Abstract
A mission to reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity as a contribution to poverty reduction was agreed as part of the Strategic Plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted by the Conference of the Parties in 2002. As 2010 draws to a close it is clear that this target will not be met. To continue and build on momentum generated by the 2010 target, the conservation community has been discussing a potential post-2010 framework that again includes explicit reference to the link between human wellbeing and conservation, and also considers the links with human wellbeing and sustainable development. Given this agreement, we reviewed several human wellbeing and sustainable development indicators compared to existing biodiversity status and trends indicators to determine if clear correlations can be found that could be used to track progress in a new framework. We undertook this review at both the global and continental levels. The indicators for protected area and forest cover showed significant positive correlation across all continents. We found a significant negative correlation between changes in protected area (PA ) cover and tonnage of greenhouse gas emissions released (GHGe) between 1990 and 2005 for all the continents. At the global level we found no other correlation across the indicators reviewed. However, we found that correlations between the biodiversity and human wellbeing and sustainable development indicators varied across continents. As the only indicators for which global level correlations exist, we suggest that either protected area coverage or forest cover may be relevant biodiversity indicators for global analyses of biodiversity-human wellbeing or sustainable development relationships, and that the relationship between protected area cover and greenhouse gases could be one indicator for links between biodiversity and sustainable development. More research is needed to better understand factors involved in the relationships between biodiversity, human wellbeing and sustainable development, and to identify useful indicators of these linkages at global or continental level. In the meantime, the challenges presented by demonstrating these links should not delay urgently needed conservation actions.
Highlights
In recognition of the urgency of the biodiversity crisis, the 2010 biodiversity target “...to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth” was adopted by the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD; The Hague, Netherlands, April 2002) as part of the Convention’s Strategic Plan (CBD 2002)
Biodiversity indicators Among the biodiversity indicators, only forest cover and protected area (PA) coverage were correlated across all continents
An estimated 13.5% of global forests are included within International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category 1-VI protected areas (Schmitt et al 2009) so this correlation is unlikely to be because forest ecosystems represent the majority of protected area systems
Summary
In recognition of the urgency of the biodiversity crisis, the 2010 biodiversity target “...to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth” was adopted by the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD; The Hague, Netherlands, April 2002) as part of the Convention’s Strategic Plan (CBD 2002). S.A. Mainka & B.B. Kumordzi from 2002 to 2007, including the Johannesburg Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Goals. Kumordzi from 2002 to 2007, including the Johannesburg Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Goals Through such targets the global community has recognized a link between biodiversity conservation, human wellbeing and sustainable development. The specific formulation differs for each, the 2010 biodiversity target is one of the most relevant international tools to draw attention to the urgent situation for biodiversity globally, and to catalyze action to conserve nature, which underpins human wellbeing (IUCN 2009). Action is still required to improve environmental governance, ensure adequate investment in environmental management, promote full engagement of all stakeholders in conservation and provide for better long term monitoring of biodiversity
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