Biodiversity Conservation Goals Research Articles

Technological Progress and Biodiversity Conservation: a Dollar Spent, a Dollar Burned

synthesis of these two trends is economic growth, an increase in the production and consumption of goods and services. The economic growth occurring within a nation’s borders is typically guaged by gross domestic product (GDP). For the world, we may refer to the size of the human economy as gross global product (GGP). Pursuant to the ecological principle of competitive exclusion, resource consumption by any species increases only at the expense of other species. The scope of competitive exclusion is determined by the breadth of the species’ niche. Due to the tremendous breadth of the human niche, the scale of the human economy ( GGP ) expands at the competitive exclusion of nonhuman species in the aggregate. Growth in GGP occurs via the reallocation of natural capital (water, forests, minerals, etc.) from the “economy of nature”—used here to refer to nonhuman species in the aggregate—to the human economy. This relationship is consistent with the few studies that have analyzed species endangerment explicitly in terms of economic scale and sectors (Czech et al. 2000; Naidoo & Adamowicz 2001 ). It suggests that national and international goals of economic growth and biodiversity conservation are conflicting. However, policymakers throughout the world have denied that this conflict exists, claiming instead that economic growth and biodiversity conservation may be reconciled via technological progress.

Mapping intertidal habitats and an evaluation of their conservation status in Queensland, Australia

The goal of biodiversity conservation has been described as the conservation of diversity at three levels: ecosystem, species and genetic diversity. Developing a representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs) is considered an effective way to achieve this goal in the marine environment. In the absence of detailed information relating to biological distributions there has been increasing use of biodiversity surrogates to determine MPA priorities at regional levels. The development of biodiversity surrogates at fine scales (i.e. habitats) will have an increasingly important role in the identification of sites that will contribute to a representative system of MPAs. This is because it will increase the likelihood that the system will adequately achieve biodiversity objectives by ensuring protection of a greater range of habitats and species. This article provides an explanation of an intertidal shoreline habitat surrogate used to describe 24,216 km of Queensland's coastline. The protective status of intertidal habitats was evaluated to assist with designing a representative system of intertidal MPAs.

Some issues and options for the conservation of native biodiversity in rural New Zealand

Summary For the 70% of New Zealand under private ownership, native biodiversity conservation has to occur within a landscape that must also provide a productive return to land owners. Recent New Zealand legislation, especially the Resource Management Act 1991, promotes sustainable management on private land by allowing for the economic and cultural well‐being of local communities while providing for the protection of natural resources including native biodiversity. We suggest that, to effectively conserve native biodiversity in rural landscapes, we need to consider four key issues: (i) what might be realistic goals for native biodiversity conservation; (ii) how might we better arrange different land uses to meet both native biodiversity and production goals; (iii) what is the optimum arrangement of native biodiversity; and (iv) how native biodiversity conservation can improve productive returns to land managers. Options to enhance native biodiversity conservation include a variety of incentives (e.g. management agreements, financial incentives and regulatory systems) and onsite management options (e.g. remnant management, restoration plantings, weed and pest control, use of native species for commercial and amenity purposes, use of exotic species to facilitate native biodiversity). The importance of taking a landscape‐based rather than a paddock‐based approach to management is emphasized.

Local attitudes toward community-based conservation policy and programmes in Nepal: a case study in the Makalu-Barun Conservation Area

Community-based conservation (CBC) has been projected as the most practical approach to stem biodiversity loss in developing countries. Since CBC is 'people-centred' and experience with it is relatively new, it is important to know the views of local communities regarding implemented policies and programmes. This paper examines the attitudes of local communities toward policy and programmes implemented by a project under the CBC approach in the Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area of Nepal, based on a 1996 survey of 400 people living in it.Overall, respondents did not have a particularly favourable perception of the community development programmes implemented. Strong support existed for ecotourism development in the Conservation Area. Respondents overwhelmingly endorsed community forestry. Wildlife protection remained a low priority amongst a significant majority of respondents. Some demographic and socio-economic factors exerted important influences on the attitudes of respondents. This study suggests that the project should continue addressing local development needs, encourage women's participation in community forestry, work toward dispute settlement of community forest-user groups, and allow hunting of pest wild animals, if it wants to win the support of local communities for long-term biodiversity conservation goals.

Conservation status of mammals and birds in southwestern Australian forests. II. Are there unstudied, indirect or long-term links between forestry practices and species decline and extinction?

There is little evidence in the literature for past or current negative impacts of forestry practices on the mammals and birds of the south-west forests of Western Australia, although there are few relevant, detailed studies. For the conclusion of no major negative impact of forestry practices to be accepted, it must be shown that there are no indirect connections between forestry practices and established causes of fauna decline and that it is unlikely that forestry practices will have delayed impacts on the conservation status of mammals and birds. This paper reviews the literature relevant to these issues and concludes: (i) past forestry practices are linked to the changed fire regimes implicated in the decline of several species, indirectly connecting forestry practices with an established cause of fauna decline, (ii) there are plausible links between forestry and long-term causes of fauna decline that have not been investigated thoroughly. However, these findings need not mean that a native timber industry is incompatible with conservation in the south-west forests. Rather, they highlight the need for mediation between parties in the forest management debate, perhaps using some of the approaches developed recently in eastern Australia and North America. Concurrently, research effort could be directed towards determining the effectiveness of management initiatives already in place to ameliorate forestry impacts, while identifying actions successful elsewhere and setting research priorities to enable their effective implementation in the south-west. Forest managers, past and present, have good reason to be proud of their efforts. Even during earlier eras, when the focus of forest management was largely on timber supply, the need to ensure successful regeneration after logging has acted to conserve the whole jarrah and karri forest ecosystem. Abbott and Christensen (1994). The challenges posed by old growth eucalypt forest management in Australia are unique and by virtue of historical events, lie with our generation. To our advantage is an appreciation of what reforms are required, the availability of adequate knowledge and technology, and an understanding of what is at stake. A move towards ecologically sustainable forest use in Australia's remaining eucalypt forests requires a combination of initiatives including an enhanced conservation reserve network, and markedly enhanced protective measures in unreserved forest ecosystems, irrespective of land tenure. Significant reductions in logging quotas and major changes to current codes of forest practice are required if stated biodiversity conservation goals are to be achieved. Institutional reforms are required to support these changes as is support for long-term ecological research and monitoring. Norton (1996).

Conserving biological diversity in Australia's temperate eucalypt forests

Australia's old growth eucalypt forests are unique, exhibiting a long evolutionary history compared with temperate ecosystems on other continents. By global comparison, alpha, beta and theta diversity in eucalypt forests is also very high; these ecosystems generally support a high number of species per site and the change in species and genotypes between sites and regions appears high. This has major implications for forest management if biodiversity convervation is a serious management goal. I consider the legacies of forest uses such as clearing, fragmentation, modification and degradation, and present some priorities for reform in forest conservation and management. Many of the forestry activities in eucalypt forests in eastern Australia are not ecologically sustainable. These practices result in significant impacts on biodiversity and are detrimental since they can destroy and modify complex forest landscapes, ecosystems and the natural environmental heterogeneity of systems; destroy, prevent or hinder ecological processes that are the basis for species' persistence and evolution; destroy or significantly modify the habitat of species; and destroy individual organisms and significantly modify populations and assemblages of species. Many components of eucalypt forest biodiversity are threatened, including various biological and ecological processes, many vertebrate and invertebrate fauna, and ecosystem diversity. One fundamental concern is the impact of harvesting on populations of species and intraspecific genetic diversity. Many current forestry activities not only increase the likelihood of the extinction of forest species, they also modify the evolutionary potential of species. The challenges posed by old growth eucalypt forest management in Australia are unique and by virtue of historical events, lie with our generation. To our advantage is an appreciation of what reforms are required, the availability of adequate knowledge and technology, and an understanding of what is at stake. A move towards ecologically sustainable forest use in Australia's remaining eucalypt forests requires a combination of initiatives including an enhanced conservation reserve network, and markedly enhanced protective measures in unreserved forest ecosystems, irrespective of land tenure. Significant reductions in logging quotas and major changes to current codes of forest practice are required if stated biodiversity conservation goals are to be achieved. Institutional reforms are required to support these changes as is support for long term ecological research and monitoring.

The National Cooperative Natural Products Drug Discovery Group (NCNPDDG) and International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) Programs

AbstractThe high interest in natural products as sources of pharmaceutical products led to the creation of the National Cooperative Natural Products Drug Discovery Group (NCNPDDG) Program by the National Cancer Institute with the goal of bringing together scientists from academia, industry and government in afocussed effort for discovery of new drugs for cancer treatment. Similarly, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development have joined together to form the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program to promote the goals of biodiversity conservation, economic development and pharmaceutical discovery.