This study finds that if future development is planned without consideration of nature, land demands for renewable energy and agriculture could impact nearly 1 million km2 of high-priority conservation areas, the habitats of 440 threatened species, and 21 Gt of carbon. The authors map out real opportunities for planners and governments to intentionally coordinate multi-sector land use planning and mitigate potential carbon and habitat loss.

The author unpacks how conservation priorities shift when we look beyond species ranges to functional diversity and life-history traits. Functional hotspots often don't overlap with areas of high species richness, so integrating these metrics helps planners maintain ecological function, not just species presence. This can result in more resilient conservation strategies.

Human-wildlife conflict is likely to shift with climate change. The authors map out likely shifts of human wildlife conflict, so that conservationists and wildlife managers can choose where allocate mitigation and conservation resources for conflict-prone species and regions. This analysis examines how projected climate change, shifts in agricultural footprint, and changes in human population may affect the distribution and intensity of conflict with Asian and African elephants.