ABSTRACT
Challenges in the conservation of biological resources, by virtue of their complexity, demand multidisciplinary approaches and cooperation among a range of experts. Conservation of biological resources has to become a more pluralistic endeavor, embracing a variety of points-of-view, a variety of socioeconomic groups, a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and a variety of promising new tools. Predictive power is an attribute of a mature science and an essential goal toward which science should strive, especially in the context of managing and conserving scarce biological resources. Keeping and sharpening our powers of objectivity and observation, and our associated capacities to collect, interpret, and manage information, and teaching those skills to volunteers and youth, will be essential to meeting future challenges in the conservation of biological resources. The traditional view that basic research occupies a superior position to applied research, and that research is education and application, is a barrier to successful conservation action.
