Measuring Development 2025: Biodiversity on Land and at Sea (In Person)

Human flourishing depends on biodiversity: the animals, plants, and other living organisms whose functions make Earth habitable and whose existence holds intrinsic value. New data and applications make this an exciting moment to identify conservation solutions and set priorities for advancing biodiversity measurement. Doing so will enable more effective conservation of the wildlife on which people depend.

The World Bank and the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) are excited to explore this topic at our 11th annual Measuring Development (MeasureDev) Conference, “Biodiversity on Land and at Sea.” The conference will feature presentations that span the biodiversity measurement universe: from efforts to improve and expand available data, to innovative methods for estimating the causal effects of conservation policies. The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners who are shaping the future of biodiversity conservation and its integration into sustainable development strategies.

We welcome early-stage works-in-progress with limited or pending results, as well as completed papers and projects. This year, MeasureDev is calling for presentations on biodiversity data and causal inference, including but not limited to:

Efforts to create or collate terrestrial, marine, or freshwater wildlife data, especially:

• Data permitting consistent comparisons over time and multiple locations
• Estimates of abundances or mortality rates for wildlife populations in developing countries
• New fishing effort data
• Wildlife consumption data
• Harmonization of satellite, camera trap, drone, or citizen science data

Evaluations of conservation policies or interventions, such as:

• Effects of fisheries regulations on fishing rates or fish populations
• Demand reduction, alternative livelihoods, or law enforcement interventions to decrease hunting rates or human consumption of wildlife
• Habitat restoration or connectivity
• Alternative protected area management models such as co-management between governments and Indigenous groups or private non-governmental organizations
• Payments to local communities conditional on wildlife population abundances

Projects and research on attitudes toward wildlife and the effects of conservation policy on people, including:

• Measurement of human-wildlife conflict and evaluations of interventions to mitigate human-wildlife conflict
• Benefits and costs of wildlife and protected area tourism

Please keep an eye out for our full agenda in the coming weeks!

Host or Publisher Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA)