Javier Fajardo

I am a researcher working at the intersection of biodiversity conservation, environmental spatial planning, and social justice. My work focuses on how conservation efforts, including protected areas and other forms of area-based conservation and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, may affect people’s lives, with the aim of ensuring that policies for nature recovery are not only effective, but also fair. I have worked across Spain, the UK, and South America, as well as with international conservation NGOs. Much of my research has focused on South America and the Global South, alongside global analyses, with a strong emphasis on the human dimensions of environmental conservation and its links to policy and practice.

In my most recent research, I led the analytical work for the Social Implications of 30×30 project, funded by the Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) and led by Professor Chris Sandbrook. This was a collaborative international effort bringing together researchers and practitioners from different disciplines and regions to examine the social implications of expanding area-based conservation globally and in specific country contexts. We explored how different pathways to meeting conservation targets could shape outcomes for both people and nature. In my current position, I investigate how the data, maps, and methods used to plan conservation influence real-world decisions, including whose priorities are represented and who ultimately bears the benefits and risks of conservation action.