Food security versus biodiversity protection: an example of land-sharing from East Africa

The recent controversial debate on land-sharing versus land-sparing is clearly exemplified in the East African mountains, one of the most diverse biodiversity hotspots on our planet. In these areas, species richness is particularly concentrated in the mountain cloud forests which are surrounded by a sea of dry lowland savannas heavily encroached on by local communities. Sustainable land use practices in the lowlands, however, are necessary to safeguard the natural capital at higher elevations. The interdependence between sustainable land-use and conservation of biodiversity hotspots was underlined during a workshop held in the rural areas of Kenya, East Africa, early spring 2013. It was concluded that close links between livelihoods, natural capital and poverty remains a fundamental challenge in East Africa’s forest conservation efforts.     

Overlooked Mountain Rock Pools in Deserts Are Critical Local Hotspots of Biodiversity

BackgroundThe world is undergoing exceptional biodiversity loss. Most conservation efforts target biodiversity hotspots at large scales. Such approach overlooks small-sized local hotspots, which may be rich in endemic and highly threatened species. We explore the importance of mountain rock pools (gueltas) as local biodiversity hotspots in the Sahara-Sahel. Specifically, we considered how many vertebrates (total and endemics) use gueltas, what factors predict species richness, and which gueltas are of most priority for conservation. We expected to provide management recommendations, improve local biodiversity conservation, and simultaneously contribute with a framework for future enhancement of local communities’ economy. The identification of local hotspots of biodiversity is important for revaluating global conservation priorities.Conclusion/SignificanceGueltas are crucial for local biodiversity conservation and human activities. They require urgent management plans in Mauritania’s mountains. They could provide refugia under climate change being important for long-term conservation of Sahara-Sahel biodiversity. Given their disproportional importance in relation to their size, they are local hotspots of biodiversity deserving global attention.     

Unravelling the correlates of species richness and ecological uniqueness in a metacommunity of urban pond insects

City ponds have the potential to harbour a rich biodiversity of aquatic insects despite being located in an urban landscape. However, our current knowledge on the correlates of pond biodiversity is limited and even less is known about the factors that influence the ecological uniqueness of urban ponds. The multiple environmental gradients, at different spatial scales, that may affect biodiversity and ecological uniqueness of urban ponds can thus be seen both as an opportunity and as a challenge for a study. In this study, we aimed to fill this gap by focusing on aquatic insect assemblages in 51 ponds in the Swedish city of Stockholm, using a metacommunity perspective. We found that species richness was primarily determined by the density of aquatic insects, water depth and proportion of buildings around the pond. The uniqueness of ponds was estimated as local contributions to beta diversity (LCBD), and it was primarily related to the proportion of arable land and industry around the ponds. With regard to the metacommunity we found two interesting patterns. First, there was a negative relationship between richness and LCBD. Second, biodiversity was spatially independent, suggesting that spatially-patterned dispersal did not structure species richness or LCBD. These last two patterns are important when considering conservation efforts of biodiversity in city ponds. We hence suggest that the conservation of insect biodiversity in urban pond should consider the surroundings of the ponds, and that high-richness ponds are not necessarily those that require most attention because they are not ecologically the most unique.     

Combined effects of landscape composition and heterogeneity on farmland avian diversity

Conserving biodiversity on farmland is an essential element of worldwide efforts for reversing the global biodiversity decline. Common approaches involve improving the natural component of the landscape by increasing the amount of natural and seminatural habitats (e.g., hedgerows, woodlots, and ponds) or improving the production component of the landscape by increasing the amount of biodiversity‐friendly crops. Because these approaches may negatively impact on economic output, it was suggested that an alternative might be to enhance the diversity (compositional heterogeneity) or the spatial complexity (configurational heterogeneity) of land cover types, without necessarily changing composition. Here, we develop a case study to evaluate these ideas, examining whether managing landscape composition or heterogeneity, or both, would be required to achieve conservation benefits on avian diversity in open Mediterranean farmland. We surveyed birds in farmland landscapes of southern Portugal, before (1995–1997) and after (2010–2012) the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform of 2003, and related spatial and temporal variation in bird species richness to variables describing the composition, and the compositional and configurational heterogeneity, of the natural and production components of the landscape. We found that the composition of the production component had the strongest effects on avian diversity, with a particularly marked effect on the richness of farmland and steppe bird species. Composition of the natural component was also influential, mainly affecting the richness of woodland/shrubland species. Although there were some effects of compositional and configurational heterogeneity, these were much weaker and inconsistent than those of landscape composition. Overall, we suggest that conservation efforts in our area should focus primarily on the composition of the production component, by striving to maximize the prevalence of biodiversity‐friendly crops. This recommendation probably applies to other areas such as ours, where a range of species of conservation concern is strongly associated with crop habitats.     

Tools of the trade to aid decision-making for species survival

As wildlife populations and habitats continue to diminish at alarming rates all over the world, those responsible for wildlife management recognize that global, integrated, multi-dimensional strategies must be developed to respond to the escalating crisis that the world's biodiversity is facing. It is also recognized that resources available for the preservation of the world's biodiversity are limited and must be carefully apportioned not only where they are most needed but also where they can do the most good. Concomitantly, if current rates of extinction are to be slowed, global cooperation and coordination of efforts for species preservation are essential. In response to these challenges, the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) of IUCN's Species Survival Commission has assisted in the development and application of a series of tools and processes to expedite the development of scientifically-based management strategies for threatened species. These tools, based on small population and conservation biology, are used in intensive, problem-solving workshop processes designed to contribute to the development of realistic and achievable strategies for species conservation. The primary tools used by the CBSG include: (i) providing an objective workshop environment and a facilitation process that supports sharing of available information, reaching agreement on the issues, available information, and useful management recommendations; (ii) the Mace-Lande criteria for evaluation of threat, and, currently their derivative draft IUCN Red List criteria for threat; (iii) VORTEX, a stochastic, small population simulation modelling program (developed by Dr Robert Lacy of the Chicago Zoological Society) that considers genetics, demography, and environmental variation; (iv) topographic maps and Geographical Information System (GIS) tools to organize and visually to present species distribution information in relation to habitat, land use, and local human population distribution; and (v) demographic analysis of the local human populations with projections of growth patterns. The workshop processes employing these tools include: (i) Conservation Assessment and Management Planning (CAMP); and (ii) Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA). These processes have assisted in scientific decision-making and setting of priorities for species management activities aimed at halting the on-going decline in the planet's biodiversity. Recommendations for intensive management stemming from CAMP and PHVA workshops are as varied as the species analysed. This Papers presents case summaries that demonstrate how these tools and workshop processes have aided in the formulation of holistic and viable conservation strategies for threatened species and lessons that have been learned in the process.     

Market-based mechanisms for biodiversity conservation: a review of existing schemes and an outline for a global mechanism

Continuous decline of biodiversity over the past decades suggests that efforts to decrease biodiversity loss have been insufficient. One option to deal with this problem is the use of market-based mechanisms for biodiversity conservation. Several studies have analysed such mechanisms individually, but there is no comprehensive review with a comparative assessment of the performance of various mechanisms. This paper presents (i) an analysis of the economic conditions under which markets for biodiversity can be expected to function; (ii) an analysis of the efficiency of five selected biodiversity markets in the light of market and contract theory; and (iii) an assessment of the potential to scale up local or national payment mechanisms for biodiversity conservation. Our analysis shows the difficulties that market-based mechanisms face, among which are the need to ensure long-term conservation and the lack of a standardized unit of measurement for biodiversity. We provide a number of recommendations on how to overcome these difficulties. We argue that the set-up of a global registry embedded within the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity would facilitate measurement, reporting and verification of biodiversity credits to support market-based mechanisms.     

Evolution and Conservation of Central African Biodiversity: Priorities for Future Research and Education in the Congo Basin and Gulf of Guinea

The tropical forests of the Congo Basin and Gulf of Guinea harbor some of the greatest terrestrial and aquatic biological diversity in the world. However, our knowledge of the rich biological diversity of this region and the evolutionary processes that have shaped it remains limited, as is our understanding of the capacity for species to adapt or otherwise respond to current and projected environmental change. In this regard, research efforts are needed to increase current scientific knowledge of this region's biodiversity, identify the drivers of past diversification, evaluate the potential for species to adapt to environmental change and identify key populations for future conservation. Moreover, when evolutionary research is combined with ongoing environmental monitoring efforts, it can also provide an important set of tools for assessing and mitigating the impacts of development activities. Building on a set of recommendations developed at an international workshop held in Gabon in 2011, we highlight major areas for future evolutionary research that could be directly tied to conservation priorities for the region. These research priorities are centered around five disciplinary themes: (1) documenting and discovering biodiversity; (2) identifying drivers of evolutionary diversification; (3) monitoring environmental change; (4) understanding community and ecosystem level processes; (5) investigating the ecology and epidemiology of disease from an evolutionary perspective (evolutionary epidemiology). Furthermore, we also provide an overview of the needs and priorities for biodiversity education and training in Central Africa.     

Is forest certification targeting areas of high biodiversity in cork oak savannas?

Over the last four decades the world has been losing biodiversity at an alarming rate despite the increasing number of protected areas (PAs). Certified forest management may complement the role of PAs in protecting biodiversity. Forest certification aims to promote sustainable forest management and to maintain or enhance the conservation value of certified forests. The area of forest under certified forest management has grown quickly over the past decade. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, for example, currently covers 148 million hectares, i.e., 3.7 % of the world’s forests. In spite of such increase there is, however, a dearth of information on how forest certification is related to biodiversity. In this study we assessed if FSC certification is being applied in high biodiversity areas in cork oak savannas in Portugal by comparing biodiversity values of certified and non-certified areas for birds, reptiles and amphibians. We calculated the relative species richness and irreplaceability value for each group of species in certified and non-certified areas and compared them using randomization tests. The biodiversity value of certified areas was not significantly greater than that of non-certified areas. Since FSC certification is expanding quickly in cork oak savannas it is important to consider the biodiversity value of these areas during this process. Prioritizing areas of high biodiversity value would enhance the conservation value of forest certification and facilitate integrating certification with other conservation initiatives.     

Advancing marine conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea

Twenty leading scientists in the field of marine conservation planning attended the first international workshop on conservation planning in the Mediterranean Sea. This globally significant biodiversity hotspot has been subjected to human exploitation and degradation for 1,000s of years. Recently, several initiatives have tried to identify priority areas for conservation across the Mediterranean Sea. However, none of these efforts have led to large-scale actions yet. The aim of the workshop was to establish a network of scientists who are involved in large-scale conservation planning initiatives throughout the Mediterranean basin to promote collaboration and reduce redundancy in conservation initiatives. The three focus groups of the workshop build on existing efforts and intend to deliver: (1) a roadmap for setting conservation priorities, (2) a methodological framework for linking threats, actions and costs to improve the prioritization process, and (3) a systematic conservation planning process tailored to complex environments such as the Mediterranean Sea. Joining forces and involving more scientists (especially from the South-eastern part of the region) in following meetings, the participants endeavour to provide guidelines on how to bridge the science-policy gap and hence aid decision-makers to take efficient conservation actions.     

Measuring the effectiveness of regional conservation assessments at representing biodiversity surrogates at a local scale: A case study in Réunion Island (Indian Ocean)

In a context of scarce financial and human resources, the allocation of conservation efforts needs to be optimized. Our analysis attempts to draw conclusions on the integration of regional and local conservation assessments, specifically, with regard to the acquisition of fine‐scale data to complement the regional assessment. This study undertaken in Réunion Island (Indian Ocean) assessed how biodiversity surrogates targeted at a regional scale represented other biodiversity surrogates at a local scale. Biodiversity surrogates at both scales consisted of species, habitats and processes. Habitats and processes at regional scale were defined using a coarser scale of thematic resolution than at local scale. The surrogacy was tested in terms of incidental representation of local‐scale features in the regional assessments, and correlation of irreplaceability values between scales. Near‐minimum sets and irreplaceability values were generated using MARXAN software. Our results revealed that conservation targets for processes at local scale were never met incidentally, while threatened species and fragmented habitats were also usually under‐represented. More specifically, requiring only 12% of the local planning domain, the application of species as surrogates at regional scale was the least effective option at representing biodiversity features at local scale. In contrast, habitats at a coarse scale of thematic resolution achieved a significant proportion of conservation targets incidentally (67%) and their irreplaceability values were well correlated with the irreplaceability values of surrogates at local scale. The results highlighted that all three types of biodiversity surrogates are complementary for assessing overall biodiversity. Because of the cost of data acquisition, we recommended that the most efficient strategy to develop nested regional/local conservation plans is to apply habitats and processes at a coarse scale of thematic resolution at regional scale, and threatened species and degraded habitats at local scale, with their fine‐scale mapping limited to highly transformed areas.     

Gaps in mammal conservation in China: An analysis with a framework based on minimum area requirements

Climate change, habitat loss, and human disturbance are major threats to biodiversity. Protecting habitats plays a pivotal role in biodiversity conservation, and there is a global imperative to establish an effective system of protected areas (PAs) to implement habitat conservation and halt biodiversity decline. However, the protected patch size of habitat for a species is just as important for biodiversity conservation as the expansion of areas already under protection. In China, conservation management is often carried out based on administrative divisions. Therefore, here, an analytical conservation management framework was developed based on administrative divisions to assess whether the current network of PAs can effectively meet species' conservation needs using the minimum area requirements (MARs) of species as criteria for medium and large-sized mammals in China. This study found that the MAR of medium and large-sized mammals was larger in the northwest and smaller in the southeast, while taking the Hu line as the dividing line. Precipitation seasonality, elevation, annual mean temperature, and annual precipitation are the main environmental factors driving the distribution of a species MAR. Compared with MAR for each species, the maximum protected patch size of habitat is severely undersized in most provinces where those species primarily distribute, and this is particularly true for large carnivores and threatened species. The densely populated provinces of eastern China are particularly affected by this. The present study's framework can identify the provinces needing to expand PAs or implement other effective area-based conservation measures and habitat restoration. This analytical framework is also relevant for biodiversity conservation in different taxa and regions around the globe.     

High focus on threatened species and habitats may undermine biodiversity conservation: Evidence from the northern Baltic Sea

Conservation policies and environmental impact assessments commonly target threatened species and habitats. Nevertheless, macroecological research provides reasons why also common species should be considered. We investigate the consequences of focussing solely on legally protected species and habitats in a spatial conservation planning context using a comprehensive, benthic marine data set from the northern Baltic Sea. Using spatial prioritization and surrogacy analysis, we show that the common approach in conservation planning, where legally listed threatened species and habitats are the focus of conservation efforts, could lead to poor outcomes for common species (and therefore biodiversity as a whole), allowing them to decline in the future. If conservation efforts were aimed solely at threatened species, common species would experience a loss of 62% coverage. In contrast, if conservation plans were based only on common species, threatened species would suffer a loss of 1%. Threatened species are rare and their ecological niches distinct, making them poor surrogates for biodiversity. The best results are achieved by unified planning for all species and habitats. The minimal step towards acknowledging common species in conservation planning would be the inclusion of the richness of common species, complemented by information on indicator species or species of high importance for ecosystem functioning. The trade-off between planning for rare and common species should be evaluated, to minimize losses to biodiversity.     

生物多样性产品价值实现的路径与制度安排——国外生物多样性银行经验借鉴与启示

实现生物多样性价值是激励保护者保护生物多样性、构建保护者与受益者的良性互动关系、推动生物多样性保护、实现经济社会可持续发展的重要手段。美国、澳大利亚等国家通过实施生物多样性银行制度,借助市场力量交易生物多样性信用,实现生物物种的价值,实现了生物多样性保护目标。在明确生物多样性概念和价值的基础上,系统梳理了国外生物多样性银行制度的产生与发展、生物多样性银行的设立与运营,重点阐释了如何交易“生物多样性信用”。在此基础上,总结生物多样性银行制度对我国的经验借鉴,并从制度保障、市场体系构建和保护绩效评价三方面提出我国建立生物多样性银行的政策建议。研究结论可为我国推动生物多样性产品价值实现提供参考与借鉴。     

Conservation implications of the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

The relationship between biodiversity and individual ecosystem processes is often asymptotic, saturating at relatively low levels, with some species contributing more strongly than others. This has cast doubt on arguments for conservation based on maintenance of the functioning of ecosystems. However, we argue that the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is an important additional argument for conservation for several reasons. (1) Although species differ in importance to ecosystem processes, we do not believe that this argues for preservation of just a few species for two reasons: first, it is nearly impossible to identify all species important to the numerous systems and processes on which humans depend; second, the important species themselves may depend on an unknown number of other species in their communities. (2) Arguments for conservation based on ecosystem functioning are complementary to other utilitarian, ethical and aesthetic justifications. No single reason will convince all people or protect all species, however the combination produces a strong case for conservation of biodiversity. (3) Even if the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is asymptotic at local spatial scales and in the short term, effects of biodiversity loss are likely to be important at larger temporal and spatial scales. (4) Initial arguments for the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning were largely based on a precautionary approach (points 1-3). However, we are now moving to a scientific position based on accumulating experimental evidence. The future challenge is the integration of this scientific research with policy.     

Facing a wicked problem with optimism: issues and priorities for coral conservation in Hong Kong

Economic development and environmental conservation are often seen as opposing forces in the arena of government policy-making. With more than 7 million people and a rich diversity of marine species and habitats, Hong Kong is an excellent case study to explore this dynamic. Despite anthropogenic impacts, Hong Kong still hosts more than 90 species of stony corals within a marine area of 1650 km². This is remarkable in light of the global plight of coral reefs, which have been reduced by ~80% worldwide in recent decades. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has not been immune to this negative trend with an unfortunate track of marine environmental disasters and, as such, can be viewed a harbinger for the future trajectory of coral reefs worldwide. Yet, the story is not entirely negative. Hong Kong possesses key assets, including capable government environmental agencies and competitive research led by local universities, which can bring novel and promising approaches for coral biodiversity conservation in an urbanized context. To coordinate and assist conservation efforts in Hong Kong, we here identify and prioritize major management efforts and identify knowledge gaps for coral conservation based on updated coral biodiversity distribution and a current literature review. Specifically, we propose five priorities for the most positive impact on conservation efforts: (1) reconstruct environmental baselines and establish long-term monitoring of local coral communities, (2) enhance the management and protection of local coral habitats, (3) improve water quality, (4) gain an understanding of the genetic connectivity among local and distant coral communities, and finally, (5) establish an active restoration program for local coral species/communities. In order to build progressive and integrative management strategies for coral biodiversity conservation in Hong Kong, we suggest specific ways in which these priorities be addressed and encourage a fresh dialogue between the government, the public and academia.     

Plant communities as a tool for setting priorities in biodiversity conservation: a novel approach to Iberian aquatic vegetation

Although conservation efforts are traditionally based on species red lists or similar documents, recent initiatives are starting to shift this scope to include other biodiversity structures and biological classifications. Plant communities have been indicated as being among the most promising categories for setting conservation priorities but their importance and potential is still underestimated. In this study we develop a conservation priority list based on aquatic plant communities of the Iberian Peninsula. Four criteria were used to perform a cumulative point-scoring ranking: regional responsibility, local rarity, wealth of its endangered flora, and habitat vulnerability. Our ranking constitutes the first comprehensive classification of aquatic vegetation in relation to its conservation priorities in Southern Europe. It reveals that amphibious communities are the most important vegetation target for conservation in Iberia related to oligotrophic environments with a bioclimatic Atlantic distribution. Plant communities characteristic of eutrophic waters or widely distributed were found to be cause for less concern when setting conservation priorities. Our results bring to light various discrepancies and gaps in current conservation laws affecting the Iberian Peninsula. Our study highlights the potential of plant communities in biodiversity conservation as they provide valuable information of habitat singularity, and supports that neither the sole use of species nor large scale approaches unaware of regional singularities are appropriate in setting conservation priorities.     

Urban biodiversity, city-dwellers and conservation: how does an outdoor activity day affect the human-nature relationship?

Urban conservation education programs aim to increase knowledge and awareness towards biodiversity and to change attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. However, to date, few urban conservation education studies have evaluated to what extent these programs have managed to achieve their goals. In this study, we experimentally explored the influence of an urban conservation activity day on individual knowledge, awareness and actions towards biodiversity, in both the short and longer term.We organised three activity days in Paris (France), during which people were invited to participate in urban conservation efforts. Both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interviews) methods were employed to investigate the influence of this short urban nature experience on the relationships that city-dwellers develop with nearby biodiversity. We found a strong positive correlation between the levels of participation and an immediate interest towards local urban biodiversity. In the longer term, however, although participants claimed to have gained more knowledge, local awareness and interest for species in their daily environment, they did not seem to extend this interest to participating in other related activities. These results highlight the complexity of validating the effectiveness of this type of education program for achieving conservation goals. Although such a short activity may only have a limited environmental impact, it nevertheless seems to increase people's knowledge, awareness, interest and concern. We therefore believe that when repeated locally, these short conservation education programs could enhance people's experience with nature in cities and achieve conservation goals more fully.     

Taking into account local practices and indigenous knowledge in an emergency conservation context in Madagascar

At the 5th World Parks Congress, held in Durban, South Africa in 2003, the President of Madagascar committed his government to tripling the country’s protected zones over the next 5 years. The announcement reflected a desire to combine rapid conservation efforts with sustainable development. Conservationists in Madagascar focused their attention on the endemic baobab tree, Adansonia grandidieri. This paper aims to identify the contradictions between the political emergency of the biodiversity conservation effort and local development needs. Eighty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted in two villages near the protected area of “Baobab Alley” in the Menabe region. Malagasy conservationists believed the area’s protected status would benefit the local economy through eco-tourism. However, the conservation actions undertaken there display limited understanding of local dynamics and conflict with farmers’ needs. To protect the baobabs, the government has prohibited rice cultivation without providing compensation. We show that the multifunctional baobab tree is integrated into an agroforestry system and protected by farmers. Based on these results, we address the issue of how to combine conservation and local development objectives through the involvement of farmers and the recognition of local knowledge in tree management. We also demonstrate that an emergency approach to conservation is not conducive to the successful integration of conservation and development.     

Establishing ecological baselines around a temperate Himalayan peatland

Temperate wetlands provide ecosystem services for Himalayan communities and are important targets for biological conservation. However, over the past decade, management activities around these sites have lagged due, in part, to limited baselines on their historical ecology and hydrologic dynamics. This article advances Himalayan wetland studies by reviewing available data from Khecheopalri, a temperate peatland located in the Sikkim Eastern Himalayas. Formed after the Last Glacial Maximum, Khecheopalri contains distinctive ecological assemblages as well as a central waterbody considered sacred to Indigenous and local groups. Environmental organizations have collaborated with cultural institutions to conserve these natural resources. Nevertheless, significant anthropogenic changes have continued at Khecheopalri since the late 1980s. By reviewing these developments, this article establishes baselines for future management activities at this peatland. It also presents the first collated record of Himalayan peatland biodiversity, which includes 682 species representing 5 kingdoms, 196 families, and 453 genera reported at Khecheopalri. Results emphasize the need for continued, systematic surveys of biodiversity as well as rigorous hydrologic sampling throughout the Eastern Himalayas. Such data will support ongoing efforts to recognize this site as both a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

     

The role of a local rediscovery in the evaluation of the conservation status of a plant species: Testing the hypothesis of the biodiversity knowledge gap

Although habitat destruction and the introduction of exotic species are causing the extinction of many native species, the number of extinct species that are then rediscovered is surprising. However, before searching for meaning of rediscoveries, we should distinguish between a false and a true rediscovery to avoid the interpretation of changes in biodiversity knowledge as changes in the efforts to conserve biodiversity. Here, we proposed the hypothesis of the biodiversity knowledge gap and a conceptual scheme to test this hypothesis, discussing how to deal with the rediscovery of a putatively extinct species. In this paper, we dealt with the local rediscovery of the plant Neptunia pubescens Benth. (Fabaceae), hypothesizing that if its local rediscovery is a case of the biodiversity knowledge gap (false rediscovery), its conservation status will change. Furthermore, we provided taxonomic data, geographic coordinates and figures as support for its local rediscovery, as well as some considerations about the implications for the conservation of N. pubescens.