Site Optimization for a Dual Crisis: Co-Prioritizing Carbon and Biodiversity to Improve Conservation Impact in Indonesia

Authors

Saskia BradenFollow

Publication Date

2025

Placement

Honorable Mention

Class Year

2025

Department

Environmental Studies

Advisor

Dr. Robert Mendelsohn

Abstract

As the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss accelerate and human expansion reshapes the planet, calls to preserve Earth’s remaining wilderness have grown more urgent. However, in the race to protect as much as possible, as fast as possible, society risks missing what matters most. Not all conservation sites are equally valuable, and without strategic prioritization, limited resources may be squandered while critical ecosystems disappear. Few places illustrate this challenge as vividly as Indonesia: a rainforest nation that is home to some of the richest biodiversity and densest forest carbon stores on Earth but where conservation efforts are constrained by intensive land use pressures and limited resources. This essay examines how carbon and biodiversity co-prioritization could improve the efficiency and impact of Indonesia’s protection efforts. GIS spatial analysis, supplemented with insights from literature reviews and interviews with on-the-ground stakeholders, explores the overlaps between carbon storage, biodiversity value and existing conservation sites to identify Indonesia’s most valuable areas. This study finds that carbon and biodiversity are not strongly co-located. Existing conservation efforts, both legally designated protected areas and forest carbon projects, are largely misaligned with the highest value conservation areas, possibly due to political, financial, and logistical barriers. However, a site-selection strategy that co-prioritizes high carbon density and high biodiversity value could protect half of Indonesia’s most biodiverse areas and substantial carbon stocks on just 5% of its land. This essay’s findings reveal opportunities for future conservation efforts that are intentional, co-prioritized, and creative. It offers a model for data-driven site selection that could improve the efficiency and impact of protection efforts in Indonesia and other ecologically rich regions around the world.

Recommended Citation

Braden, Saskia, "Site Optimization for a Dual Crisis: Co-Prioritizing Carbon and Biodiversity to Improve Conservation Impact in Indonesia" (2025). Library Map Prize. 22.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/library_map_prize/22