Biodiversity In Protected Areas Research Articles

The impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity in global protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) serve as effective means for biodiversity conservation but face threats from habitat loss and fragmentation. Current research on the impact of habitat loss or habitat fragmentation on biodiversity in PAs mostly focuses on individual PA or regional scales. At the global scale, the extent of habitat loss and fragmentation in PAs and their effects on biodiversity remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the degree of habitat loss and fragmentation in global PAs from 2000 to 2020, analyzed the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity in PAs, identified hotspot PAs of severe habitat loss or fragmentation, and highlighted critically endangered species within these PAs. Our study reveals that, between 2000 and 2020, 19 % of global PAs experienced habitat loss, and 34 % experienced habitat fragmentation, with large PAs and South American tropical PAs exhibiting the most severe levels of habitat loss and fragmentation. The impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity was most significant in small PAs and African tropical PAs. There are 10 global hotspot PAs of habitat loss or fragmentation, posing a serious threat to the survival of endangered species within PAs. Biodiversity conservation remains a prominent research focus globally, and the issues of habitat loss and fragmentation in PAs may impact the achievement of the COP15 biodiversity conservation goals. Therefore, this study aims to provide data support and scientific guidance for the management and development of global PAs.

Trends of Land Cover Change and Conservation Challenges of Grevy’s Zebra (Equus grevyi, Oustalet 1882) in Hallaydeghe Asebot Proposed National Park, Southeast Ethiopia

Large parts of biodiversity in protected areas (PAs) and their ecosystem services have been deteriorated due to land cover change over time. To reverse these effects, analysis of land cover change is essential. One of the protected areas, Hallaydeghe Asebot Proposed National Park (HAPNP), was assumed its land cover change and was undergone from one habitat type to others during the last three decades. As a result, wildlife species particularly Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi) in HAPNP are facing conservation challenges. Here, we aimed to examine the land cover changes of HAPNP for the period of 1990–2021 and assess Grevy’s zebra conservation challenges so as to improve the protection of the park and conservation of the species. Landsat images for the years 1990, 2006, and 2021 were generated to analyze land cover change of the study area. In addition, ground control points and information from elder and knowledgeable informants were collected to substantiate the result. Household survey, key informant interviews, and field observation checklist were utilized to collect data on conservation challenges. To generate land cover change maps, the satellite image for each period was classified using supervised classification. Content analysis was used to analyze conservation challenges of the species. The findings of this study revealed that 12.2% of grassland cover lost from 1990 to 2021 (i.e., an estimated annual average loss 0.4%). The remaining grassland cover in the HAPNP was aggregated in a small land area. On the other hand, the size of bushland increased by 26.4% during the same year (i.e., an estimated annual average gain 0.9%). These findings have implications for conservation and management of grazers. Major drivers for conservation challenges of Grevy’s zebra were habitat degradation, unintegrated development, and poor law enforcement practices. Grassland restoration program and species conservation challenges’ intervention strategy should be designed and implemented to safeguard the natural habitat and the species that occur in the HAPNP.

Climate change adaptation for biodiversity in protected areas: An overview of actions

Protected Areas (PAs) have been a cornerstone of conservation policy in the past but are generally static and thus might be less useful under climate change as species move away from reserves designated for them. In addition, shifting phenology and habitat alteration due to extreme events could make conditions unviable within PAs for species unable to move. However, several recent papers documented their utility in retaining contracting species, acting as stepping-stones for expanding species of conservation concern and resisting invasion by vagrants. Theoretical studies have suggested a role for both protected area design and management to enable biodiversity to adapt to climate change and implementation of these actions has begun. Here we synthesise case studies of climate change adaptation actions in protected areas from the globally available literature. We found 91 case studies of 114 different actions from 30 countries, mostly within Europe, specifically the UK. Half reported an outcome of actions, however, these were generally either the area restored or protected, or incidental reports of colonisation by desired species, without a description of monitoring before and after action. In addition, 72 % of actions would have been beneficial to biodiversity without the presence of climate change, so transformative action is lacking. Better monitoring and reporting of outcomes are urgently needed to develop the evidence base on which actions are most effective, to enable more reserve managers to take action. Managers also need encouragement to identify transformative actions, perhaps by the use of scenario planning to aid understanding of future uncertainties.

Dog and cat-related attacks on wildlife in the Metropolitan District of Quito, Ecuador: an integrative approach to reduce the impact

ABSTRACT Surveillance and control of dogs and cats (D&C) have become increasingly important for the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas. However, despite the increase in densities of free-roaming D&C in urban areas, especially in developing countries, the impact on wildlife is poorly documented. The Metropolitan District of Quito (MDQ) in Ecuador, contains a high biodiversity of native fauna, but free-roaming dog populations have tripled in recent years, with no published information about possible consequences on wildlife. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients admitted to a Veterinary Hospital in Quito between July 2017 and June 2022 to determine the incidence of D&C attacks on wildlife from the MDQ. A total of 429 wild specimens (79.5% birds, 17.2% mammals and 3.3% reptiles), including 59 species (4 vulnerable, 1 endangered and 1 critically endangered), were treated for injuries inflicted by D&C. Attacks increased every year on record, and 79% of specimens did not survive. Given that current governmental regulations for the control of domestic animals have not been effective, we propose to address the global issue from a multidisciplinary perspective, considering predation by D&C, biodiversity conservation, animal welfare, human health, and public policies as intertwined phenomena. The goal of this approach is to achieve greater awareness and increase the effectiveness of management programs, while improving the health of animals, humans, and the environment in which they live. Additionally, we recommend government support to replicate this research in other wildlife rehabilitation and rescue centers to understand the scope of the issue nationally.

Publication trends in global biodiversity research on protected areas

One of the main strategies to reduce the global loss of biodiversity has been the establishment of protected areas (PAs). High quality biodiversity knowledge is essential to successfully design PAs and PA networks, and to assess their conservation effectiveness. However, biodiversity knowledge is taxonomically and geographically biased. Even though PAs are typically more intensively surveyed than surrounding landscapes, they cannot avoid biodiversity knowledge shortfalls and biases. To investigate this, we performed a systematic literature review to assess publication trends in global biodiversity research taking place in PAs. Our data indicate that animals are more studied than plants, with vertebrates overrepresented in relation to invertebrates. Biodiversity in PAs has been mainly measured taxonomically (species richness or species diversity), while functional and phylogenetic diversity have rarely been considered. Finally, as predicted, there was a geographic bias towards European and USA terrestrial protected areas. These observed trends mirror more general studies of biodiversity knowledge shortfalls and could have direct negative consequences for conservation policy and practice. Reducing these biases and shortfalls is essential for more effective use of limited conservation resources.

Managing an invasive tree in coastal dunes: The importance of follow-up treatments to improve the recovery of protected habitats

Conservation of biodiversity in protected areas is often threatened by invasive alien plants (IAPs), and its successful management requires proper planning, resources, and monitoring to adjust future interventions. Although follow-up controls and evaluation of different management actions through monitoring programs are crucial in an adaptive management strategy, they are often neglected.Acacia longifoliais one of the most widespread IAPs in the Portuguese coastal areas, causing several negative impacts. This study reports the results of different control methods ofA. longifoliain two forest plantations over coastal dunes in two protected sites in Portugal, under different management regimes and for over 4 years. The best results were achieved after hand pulling, but due to its high cost, this method is not suitable for large areas. Mechanical cuts, which include the use of brush hogs, brush cutters, and chainsaws, resulted in variable levels of resprouting ofA. longifoliastumps. Follow-up treatments, whether mechanical and/or chemical, reduced the number ofA. longifoliaresprouts and kept its cover below 20% and height below 50 cm. Furthermore, controlling with brush cutters/hogs reduced the seed bank ofA. longifoliaby 74% while that with a disc harrow allowed an even greater reduction (91%). In areas where no follow-up treatments were carried out,A. longifoliastarted producing flowers two and a half years after the initial treatment, restarting the cycle of seed production. Nevertheless, a biological control agent that reducesA. longifoliaseed production (Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae) establishment was confirmed in the controlled areas, suggesting that new seed production by these plants will be soon controlled. Although species characteristic of the protected habitats are currently poorly represented, it is expected that they begin to emerge with the reduction ofA. longifolia. Our results stress the importance of persistence of follow-up treatments if higher success in IAPs control is to be achieved, not only because of the resprouting ability of many species (despite this not being very common inA. longifolia) but also because invasive plants can produce extensive persistent seed banks. The role of the management regime on the level of success in controlling IAPs will be discussed.

ФОРМУВАННЯ ВАРТОСТІ СХЕМ КОМПЕНСАЦІЇ БІОРІЗНОМАНІТТЯ

The article considers the main components of the cost of compensation for losses of biodiversity the implementation of economic development projects, in particular, losses of biodiversity in protected areas. Biodiversity offsets are economic instruments used to allow for some continued economic development whilst simultaneously delivering biodiversity objectives, such as no net loss or net gain. Offset programs most commonly seek to deliver no net loss of biodiversity, though some have adopted a more ambitious goal of delivering a positive outcome, or net gain, for biodiversity. It is noted that biodiversity offsets are attracting increasing interest as governments and the private sector seek to address biodiversity loss that occurs through development projects and activities. The evidence available to date points to somewhat mixed results in terms of the environmental effectiveness of existing biodiversity offset schemes. This is due not to the instrument itself, however, but rather to how these schemes have been designed and implemented in practice. Compared to other instruments for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, most biodiversity offset schemes are still fairly nascent in their application, and there is much to be learned from existing experience. It is noted that there are two compensation options: entering a management agreement to secure the work required – it is assumed that this will involve up front capital payments followed by annual management payments; purchase of land followed by costs of restoration/re-creation and management work – this incurs much higher up-front costs, but ongoing costs should be lower as there is no payment for profit foregone. It is concluded that the main costs of biodiversity offsets include: habitat creation and restoration costs; annual payments for appropriately managed in perpetuity biodiversity; land purchase costs; compensation landowners for income foregone; transaction costs. Also identified that very strict likefor-like requirements for threatened species or rare habitats may result in high prices. Significant impact of like-for-like requirements on offset prices can be avoided by taking a ‘graduated approach’, in which there is a looser like-for-like requirement for species and habitats of lower conservation priority and a stricter one for species and habitats of higher conservation priority.

Assessment of Fish Diversity in the Ma'an Archipelago Special Protected Area Using Environmental DNA.

This study aimed to investigate the practical validity of the environmental DNA (eDNA) method for evaluating fish composition and diversity in different habitats. We evaluated the fish composition and diversity characteristics of seven different habitats in the Ma'an Archipelago Special Protected Area in April 2020. The results showed that a total of twenty-seven species of fishes belonging to six orders, eighteen families, and twenty-three genera of the Actinopterygii were detected in the marine waters of the Ma'an Archipelago Special Protected Area. The dominant species in each habitat were Larimichthys crocea, Paralichthys olivaceus, and Lateolabrax maculatus. The mussel culture area had the highest number of species, with 19 fish species, while the offshore bulk load shedding platform had the lowest number of species, with 12 fish species. The rest of the habitat was not significantly different. The results showed that the mussel culture area had the highest diversity index (average value of 2.352 ± 0.161), and the offshore bulk load shedding platform had the lowest diversity index (average value of 1.865 ± 0.127); the rest of the habitat diversity indices did not differ significantly. A comparison with historical surveys showed that the eDNA technique can detect species not collected by traditional methods such as gillnets and trawls. Our study demonstrates the role of eDNA technology in obtaining fish diversity in different habitats and provides a theoretical basis for the continuous monitoring and management of fish biodiversity in protected areas.

Land use land cover change in and around Chebera Churchura National Park, Southwestern Ethiopia: implications for management effectiveness

BackgroundLand use-land cover change (LULCC) resulting from anthropogenic activities has been one of the major causes of loss of biodiversity globally. Thus, understanding the dynamics of such LULCC, especially within protected areas, is important to assess their past-present management effectiveness, identify the driving forces and assist future implementation of mitigation measures. The objectives of this study, based on satellite images analysis, were to examine and describe patterns of LULCC within and in the buffer zone area of Chebera Churchura National Park, SW Ethiopia, at five points in time (1985, 1991, 2000, 2010, and 2020); and to examine management effectiveness of the park authority in slowing down the rate of LULCCs after the establishment of the park.ResultsResults showed that different land cover types exhibited varying patterns of change over the last 35 years. However, major differences were detected between the park area boundary and its buffer zone area after establishment of the park. From the year 1991 to 2000 (before the establishment), grassland declined by 52.9% (120.55km2) and 58.9% (151.9km2) within the park boundary and its buffer zone, respectively. After the establishment, grassland continued to decline only in the buffer zone. Similarly, agricultural land declined by 13.2% (2.7 km2) within the park but expanded by 5.4% (3.1 km2) in the buffer zone prior to park establishment. However, after establishment of the park, agricultural land in the buffer zone increased by 99.4% (99.7 km2). Grassland and wooded grassland had the opposite trend within the park area before vs after the establishment of the park.ConclusionsResults of the present study showed that striking differences in the rates of LULCCs within the park area and its buffer zone after establishment of the park, with the implication that the management is effective in slowing down LULCC relative to that in the buffer zone areas. In sum, this study would serve as a showcase on cost-effective means to assess human impacts on biodiversity in protected areas due to policy changes. Findings of the study would serve as a bench mark to evaluate future management effectives of the park authority.

Combined impacts of future climate-driven vegetation changes and socioeconomic pressures on protected areas in Africa.

Africa's protected areas (PAs) are the last stronghold of the continent's unique biodiversity, but they appear increasingly threatened by climate change, substantial human population growth, and land-use change. Conservation planning is challenged by uncertainty about how strongly and where these drivers will interact over the next few decades. We investigated the combined future impacts of climate-driven vegetation changes inside African PAs and human population densities and land use in their surroundings for 2 scenarios until the end of the 21st century. We used the following 2 combinations of the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) and representative greenhouse gas concentration pathways (RCPs): the "middle-of-the-road" scenario SSP2-RCP4.5 and the resource-intensive "fossil-fueled development" scenario SSP5-RCP8.5. Climate change impacts on tree cover and biome type (i.e., desert, grassland, savanna, and forest) were simulated with the adaptive dynamic global vegetation model (aDGVM). Under both scenarios, most PAs were adversely affected by at least 1 of the drivers, but the co-occurrence of drivers was largely region and scenario specific. The aDGVM projections suggest considerable climate-driven tree cover increases in PAs in today's grasslands and savannas. For PAs in West Africa, the analyses revealed climate-driven vegetation changes combined with hotspots of high future population and land-use pressure. Except for many PAs in North Africa, future decreases in population and land-use pressures were rare. At the continental scale, SSP5-RCP8.5 led to higher climate-driven changes in tree cover and higher land-use pressure, whereas SSP2-RCP4.5 was characterized by higher future population pressure. Both SSP-RCP scenarios implied increasing challenges for conserving Africa's biodiversity in PAs. Our findings underline the importance of developing and implementing region-specific conservation responses. Strong mitigation of future climate change and equitable development scenarios would reduce ecosystem impacts and sustain the effectiveness of conservation in Africa.

Twenty years of ecological research in Nova Scotia wilderness areas and nature reserves: A review of studies, 2002 to 2022

The following paper is a review of the research undertaken over the last twenty years in Wilderness Areas and Nature Reserves in Nova Scotia. A brief summary is presented of the main findings of each research project conducted by the author or contributed to by the author in a significant way. Inventories have included eleven bioblitzes and over four thousand plots from systematic transects. These have revealed significant new records for species including those of conservation concern. Results suggest there are many species than have not been identified in protected areas. Geographical Information System (GIS) Ecological Land Classification was completed for Nova Scotia and this led to ecosystem gap analysis to determine ecosystems that are not well represented in the current protected areas system. Long-term monitoring, using biodiversity transects and lichens, indicates that air quality is good throughout the protected areas system. Forests are returning to a more climax condition and with the exception of a few instances, non-native plants are generally not problematic. Carbon modeling of protected areas suggests that they will be a carbon sink for the next one hundred years and would be a carbon source if managed for forestry. Protected areas are well suited to provide ideal optimal settings in which climate change adaptation and mitigation can take place. Planning for climate change within protected areas can be facilitated by a Climate Change Adaptation Framework.Research on species of special concern in protected areas has included turtles, Mainland Moose, Canada Lynx, America Marten, Lichens, Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora, forest plants and Piping Plover. Research on rare, sensitive, vulnerable ecosystems has involved predictive modeling and identification and characterization of heathlands, forest wetlands and Jack pine woodlands. Old Growth Forest research has included predictive modeling, biological inventories, dendrochronology studies and scoring using indicators. Human activities adjacent to protected areas can cause deleterious edge effects. An ongoing study in the Cloud Lake Wilderness Area is measuring the effect of adjacent forestry on birds and plants within the Wilderness Area. Several studies on connectivity have looked at the increase in connectivity caused by the establishment of protected areas in Nova Scotia. Other efforts on connectivity have identified key nodes of connectivity within the province which require protection. Human use of protected areas can lead to damage of ecosystems and so investigations on human use of protected areas has been focussed on motorized vehicles and to a lesser extent on human foot traffic. Although there have been many ecological studies in protected areas over the last twenty years, it is evident that there still is a great deal that is unknown about the biodiversity of protected areas.

Application of a trait‐based climate change vulnerability assessment to determine management priorities at protected area scale

AbstractEstimating and planning for the impacts of climate change on the biodiversity of protected areas is a major challenge for conservation managers. When these areas are topographically heterogenous and contain species' entire ranges, this challenge is exacerbated because the coarse spatial scales of Global Circulation Model projections provide limited information for within‐park management. South Africa's Table Mountain National Park, home to three endemic amphibian species in just ~24,500 hectares, provides a case study for identifying conservation needs under climate change. Selecting the park's herpetofauna as pilot taxa, we identified life history and demographic characteristics believed to make species more sensitive and less able to adapt to climate change. We organized these into assessment frameworks and, through a combination of literature review and expert elicitation, reviewed and used them to assess climate change vulnerability of 18 amphibian and 41 reptile species. The assessment highlighted that 73% and 67% of the park's reptile and amphibian species, respectively, had at least one high‐sensitivity and low‐adaptive capacity trait. Using ordinal and additive scoring methods, we identified the species most vulnerable to climate change and highlight the park areas containing their highest concentrations. These areas will be used to inform landscape‐scale management priorities and park use zones. The current IUCN Red List assessments for these species do not incorporate climate change vulnerability. Considering some species appear to be threatened by climate change, their conservation needs might be underestimated. Identifying the most vulnerable species and the mechanisms underpinning their vulnerability can guide the identification and prioritization of conservation needs, while the highlighted knowledge gaps inform priorities for monitoring and research. While comprehensive climate change adaptation planning for Table Mountain National Park requires additional assessment of other taxonomic groups, this trait‐based assessment example highlights a viable tool for assessing climate change vulnerability in protected areas.

Long‐term monitoring of wildlife populations for protected area management in Southeast Asia

AbstractLong‐term monitoring of biodiversity in protected areas (PAs) is critical to assess threats, link conservation action to species outcomes, and facilitate improved management. Yet, rigorous longitudinal monitoring within PAs is rare. In Southeast Asia (SEA), there is a paucity of long‐term wildlife monitoring within PAs, and many threatened species lack population estimates from anywhere in their range, making global assessments difficult. Here, we present new abundance estimates and population trends for 11 species between 2010 and 2020, and spatial distributions for 7 species, based on long‐term line transect distance sampling surveys in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia. These represent the first robust population estimates for four threatened species from anywhere in their range and are among the first long‐term wildlife population trend analyses from the entire SEA region. Our study revealed that arboreal primates and green peafowl (Pavo muticus) generally had either stable or increasing population trends, whereas ungulates and semiarboreal primates generally had declining trends. These results suggest that ground‐based threats, such as snares and domestic dogs, are having serious negative effects on terrestrial species. These findings have important conservation implications for PAs across SEA that face similar threats yet lack reliable monitoring data.

Carnivore Detection at the Domestic/Wildlife Interface within Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

Simple SummaryThe management of carnivore populations in protected areas includes disease management and census taking. The presence of prey species and environmental variables influence the detection of wild carnivore species. The aim of this study was to identify the important predictors of wild carnivore detection within two South African wildlife reserves using motion-detection camera traps. The study further investigated the difference between traditional census call-up surveys and camera traps within nearby locations. Buffalo, impala, and warthog were associated with lion and spotted hyena detections. Detections of lions and spotted hyenas and also leopards and spotted hyena were correlated, suggesting competition between these wild carnivore species. Competition among wild carnivore species has importance for implementing appropriate management procedures, including infectious disease prevention.South African protected areas account for 8% of the total landmass according to World Bank indicators. Effective conservation of biodiversity in protected areas requires the development of specific reserve management objectives addressing species and disease management. The primary objective of the current study was to identify predictors of carnivore detection in an effort to inform carnivore species management plans on Andover and Manyeleti nature reserves in South Africa. A limited number of camera traps were placed randomly using a grid system. Species detection data were analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression and Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Deterministic inverse distance weighted distribution maps were used to describe the spatial distribution of carnivore species. Camera traps identified similar species as traditional call-up surveys during the study and would be useful as an adjunct census method. Carnivore detection was associated with several variables, including the presence of specific prey species. The measured intra-and interspecies interactions suggested the risk of disease transmission among species, and vaccination for prevalent diseases should be considered to manage this risk.

Protected Areas of the Pampa biome presented land use incompatible with conservation purposes

ABSTRACT Currently, only 40% of Brazil’s Pampa still is covered by original vegetation; however, there is a clear underrepresentation of regional biodiversity in protected areas (PA). Herein, we assessed the extent to which 13 PAs for the Integral Protection in the Brazilian Pampa are effective in conserving samples of the natural attributes and biodiversity of the Pampa. Of all 13 PAs analysed, 11 showed human land uses (range: 0.8–39%) in the legally defined area. Only six PAs had natural land cover above 90%, and abandoned agricultural fields were present in most of the PAs. All buffer zones surrounding PAs for Integral Protection had human land uses. Half of the buffer zones had human-related uses in more than 40% of area. Agricultural mosaics were the most common land uses in the buffer zones. Our study shows that most Pampa PAs are not immune to anthropogenic pressures both inside and around them.

Welcome to Romania!, A Philatelic Retrospective on the Most Valuable Elements of the National Cultural Heritage

One of the most beautiful countries in Europe, Romania, offers many travel experiences that are just waiting to be discovered. The words that best describe the essence of Romania are authentic, natural, and cultural, being a country rich in history, art, and natural beauty. As a part of Europe, Romania has often earned its reputation as a country with special cultural and spiritual values. Most often, however, it has been noted in terms of people who have sanctified the places, in terms of places and monuments that delight our eyes, but especially in terms of biodiversity in protected areas recognized nationally and internationally. The purpose of this study is to present the implications of philately in promoting Romania abroad. In this sense, an attempt was made to expose a series of different philatelic effects. The pieces in question (postage stamps, First Day Covers - FDCs, maximum postcards, special envelopes and covers, etc.) that appeared on the occasion of various philatelic issues, come to warmly greet the visitor and entice him to visit these places. Moreover, through these philatelic materials (collected, indexed, and analyzed based on specialized catalogs and platforms with philatelic content), it was wanted to show that our country (Romania) is not just a Carpathian garden, but a European treasure, which transcends over the centuries through beauty and spirituality. No less than four reference philatelic issues have been discovered for the period 2009-2020, which support the idea of visiting the country, as well as the possibility to practice special cultural tourism.

Exploring biodiversity and users of campsites in desert nature reserves to balance between social values and ecological impacts

Protected areas (PAs) are key conservation areas designed to limit the impacts of human activities on biodiversity. PAs also provide great opportunities for individuals to experience nature complexity, through recreational activities, and can contribute to restore the non-material and intangible services nature provides to people (i.e., cultural ecosystem services). However, recreational activities may negatively affect biodiversity. Identifying the right balance between promoting nature interactions and safeguarding biodiversity in PAs is challenging. Current knowledge gaps on the social value and ecological impacts of recreational activities, such as camping in PAs, hinder our ability to address this challenge. This is particularly true for PAs located in desert ecosystems. In this interdisciplinary study, we surveyed biodiversity and people to assess ecological impacts and social values of campsites in desert PAs in Israel. Ecological surveys included birds, plants, rodents and scorpions in campsites and control plots. We conducted two social surveys: (1) in situ survey of campsite users (N = 280) on satisfaction, motivations and perceptions of campsites and (2) online nation-wide survey (N = 322) on perceptions of campsites and investigation of the attributes individuals prioritize in campsites. Our results demonstrate that when desert campsites are located outside nature-rich areas (i.e. the wadis), they have relatively moderate negative impact on biodiversity for three out of the four taxa studied (birds, scorpions and rodents). Bird communities were dominated by synanthropic species in high intensity campsites. Surprisingly, even when campsites were located in nature-poor areas, users' satisfaction was relatively high. Among the broader population, ecological quality (i.e. vegetation complexity) did not have strong influence on people's preferences of/for campsites, and comfort-related aspects were prioritized over vegetation in campsites. Overall, our results demonstrate that placing desert campsites outside ecologically rich areas can serve as optimal solution to balance impacts on biodiversity and social value of recreation activities in PAs.

Local community involvement in nature conservation under the auspices of Community‐Based Natural Resource Management: A state of the art review

AbstractNumerous initiatives and programmes were introduced to enable biodiversity conservation, and community involvement was among these propositions. In line with such initiatives, several frameworks were thus developed to ensure the sustainable implementation and realisation of such programmes. This saw the establishment of the Community‐Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). As such, numerous calls were made to explore community involvement strategies and associated socio‐economic impacts in nature conservation. Most studies and reports emanating from such calls demonstrate cases of failure of inter alia including poaching. This work, therefore, provides a detailed synthesis of the implications of involving local communities in conservation in protected areas (PAs) and further examines how spatial explicit methodologies can be adopted in enhancing nature conservation. Overall, the study has shown that community attitudes and perceptions towards nature conservation in PAs point towards the failure of the CBNRM approach. Weak, conflicted and sometimes corrupt governance and poor institutional arrangements seem to have contributed towards its failure. Overall, the review further indicates that most studies on community involvement in nature conservation have not fully considered the spatial dimension, and this has hampered holistic and effective monitoring and assessment of biodiversity in PAs to ensure sustainable management and the possible implications of such an approach towards conservation. This work, therefore, recommends a shift towards collaborative modelling, transdisciplinary monitoring and assessment approaches to improve biodiversity conservation as well as to determine the success and limitations of the CBNRM approach in Africa and the world over.

Potential Risks of Plant Invasions in Protected Areas of Sri Lanka under Climate Change with Special Reference to Threatened Vertebrates

There is substantial global concern over the potential impacts of plant invasions on native biodiversity in protected areas (PAs). Protected areas in tropical island countries that host rich biodiversity face an imminent risk from the potential spread of invasive alien plant species. Thus, the aim of this study was to gain a general understanding of the potential risks of multiple plant invasions in PAs located in the tropical island of Sri Lanka under projected climate change. We conducted a further analysis of a multi-species climate suitability assessment, based on a previous study using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach, and tested how species invasion may change in protected areas under climate change. We evaluated how the climate suitability of 14 nationally recognized invasive alien plant species (IAPS) will vary within PAs and outside PAs by 2050 under two climate change scenarios, representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. Our findings suggest that there will be increased risks from multiple IAPS inside PAs and outside PAs in Sri Lanka in the future; however, the potential risk is comparatively less in PAs. We provide an overview of the species richness of selected threatened vertebrate groups, which can be potentially impacted by IAPS in PAs. The findings of this study highlight important implications for the strategic management of plant invasions in PAs in order to safeguard native biodiversity, with special reference to vertebrates.

Spatial tradeoff between biodiversity and nature-based tourism: Considering mobile phone-driven visitation pattern

Nature-based tourism contributes to the conservation of biodiversity by offering financial stability and enhancing visitors’ interest in nature, and thus has become an increasingly important issue in managing protected areas. However, unsustainable tourism can adversely affect biodiversity due to increased human traffic, and can devastate a wilderness area. Although the demand for nature-based tourism is on the rise, monitoring tourist’s spatial visitation pattern and its characteristics in protected areas is extremely rare. Therefore, this study quantified the spatial visitation pattern of tourists in protected areas in an innovative way by using mobile phone information and evaluated the trade-off between conservation requirements and visitation preferences to offer insights into biodiversity conservation. To clarify the causal relationship between tourism and biodiversity by considering various biodiversity factors at the species and landscape levels, we applied a Bayesian network approach reflecting multi-causality. This study showed significant spatial causality between biodiversity and tourism preference, particularly with respect to biodiversity at the species level. Supporting artifacts in protected areas were not affected in such a relationship. This study highlighted the necessity to monitor 133 protected areas on Jeju Island that were identified as visitation hotspots. The methodology and its applications described in this study may offer insights into the improvement of tourism management and the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas.