Scott Consaul Atkinson

Technical Specialist, United Nations Development Programme – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Scott Consaul Atkinson manages, processes and curates data received by countries for the Essential Life Support Areas (ELSA) analysis, filling in gaps with globally consistent data where national data is unavailable. He also provides insight, expertise, and support to the development of the ELSA model and scientific methodology, in addition to workshop support and capacity building. Scott also manages data and its visualization on UN Biodiversity Lab in congress with carrying out and developing spatial analytics.

Previous experience and expertise

Scott has been working with the UNDP since 2018. He previously worked as a conservation science researcher at the University of Queensland and at The Nature Conservancy in the Eastern Caribbean. He holds a MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Queensland and a BSc (Hons) from the University of Plymouth, UK. While a field researcher by training, Scott provides expertise in working with large global geospatial datasets, managing geospatial databases, and systematic conservation planning.

Recent work 

Atkinson, S.C., Jupiter, S.D., Adams, V.M., Ingram, J.C., Narayan, S., Klein, C.J., Possingham, H.P., 2016. Prioritising Mangrove Ecosystem Services Results in Spatially Variable Management Priorities. PloS one 11, e0151992. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151992

Tulloch, V.J.D., Atkinson, S., Possingham, H.P., Peterson, N., Linke, S., Allan, J.R., Kaiye, A., Keako, M., Sabi, J., Suruman, B., Adams, V.M., 2021. Minimizing cross-realm threats from land-use change: A national-scale conservation framework connecting land, freshwater and marine systems. Biological Conservation 254, 108954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108954

Rehbein, J.A., Watson, J.E.M., Lane, J.L., Sonter, L.J., Venter, O., Atkinson, S.C., Allan, J.R., 2020. Renewable energy development threatens many globally important biodiversity areas. Global Change Biology n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15067