“Acceptance Speech” Frontiers of Knowledge Award 2022 in Ecology and Conservation Biology

Acceptance speech by Lenore Fahrig, winner of the 2022 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology, who was honored alongside Simon Levin and Steward Pickett for their fundamental contributions to spatial ecology. Her research has demonstrated the importance of landscape structure, habitat fragmentation and small natural areas for preserving biodiversity, particularly in landscapes transformed by human activity.

Fahrig reflects on the value of every species and the need to translate scientific knowledge into concrete conservation measures. She explains how her research on habitat loss, roads, agriculture and urbanization has shown that protecting numerous small natural areas can be more beneficial for biodiversity than conserving a few large areas of equivalent total size. She also highlights the importance of local initiatives and calls for greater commitment from powerful actors in society to halt species declines.