International Union For Conservation Of Nature Categories Research Articles

Global drivers of mangrove loss in protected areas.

Despite increasing efforts and investment in mangrove conservation, mangrove cover continues to decline globally. The extent to which protected area (PA) management effectively prevents mangrove loss globally across differing management objectives and governance types is not well understood. We combined remote sensing data with PA information to identify the extent and the drivers of mangrove loss across PAs with distinct governance types and protection levels based on categories developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Mangrove loss due to storms and erosion was prevalent across all governance types and most IUCN categories. However, the extent of human-driven loss differed across governance types and IUCN categories. Loss was highest in national government PAs. Private, local, shared arrangement, and subnational government agencies had low human-driven mangrove loss. Human-driven loss was highest in PAs with the highest level of restrictions on human activities (IUCN category I) due to mangrove conversion to areas for commodity production (e.g., aquaculture), whereas PAs that allowed sustainable resource use (e.g., category VI) experienced low levels of human-driven mangrove loss. Because category I PAs with high human-driven loss were primarily governed by national government agencies, conservation outcomes in highly PAs might depend not only on the level of restrictions, but also on the governance type. Mangrove loss across different governance types and IUCN categories varied regionally. Specific governance types and IUCN categories thus seemed more effective in preventing mangrove loss in certain regions. Overall, we found that natural drivers contributed to global mangrove loss across all PAs, whereas human-driven mangrove loss was lowest in PAs with subnational- to local-level governance and PAs with few restrictions on human activities.

Evaluating extinction risk in Tasmania’s vascular flora using rapid IUCN Red List assessments

Context The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categories and criteria are a widely accepted standard for assessing extinction risk and have been adopted by many countries, including Australia. Tasmania is globally renowned for its biodiversity, and yet very few of its plant species have been evaluated using IUCN criteria, exposing a significant gap in conservation prioritisation. Aims This study aimed to undertake a regional IUCN assessment of Tasmania’s vascular flora and highlight gaps and discrepancies in accepted lists of threatened species. Methods The R package ConR was used to automatically generate preliminary IUCN assessments for 1885 taxa based on Criterion B (geographic range). This was compared to current listing status to identify potentially misaligned or at-risk taxa. Protected areas were incorporated into the analysis, and heatmaps were used to show the distribution of threatened flora in Tasmania based on their preliminary IUCN category. Key results One-third of Tasmania’s vascular flora (570 taxa) were categorised as threatened by ConR, of which only 47% are currently listed under legislation. We identify 301 non-listed taxa that are potentially threatened and can now be prioritised for full IUCN assessments. Taxa categorised as threatened are more likely to occur near cities and towns, often outside of formal protected areas. Conclusion and implications Automated IUCN assessments are a useful means of systematically refining lists of threatened species. The adoption of IUCN categories and criteria is likely to have a substantial effect on current lists of threatened species and could shift the focus of conservation efforts.

Cats Felis catus as a threat to bats worldwide: a review of the evidence

Abstract Cats Felis catus, in all their forms (domestic, free‐roaming/stray and feral), have been identified as a major global threat to biodiversity, especially birds and small mammals. However, there has been little previous consideration of the extent and impact of predation of bats by cats, or of whether specific characteristics make certain species of bats particularly vulnerable to predation by cats. We reviewed the impact of cats on bats, based on a collation of scientific literature and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List database. Our aim was to produce a synthesis of the extent to which cats prey upon and threaten bats. We also collated available data on cat diet, which provide information on predation rates of bats by cats. Few studies (n = 44) have identified bat species preyed upon or threatened by cats, with a disproportionate number of studies from islands. In these studies, 86 bat species (about 7% of the global extant tally) are reported as preyed upon or threatened by cats, and about one quarter of these species are listed as Near Threatened or threatened (IUCN categories Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable). In IUCN Red List assessments, cats are more frequently mentioned as a threat to threatened or Near Threatened bat species than to non‐threatened species (IUCN category Least Concern). In studies reporting on the incidence of bats in cat dietary samples (scats, stomachs and guts), the frequency of occurrence of bats in samples averaged 0.7 ± 2.1% (mean ± standard deviation; n = 102). Many studies had sample sizes that were too small to be likely to detect bats. All forms of cat are reported to kill bats, and such predation has been reported in all major terrestrial habitats. We conclude that predation by cats is an under‐appreciated threat to the world’s bat species.

Automated conservation assessment of the orchid family with deep learning.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments are essential for prioritizing conservation needs but are resource intensive and therefore available only for a fraction of global species richness. Automated conservation assessments based on digitally available geographic occurrence records can be a rapid alternative, but it is unclear how reliable these assessments are. We conducted automated conservation assessments for 13,910 species (47.3% of the known species in the family) of the diverse and globally distributed orchid family (Orchidaceae), for which most species (13,049) were previously unassessed by IUCN. We used a novel method based on a deep neural network (IUC-NN). We identified 4,342 orchid species (31.2% of the evaluated species) as possibly threatened with extinction (equivalent to IUCN categories critically endangered [CR], endangered [EN], or vulnerable [VU]) and Madagascar, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and several oceanic islands as priority areas for orchid conservation. Orchidaceae provided a model with which to test the sensitivity of automated assessment methods to problems with data availability, data quality, and geographic sampling bias. The IUC-NN identified possibly threatened species with an accuracy of 84.3%, with significantly lower geographic evaluation bias relative to the IUCN Red List and was robust even when data availability was low and there were geographic errors in the input data. Overall, our results demonstrate that automated assessments have an important role to play in identifying species at the greatest risk of extinction.

Global patterns of forest loss across IUCN categories of protected areas

Forests are under increasing pressure globally and the establishment of protected areas has long been used as a conservation tool to preserve them. Seven categories of protected areas have been defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with different management objectives and protection levels. However, recent studies raised questions over whether protected areas are effective in preventing ecosystem degradation and whether IUCN categories vary in their effectiveness. In this study, we analysed forest loss and trends between 2001 and 2014 within IUCN protected areas at a global scale and within sixteen Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem services (IPBES) subregions, relevant for international policy. As habitat protection can be driven by the location of protected areas and as the amount of forest within protected sites is highly unequal, we reported the forest loss integrating the proximity of roads and population, as well as the amount of initial forest in 2000. Our results show that worldwide, the highest protection categories experienced less forest loss than those allowing more human intervention, although this result was reversed in three IPBES subregions. Moreover, in four subregions there was more forest loss within protected areas than outside. We also found accelerating rates of forest loss in protected areas across all IUCN categories, more pronounced in the highest protection IUCN categories. Our results highlight the importance of moving the discussion of the post-2020 biodiversity framework for protected areas beyond simple general areal targets and that areas with poor implementation effectiveness should benefit from additional support.

Biophilic design. Prishtina natural landscape restoration according to IUCN categories in Urban protected areas

Prishtina is the capital and the most populated city of Kosova with high air pollution and water contamination. Landscape restoration as a sustainable strategy in management and rescue the ecology and environment in this area is a fundamental approach and has various benefits in social, economic and environmental categories. Landscape restoration strategies cause to drive responsible environment for future generation, and set out goals, and implementation strategies as design approaches to further effective sustainable image of Prishtina. This paper first addresses the meaning of Biophilic design as a paradigm shift approach in urban design and reasons of the significance of this innovative strategy in sustainable design. It discusses the core concept of biophilic design and its various advantages by the scrupulous literature review that was carried out, in order to incorporate the theoretical and empirical outcomes, of biophilic design. On the other hand, by analysing and developing the IUCN principles in urban edge of Prishtina, the practical methods due to achieving a biophilic design in this region is sketched out. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organizations and it is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Although Conservation of protected environments was launched in late 1950s in Kosova , nowadays there are tremendous testimonies about degradation of the natural landscapes that cause to lose the image of nature in country and cause the crucial circumstances in Prishtina that threaten the people’s public health. Illegal actions like constructions around the peripheral regions of city, industry sites with high air and water pollutions, deforestation and hunting, make environmental issues as the most critical concern in this capital city. This paper applied mixed research methodologies, regarding the interdisciplinary content of the studies that related to the subject, the descriptive-analytical and comparative research method has been applied to present and codify the strategies in this region. This paper follows two linked objectives: firstly: emphasising on the importance of nature and wildness in Prishtina urban lives by Biophilia design approach that suggests the natural landscape restoration is not optional for future urban planning but essential. Secondly: ecological protections and its acceptance by an array of biodiversity and evaluation through review landscape, according to IUCN guidelines in this region is analysed in more depth. Suggestions specify two results: 1) revitalization of ecological, social and cultural values of the city 2) restoration the natural landscapes for the future need. These outcomes provide the context for human well-being and promoting spiritual, scientific and educational value in the urban landscape. Furthermore, decrease in biodiversity loss and climate change, recreational and tourism opportunities are the other critical advantages of this approach. Defining detailed planning requires interdisciplinary studies in ecological layers, and patterns of landscape mosaic, to protect and rehabilitate nature that consider the processes through the ecological assessments and analysis that is far from framework of this paper. In addition, comprehensive studies in wide range of disciplines from national to international technical analysis about legislations and development policies are beyond the scope of this paper.

Opportunities for climate-risk reduction through effective fisheries management.

Risk of impact of marine fishes to fishing and climate change (including ocean acidification) depend on the species' ecological and biological characteristics, as well as their exposure to over-exploitation and climate hazards. These human-induced hazards should be considered concurrently in conservation risk assessment. In this study, we aim to examine the combined contributions of climate change and fishing to the risk of impacts of exploited fishes, and the scope for climate-risk reduction from fisheries management. We combine fuzzy logic expert system with species distribution modeling to assess the extinction risks of climate and fishing impacts of 825 exploited marine fish species across the global ocean. We compare our calculated risk index with extinction risk of marine species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Our results show that 60% (499 species) of the assessed species are projected to experience very high risk from both overfishing and climate change under a "business-as-usual" scenario (RCP 8.5 with current status of fisheries) by 2050. The risk index is significantly and positively related to level of IUCN extinction risk (ordinal logistic regression, p<0.0001). Furthermore, the regression model predicts species with very high risk index would have at least one in five (>20%) chance of having high extinction risk in the next few decades (equivalent to the IUCN categories of vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered). Areas with more at-risk species to climate change are in tropical and subtropical oceans, while those that are at risk to fishing are distributed more broadly, with higher concentration of at-risk species in North Atlantic and South Pacific Ocean. The number of species with high extinction risk would decrease by 63% under the sustainable fisheries-low emission scenario relative to the "business-as-usual" scenario. This study highlights the substantial opportunities for climate-risk reduction through effective fisheries management.

Global patterns of protection of elevational gradients in mountain ranges

Protected areas (PAs) that span elevational gradients enhance protection for taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity and facilitate species range shifts under climate change. We quantified the global protection of elevational gradients by analyzing the elevational distributions of 44,155 PAs in 1,010 mountain ranges using the highest resolution digital elevation models available. We show that, on average, mountain ranges in Africa and Asia have the lowest elevational protection, ranges in Europe and South America have intermediate elevational protection, and ranges in North America and Oceania have the highest elevational protection. We use the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 11 to assess the proportion of elevational gradients meeting the 17% suggested minimum target and examine how different protection categories contribute to elevational protection. When considering only strict PAs [International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories I-IV, n = 24,706], nearly 40% of ranges do not contain any PAs, roughly half fail to meet the 17% target at any elevation, and ∼75% fail to meet the target throughout ≥50% of the elevational gradient. Observed elevational protection is well below optimal, and frequently below a null model of elevational protection. Including less stringent PAs (IUCN categories V-VI and nondesignated PAs, n = 19,449) significantly enhances elevational protection for most continents, but several highly biodiverse ranges require new or expanded PAs to increase elevational protection. Ensuring conservation outcomes for PAs with lower IUCN designations as well as strategically placing PAs to better represent and connect elevational gradients will enhance ecological representation and facilitate species range shifts under climate change.

Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) of Vietnam: Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation Status

Vietnam has the second highest diversity of freshwater mussels (Unionida) in Asia after China. The purpose of this paper is to compile an up-to-date list of the modern unionid fauna of Vietnam and its current conservation status. Unfortunately, there has been relatively little research on this fauna in Vietnam. Fifty-nine species of Unionida have been recorded from Vietnam based on literature, museum records, and our fieldwork. Fifty were assessed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List 2016 in the IUCN categories of Critically Endangered (four species, 6.8%), Endangered (seven species, 12%), Vulnerable (one species, 1.7%), Near Threatened (two species, 3.4%), Least Concern (23 species, 39%), Data Deficient (11 species, 18.6%), and Not Evaluated (11 species, 18.6%). Considering the impacts of pollution, timbering, agriculture, and damming of rivers, research on the diversity and conservation status of freshwater mussels is very urgently needed to propose specific conservation measures for these species in Vietnam. If all taxa listed as Data Deficient are found to be threatened, with around 42% of species threatened, this fauna would be one of the most threatened freshwater molluscan faunas in Asia.

Application of the Red List Index for conservation assessment of Spanish vascular plants.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI) is used to measure trends in extinction risk of species over time. The development of 2 red lists for Spanish vascular flora during the past decade allowed us to apply the IUCN RLI to vascular plants in an area belonging to a global biodiversity hotspot. We used the Spanish Red Lists from 2000 and 2010 to assess changes in level of threat at a national scale and at the subnational scales of Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and peninsular Spain. We assigned retrospective IUCN categories of threat to 98 species included in the Spanish Red List of 2010 but absent in the Spanish Red List of 2000. In addition, we tested the effect of different random and taxonomic and spatial Spanish samples on the overall RLI value. From 2000 to 2010, the IUCN categories of 768 species changed (10% of Spanish flora), mainly due to improved knowledge (63%), modifications in IUCN criteria (14%), and changes in threat status (12%). All measured national and subnational RLI values decreased during this period, indicating a general decline in the conservation status of the Spanish vascular flora. The Canarian RLI value (0.84) was the lowest, although the fastest deterioration in conservation status occurred on peninsular Spain (from 0.93 in 2000 to 0.92 in 2010). The RLI values based on subsamples of the Spanish Red List were not representative of RLI values for the entire country, which would discourage the use of small areas or small taxonomic samples to assess general trends in the endangerment of national biotas. The role of the RLI in monitoring of changes in biodiversity at the global and regional scales needs further reassessment because additional areas and taxa are necessary to determine whether the index is sufficiently sensitive for use in assessing temporal changes in species' risk of extinction.

Areal sizes of high, intermediate, low and total suitable habitats are correlated to the global extinction risk for mammals

The relationships between areal sizes of high, intermediate, low, and total sum of habitats with low, intermediate and high suitability habitat ranges, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threatened status of global terrestrial mammals were studied. Polyserial correlation analysis showed that all types of areal size closely and positively correlated with IUCN categories of threatened species. The results indicate that area-based extinction risk assessment is feasible and reliable in species? conservation prioritization. Furthermore, the partial polyserial correlation test indicates that significant correlations between the IUCN threatened status of species and range sizes of high, intermediate and low suitability habitats are not influenced by the polyserial correlation between IUCN threatened status and total suitability habitat range size. Thus, the prediction of species? extinction risks can be accurately fulfilled by evaluating the areal size of any one of total, high, intermediate or low suitability ranges. The present study implies that if the area size information of a totally suitable range is not available for species? extinction risk assessment, the usage of areal sizes from any parts of suitable habitats (high, intermediate or low) are effective surrogates.

What Do the IUCN Categories Really Protect? A Case Study of the Alpine Regions in Spain

Protected area (PA) coverage is used as an indicator of biodiversity protection worldwide. The effectiveness of using PAs as indicators has been questioned due to the diversity of categories encompassed by such designations, especially in PAs established for purposes other than biodiversity protection. Although international standards have been developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the policies on the ground have been developed independently of the IUCN categories, thus making the IUCN categories dubious measures of biodiversity conservation. Management plans are crucial for the effective management of parks and for guidance on how biodiversity maintenance should be prioritized relative to other goals. We therefore analyzed the aims and regulations of the management plans of alpine PAs in Spain as a first step in evaluating conservation performance. We used content analysis and correspondence analysis of instrumental variables (CAiv) to assess how aims and regulations vary in relation to three explanatory factors: IUCN categories, vegetation zones and autonomous communities. We found that the aims of many parks were vague, without clear indications of how to prioritize biodiversity goals. Furthermore, only 50% of the parks studied had any management plan, which strengthens our argument concerning the lack of clear guidance in PA management. Although certain aims were correlated with the IUCN categories, the regulations showed no clear relationship to international policies, which indicates that these aims do not necessarily influence management practices. Devolution to autonomous communities could be one explanation for the large variation in management practices among parks. Further studies are needed to evaluate the impact of such management policies on biodiversity.

Evaluating the conservation status of epiphytic lichens of Italy: A red list

Despite the fact that Italy is among the lichenologically best known areas worldwide, a national red list of lichens is still lacking. The aim of this work was to provide a red list of the epiphytic lichens of Italy which could facilitate the inclusion of lichens in national conservation plans. The evaluation of the species against International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria was based on data from multiple sources which represent the best available information on the epiphytic lichens of Italy. The species were assigned to the IUCN categories mainly using criteria D and B. A total of 368 species were evaluated: for 23 species, information is missing from more than 50 years and they were listed as regionally extinct, 64 as critically endangered, 75 as endangered, 74 as vulnerable, 58 as near threatened, 20 as least concern and 54 species as data deficient. Our results indicate that more than one-fourth of the epiphytic lichens of Italy are likely to be threatened, so that further research and effort are needed to include lichens in the main national conservation plans. Our results also highlight the lack of information that still hampers the rigorous evaluation of Italian lichens against IUCN criteria.

Tracking the effect of climate change on ecosystem functioning using protected areas: Africa as a case study

Protected areas represent important core ‘units’ for in situ conservation. However, the current static system is at risk from the effects of global environmental change. This is especially true in Africa, a biodiversity-rich continent expected to be hit hard by climate change. Focusing on African protected areas that experience limited human impact (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories I and II), we tested three hypotheses regarding the impact of climate change on the dynamics of net primary productivity (NPP). We expected a lower annual NPP and higher seasonality in NPP in Eastern and Southern Africa; changes in NPP dynamics to coincide with changes in precipitation; no correlation between changes in NPP dynamics and human development. To test these expectations, we used the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as an index of NPP. Results show that, between 1982 and 2008, an increased vegetation greenness was observed in 27% of the protected areas monitored (mostly in Western Africa), and an increased seasonality in 9% of them (mostly in Eastern and Southern Africa). Our results lend support to current expectations regarding the impacts of climate change, and demonstrate how protected areas of IUCN categories I and II could be used to track the effect of climate change on ecosystem functioning in Africa, and possibly elsewhere. The study highlights the need for a dynamic approach to conservation, where the relevance and efficiency of management actions need to be regularly evaluated. It also demonstrates that satellite-based approaches offer a cheap, verifiable way to quickly identify protected areas of concern at a global scale, supporting managers in their effort to design and apply adaptive management strategies.

Mislabeling marine protected areas and why it matters-a case study of Australia

As part of international obligations and national policies, most nations are working toward establishing comprehensive, adequate, and representative systems of terrestrial and marine protected areas (MPAs). Assigning internationally recognized International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected area categories to these MPAs is an important part of this process. The most recent guidance from the IUCN clearly states that commercial or recreational fishing is inappropriate in MPAs designated as category II (National Park). However, in at least two developed countries with long histories of protected area development (e.g., Canada and Australia), category II is being assigned to a number of MPAs that allow some form of commercial or recreational fishing. Using Australia as a case study, this article explores the legal and policy implications of applying protected area categories to MPAs and the consequences for misapplying them. As the Australian Government is about to embark on potentially one of the largest expansions of MPA networks in the world, ensuring the application of IUCN categories is both transparent and consistent with international practice will be important, both for the sake of international conventions and to accurately track conservation progress.

Global protected areas and IUCN designations: Do the categories match the conditions?

Protected areas are considered fundamental to the preservation of nature. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has standardized categories for protected areas designation, which are intended to represent varying levels of regulatory protection. We evaluate whether the present assignment of protected areas to IUCN categories corresponds to the expected gradient of naturalness in a globally consistent manner. Our proxy of naturalness was a global map of human influence known as Human Footprint (HF). Higher HF values represent less intact natural areas. Our final sample of protected areas included 21,186 IUCN-designated sites that were ⩾1 km2. We used multiple linear regression to test for the effect of IUCN categories on mean HF while accounting for biome and protected area size. The present assignment of protected areas to IUCN categories does not correspond to the expected gradient of naturalness. We observed that IUCN Category Ia areas have higher HF than expected and Category VI protected areas have unexpectedly low HF; Category VI protected areas also are generally larger than protected areas of other categories. Reporting of area protected in different IUCN categories is one measure of progress towards meeting commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, yet because IUCN categories are not interpreted consistently across the globe, this is not a reliable metric. Further, despite the social, economic and ecological importance of protected areas with a very low HF, our results suggest that the availability of such areas within the global protected areas network is very limited.