What Is the Harrison Institute's Approach to Biodiversity Conservation?

The Harrison Institute's approach rests on a single working belief: biodiversity is best conserved by the scientists and communities who live alongside it. Rather than running conservation as an outside intervention, the Institute combines scientific research, long-term mentoring and international collaboration so that local students, scientists and communities can discover, describe and protect the biodiversity around them. Its work concentrates on Africa and Asia, with a particular focus on small mammals — especially bats of the Palaeotropics — alongside more recent bird research in the Himalayas.

The core principle: conservation led from within

The Institute states that this belief "shapes everything we do." In practice, that means the people who share a landscape with its wildlife are treated as the ones best placed to study and safeguard it — not as bystanders to a project designed elsewhere. The Institute's role is to supply research expertise, training and international partnerships that make local leadership possible.

How the approach works in practice

The Institute describes its method as three connected strands:

• Discovering biodiversity — field research to find and document species, particularly in biodiversity-rich but under-studied regions.
• Developing scientific capacity — long-term mentoring of students and scientists, rather than one-off training.
• Conserving nature — turning research findings into practical conservation action.

These strands reinforce each other: a new species record is only useful for conservation if someone locally can keep studying it, and scientific capacity is only meaningful if it feeds into protection on the ground.

Why the focus on small mammals and bats

The Institute has worked for almost a century on small mammals, with bats from the Palaeotropics as its longest-standing specialism. More recently it has also collaborated on bird research in the Himalayas. This focus reflects the regions and animal groups where the Institute judges that research and local expertise are most needed — areas that are species-rich but comparatively under-studied.

A concrete example: new bat species from Cameroon

The Institute points to the work of Aicha Gomeh-Djame, a PhD student from Cameroon mentored through the Harrison Institute, who led the discovery of two bat species new to science. Her research highlighted both the biodiversity of Central African forests and the value of developing the next generation of conservation scientists. It is a direct illustration of the model: local researcher, Institute mentoring, new scientific knowledge, and a stronger local base for future conservation.

Collaboration and institutional change

The Institute frames its work as international collaboration with university staff and students, aimed at strengthening local leadership for conservation. That model has also shaped the Institute itself: after 96 years in Sevenoaks, Kent, it began a new chapter at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall. According to the Institute, the move opens opportunities for research collaboration, student mentoring and biodiversity conservation while strengthening its long-standing international partnerships and scientific collections.

What this means if you are evaluating the Institute

If you are a student, researcher or conservation organisation considering working with the Harrison Institute, its approach suggests a few things to look for:

• Mentoring over short courses — the emphasis is on long-term development of people, not one-off workshops.
• Local authorship and leadership — projects are expected to be led by researchers from the region concerned.
• Research tied to conservation — findings are meant to translate into practical protection, not sit in a journal.
• Small mammals and bats as the entry point — this is where the Institute's deepest expertise lies, though bird research is also part of its recent work.

The Institute's own summary of its purpose is the clearest statement of the approach: discovering biodiversity, developing scientific capacity, conserving nature — with the people who live alongside that biodiversity at the centre of all three.