In the United States, a link has been established between elected Republicans and the destruction of protected area

Article by Philippe Delacote, Derya Keles (BETA, INRAE) and Gwenolé Le Velly (CEE-M, Montpellier SupAgro) published on The Conversation on 22 October 2024.

What happens to biodiversity when different political families come to power? In the run-up to the US presidential elections, the issues raised by this question take on particular importance. Our research shows that when Republicans govern at the local level, the downgrading, reduction or elimination of protected areas becomes more likely. But to understand how we arrived at this result, let’s go back to basics: what is the purpose of a protected area, and what generally threatens them?

This article takes up the results of a recent publication:

Le Velly, G., Delacote P. , Golden Kroner R. E. , Keles D. , and Pfaff A. (2024). Politics driving efforts to reduce biodiversity conservation in the United States. Ecology and Society 29(3):27.  https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15338-290327