Conservation Letters
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Managing Natural Capital Stocks for the Provision of Ecosystem Services Abstract Decision makers and land managers are increasingly required to manage landscapes for multiple purposes and benefits. However, despite progress in the development of frameworks linking natural capital to the provision of ecosystem services and human benefits there remains little guidance for how management interventions can improve ecosystem service provision. As ecosystem services cannot be directly influenced, interventions need to be directed toward natural capital stocks. We provide a framework that explicitly links natural capital stocks to ecosystem service provision and identify manageable attributes of natural capital stocks as the critical intervention point. A structured decision making process based on our framing of the ecosystem services concept can facilitate its application on the ground.
Conservation Letters - Tập 10 Số 2 - Trang 211-220 - 2017
Eye on the Taiga: Removing Global Policy Impediments to Safeguard the Boreal Forest Abstract The absence of boreal forests from global policy agendas on sustainable development and climate change mitigation represents a massive missed opportunity for environmental protection. The boreal zone contains some of the world's largest pools of terrestrial carbon that, if not safeguarded from a conversion to a net source of greenhouse gases, could seriously exacerbate global climate change. At the same time, boreal countries have a strong tradition of forest management—expertise that could be effectively leveraged toward global and national carbon mitigation targets and sustainable development. Current obstacles against such contributions include weak incentives for carbon sequestration and a reluctance to embrace change by forest managers and policy makers. We discuss possible solutions to overcome these obstacles, including the improvement of ineffective incentives, the development of alternative forest management strategies, and the need to maintain ecosystem resilience through the pursuit of policy and management options.
Conservation Letters - Tập 7 Số 4 - Trang 408-418 - 2014
Shortfalls and Solutions for Meeting National and Global Conservation Area Targets Abstract Governments have committed to conserving ≥17% of terrestrial and ≥10% of marine environments globally, especially “areas of particular importance for biodiversity” through “ecologically representative” Protected Area (PA) systems or other “area‐based conservation measures”, while individual countries have committed to conserve 3–50% of their land area. We estimate that PAs currently cover 14.6% of terrestrial and 2.8% of marine extent, but 59–68% of ecoregions, 77–78% of important sites for biodiversity, and 57% of 25,380 species have inadequate coverage. The existing 19.7 million km2 terrestrial PA network needs only 3.3 million km2 to be added to achieve 17% terrestrial coverage. However, it would require nearly doubling to achieve, cost‐efficiently, coverage targets for all countries, ecoregions, important sites, and species. Poorer countries have the largest relative shortfalls. Such extensive and rapid expansion of formal PAs is unlikely to be achievable. Greater focus is therefore needed on alternative approaches, including community‐ and privately managed sites and other effective area‐based conservation measures.
Conservation Letters - Tập 8 Số 5 - Trang 329-337 - 2015
Poor ecological representation by an expensive reserve system: Evaluating 35 years of marine protected area expansion Abstract Global areal protection targets have driven a dramatic expansion of the marine protected area (MPA) estate. We analyzed how cost‐effective global MPA expansion has been since the inception of the first global target (set in 1982) in achieving ecoregional representation. By comparing spatial patterns of MPA expansion against optimal MPA estates using the same expansion rates, we show the current MPA estate is both expensive and ineffective. Although the number of ecoregions represented tripled and 12.7% of national waters was protected, 61% of ecoregions and 81% of countries are not 10% protected. Only 10.3% of the national waters of the world would be sufficient to protect 10% of each ecoregion if MPA growth since 1982 strategically targeted underrepresented ecoregions. Unfortunately 16.3% of national waters are required for the same representative target if systematic protection started in 2016 (an extra 3.6% on top of 12.7%). To avoid the high costs of adjusting increasingly biased MPA systems, future efforts should embrace target‐driven systematic conservation planning.
Conservation Letters - Tập 11 Số 6 - 2018
Global priority areas for incorporating land–sea connections in marine conservation Abstract Coastal marine ecosystems rank among the most productive ecosystems on earth but are also highly threatened by the exposure to both ocean‐ and land‐based human activities. Spatially explicit information on the distributions of land‐based impacts is critical for managers to identify where the effects of land‐based activities on ecosystem condition are greatest and, therefore, where they should prioritize mitigation of land‐based impacts. Here, we quantify the global cumulative impact of four of the most pervasive land‐based impacts on coastal ecosystems—nutrient input, organic and inorganic pollution, and the direct impact of coastal populations (e.g., coastal engineering and trampling)—and identify hotspots of land‐based impact using a variety of metrics. These threat hotspots were primarily in Europe and Asia, with the top three adjacent to the Mississippi, Ganges, and Mekong rivers. We found that 95% of coastal and shelf areas (<200 m depth) and 40% of the global coastline experience little to no impact from land‐based human activities, suggesting that marine conservation and resource management in these areas can focus on managing current ocean activities and preventing future spread of land‐based stressors. These results provide guidance on where coordination between marine and terrestrial management is most critical and where a focus on ocean‐based impacts is instead needed.
Conservation Letters - Tập 2 Số 4 - Trang 189-196 - 2009
High Conservation Value or high confusion value? Sustainable agriculture and biodiversity conservation in the tropics Abstract Green labeling of products that have been produced sustainably is an emerging tool of the environmental movement. A prominent example is the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies timber that is harvested to manage and maintain forests defined as having High Conservation Value (HCV). The criteria for HCV are now being applied to four rapidly expanding crops in the tropics: oil palm, soy, sugarcane, and cacao. However, these criteria do not provide adequate protection for biodiversity when applied to agriculture. The only criterion that provides blanket protection to forests is one that protects large expanses of habitat (≥20,000–500,000 ha, depending on the country). Absent of other HCVs, the collective clearing of forest patches below these thresholds could result in extensive deforestation that would be sanctioned with a green label. Yet such forest patches retain much biodiversity and provide connectivity within the agricultural matrix. An examination of forest fragments in biodiverse countries across the tropics shows that future agricultural demand can be met by clearing only forest patches below a 1,000 ha threshold. We recommend the development of a new HCV criterion that recognizes the conservation value of habitat patches within the agricultural matrix and that protects patches above 1,000 ha.
Conservation Letters - Tập 5 Số 1 - Trang 20-27 - 2012
Increasing the Scientific Evidence Base in the “High Conservation Value” (HCV) Approach for Biodiversity Conservation in Managed Tropical Landscapes Abstract Land‐use change is a major driver of tropical biodiversity declines. The “High Conservation Value” (HCV) approach aims to protect critical environmental and social values in production landscapes, and is a common feature of many voluntary certification schemes (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). Despite the popularity of the HCV approach within forestry and agriculture production systems, it is little known in academia and the scientific evidence base supporting it is not well developed. By raising the profile of the HCV approach, we hope to instigate new research to examine the impact of the HCV approach on biodiversity conservation. We argue for better knowledge exchange between scientists, policy makers, and HCV users, sharing of information, and consideration of the practical constraints within which HCV users and commodity producers operate. Given the continuing loss and degradation of tropical rainforests, such strategies are required urgently to reduce biodiversity losses in production landscapes.
Conservation Letters - Tập 8 Số 5 - Trang 361-367 - 2015
The dilemma of green business in tropical forests: how to protect what it cannot identify Abstract Much tropical biodiversity resides in forests managed by timber, mining, and plantation companies. These companies can determine the local persistence of many species and have considerable implications for global conservation outcomes. Many companies are willing to invest in improved management as long as this does not undermine their business—indeed accessing green markets often makes commercial sense. Compliance with common standards of good commercial practice requires identification of all species of conservation significance which occur within their areas of management responsibility. But, as we demonstrate, it is impossible for companies to do this comprehensively. Such demands are often counterproductive in that they alienate those who might otherwise be willing to improve. Given the finite resources available for achieving conservation outcomes, we need to trade off data collection against other costs. To encourage adoption and implementation of conservation friendly practices requires incentives, not technical and financial obstacles. We challenge conservation biologists to reconsider the realities of good forest management, and provide pragmatic guidance for business compatible conservation. Until we engage more effectively with commercial interests, opportunities for improved conservation outcomes will be wasted.
Conservation Letters - Tập 5 Số 5 - Trang 342-348 - 2012
Social Media Data Can Be Used to Understand Tourists’ Preferences for Nature‐Based Experiences in Protected Areas Abstract Can social media data be used as an alternative to traditional surveys to understand tourists’ preferences for nature‐based experiences in protected areas? We explored this by comparing preferences for biodiversity obtained from a traditional survey conducted in Kruger National Park, South Africa, with observed preferences assessed from over 13,600 pictures shared on Instagram and Flickr by tourists visiting the park in the same period. We found no significant difference between the preferences of tourists as stated in the surveys and the preferences revealed by social media content. Overall, large‐bodied mammals were found to be the favorite group, both in the survey and on social media platforms. However, Flickr was found to better match tourists’ preference for less‐charismatic biodiversity. Our findings suggest that social media content can be used as a cost‐efficient way to explore, and for more continuous monitoring of, preferences for biodiversity and human activities in protected areas.
Conservation Letters - Tập 11 Số 1 - 2018
Mapping global human dependence on marine ecosystems Abstract Many human populations are dependent on marine ecosystems for a range of benefits, but we understand little about where and to what degree people rely on these ecosystem services. We created a new conceptual model to map the degree of human dependence on marine ecosystems based on the magnitude of the benefit, susceptibility of people to a loss of that benefit, and the availability of alternatives. We focused on mapping nutritional, economic, and coastal protection dependence, but our model is repeatable, scalable, applicable to other ecosystems, and designed to incorporate additional services and data. Here we show that dependence was highest for Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations and several West African countries. More than 775 million people live in areas with relatively high dependence scores. By identifying where and how people are dependent on marine ecosystems, our framework can be used to design more effective large‐scale management and policy interventions.
Conservation Letters - Tập 12 Số 2 - 2019
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