Thomas Pienkowski
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tom-pienkowski.bsky.social
Thomas Pienkowski
@tom-pienkowski.bsky.social
Interested in the science of scaling conservation for nature and human health: https://tinyurl.com/5acvp2eu

Sharing Space for Nature Research Fellow @dice-kent.bsky.social

Previously at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social and @ox.ac.uk
@mattcscience.bsky.social absolutely smashing an interview on ABC News Australia about our new paper on conservation abandonment

šŸ“„ Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... (email me for a copy if needed, t.pienkowski[at]kent.ac.uk)

šŸ”“ Open pre-print: osf.io/preprints/so...
November 13, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Thomas Pienkowski
Co-authored by Imperial's @tom-pienkowski.bsky.social , Matthew Clark, Cecylia Watrobska & @morenamills.bsky.social the @ic-cep.bsky.social, the research warns that the failure to sustain existing conservation efforts could jeopardise international biodiversity & climate goals.

ow.ly/NQ3N50Xqoba
Imperial study highlights overlooked crisis of conservation abandonment | Imperial News | Imperial College London
As COP 30 gets underway today in Belem, Brazil, Imperial researchers warn about the abandonment of conservation initiatives.
ow.ly
November 12, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Thomas Pienkowski
Massive cross-institutional paper out today, bringing in almost 40 co-authors across 20 institutions and 9 countries šŸŒ. Led by @tom-pienkowski.bsky.social.
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Diagnosing scaling bottlenecks in 10 community conservation initiatives in southern and eastern Africa
Scaling area-based conservation, including initiatives led or comanaged by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is a flagship goal of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Conserva....
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 12, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Very pleased to share this paper, fantastically led by @hollieboothie - a rare example of an #RCT of incentive-based conservation intervention. I think this paper is a textbook example of why they are valuable: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Conservation impacts and hidden actions in a randomized controlled trial of a marine pay-to-release program
Pay-to-release program encouraged live release of endangered marine taxa but led some fishers to increase catches of those taxa.
www.science.org
April 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Just seen this new study in @thelancet.bsky.social. Great bit of work. Shocking results: "Palestinian Ministry of Health underreported deaths due to violence by 41% and that 3% of the population has died due to violence"
www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/n...

Full paper: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Gaza: 64,000 deaths due to violence between October 2023 and June 2024, analysis suggests | LSHTM
An independent study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) suggests the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza underreported the death toll due to violence by ap...
www.lshtm.ac.uk
January 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
8/n Check out our plain language summary here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10..... Shout out to collaborators, including the Catalyzing Conservation group (Morena Mills, Matt Clark… ), University of SĆ£o Paulo (Pedro Brancalion…), and the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact.
Spatial predictors of landowners' engagement in the restoration of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
7/n We discuss strategies for accelerating engagement. Eg, cross-party agreements to ensure the persistence of environmental legislation across administrations. Targeted incentives – such as better small-scale finance and improved land tenure – to better engage smallholders in the poorest regions.
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
6/n However, smaller landowners and those in poorer areas risk being marginalised from the Atlantic Forest restoration agenda, highlighting the need for more inclusive and equitable restoration strategies.
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
5/n These patterns suggest that landowners are influenced by a combination of economic incentives, legal requirements, and support from restoration organizations. Larger landowners, who may have more resources and face greater pressure to comply with environmental laws, are more likely to restore...
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
4/n Landowners with large properties and high cattle densities are more likely to restore. Properties with water bodies or near urban areas are also more likely to be restored. On the other hand, properties in remote, rugged, less populated, and poorer regions are less likely to be restored.
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
3/n We combined data from over 220,000 farms and restoration documented by the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact, drawing on insights from Diffusion of Innovations Theory, in a large spatial analysis.
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
2/n We wanted to know why some landowners in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil – a globally important biodiversity hotspot – choose to restore forests while others do not. Exploring such drivers can help inform more effective and socially equitable restoration scaling strategies.
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
1/n New paper relevant to those interested in scaling forest restoration: Spatial predictors of landowners' engagement in the restoration of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (doi.org/10.1002/pan3...)
January 9, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Over the next few weeks, I plan to post some of the work I've been involved in over the last year that I've been most excited about!
January 9, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Very much enjoying my first week as a Sharing Space for Nature Research Fellow at Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (@dice-kent.bsky.social). In the theme of new pastures, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to switch over to here!
January 9, 2025 at 9:52 AM