The loss of biodiversity around the globe has been well documented, and immediate
causes–such as deforestation–are fairly well understood. Yet insufficient effort has
gone toward understanding the forces that drive individuals and nations to make choices
that sometimes run counter to their long-term interests and destroy biodiversity in the
process. A complex interplay of factors shapes these choices at all political, social,
and economic levels. To stem the global loss of biodiversity, it is important that we
understand how various factors influence these decisions.
"Root causes" analysis is about understanding the inherent complexity and multiplicity
of factors driving unsustainable environmental degradation and development approaches.
Through ten case studies, the MPO's Root Causes project is gaining knowledge to help
policy makers––and the international community–develop applicable solutions to limit
the loss of biological resources on which human communities depend.
Root Causes case studies analyze the underlying forces that drive biodiversity loss.
Through the highly disciplined work of a range of experts within each host country,
these case studies can help point out the failures of unsustainable policies and the
unintended consequences of otherwise sound policies.
Root Causes is designed to take the work of biodiversity conservation in a new
direction. Conservation efforts have long focused on specific geographic instances of
biodiversity loss and the local factors that drive it. Broader influences–such as
economic or social policies at the national or even international level–have gained
less attention because the links to biodiversity loss are harder to establish and
because fundamental policy changes are much harder to achieve.
But several years of discussion between the WWF-MPO and representatives of the Global
Environmental Facility (GEF) and other international donor organizations have led to a
commitment to draw a strategic approach to address root causes. The knowledge gained
through these studies will help the WWF