Watershed Valuation Case Studies
Many montane protected areas provide abundant, clean water that is valuable for human consumption, irrigation, hydro-electric production, industrial production, ecological processes and other uses. The intention of watershed valuation projects is to help local actors recognize the importance of these natural areas and take action to protect them, in order to ensure the integrity of [...]
Miradi – Improving Managment through Innovative Software
FOS—along with other members of the Conservation Measures Partnership and Benetech— is helping to lead the design and roll-out of Miradi Adaptive Management Software for Conservation Projects. Miradi is a user-friendly program that allows nature conservation practitioners to design, manage, monitor, and learn from their projects to more effectively meet their conservation goals. The program [...]
Measuring Conservation Impact
FOS strives to foster learning within the conservation community. We took this to heart with our own work when we undertook the Measuring Conservation Impact study, starting in 2002. This study—based on a review of over 300 publications—documented the evolution of approaches to monitoring and evaluation in the fields of conservation, international development, public health, [...]
Research
In order to continuously improve the practice of conservation, practitioners and researchers must generate new knowledge and insights on what makes for successful interventions. FOS uses applied research to answer a specific question, determine why something failed or succeeded, or solve a specific, pragmatic problem. In contrast, basic research is conducted without reference to a particular operational need. For FOS, applied research is the engine that drives innovation.