Extensive Protected Area Research Articles

Caracterización de poblaciones de especies endémicas en bosque tropical seco semideciduo. Parque Nacional Machalilla, Manabí, Ecuador

ABSTRACT Seasonally dry tropical forests are ecosystems of high endemism and floristic diversity, but they have been relatively not well-studied ecosystems and are very much threatened by anthropic pressures. This study aimed to evaluate the dendrometric and horizontal structure characteristics of the population of 12 endemic plant species in the semideciduous forest of the Equatorial Pacific Coastal Cordillera of the Machalilla National Park, Manabí, Ecuador. This is one of the most extensive protected areas on the Ecuadorian coast, located in the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biogeographic region. It is considered one of the 25 hotspots worldwide. We selected 12 species that hypothetically co-exist in this semideciduous forest (Bursera graveolens, Eriotheca ruizii, Handroanthus chrysanthus, Ziziphus thyrsiflora, Geoffroea spinosa, Myroxylon balsamum, Priogymnanthus apertus, Melicoccus bijugatus, Nectandra reticulata, Simira ecuadorensis, Coccoloba ruiziana, Klarobelia lucida). We studied five 2500 m2 transects, where dendrometric variables (tree height, diameter at breast height-DBH, basal area, altimetric and diameter classes) were evaluated. We evaluated the horizontal structure variables of populations like absolute/relative abundance, dominance and frequency, and the importance value index (IVI and IVN). In 12,500 m2, the results identified 331 individuals. M. balsamum was the highest species (9.41 m), while E. ruizii had the highest DBH (21.03 cm) and the biggest basal area (0.05 m2). The species with the highest absolute/relative abundance and frequency were S. ecuadorensis and H. chrysanthus, and the latter had the highest absolute dominance (1.23 m2•ha−1). S. ecuadorensis presented the highest importance value index based on 100 and 300, followed by H. chrysanthus and Z. thyrsiflora. P. apertus, M. balsamum, E. ruizii and C. ruiziana obtained intermediate values. The least ecological weight was for N. reticulata, K. lucida, M. bijugatus and G. spinosa. No B. graveolens individuals were observed in the studied transects in this forest because this species was found at altitudes < 240 m a.s.l. The results of the altimetric and diameter classes indicated that the studied sector corresponds to a relatively young secondary forest affected by natural and anthropic factors.

A review and SWOC analysis of natural heritage tourism in sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT The paper analyses the state of natural heritage tourism in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and assesses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOC), accordingly. Data were obtained from secondary information sources and analysed using the inductive qualitative approach. The paper illustrates the existence of a mutual relationship between natural heritage and tourism in the SSA region. Identified strengths include a diverse and extensive protected area (PA) network, foreign direct investment inflow, and community-based natural resource management projects. The main opportunity lies in the great untapped potential for natural heritage tourism in the region. Findings reveal that most of the weaknesses of SSA countries are related to budget constraints. The main challenges to the sustainability of natural heritage include political instability, climate change, wildlife crime, and land use changes. The paper concludes that while the region has several strengths and opportunities, there also exist several weaknesses and challenges, which negatively impact the sustainability of both the natural heritage legacy and tourism. To enhance the sustainability of both, there is need for a sustained management of tourism impacts at the natural heritage sites, and persistent engagement of necessary stakeholders to devise innovative ways of enhancing sustainable revenue streams for nature and wildlife conservation.

Aerial insectivorous bat responses to 30 years of forest insularization in a dam-created Amazonian archipelagic landscape

Mega dams result in habitat loss and fragmentation in lowland tropical forests, compromising the diversity and ecosystem functioning in remnant habitat islands. We investigated the structure of aerial insectivorous bat assemblages within insular forest patches created by a vast ∼30-year-old hydropower reservoir and adjacent mainland continuous forests in Central Amazonia. Bats were surveyed using passive bat recorders across 34 sites. We assessed bat assemblage responses to landscape insularization and estimated the contribution of assemblage-wide components of β-diversity. Additionally, we assessed the effects of local vegetation, and both patch and landscape variables on bat species diversity. Continuous forest sites in the mainland retained higher species richness and bat activity compared to islands, leading to divergent species composition between forest sites. Larger islands (>100 ha) and continuous forests tended to share a similar assemblage composition manly drive by species richness differences with a minor contribution of species replacements. Moreover, local vegetation structure, island size, and landscape edge area exerted significant effects on species richness, bat activity, and species composition, with small degraded islands and landscapes dominated by forest edges exhibiting pervasive species loss. Our study highlights the detrimental impacts of forest fragmentation induced by large dams on aerial insectivorous bat assemblages. If new dam projects are inevitable, we recommend the creation of extensive protected areas in land-bridge island systems and their adjacent continuous forests. Those protected sites can minimize the negative impacts of small islands, safeguarding forest quality for forest-dependent bats, which ensures the continuity of their ecosystem services.

Functional diversity and trait filtering of insectivorous bats on forest islands created by an Amazonian mega dam

Abstract Mega dams in lowland tropical forests often create large archipelagos, leading to biodiversity decay and disruption of ecosystem functioning in remnant habitat islands. We investigated the functional diversity and functional trait filtering of aerial insectivorous bats in both insular forest patches created by a vast ~30‐year‐old hydropower reservoir and the adjacent mainland continuous forest in Central Amazonia. Bats were surveyed using passive bat recorders across 34 forest sites. Based on a set of morphological traits derived for each species recorded, we estimated both the bat functional richness, functional evenness and functional dispersion at each surveyed site. We further assessed the effects of local vegetation, patch and landscape features on patterns of functional diversity. The interaction between functional traits, environmental characteristics, and species distribution was investigated using a combination of RLQ and fourth‐corner analyses. We found that mainland sites retained higher functional richness and lower functional evenness compared to forest islands, indicating a more complete functional assemblage in the mainland. Additionally, species composition was affected by local vegetation structure and forest area, with small isolated islands exhibiting pervasive loss of functional traits. RLQ and fourth‐corner analyses showed that larger understorey foraging species with greater dispersal capacity, constant frequency–frequency modulated calls, and higher frequency of maximum energy were associated with more isolated small islands. Conversely, forest subcanopy species, exhibiting quasi‐constant frequency calls and presenting low dispersal capacity were associated with continuous forests and islands with greater forest area, and were therefore more sensitive to habitat insularization. Our study calls attention to the pervasive impacts induced by large dams on the functional diversity of tropical insectivorous bats. We recommend that future assessments of the effects of habitat fragmentation on mammals should include traits linked to ecosystem services. In designing and licensing new dams, we suggest the creation of extensive protected areas surrounding mainland forests to minimize the detrimental impacts of small isolated islands and safeguard the full complement of key ecological functions provided by insectivorous bats. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Local knowledge, perceptions and the cultural significance of the Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan

ABSTRACT Bhutan has an extensive protected area network and people living inside are integral partners with the conservation landscape. Despite this, little is known on local people’s traditional knowledge, cultural beliefs, and perceptions on wildlife. We investigated drivers of local knowledge, threats and cultural significance of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) through semi-structured questionnaire surveys (N= 664 participants) on local residents in Jigme Dorji and Phrumsengla National Parks. A conditional inference tree analysis explained that knowledge of the red panda and encounters with the species varied by demography, occupation and locality. Although the majority of respondents were not knowledgeable of the species, residents living within the elevational range of red pandas exhibited greater knowledge. Civil servants, farmers, foresters, park staff, and teachers also had significantly greater knowledge of red pandas than monks, road workers, and students. Informally educated older (≥41 years) respondents placed higher cultural significance on the red panda relative to much younger respondents. Although past studies in Jigme Dorji National Park have identified habitat destruction and fragmentation due to linear infrastructural development – such as the construction of new power transmission lines – as significant anthropogenic threats to the red panda, respondents listed only non-timber forest products collection, forest fires, timber and firewood harvesting, climate change, livestock grazing, and kills by domestic dogs as some of the most prevailing threats to the red panda in our study area. Recognizing and incorporating the intrinsic value of wildlife within the protected area–people framework and utilizing traditional cultural perceptions of threatened species like the red panda, can be a valuable tool in strengthening public support for species conservation. This study further advocates an urgent need for educational programs to promote ecological and cultural values of the red panda in schools and the wider public.

The Evolution of India's Environmental Policy

Environmental policies are influenced by a multitude of factors and determine how environmental resources are accessed, apportioned, consumed, conserved and governed. Using existing literature, the paper tracks the evolution of India's environmental policy post-independence. We discuss the key milestones in the country's environmental journey and their drivers. We found that India's environmental policy took shape in the 1970s and 1980s when environmental obligations were included in the constitution and federal laws were framed. It led to the creation of an extensive protected area network, albeit by overlooking the needs of the forest dwellers. In the 1990s, the judiciary innovated by creating space for civil society to take up environmental issues and played an active role. This period also saw a gradual shift towards participatory natural resource management and collaboration between the state and the civil society. However, by the early 21st century this bonhomie weakened when civil society successfully secured the tenurial rights of the forest dwellers. The last decade has seen a weakening of participatory forest management, a shift towards re-centralization, and a relentless tussle between a strong state and a resilient civil society. The key influencing factors of environmental policy change were discerned as international diplomacy, political leadership, judicial activism, civil society advocacy and environmental disasters.

Protected Areas and Endemic Freshwater Fishes of the Cape Fold Ecoregion: Missing the Boat for Fish Conservation?

Freshwater systems and their associated biodiversity are among the most threatened ecosystems globally. The greatest threats to freshwater fishes are the introduction and spread of non-native species, pollution, habitat degradation and loss, and overexploitation. While many regions across the world contain extensive networks of protected areas, these are largely ineffective for protecting riverine systems and their biodiversity. This is because they were designed with the aim of prioritising conservation of terrestrial biodiversity, with limited or no consideration for aquatic systems. The Cape Fold Ecoregion, located within the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, is home to the highest percentage of threatened freshwater fishes in the country. The region has an extensive protected area network that protects a wide array of ecosystems, but limited information exists on the role of protected areas in conserving the endemic freshwater fish fauna of this region. This study evaluated the value of protected areas for protection of freshwater fishes in the Western Cape Province by setting species conservation targets and then intersecting species distribution data with protected area polygons. Conservation targets were set to protect the minimum viable population required for long-term persistence, with a minimum of 10 subpopulations as a target. This, along with other factors such as population viability and protected area effectiveness was used to determine whether a species was effectively protected by the current protected area network. Species were classified into one of four categories; (1) “well protected,” (2) “moderately protected,” (3) “poorly protected,” and (4) “not protected.” Our results indicate that the majority of native fishes are inadequately protected within the current protected area network in the province. This is mainly a result of the linear nature of riverine ecosystems that exposes them to impacts and threats that emanate from outside of the protected area. These limitations are not unique to the CFE, and our findings have broader implications as they highlight the need for integrating both the riverine and terrestrial ecosystems in the design, expansion and management of protected areas. This will enhance and maximise conservation and protection of riverine systems and their unique biodiversity.

Environmental filtering and spillover explain multi-species edge responses across agricultural boundaries in a biosphere reserve

To ensure integrity of protected areas we need to understand how species respond to anthropogenic borders. We investigate, from a metacommunity perspective, the direct and indirect mechanisms by which transformed areas affect distribution patterns of ground-living arthropod assemblages inhabiting an extensive protected area adjacent to fruit orchards in an important biosphere reserve. Arthropods and environmental variables were sampled along transects perpendicular to natural-orchard edges. Influence of distance from orchard boundary, degree of impermeability of the boundary, orchard habitat quality (local scale land-use intensity), and edge-induced changes in local environmental variables on arthropod species richness and composition in non-crop habitats were assessed. Arthropod groups were assessed in terms of habitat fidelity: species associated with natural habitat (stenotopic species), those within crop habitat (cultural species), and those showing no preference for either habitat (ubiquitous species). Spillover resulted in higher cultural species richness near edges, but not higher overall species richness. Environmental filtering was important for stenotopic species composition, which was influenced by edge-induced changes in environmental variables. Ubiquitous species composition was determined by orchard impermeability. Increased orchard habitat quality was associated with higher cultural and ubiquitous species richness. The effects of orchards on assemblages in natural habitats can be variable, but predictable when using species habitat specificity in conjunction with a metacommunity framework. High intensity orchards may act as sink habitats, especially for species that readily disperse between crop and natural habitats. Here we recommend that local buffer strips are > 85 m wide, which will reduce the influence of cultural species spillover on sensitive natural ecosystems.

Woody plant subregions of the Amazon forest

Abstract The Amazon forest covers 7.5 million km2 in nine countries, hosts 25% of the global biodiversity and is a major contributor to the biogeochemical and climatic functioning of the Earth system. Despite its global importance, a regionalization of the Amazon tree flora is still lacking. Clear and data‐driven delimitation of subregions is important for macroecological studies, to the identification of metacommunities and is a requisite for conservation planning. We aimed at identifying and mapping plant species subregions and investigated their relationships with environmental, historical and human correlates. We provide the first woody plant regionalization of the entire Amazon forest using a data‐driven approach based on assemblage composition patterns. We compiled data on woody species composition from 301 assemblages based on species occurrences. We then used unconstrained ordination, interpolation and clustering techniques to identify and map discrete woody subregions. Hierarchical clustering analysis was conducted in order to investigate the relationships between the identified subregions. We used multinomial logistic regression model and deviance partitioning to investigate the influence of environmental, historical and human factors on subregions distribution. We identified 13 woody subregions in the entire Amazon forest. The hierarchical subregion classification showed a broad Andean‐Cratonic east–west division. Variation in subregions was explained jointly by human factors and spatial structure followed by environmental factors and spatial structure combined. Synthesis. Our woody plant subregions differed from World Wildlife Fund ecoregions and physiognomic‐based maps, highlighting the importance of basing regionalizations on taxon‐specific groups and confirming that vegetation maps should not be used as proxies to plant diversity subregions. Our findings also confirm the need for multiple and extensive protected areas in the Amazon forest. The relevance of current climate factors in our study alerts to a profound impact that climate change could have on the spatial organization of the Amazon flora.

Impact of land-use zoning for forest protection and production on forest cover changes in Bhutan

Bhutan is characterized by a landscape dominated by forests. A substantial share of these forests is dedicated to nature conservation, with an extensive protected area network connected by biological corridors. Forestlands are also partly allocated to timber production, including forest management units subjected to strict regulations. We assessed the effectiveness of these various land-use zoning units to protect forest cover. We used a matching procedure to control for covariates and obtain robust estimates of the impact of each type of unit on forest cover changes during the 2000s. We also investigated subsets of the protected area network to test for effectiveness heterogeneities within this network. Our results showed that protected areas prevented 63% of the forest loss expected in forestlands under this protection status. These units also curtailed forest gain. Long-established protected areas were more effective at avoiding forest loss than recent ones, while the levels of stringency and operationality of protected areas had no differentiable impact on forest loss. We detected more forest loss in forests surrounding protected areas compared to more distant forestlands, showing a leakage effect. Biological corridors had no impact on forest loss and gain. Forest management units decreased forest loss by half. After accounting for the selection bias, this study demonstrated the effectiveness of land use zoning for forest conservation in Bhutan.

Conservation assessment of the Peruvian Andes and Amazon based on mapped forest functional diversity

Ongoing tropical deforestation and forest degradation, combined with climate change, call for improved forest functional and biological diversity mapping to support increasingly tactical decision-making for conservation action. We combine a new map of forest canopy functional and biological composition with extensive protected area and indigenous land allocation data to quantify current protections and opportunities for new protections throughout the Peruvian Andes and Amazon region, a global biodiversity hotspot. The analysis is based on a map of 36 distinct Forest Functional Classes (FFC) covering >76millionha of forest at 1-ha spatial resolution. We find that while 42.6% of forests are under some form of protection, the percentage of protections applied to any particular FFC ranges from 20% to 69%. Under-represented FFCs are in the submontane and montane Andes, and in the northwestern Amazonian lowlands. Nationally-administered protections are uneven across the 36 FFCs, and regionally- and locally-administered protections are biased to relatively few mapped forest classes. Indigenous lands contain a relatively even distribution of FFC protections, providing the most FFC protection per unit forest area in Peru. Without the current portfolio of indigenous lands, the network of nationally-, regionally-, and locally-administered protected areas would greatly under-represent multiple functionally and biologically distinct FFCs throughout Peru. Mapping canopy functional diversity can support tactical approaches to protect a wider variety of forest types in a time of rapid environmental change.

Characteristics of home range areas used by Saker Falcons (Falco cherrug) wintering on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

SummaryBetween 1998 and 2011 we monitored the winter ranging behaviour of eight female Saker Falcons Falco cherrug fitted with satellite-received transmitters. Our tracking revealed that the winter home range area occupied by individual Saker Falcons varied greatly (median = 166 km2, range = 5-18,469 km2). A random forest model showed that Saker Falcons wintering on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau preferentially occupied areas with rich grassland (cover &gt; 50%) on high altitude plateaus (4,000–5,000 m asl) with low levels of anthropogenic influence. Plant biomass in rich grasslands can support high winter densities of plateau pikas Ochotona curzoniae, which likely explains the preference exhibited by Saker Falcons for grassland cover &gt; 50%. Factors influencing the abundance and distribution of this ‘keystone’ prey species are likely to have an effect on Saker Falcons and other predatory species. A key element of rangeland management on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau has been the establishment of extensive protected areas as part of a strategy to balance economic and social development with the requirement of sustainably managing water resources, maintaining rangelands for pastoralists and conserving biological diversity. Wide ranging predatory species, such as the Saker Falcon, can be useful indicators of biodiversity in protected areas and act as ‘sentinels’ for anthropogenic changes that may impact many different taxa.

Coverage of vertebrate species distributions by Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and Special Protection Areas in the European Union

The European Union (EU) has an extensive protected area network, including Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the Birds Directive. Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites of international significance for birds identified by BirdLife International. Here, we perform EU-wide terrestrial spatial conservation prioritizations to evaluate the coverage of IBAs by SPAs, and the coverage of bird and other vertebrate distributions by IBAs and SPAs. We then investigate the distribution of potential locations for expanding the SPA network that maximize bird species' representation, and the coverage of these locations by IBAs. On average, SPAs cover 23% of the EU-wide distribution of each bird species and 25% of the distributions of amphibians, reptiles and mammals together, while IBAs provide marginally greater coverage. Overall, 76% of terrestrial IBAs in the EU are completely or partially covered by SPAs, and 66% of the IBA network area is covered by SPAs. Our results suggest that SPA designation has been significantly informed by data on the location of IBAs. While IBAs are identified using data on particular bird species of conservation concern, they also tend to have high EU-wide representation of other vertebrates. The designation of new or expanded SPAs covering a relatively small amount of currently unprotected land (particularly in the southern EU) would substantially increase SPA coverage of bird species ranges. Our analysis provides insights on the current contribution that these sites make to conserving vertebrates across the EU, and future possibilities for efficiently expanding the network.

Dynamic performance assessment of protected areas

Recognizing the importance of preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services, human society has established extensive protected area networks to conserve these resources in recent decades. Are protected areas working as expected? Empirical coarse-scale assessments of this question across large regions, or even globally, tend to answer “yes”, while fine-scale studies of individual protected areas often and repeatedly answer “no”. We conducted a first fine-scale analysis of Brazil’s extensive Amazonian protected area network (1.8millionkm2) and have quantitatively estimated conservation effectiveness in light of changing human development pressures in the surrounding landscape. The overall network maintained intact forest cover for 98.6% of protected forest lands, largely agreeing with previous coarse-scale studies. However, detailed examination of 474 individual protected areas unveils a broad range of efficacy. Many protected areas (544,800km2) experience default protection simply due to their remoteness. Many others (396,100km2) have provided highly effective protection in the face of substantial human development pressure. Conversely, 12% (38) of protected areas have failed to protect the 27,300km2 that they encompass, and another 7% (23) provide only marginal protection of 37,500km2. Comprehensive landscape assessments of protected area networks, with frequent monitoring at scales matching the patterns of human-caused disturbances, are necessary to ensure the conservation effectiveness and long term survival of protected areas in rapidly changing landscapes. The methods presented here are globally adaptable to all forested protected areas.

ECOTOURISM &amp; WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN SRI LANKA:RECOMMENDATION FOR A WORKING COVENANT

Despite the potential to capitalize on the expanding and popular ecotourist industry, Sri Lanka has failed to do so. Development of this low-impact, high-quality component of the tourist industry will, however, provide a good economic reason to advance the cause for conservation of Sri Lanka's wildlife and wildlands, and for maintaining the extensive protected areas system. The tourist industry and the conservation community should cooperate to develop a viable, innovative ecotourism program, complete with facilities and infrastructure, which is sustainable over the long-term. Such a cooperative effort can be fostered through an umbrella organization - 'an ecotourism society' - which can promote responsible tourism practices and provide a forum for dialogue between the tourist industry and the conservation community.

Diversidad de anfibios y reptiles de la Reserva de la Biosfera Barranca de Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México

The Barranca de Metztitlan Biosphere Reserve (BMBR) is an extensive protected area (96 042.94 ha) in Hidalgo state of central Mexico. The reserve is well known for its globally significant endemic flora, but relatively little information is available regarding its herpetofauna. We examined reptile and amphibian community biodiversity occurring in each of 4 vegetation types characteristic of the reserve: pine-oak forest, tropical deciduous forest, sub-montane shrubland, and arid tropical scrubland. Field work was carried out between June 2006 and August 2007, a period spanning both wet and dry seasons. Overall, we found 7 species of amphibians and 31 species of reptiles in the BMBR, distributed in 14 families and 29 genera. Across all vegetation types, reptile species richness was greater in the rainy season, whereas amphibian species richness was greater in the dry season. Among vegetation types, tropical deciduous forest exhibited the highest diversity and richness of amphibians and reptiles. Pine-oak forest exhibited greatest species evenness and species diversity than the other vegetation types. Arid tropical scrubland and sub-montane shrubland were more similar to each other in species diversity. This study represents a significant addition to our knowledge of the herpetofauna from the BMBR, and an important base for future studies on the natural history of amphibians and reptiles in this reserve.

Monitoring the impact of climate change on biodiversity: The challenge of megadiverse Mediterranean climate ecosystems

AbstractThe Mediterranean climate regions of Western Australia and South Africa are recognized as global hot spots of diversity. Both are threatened by climate changes that are projected to have significant impacts on the quantity and variability of rainfall and affect key ecosystem drivers (e.g. fire regimes). This poses significant challenges to monitoring programs designed to detect these impacts. Effective monitoring of the impact of climate change on biodiversity (rather than individual species) requires a cross‐disciplinary, coordinated, focused and integrated approach. Ideally, this should involve a multidisciplinary team of specialists working to a common plan on the same set of plots. The contributions of ‘citizen scientists’ are potentially useful if well managed. Biodiversity per se (across all kingdoms of life, and including the levels of the gene, population and community) should be monitored, especially key species interactions and processes. Forestcheckis an example of such a program which has been applied in forests in south‐west Western Australia since 2001. In concert with measuring the direct impact of climate change on biodiversity and the indirect impact of factors that affect biodiversity (such as disease, invasive species, fire regime and habitat removal), there is a need for a proactive focus on creating, maintaining and monitoring resilience to climate change impacts in ecosystems. It is also necessary to monitor the effectiveness of management actions such as vegetation thinning, changes in fire regimes, species translocations and revegetation of farmland to link isolated protected areas in agricultural landscapes, remnant native vegetation in rangelands and extensive protected areas. A pluralist approach is recommended. This should include natural experiments, matched photographs where available, passive adaptive management, active adaptive management and traditional reductionist scientific investigation. The resultant synthesis of information from this range of sources is likely to be a predictive, robust and credible record of historical change.

Can common species benefit from protected areas?

We studied the role played by the French protected area network on 100 common bird species at the population and community level. The long-term trend of each species was calculated over 15 years (1989–2003). We then used 418 plots monitored by the French Breeding Bird Survey over 2001–2005 either inside or outside the national protected area network (including Nature Reserves, National Parks and Special Protected Areas) to compare each species’ average density inside and outside the protected areas. We then tested if the relative species densities in protected areas were related to the species long-term trends. At the community level, we assessed the average proportions of the most severe long-term declining species inside and outside protected areas as well as their temporal stability. We found that several species, which are mostly dependent on human activities, had both higher densities in unprotected areas and exhibited a negative long-term trend. However, for most species, we found that the more a species has declined over the 15 years, the higher its density in protected areas. At the community level, declining common species were found in higher proportion and exhibited greater temporal stability in protected areas. Our results emphasize that many common but declining species could benefit from protected areas and that large-scale monitoring programs provide highly valuable quantitative tools for extensive protected area assessments.

Community participation in the planning and management of cultural landscapes

The maintenance of valued landscapes often requires the active collaboration of local communities in their planning, management and sustainable development. This paper examines a variety of situations in which local stakeholders have actively participated in the protection and maintenance of ‘cultural’ landscapes. It reviews and interprets evidence on the ways in which central and local governments, non‐governmental organizations, interest groups and the wider public can collaborate in planning and managing cultural landscapes. Particular attention is given to: the role of stakeholders, participation by communities‐of‐interest and communities‐of‐place; the management of specific landscape features; and policy and funding frameworks. It is concluded that community‐based initiatives are unlikely to substitute for formal management of extensive protected areas, but that participatory approaches can be effective in more targeted situations.

Socio‐economic and political aspects of biodiversity conservation in Nepal

Although a very poor country, Nepal has established an extensive protected area system. Many visitors are attracted by some of these parks, helping to make tourism the top foreign exchange earner. Landmark events for wildlife conservation during recent Nepalese history are identified, especially the 1961‐90 rule of the monarchy and the present decentralized democratic system which succeeded it. Although many problems remain, Nepal has gone further than most countries towards reconciling: the needs and aspirations of local people with protected area management, and the economic opportunities offered by nature tourism with its ecological threats. Innovative projects have emphasized the socio‐economic aspects of conservation and legislation has recently been passed to formalize the status of park buffer zones. The future of Nepal’s protected areas may depend on how effectively these initiatives can be implemented and how effectively their lessons can be applied on a broader front.