value systems used to support biological conservation and present three cases where differing conservation objectives conflict. Specifically, I address how (1) a proposed translocation of an endangered species outside its historic range, to prevent its extinction, would violate the historic integrity of the recipient community; (2) the use of fire, to maintain plant community composition in grasslands, may threaten native insect biodiversity; and (3) assisting the process of long-distance seed dispersal, to aid plant-range shifts disrupted by anthropogenic climate warming, would violate the integrity of recipient plant communities. While examples of conflicting goals are not hard to describe, they are hard to resolve and pose challenges to conservation biology that are not adequately addressed at the present time. Increased use of goal-setting would improve our ability to explicitly measure the success of conservation projects. Failure to set priorities and goals in conservation management implies a misplaced faith in the balance of nature.