Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Research Articles

Expanding Protected Areas Globally Post-2020: A Critical Perspective from Thailand, with Implications for Community Forestry

ABSTRACT The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) includes targets to formally protect thirty percent of Earth by 2030 and stimulate financialization of biodiversity conservation. This paper foregrounds potential risks and limitations of the GBF in Thailand. It examines the historical context of state-run protected areas, including their role in facilitating state territorialization and dispossession, political and cultural persecution, and deleterious economic agendas. It then shows that implementation in Thailand could displace residents of more than 200 villages and supplant roughly forty percent (3,951 square kilometers) of all state-registered community forest lands, which provide various livelihood, cultural, and conservation benefits. The paper challenges three assumptions: that parties to the Convention will recognize the rights and agency of Indigenous Peoples and local communities; that state-run protected areas are managed for biodiversity conservation and not for economic growth; and that perpetual economic growth and modernization are compatible with conservation. Effective and equitable conservation in Thailand and elsewhere requires more socially and ecologically responsive community rights-based approaches that empower (rather than supersede) customary institutions and transcend unsustainable political-economic imperatives for privatization and perpetual economic growth.

Status on management of access to genetic resources, traditional knowledge and benefit sharing

The management of access to genetic resources, traditional knowledge (TK), and benefit sharing among indigenous people and local communities in the worldwide is extensively addressed in international legal instruments, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) Arising from their Utilization. The CBD aims to promote the conservation of biological resources, the sustainable use of biodiversity components and the equitable, fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol sets out core obligations for its contracting Parties to take measures in relation to ABS and compliance. In 2021, the Secretariats of the CBD released the first draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework with the mission for the period up to 2030, aiming towards the 2050 vision: “To take urgent action across society to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of genetics resources, to put biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030 for the benefit of planet and people.” Therefore, capacity building and development for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol are crucial, especially for developing countries. One of the most commonly identified new capacity building needs is digital sequence information on genetic resources and their roles in ABS. As a member of the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol, Vietnam has obligations to develop the National Strategy Framework on Biodiversity to 2030, with a vision to 2050, consistent with the requirements of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Protocols, and relevant Agreements. This includes developing recommendations on management of access to genetic resources and TK, as well as benefit sharing within the Draft of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. This research aims to contribute to implement the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the Nagoya Protocol in Vietnam by assessing the status of management regarding access to genetic resources, TK, and benefit sharing.

Review of Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use in West Asia and North Africa.

Ensuring global food security in the face of climate change is critical to human survival. With a predicted human population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and the demand for food supplies expected to increase by 60% globally, but with a parallel potential reduction in crop production for wheat by 6.0%, rice by 3.2%, maize by 7.4%, and soybean by 3.1% by the end of the century, maintaining future food security will be a challenge. One potential solution is new climate-smart varieties created using the breadth of diversity inherent in crop wild relatives (CWRs). Yet CWRs are threatened, with 16-35% regarded as threatened and a significantly higher percentage suffering genetic erosion. Additionally, they are under-conserved, 95% requiring additional ex situ collections and less than 1% being actively conserved in situ; they also often grow naturally in disturbed habitats limiting standard conservation measures. The urgent requirement for active CWR conservation is widely recognized in the global policy context (Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, UN Sustainable Development Goals, the FAO Second Global Plan of Action for PGRFA, and the FAO Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture) and breeders highlight that the lack of CWR diversity is unnecessarily limiting crop improvement. CWRs are not spread evenly across the globe; they are focused in hotspots and the hottest region for CWR diversity is in West Asia and North Africa (WANA). The region has about 40% of global priority taxa and the top 17 countries with maximum numbers of CWR taxa per unit area are all in WANA. Therefore, improved CWR active conservation in WANA is not only a regional but a critical global priority. To assist in the achievement of this goal, we will review the following topics for CWRs in the WANA region: (1) conservation status, (2) community-based conservation, (3) threat status, (4) diversity use, (5) CURE-CWR hub: (ICARDA Centre of Excellence), and (6) recommendations for research priorities. The implementation of the recommendations is likely to significantly improve CWRs in situ and ex situ conservation and will potentially at least double the availability of the full breadth of CWR diversity found in WANA to breeders, and so enhance regional and global food and nutritional security.

Mammal recovery inside and outside terrestrial protected areas

Protected areas are a key component of global conservation, and the world is aiming to increase protected areas to cover 30% of land and water through the 30 × 30 Initiative under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. However, factors affecting their success or failure in regard to promoting mammal population recovery are not well studied, particularly using quantitative approaches comparing across diverse taxa, biomes, and countries. To better understand how protected areas contribute to mammalian recovery, we conducted an analysis of 2706 mammal populations both inside and outside of protected areas worldwide. We calculated the annual percent change of mammal populations within and outside of terrestrial protected areas and examined the relationship between the percent change and a suite of human and natural characteristics including biome, region, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected area category, IUCN Red List classification, and taxonomic order. Our results show that overall mammal populations inside and outside of protected areas are relatively stable. It appears that Threatened mammals are doing better inside of protected areas than outside, whereas the opposite is true for species of least concern and Near Threatened species. We also found significant population increases in protected areas classified as category III and significant population decreases in protected and unprotected areas throughout Oceania. Our results demonstrate that terrestrial protected areas can be an important approach for mammalian recovery and conservation.

Spatial identification and priority conservation areas determination of wilderness in China

In the context of an increasingly severe ecological crisis and accelerating ecological civilization construction, the specific regional differences as well as the natural environment of China restrict the uniform population distribution and the social economy's spatial layout, forming a large and widely distributed wilderness. The post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) takes the protection of wilderness areas as one of the key conservation goals and brings new opportunities for wilderness protection. Objective and accurate identification of the spatial range of wilderness and the determination of the focus of wilderness protection are significant for carrying out resource and environmental carrying capacity evaluations, biodiversity conservation, and national park system construction. At present, fewer studies pay attention to wilderness area identification and protection in China. In this study, we used the MaxEnt and Marxan models to establish a framework to identify the spatial distribution and conservation priorities of China's wilderness as well as guide wilderness conservation. The wilderness areas in China show a large-scale, concentrated distribution in space and a small, scattered distribution. From 2000 to 2020, the wilderness area decreased from 3.6323 million km2 in 2000 to 2.9142 million km2 in 2020, and the wilderness area reduction rate from 2000 to 2010 was greater than that in 2010–2020. From 2000 to 2020, the center of gravity of the wilderness area shifted 893.5 km to the southwest. Wilderness center of gravity relocated from Pingluo County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to Delingha City, Qinghai Province. Considering conservation objectives and conservation costs, we determined that the wilderness area in urgent need of protection is 55,100 km2, accounting for 1.8 % of the total wilderness area. It is mainly distributed in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (13,000 km2), Yunnan Province (12,000 km2), and Sichuan Province (5300 km2). This methodological framework can provide an important reference for governments in dealing with global climate change, maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem diversity, and promoting sustainable human development.

The benefits of protected areas for bird population trends may depend on their condition

The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework calls for at least 30% of land and sea to be protected by 2030. Whilst there is growing evidence that protected areas can benefit biodiversity, to achieve the greatest possible gains from their expansion, we must understand how protected area quality impacts upon biodiversity metrics. We used UK BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey data and protected areas condition data from national Common Standards Monitoring, to test whether improving site condition (for which there are UK policy targets) would contribute to stated policy targets to increase species' abundance. After controlling for differences in climate, land cover, and elevation, we found a positive association between the proportion of favourable habitat and bird abundance trends in the UK, while in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland combined, the positive effect was also significantly greater than in unfavourable habitat. Conversely, we also found a negative effect of proportion of favourable habitat on bird abundance. There was no evidence that these relationships varied between conservation status or many of the traits considered, although there was some evidence that favourable condition was beneficial for habitat specialists, cold-adapted species, and varied by habitat. Our findings suggest that improving the condition of protected areas currently in unfavourable condition, will contribute to nature recovery as measured by species' abundance trends in some circumstances. This also suggests that achieving the “30 by 30” target without ensuring those protected areas are of sufficient quality, may not be sufficient to restore biodiversity.

National scale biodiversity conservation priorities based on integrated multiple vulnerability features in China

To meet the ambitious goals of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, China’s spatial implementation plan, which will delineate which areas will be protected, requires clarity at the national level. Prioritizing biodiversity alone, especially when a single species' richness is emphasized, may lead to inadequate conservation strategies, thus making it challenging to meet the requirements of collaborative governance. Here, we provide a spatial conservation prioritization method integrating species, carbon, climate, and anthropogenic vulnerability features. As such, we identified land to prioritize in conservation efforts by constructing different conservation scenarios with different combinations of vulnerability features using Chinese terrestrial ecosystems as an example. We also analyzed the differences in the benefits of different conservation scenarios. The results showed spatial variability in the distribution of land prioritized by the various protection scenarios. The conservation scenario that combined all features best harmonized the benefits and thus avoided an imbalance in conservation caused by an undue focus on one feature. The scenarios covered 73.54% of biodiversity hotspots, 63.17% of vulnerable carbon hotspots, and 80.21% of climate hotspots. We also found that forests had a strong presence in the various configurations of prioritized land, and usually exceeded 50% of the prioritized area. Secondly, cropland accounted for a prominent proportion of prioritized land at approximately 29.72%, and ranked second only to forests. In addition, when accounting for carbon vulnerability as well, the proportion of grasslands in the prioritized land increased by about 3.35 times. This study offers valuable and citable information that may be used to support biodiversity conservation initiatives in China.

Identifying global conservation priorities for terrestrial vertebrates based on multiple dimensions of biodiversity.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity calls for an expansion of the current protected areas (PAs) to cover at least 30% of global land and water areas by 2030 (i.e., the 30×30 target). Efficient spatial planning for PA expansion is an urgent need for global conservation practice. A spatial prioritization framework considering multiple dimensions of biodiversity is critical for improving the efficiency of the spatial planning of PAs, yet it remains a challenge. We developed an index for the identification of priority areas based on functionally rare, evolutionarily distinct, and globally endangered species (FREDGE) and applied it to 21,536 terrestrial vertebrates. We determined species distributions, conservation status (global endangerment), molecular phylogenies (evolutionary distinctiveness), and life-history traits (functional rarity). Madagascar, Central America, and the Andes were of high priority for the conservation of multiple dimensions of terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity. However, 68.8% of grid cells in these priority areas had <17% of their area covered by PAs, and these priority areas were under intense anthropogenic and climate change threats. These results highlight the difficulties of conserving multiple dimensions of biodiversity. Our global analyses of the geographical patterns of multiple dimensions of terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity demonstrate the insufficiency of the conservation of different biodiversity dimensions, and our index, based on multiple dimensions of biodiversity, provides a useful tool for guiding future spatial prioritization of PA expansion to achieve the 30×30 target under serious pressures.

Risk from future climate change to Pakistan's protected area network: A composite analysis for hotspot identification

As climate change becomes a primary driver of global ecosystem deterioration and biodiversity loss, protected areas (PAs) are posed to play a crucial conservation role. At a global scale, 17 % of land is currently covered by PAs; a figure expected to reach 30 % by 2030 under the UN post-2020 global biodiversity framework. However, focusing only on the percent coverage of PAs without assessing their efficacy may not accomplish the intended conservation goals. Here, we present the first assessment of the risk from climate change to existing PAs and non-protected lands across Pakistan by combining data on the local exposure and vulnerability of 409 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians to multidimensional changes in climate by mid (2040–2060) and late (2061–2080) century under two climate emission scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). We find that between 7 % (2050 RCP4.5) and 19 % (2080 RCP8.5) of the current network of PAs, mostly located in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country, are projected to be under future extreme risk (i.e., highly exposed areas containing highly vulnerable communities). Importantly, hotspots of risk within these PAs are projected to significantly expand over time and with increasing severity of the scenario. In contrast, PAs in the northern part of the country are projected to remain under moderate to low risk. Results are subject to variability across the country reflecting interesting differences in climate change exposure and species vulnerability between protected and non-protected lands. Importantly, significantly lower level of risks from future climate change are projected for PAs than non-protected lands across emission scenarios and periods suggesting potential candidate areas for the future expansion of the country's PA network. Our analysis provides novel insights that can help inform conservation decisions and management at a time when the country is investing in ambitious efforts to expand its network of protected areas.

Settler Ecologies and the Future of Biodiversity: Insights from Laikipia, Kenya

Abstract This article examines the relationship between settler colonialism and biodiversity. Focusing on Laikipia, Kenya, we argue that the types of plant and animal species present in the landscape have been shaped by historical and present power relations and often support settler colonial projects. We introduce five modes of violent ecological transformation that have been used to prolong and advance structures of settler colonialism in Laikipia: eliminating undesirable species from landscapes; rewilding landscapes with species deemed more desirable; selectively repeopling nature to create seemingly inclusive wild spaces; rescuing species at risk of extinction to shore up moral support for settler ecologies; and extending the range of settler ecologies by scaling wild spaces. Through these modes of ecological transformation, ecological relations of use and value to settler colonialism live on while other(ed) ecological relations are suppressed or erased. As efforts to implement the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) gain momentum, attention to settler ecologies is vital. Although there is no denying that radical action is needed to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss, there is a pressing need to question what types of nature will be preserved through the GBF and whose interests these natures will serve.

Spatiotemporal development of national botanic gardens worldwide and their contributions to plant diversity conservation from 1593 to 2023

The national botanic garden is not only a primary means of global ex situ conservation but also a key indicator of biodiversity conservation capacity in a country. To understand the contributions of national botanic gardens from around the world to plant diversity conservation, we generated a long time-series dataset to investigate the spatiotemporal development of national botanic gardens and then explored their functional expansion from 1593 to 2023. The results showed that the development of national botanic gardens was driven by the development demands of human society and could be divided into three stages, i.e., the initial exploration stage of early botanic gardens (1593–1765), the colonial development stage of modern botanic gardens (1765–1945), and the rapid development stage of modern botanic gardens (1945–2023). The first national botanic garden was established in Western Europe, followed by other national botanic gardens being established in the rest of the world. The functions of national botanic gardens evolved from the collection of medicinal and plant resources to multiple purposes, including scientific research, plant diversity conservation, education, and dissemination of knowledge. Contemporary national botanical gardens have played a crucial role in plant diversity conservation and scientific research on the response and adaptation of plant diversity to global change. Future development and management of national botanic gardens will play a crucial role in achieving future targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which meets the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Exploring local communities’ perceptions of protected area authorities: a case study from Khlong Lan National Park and Mae Wong National Park in Thailand

Rangers and local communities play a critical role in enforcing conservation in and around Protected Areas (PAs), yet, their role as planetary health workers and the their relationship dynamics has long been overlooked. This study assesses the relationship between communities and PA authorities in 39 villages adjacent to two high conservation value National Parks in Thailand. Using the responses of 200 participants gathered through a Likert-type survey questionnaire, we analyzed community perception of PA authorities using Ordinal Logistic Regression models. Results indicate good community-ranger relations in the study area. Specifically, regular communication and community involvement in decision-making significantly impact trust and respect towards PA authorities. The models further reveal that while education levels influence trust, a culture of respect for authority figures remains deeply rooted in local communities, highlighting the importance of good PA authorities’ engagement with communities. The results suggest that capacity building for field staff, in particular in social skills and collaboration with local communities, has the potential to improve the relation between communities and rangers. As global efforts intensify to achieve target 3 of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, this research offers valuable insights into fostering respectful and trusting relations between communities and PA authorities.

Prioritizing ecological connectivity among protected areas in Colombia using a functional approach for birds

Ecological connectivity among Protected Areas (PAs) is essential to improve biodiversity conservation and management effectiveness under global change. In Colombia, developing strategic plans and locating spatial priorities for PA connectivity is fundamental for conserving its extraordinary bird diversity in the face of multiple threats, including deforestation and climate change. Here, we develop a multispecies bird connectivity model to identify critical sites for preserving and enhancing the ecological connections among PAs in Colombia. We focused our analyses on 26 forest-dependent bird species, determining their potential suitable habitat across Colombia using species distribution models and climatic variables. Expert knowledge guided the construction of movement resistance surfaces across these distributions to describe how different land covers impede or facilitate species movement. Using these inputs, we mapped Least-Cost Corridors (LCCs) connecting national and subnational PAs meeting the area requirements for the selected species. Additionally, we used circuit and least-cost models to locate conservation priorities and restoration opportunities, estimating the potential connectivity gains through the Equivalent Connected Area (ECA) index. We aggregated individual species results to create multispecies composite maps highlighting spatial agreements for corridors, priority conservation areas, and restoration opportunities. We found 581,531 km2 belonging to corridors among PAs for all focal species. Priority sites for movement within corridors covered 212,551 km2 and were predominantly located across Andean and Amazonian forests. Restoration opportunities covered 79,203 km2 and were concentrated in agricultural lands of the Andes and Caribbean regions. Restoring these areas could increase the national forest cover by 7% and connectivity by 14%. Our results provide a national-level assessment of functional connectivity priorities to maintain and improve the interconnections among PAs in Colombia. This assessment could guide efforts related to conservation, restoration, and implementation of management tools that facilitate the movement of native species across transformed lands. These actions are crucial to meet the targets outlined in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to achieve well-connected systems of PAs during this decade and until 2050.

Spatio-temporal variation and conservation priorities of wilderness in Lhasa River Basin, Tibetan Plateau

Wilderness plays a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, and its preservation represents a pivotal objective emphasized in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Nonetheless, wilderness frequently faces threats from the escalating impact of human activities, leading to significant repercussions on diverse ecological processes. Despite the abundance of previous studies on wilderness, there has been a limited focus on the temporal dynamics at the local scale, as well as on identifying the conservation priorities in terms of their ecosystem services. In this study, taking the Lhasa River Basin in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China as an example, the spatio-temporal variations of wilderness were analyzed, and conservation priorities of them were further identified based on ecosystem services. The results revealed a persistent decline in the wilderness from 1990 to 2020, particularly in terms of bare land and grassland. Furthermore, we identified that 33.56% of the remaining wilderness necessitated special attention. These findings offer valuable insights into potential future threats to wilderness and hold critical importance for formulating regional conservation strategies at the local scale.

Using the Nature Futures Framework as a lens for developing plural land use scenarios for Europe for 2050

Ambitious international targets are being developed to protect and restore biodiversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the European Union’s Green Deal. Yet, the land system consequences of meeting such targets are unclear, as multiple pathways may be able to deliver on the set targets. This paper introduces a novel scenario approach assessing the plural implementations of these targets. The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services aims to illustrate the different, positive ways in which society can value nature. It therefore offers a lens through which the spatial implementation of sustainability targets may be envisioned. We used CLUMondo, a spatially explicit model, to simulate plural land system scenarios for Europe for 2050. The model builds on current land system representations of Europe and explores how and where sustainability targets can be implemented under projected population trends and commodity demands. We created three different scenarios in which the sustainability targets are met, each representing an alternative, normative view on nature as represented by the NFF, favoring land systems providing strong climate regulation (Nature for Society), species conservation (Nature for Nature), or agricultural heritage features (Nature as Culture). Our results show that, irrespective of the NFF view, meeting sustainability targets will require European land systems to drastically change, as natural grasslands and forests are forecast to expand while productive areas are projected to undergo a dual intensification and diversification trajectory. Despite each NFF perspective showcasing a similar direction of change, 20% of Europe's land area will differ based on the adopted NFF perspective, with hotspots of disagreement identified in eastern and western Europe. These simulations go beyond existing scenario approaches by not only depicting broad societal developments for Europe, but also by quantifying the land system synergies and trade-offs associated with alternative, archetypal, interpretations and values of how nature may be managed for sustainability. This quantification exemplifies a means towards constructive dialogue, on the one hand by acknowledging areas of contention, and bringing such issues to the fore, and on the other by highlighting points of convergence in a vision for a sustainable Europe.

Conservation priorities for endangered trees facing multiple threats around the world.

Trees are vital to the survival of numerous species and to forest ecosystem functioning. However, the current distribution, vulnerability to extinction, and conservation priorities of globally endangered trees are not well known. We mapped the global distribution of 1686 tree species listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List and identified conservation priority for them based on species richness, life-history traits, evolutionary distinctiveness, future climate change, and intensity of human activities. We also evaluated the impacts of various threats to these endangered tree species and evaluated the effectiveness of their protection based on the percentage of the species' range inside protected areas. The worldwide distribution of endangered trees, from the tropics through temperate zones, was uneven. Most endangered tree species were not protected in their native ranges, and only 153 species were fully protected. Hotspots of tree diversity occurred primarily in the tropics, and 79.06% of these were highly vulnerable to threats. We identified 253 areas of high priority for the conservation of endangered trees that are highly threatened and insufficiently protected. In particular, 43.42% of unprotected tree species in priority areas lacked recommended conservation measures or had no associated conservation plan. The priority conservation areas and unprotected trees we identified serve as a guideline for future management underpinning the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Research on the implementation of the convention on biological diversity among the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is the most extensive and populous comprehensive regional cooperation organization in the world, covering about half of the world's population, with not only a huge consumer market, but also rich natural resources and strong productivity. As one of the important platforms for the implementation of the Green Belt and Road Initiative, it is an important opportunity for the SCO to actively participate in global governance and contribute to building a community of global life. To investigate the status of biodiversity conservation in the SCO countries, we used literature analysis approach. We surveyed the performance and international cooperation status of the SCO countries in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), listed facing problems and threats to biodiversity conservation, including not optimistic biodiversity conservation project implementation status, contradiction between ecological protection and economic development, impacts of human activities, lack of funds and talents, etc., and analyzed the biodiversity protection needs of the SCO countries from the perspectives of project and policy implementation status and international cooperation. According to the cooperation between China and the other SCO countries on biodiversity conservation and the post-2020 global biodiversity framework goals, we gave some recommendations: (1) promoting access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing; (2) integrating multiple funds and innovating the implementation of funding mechanism; (3) developing talent training and exchange programs and deepening multilateral cooperation; (4) strengthening cross-border cooperation and improving cooperation network; and (5) establishing a coordination mechanism for biodiversity conservation within the framework of the SCO.

The State of Protected Areas and Conservation of Ethiopia’s Iconic Large Mammals: Implications for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

Despite the creation of several iconic protected areas (PAs) over the past decades, the charismatic megafauna of Ethiopia has continued to decline. Here, we identify the factors that are driving spatial and biological changes in PAs. The findings show that some iconic PAs were downsized while others remained unchanged, but almost all PAs significantly lost their ability to support iconic species, putting the survival of large mammals at risk. Human population growth, limited livelihoods, a lack of political commitment, insufficient funding, and climate change are all underlying threats to national PAs. The unrestricted use of natural resources, habitat degradation, the rapid spread of invasive species, illegal wildlife trade, disease, pollution, human–wildlife conflict, and roadkill are proximate factors that significantly impact upon PAs. As a result, it is of critical importance to change the management paradigm of the existing but largely degraded PA system. The authors, therefore, recommend that rather than focussing only on expanding protected and conserved areas (‘quantity’), management efficiency (‘quality’) should instead be prioritized to halt the dramatic loss of large mammals in Ethiopia.

Improving awareness on sustainable palm oil: measuring the effectiveness of a repeat-engagement zoo outreach programme

Unsustainable palm oil production is having a devastating impact on biodiversity in producing countries in Southeast Asia. Certification schemes for sustainable palm oil have the potential to reduce these impacts. The ubiquity of palm oil in processed foods found in supermarkets is a challenge that requires intervention at the policy level and with consumers through increasing public knowledge of the problem and awareness of sustainable alternatives. Zoos are increasingly demonstrating their role in increasing awareness of multifaceted conservation issues across a range of audiences. This paper describes the evaluation of a repeat-engagement outreach programme on palm oil delivered to 7–11 year old children in UK schools by zoo educators. We conducted a mixed-method study using before-after control-treatment surveys to examine the relationship between programme participation and participants’ knowledge of palm oil, sustainability, and awareness of sustainable alternatives. The analysis indicated improvements in participants’ understanding of palm oil as a conservation issue, and knowledge of how and where to identify sustainable palm oil in consumer products. The analysis also indicated a smaller improvement in participants’ understanding of sustainability. We discuss these findings in the context of zoo-led conservation education, and its potential role in Target-16 of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

Langbiangia, a new genus of Gesneriaceae endemic to Langbiang Plateau, southern Vietnam and a taxonomic endeavor to achieve key targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Situated in the southern end of the Annamite Mountain Range, Langbiang Plateau is a major biodiversity hotspot of southern Vietnam known for high species diversity and endemicity. To achieve effective conservation, parts of the plateau were designated as the Langbiang Biosphere Reserve, an UNESCO World Network aiming to improve relationships between inhabitants and their environments. Amongst the rich endemic flora of the plateau are three gesneriads ascribed to Primulina, a calciphilous genus with high species diversity in the vast limestone karsts stretching from southern China to northern Vietnam. However, a recent phylogenetic study questioned the generic placement of the Langbiang Primulina, corroborating with observations on the geographical distribution, habitat preference, and phyllotaxy of the three species. Based on phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-F DNA sequences of a comprehensive sampling covering nearly all genera of the Old World Gesneriaceae, we demonstrate that the three Langbiang Primulina species form a fully supported clade distantly related to other Primulina. As this clade is biogeographically, ecologically, morphologically, and phylogenetically distinct worthy of generic recognition, we propose to name it Langbiangia gen. nov. to highlight the rich and unique biodiversity of the Langbiang Plateau. By means of this taxonomic endeavor, we are hoping to raise the conservation awareness of this biodiversity heritage of southern Vietnam and promote the importance of Langbiang Biosphere Reserve that is crucial for achieving action-oriented global targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (GBF) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)-effective conservation and management of at least 30% of biodiverse terrestrial, inland water, and costal and marine areas by 2030-that has been agreed at the COP15 in Montréal in December 2022.