Biodiversity Targets Research Articles

Agrodeforestation and the loss of agrobiodiversity in the Pacific Islands: a call for conservation

Our ability to conserve biodiversity and to adapt to climate, environmental and economic change in the Pacific Islands will be greatly dependent on the conservation, restoration and enrichment of biodiversity within traditional multispecies agricultural land use systems. “Agrobiodiversity” is the most well-known, culturally-useful and accessible biodiversity on most islands and constitutes the most important foundation for ecosystem goods and services that support food, health, energy and livelihood security. This rich Pacific agrobiodiversity heritage, including associated ethnobiodiversity is highly threatened and deserves more prominence in mainstream conservation initiatives as a foundation for long-term sustainability. Such action is in line with Aichi Biodiversity Targets 7 and 13 which set goals for sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and the maintenance of genetic diversity as critical for successful biodiversity conservation globally. It is also supported by the findings of the Japan Satoyama-Satoumi Assessment, which stresses the critical importance of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provided by traditional agricultural and village landscapes.

The Diffusion of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and Its Aichi Biodiversity Targets within the Biodiversity Cluster: An Illustration of Current Trends in the Global Governance of Biodiversity and Ecosystems

2010 left observers with doubts and uncertainties concerning the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems on a global scale.1 The 2010 objective for biodiversity2 had not been met, and this situation was recognized with alarm by the whole international community.3 As officially stated by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), swift actions had to be taken in order to tackle the massive erosion of biodiversity that had been underlined by so many experts.4 That same year, the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP), which was held in Nagoya, issued several decisions reflecting the international community’s attempt to establish the necessary framework to halt the decline of world biodiversity.5 Among those decisions, a new strategic plan for the coming decade was adopted: the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–20 (SPB) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.6 This new strategic plan goes further than its predecessor in several different ways. First, its architecture is far more developed than the previous plan’s. With a carefully explained rationale, the new plan introduces five strategic goals (from A to E) and twenty ‘Aichi Biodiversity Targets’ distributed among these strategic goals. For example, under Strategic Goal A: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Biodiversity Loss by Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Government and Society, one finds four different Aichi targets among which Target no. 1 states: ‘By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.’ Compared to the previous plan, this one focuses more on the role and place of human beings within their environment. Second, the members of the CBD did not simply state a new plan but also added sections related to the implementation and support of the different goals and objectives.7 The failure to meet the 2010 objective increased awareness of what was needed to see the new strategic plan succeed.

Integration of Land-Sharing and Land-Sparing Conservation Strategies Through Regional Networking: The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor as a Lifeline for Carnivores in El Salvador

Nations with little remaining natural habitat and small extent are challenged when trying to achieve biodiversity targets. We show that the Central American nation of El Salvador cannot viably sustain populations of 87 % of its extant carnivores, especially in the case of large-bodied species with low population densities. Current land-sparing strategies will not suffice; therefore we propose that land-sharing strategies be implemented in tandem with protected areas to expand current conservation efforts via new regional networks. In Central America such a network can be established by linking international protected area systems in a way that implements the existing vision for the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. Specifically, we propose a re-envisioning of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in which land-sharing practices are adopted throughout the agricultural matrix while ensuring formal protection of the remaining natural habitat. Such an integration of land-sparing and land-sharing could result in the creation of an effective network of protected areas, thereby increasing the probability of safeguarding species with populations that overlap national borders.

Integrating Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Goal Structure, Target Areas and Means of Implementation

The United Nations’ discussions on defining a new set of post-2015 development goals focus on poverty eradication and sustainable development. Biodiversity and ecosystem services are essential for poverty eradication, which is also one of the foundations of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Based on an assessment of current proposals of goals and targets, and a quantitative pathway analysis to meet long term biodiversity and food security goals, this paper discusses how biodiversity and ecosystem services can be integrated into a broad set of goals and targets, and concludes with relevant target areas and means of implementation for which specific targets need to be defined. Furthermore, it responds to the call of the CBD to consider the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the related Aichi biodiversity targets in the post-2015 development agenda. The paper’s analysis identifies three overlapping but also supplemental ways to integrate biodiversity and ecosystem services in the post-2015 agenda: integrated goals, goals addressing earth system functioning and goals addressing environmental limits. It further concludes seven target areas to be included under the goals to address biodiversity and ecosystem services in the context of food and agriculture: access to food, demand for agricultural products, sustainable intensification, ecosystem fragmentation, protected areas, essential ecosystem services and genetic diversity. The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity provides a good basis for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in the post-2015 development agenda. Many Aichi targets address the proposed target areas and the means of implementation discussed, while they need to be complemented with targets that specifically address human well-being, as well as institutions and governance.

Ecological Footprint: Implications for biodiversity

In October 2010, world leaders gathered in Nagoya, Japan, for the CBD COP10 and agreed on the adoption of new biodiversity targets and new indicators for the period 2011–2020. This represents a positive development. But given the previous failure in achieving the 2010 biodiversity targets, new approaches to implementation as well as relevant measuring and monitoring systems are needed, for this renewed effort to have lasting success in preserving biodiversity.The need to adopt a comprehensive approach in monitoring biodiversity clearly emerged and it can be seen in the five strategic goals within which the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity targets are classified. Among them, is the strategic goal A, which aims to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society. The aim of this paper is to describe the role of the Ecological Footprint in tracking human-induced pressures on biodiversity thus providing a synthesis of how the Ecological Footprint tool can contribute to the advancement of conservation science. Information is provided on the main features of the Footprint indicator and its dataset, the ongoing work to improve the methodology as well as the geographical (more than 150 countries covered) and temporal coverage (a period of almost five decades) of the Ecological Footprint accounting tool.

Cost-effective biodiversity restoration with uncertain growth in forest habitat quality

This paper develops a dynamic model for cost-effective selection of sites for restoring biodiversity when habitat quality develops over time and is uncertain. A safety-first decision criterion is used for ensuring a minimum level of habitats, and this is formulated in a chance-constrained programming framework. The theoretical results show; (i) inclusion of quality growth reduces overall cost for achieving a future biodiversity target from relatively early establishment of habitats, but (ii) consideration of uncertainty in growth increases total cost and delays establishment, and (iii) cost-effective trading of habitat requires exchange rate between sites that varies over time. An empirical application to the red listed umbrella species - white-backed woodpecker - shows that the total cost of achieving habitat targets specified in the Swedish recovery plan is doubled if the target is to be achieved with high reliability, and that equilibrating price on a habitat trading market differs considerably between different quality growth combinations. © 2013 Elsevier GmbH.

Can pollination services, species diversity and conservation be simultaneously promoted by sown wildflower strips on farmland?

Sown wildflower strips have been used to mitigate against the loss of farmland biodiversity e.g. as a part of agri-environmental schemes. In this four-year field experiment, conducted on six field parcels, the ability of wildflower strips to simultaneously promote the availability of pollination services (using bumblebee abundance as a proxy), species diversity (total species richness of bumblebees, butterflies and diurnal moths) and conservation (abundance of habitat specialist butterflies) was evaluated. The results showed that the first two indicators increased strongly and rapidly in wildflower strips until the third year of the experiment. The conservation indicator increased more slowly and this response was related to the forest cover of the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, the benefits of wildflower strips were largely independent of experimentally varied strip properties. It is concluded that wildflower strips are a flexible mitigation tool to promote different biodiversity targets in agricultural systems. Pollination services and species diversity can be promoted in different kinds of landscapes by ensuring local habitat quality. In the promotion of habitat specialists, landscape matrix quality is more critical.

Bridging the biodiversity data gaps: Recommendations to meet users’ data needs

A strong case has been made for freely available, high quality data on species occurrence, in order to track changes in biodiversity. However, one of the main issues surrounding the provision of such data is that sources vary in quality, scope, and accuracy. Therefore publishers of such data must face the challenge of maximizing quality, utility and breadth of data coverage, in order to make such data useful to users. Here, we report a number of recommendations that stem from a content need assessment survey conducted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Through this survey, we aimed to distil the main user needs regarding biodiversity data. We find a broad range of recommendations from the survey respondents, principally concerning issues such as data quality, bias, and coverage, and extending ease of access. We recommend a candidate set of actions for the GBIF that fall into three classes: 1) addressing data gaps, data volume, and data quality, 2) aggregating new kinds of data for new applications, and 3) promoting ease-of-use and providing incentives for wider use. Addressing the challenge of providing high quality primary biodiversity data can potentially serve the needs of many international biodiversity initiatives, including the new 2020 biodiversity targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the emerging global biodiversity observation network (GEO BON), and the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

Targeting global conservation funding to limit immediate biodiversity declines

Inadequate funding levels are a major impediment to effective global biodiversity conservation and are likely associated with recent failures to meet United Nations biodiversity targets. Some countries are more severely underfunded than others and therefore represent urgent financial priorities. However, attempts to identify these highly underfunded countries have been hampered for decades by poor and incomplete data on actual spending, coupled with uncertainty and lack of consensus over the relative size of spending gaps. Here, we assemble a global database of annual conservation spending. We then develop a statistical model that explains 86% of variation in conservation expenditures, and use this to identify countries where funding is robustly below expected levels. The 40 most severely underfunded countries contain 32% of all threatened mammalian diversity and include neighbors in some of the world's most biodiversity-rich areas (Sundaland, Wallacea, and Near Oceania). However, very modest increases in international assistance would achieve a large improvement in the relative adequacy of global conservation finance. Our results could therefore be quickly applied to limit immediate biodiversity losses at relatively little cost.

Considerable environmental bottlenecks for species listed in the Habitats and Birds Directives in the Netherlands

Many habitats and species have their existence threatened, especially in densely populated areas such as Western Europe. To stop the decline of biodiversity, the Natura 2000 network is being set-up. The ultimate objective is to get all habitat types (of Annex I of the Habitats Directive) and species (of Annexes II, III and IV of the Habitats Directive and Annex I of the Birds Directive) in a favourable conservation status. In the Netherlands a national ecological network has been set up for this purpose which includes the designated Natura 2000 sites. The current amount of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, acidification and desiccation were compared with limit values per habitat type for nitrogen deposition load, soil pH and spring groundwater table respectively and subsequently presented together in one map. Fragmentation was tested for 80 species.For two-third of the examined natural surface the critical load for nitrogen deposition is exceeded, desiccation is present in over 90% of the area of groundwater dependent nature. Problems with acidification are less pronounced. Fragmentation is present causing regional problems for up to six species. When the four pressures are combined, about two third of the areas suffer from at least one pressure. Many areas suffer from a combination of nitrogen deposition and desiccation.We conclude that environmental and spatial conditions are insufficient to meet the biodiversity target set by the European Union for the Natura 2000 network, habitat types and species.

Influence of spatio-temporal resource availability on mushroom mite diversity

Although biodiversity in nature is of fundamental importance because it improves the sustainability of ecosystems, communities of microscopic organisms are generally excluded from conservation targets for biodiversity. Here, I hypothesize that mushroom mite species richness is correlated with both spatial (i.e., mushroom size) and temporal (i.e., longevity of fruiting bodies) resource availability. I collected fruiting bodies in an old-growth forest over 4 years to collect mites and insects inhabiting the mushrooms. Mites were collected from 47 % of the fruiting bodies and approximately 60 % of the mite species were collected only once. Mite species richness was significantly correlated with the availability of long-lasting fruiting bodies. For example, bracket fungi contained more mite species than ephemeral fruiting bodies. Insect presence was also correlated with mushroom mite richness, probably as phoretic hosts and food resources for predacious mites. On the other hand, mushroom size seemed to be less important; small fruiting bodies sometimes harbored several mite species. Although mite species richness was correlated with mushroom species richness, mushroom specificity by mites was not clear except for a preference for long-lasting fruiting bodies. Therefore, I suggest that a constant supply of coarse woody debris is crucial for maintaining preferred resources for mushroom mites (e.g., bracket fungi) and their associated insects (mycophilous and possibly saproxylic insects).

Protected Areas legislation and the conservation of the Colombian Orinoco Basin natural ecosystems

Colombia has shown a strong commitment to the achievement of the CBDs biodiversity target, by promoting the conservation of at least 10% of its natural ecosystems. Protected Area categories in Co- lombia are undergoing a standardization process that should enhance the countrys capacity to protect its natural ecosystems. In this study we use a spatial analysis to examine how the legislation and the civil societys initiatives help in the conservation of natural ecosystems in the Colombian Orinoco Basin. We found that differentiation in use restriction legislation limits the conservation potential of some Protected Area categories. The only fully Protected Areas in Colombia are the Natural National Parks System Areas, which protect only 10% of the area of natural ecosystems and less than 50% of the natural ecosystems in the Colombian Orinoco Basin. Indigenous Reserves help significantly in the conservation of the natural ecosystems in the Colombian Orinoco Basin, but are not a Protected Area category, making it difficult for indigenous groups to aid in the accomplishment of conservation goals in Colombia. A small percentage of ecosystems of the Colombian Orinoco Basin fall outside of any Protected Area or Indigenous Reserve and urgent actions may be needed to protect them. Future similar studies should use current and updated information on Protected Areas and take into account changes in land cover, for a better understanding of the role of different categories of Protected Areas in the achievement of conserva- tion objectives in Colombia.

Crop expansion and conservation priorities in tropical countries.

Expansion of cropland in tropical countries is one of the principal causes of biodiversity loss, and threatens to undermine progress towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. To understand this threat better, we analysed data on crop distribution and expansion in 128 tropical countries, assessed changes in area of the main crops and mapped overlaps between conservation priorities and cultivation potential. Rice was the single crop grown over the largest area, especially in tropical forest biomes. Cropland in tropical countries expanded by c. 48,000 km2 per year from 1999–2008. The countries which added the greatest area of new cropland were Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Brazil. Soybeans and maize are the crops which expanded most in absolute area. Other crops with large increases included rice, sorghum, oil palm, beans, sugar cane, cow peas, wheat and cassava. Areas of high cultivation potential—while bearing in mind that political and socio-economic conditions can be as influential as biophysical ones—may be vulnerable to conversion in the future. These include some priority areas for biodiversity conservation in tropical countries (e.g., Frontier Forests and High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas), which have previously been identified as having ‘low vulnerability’, in particular in central Africa and northern Australia. There are also many other smaller areas which are important for biodiversity and which have high cultivation potential (e.g., in the fringes of the Amazon basin, in the Paraguayan Chaco, and in the savanna woodlands of the Sahel and East Africa). We highlight the urgent need for more effective sustainability standards and policies addressing both production and consumption of tropical commodities, including robust land-use planning in agricultural frontiers, establishment of new protected areas or REDD+ projects in places agriculture has not yet reached, and reduction or elimination of incentives for land-demanding bioenergy feedstocks.

Anthropomorphic Factors Influencing Spanish Conservation Policies of Vertebrates

National and international reports developed for the International Year of Biodiversity concluded that we have failed to meet the 2010 biodiversity target. There is an urgent need to analyze current policies for biodiversity conservation. We examined the anthropomorphic factors underlying the threatened species listings (both red lists and legal lists) and funding allocation for the conservation of vertebrates in Spain at different organizational levels, from the global to subnational level. Our results reveal a strong effect of anthropomorphic factors on conservation policies, mainly legal listings and species priority setting at national scale. Specifically, we found that those vertebrates that are phylogenetically close to humans or physically similar to human neonates tend to receive more conservation attention. Based on results, we suggest recommendations to improve conservation policies in Spain.

An effective regional Marine Protected Area network for the ROPME Sea Area: Unrealistic vision or realistic possibility?

Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) targets aim to encourage the establishment of an effective global network of MPAs covering 10% of coastal and marine ecoregions by 2020. This paper presents findings from the first ever regional assessment of MPA management effectiveness in the ROPME (Regional Organisation for the Protection of the Marine Environment) Sea Area (RSA). The RSA, extends from the Gulf to the Arabian Sea coast of Oman, and is bordered by 8 member states, including some of the world’s richest and fastest growing global economies. There are 173 MPAs covering 7.8% of the RSA (36,182.03 km2). Progress towards CBD MPA targets is lower as: (i) stated area coverages often include a terrestrial component; (ii) only 37% are legally ‘Designated’ (5.4% RSA), while 73% remain ‘Proposed’ (2.4% RSA) and; (iii) assessment of management effectiveness revealed variable levels of performance (11% to 58%, with an average of 34%). Underlying causes for low performance are discussed and recommendations are offered to help RSA member states meet CBD MPA targets by 2020.

The 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity—progress on the road to achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity—progress on the road to achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

A framework for systematic conservation planning and management of Mediterranean landscapes

Active and dynamic management of biodiversity is of utmost importance in the face of increasing human pressures on nature. Current approaches for site selection of protected areas often assume that both conservation features and management actions are fixed in space and time. However, this approach should be revised to allow for spatio-temporal shifts of biodiversity features, threats and management options. Our aim here was to demonstrate a novel approach for systematic conservation planning at a fine scale that incorporates dynamic ecological processes (e.g., succession), biodiversity targets and management costs. We used the new ‘Marxan with Zones’ decision support tool to spatially redistribute the major structural types of vegetation within a privately-owned nature park in Israel and facilitate the achievement of multiple conservation targets for minimum cost. The park is located in the Mediterranean climate region of the eastern Mediterranean Basin, one of Earth’s richest biodiversity hotspots. This small park alone (4.5km2) holds 660 species of native plants and six structural types of vegetation. The region has been subject to manifold human pressures such as grazing, clearing and fire for millennia and is currently threatened by a range of modern human-related activities (e.g., invasive alien species). By spatially redistributing the six structural vegetation types under three scenarios, representing different conservation objectives (no change, equal distribution – evenness of structural types, preference to early succession stages) within three budget frameworks, we identified a set of near-optimal conservation strategies that can be enacted over time. The current spatial distribution of structural types and the cost of changing one structural type into another via management actions had a major impact on the spatial prioritization outcomes and management recommendations. Notably, an advanced successional stage (dense Mediterranean garrigue) tended to dominate a large portion of the landscape when the available budgets were low because it is a relatively inexpensive structural type to maintain. The approach presented here can be further applied to spatially prioritize conservation goals in the face of shifting environments and climates, allowing dynamic conservation planning at multiple spatial scales.

Tourism and biodiversity along the Euro-Mediterranean Coast: Prospects for overcoming a deeply rooted conflict

In Euro-Mediterranean coastal areas, particularly along the coastal zones of Spain, France and Italy, high biodiversity values - derived not only from natural, but also from human factors, such as grazing and agricultural activities - are coupled with traditionally intense tourist flows, related to mass seaside tourism. Since the 1950s, this type of tourism, and two major socio-economic processes associated with it—‘litoralization' and abandonment of grazing and agricultural activities in inland areas—has been causing significant losses of biodiversity, along the coast and in the hinterland. Considering this critical situation, this paper investigates how tourism and some of its threats can be turned into an opportunity for reaching the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (Target 5, in particular) within the context of Euro- Mediterranean coastal areas. To this aim, some examples of policies developed within three coastal protected areas (‘Protected Landscapes', IUCN Category V: the Parque Natural de la Albufera de Valencia, Spain, the Parc Naturel RA©gional de la Narbonnaise en MA©diterranA©e, France, and the Parco Naturale Regionale del Conero, Italy) for overcoming the tourism-biodiversity conflicts are analysed. These parks can be regarded as experimental laboratories for policies relating to unprotected coastal areas as well.

Protected Area branding strategies to increase stewardship among park constituencies

With the complexity and resource intensity needed to manage parks, protected area managers increasingly rely on their constituencies to assume stewardship responsibilities. To meet the intentions of the Convention on Biodiversity Target 11, thousands of new protected areas will need to be gazetted. This dramatic increase in the number of global protected areas will significantly add to the dependence of managers on their constituencies to be actively engaged in park protection and management. One underutilized management tool to connect people to parks sustainably is branding. Protected area brands can engage emotions, evoke personal beliefs and prompt the behaviours managers prefer when the brand’s core values are appropriately expressed. Yet, management often does not wield these brands to their maximum potential, thus limiting the tangible and intangible benefits they could bestow if simple marketing practices were followed. This paper outlines three fundamental branding practices – building brand awareness, teaching brand meaning and growing positive brand equity over time – that are applicable to the goals of every protected area manager. Strategically deployed, branding plays an essential role in the sustainability of parks and protected areas.

The Arctic Species Trend Index: using vertebrate population trends to monitor the health of a rapidly changing ecosystem

The task of measuring the change of Arctic biodiversity and instituting changes to halt and reverse any downturn has been taken up in response to the rapid changes observed in the region. It is an undertaking made more difficult by the rate at which environmental change is occurring and the difficulty in monitoring species in remote and challenging habitats. We explored techniques to aggregate population trends among vertebrate species. We compiled almost 900 time series data sets tracking trends in Arctic vertebrate populations over the past four decades representing 37% of all known Arctic vertebrate species. Our results showed strengths in the breadth of populations and species monitored and the disaggregation of the data to uncover regional trends. Limitations of the data set were still apparent, due to the lack of any stratified monitoring scheme. Specifically, there were more bird species data than any other vertebrate class. To measure progress towards global targets for the environment, such as the Aichi biodiversity targets for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), indicators like the one we have developed must be strengthened and adapted. Never has it been more important to understand how Arctic ecosystems and the living resources they support are responding to environmental change; tracking how they respond to growing and cumulative pressures will enable pre-emptive action to safeguard their future.