Research in Action

rolling green hills
Scientists from the Center for Conservation and Sustainability use sustainable infrastructure and mitigation hierarchy guidelines to preserve biodiversity around the globe.

Case Studies

Reducing a Pipeline’s Impact on Biodiversity in the Andes

CCS scientists worked with a gas company to monitor, assess and restore biodiversity around a pipeline that crossed more than 248 miles (400 kilometers) of inter-Andean landscapes.

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Restoring Life-supporting Andean Wetlands

A private company wanted to develop a gas pipeline in Peru that would cross hundreds of kilometers of coastal and Andean habitats, including bofedales, with minimal impact to these critical wetlands. CCS scientists designed a Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Program for the project, and in the process, discovered how little was known about bofedales.

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Scenario Planning for Sustainable Development in Peru's Amazon Forest

Madre de Dios, located in the foothills of Peru’s tropical Andes, is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. CCS researchers used scenario planning to help a hydrocarbon company and the regional government minimize the impact of gas exploration and create a strategy for sustainable development in Madre de Dios .

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Projects

rolling green hills

Mitigation Hierarchy
This set of guidelines helps development projects minimize their impact on the environment.
lake surrounded by trees

Sustainable Infrastructure
Smithsonian scientists help partners implement dynamic, forward-thinking solutions for the development of infrastructure, such as roads, airports or dams. Sustainable infrastructure maintains enough biodiversity to support healthy, natural ecosystems that provide essential and economically important services like clean air and water.

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A whiteboard from a scenario planning workshop with x-and-y graphs with axes representing "political will" and "population size" and colorful dots added to sections

Case Study: Scenario Planning in Northwestern Virginia

Virginia Working Landscape

Case Study: Land Use Modeling in Northwestern Virginia
A researcher stands among tall trees in a sunlit forest in Virginia.

Changing Landscapes Initiative
Smithsonian scientists work alongside community members in Northwestern Virginia to evaluate the impacts of land-use change on wildlife, ecosystem services and community health.
Corals

Coral Biobank Alliance
Smithsonian scientists are part of the Coral Biobank Alliance, a global network of coral experts preserving corals for restoration and research.
coral reef

Coral Cryopreservation Training Course
An underwater photo of a coral reef with a large coral in the foreground surrounded by smaller corals and fish swimming in the distance

Coral Species Cryopreserved with Global Collaborators​
View a list of the coral species that have been cryopreserved using a technique developed by Smithsonian scientists.
Herd of wildebeest grazing on an open grassy plain with one tree

Wildebeest Conservation
Conservation Ecology Center scientists are tracking the movements of white-bearded wildebeest to understand how changes across the landscape impact the species.
A small bird called a piping plover stands on a sandy shore

Protecting Piping Plovers in the Great Lakes
In 2022, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center will begin a new research project to help protect endangered piping plovers from predation by merlins.
A swift fox wearing a tracking collar is released at Ft. Belknap

Swift Fox Recovery
Smithsonian scientists, in collaboration with the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Department, are embarking on a five-year swift fox reintroduction project to restore swift foxes to tribal lands and to help reestablish connectivity between disjointed swift fox populations.
A large leafy tree growing adjacent to a body of water, with cattle grazing in the grass underneath its canopy

Conserving the World’s Largest Working Wetland
Conservation Ecology Center researchers are collaborating with institutions in Brazil and other Smithsonian colleagues to support sustainable cattle ranching in the Pantanal wetland.