Monash University researchers are calling for a new global strategy to improve insect conservation in tropical regions, where over 80% of insect species live. Current conservation efforts are often based on data from temperate zones, creating a significant knowledge gap. The team identified four major barriers to effective conservation and proposes a framework combining scientific studies with local expertise, museum records, citizen science, social media, and new technologies.
Insects are vital to ecosystems, agriculture, and food production, pollinating over 80 percent of wild plant species and serving as food for 60 percent of bird species. Despite their importance, and evidence of declining populations, they are underrepresented in biodiversity monitoring, protected areas, and conservation policy. Dr. Shawan Chowdhury, head of the Global Change Ecology Lab at Monash University's School of Biological Sciences, led the international research published in *BioScience*.
The research team identified four key problems hindering tropical insect conservation: poor visibility of existing research, severe data gaps, inadequate scientific infrastructure, and insufficient conservation action. Dr. Chowdhury stated, “More than 80 percent of insect species occur in the tropics, yet these are the very places where we have some of the biggest gaps in our knowledge. We cannot effectively conserve species if we don't know what is there, where populations are changing, or even where important existing knowledge can be found.” He further emphasized that insects are “fundamental to functioning ecosystems and food production, but they remain dramatically underrepresented in biodiversity monitoring, protected areas and conservation policy.”
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