Biodiversity clock and conservation triangle: Integrative platform for biodiversity monitoring, evaluation, and preemptive conservation intervention

Abstract

Business-as-usual is no more an option on the table for biodiversity conservation. Disruptive transformation at both policy and polity levels are pressing needs. The possibilities presented by the current wave of information and communication technology can act as travelators to meet the conservation targets. Here, we introduce twin concepts of biodiversity clock and conservation triangle that posit as convergence plane to seamlessly consolidate ongoing discrete efforts and convey real-time biodiversity information in a lucid schematic form. In its present form, the biodiversity clock depicts 12 ecological and 6 biophysical components. The universal consistency in clock-reading facilitates the biodiversity clock to be read and interpreted identically across the world. A ternary plot of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) species conservation status is presented as the conservation triangle. Together, the biodiversity clock and the conservation triangle are invaluable in strategizing biodiversity conservation, post-2020. Leveraged smartly, they make possible pre-emptive intervention for biodiversity conservation.