Indigenous knowledge is saving our iconic species Goolmeer, Teagan; van Leeuwen, Stephen
Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam),
July 2023, 2023-07-00, 20230701, Letnik:
38, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
When a species’ last strong foothold occurs on Country, empowering Indigenous-led actions under the collaborative management of culturally significant species is key to species persistence. We ...examine how Indigenous Australians are using Indigenous knowledge to save the greater bilby, a highly valued species to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Indigenous biocultural knowledge offers valuable insights for species conservation; however, like biological diversity, associated cultural knowledge is also often threatened. This paper demonstrates ...how Indigenous biocultural knowledge of species can contribute to addressing gaps in species occurrence data and conservation knowledge using a case study from the South East Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area (SEAL IPA), northern Australia. Using a series of mapping workshops and interviews this collaborative project recorded Indigenous biocultural knowledge of the distribution, ecology, cultural significance and threats to freshwater turtles (freshwoda teduls in the local Indigenous language, Roper River Kriol). Based on past freshwoda tedul hunting experiences, 74 Indigenous knowledge holders identified 753 past freshwoda tedul occurrences, significantly adding to the 12 occurrences previously listed for the SEAL IPA in Australia's online species database, the Atlas of Living Australia. Importantly, these were the first ‘memory’ records of past species sightings by Indigenous people to be recognized and added to Australia's national species database. In addition, a blog summarizing this research was promoted through the Atlas of Living Australia, raising awareness of the Indigenous biocultural knowledge associated with these species. The Mepimbat tedul proujek revealed the cultural significance of freshwoda teduls and reported declines in abundance since the turn of the century, implicating invasive hard‐hooved ungulates (buffalo, pig) and reduced rainfall. The addition of non‐sacred Indigenous knowledge to free online species databases may offer innovative solutions for storage, interaction and sharing of indigenous knowledge, with opportunities for intergenerational and cross‐cultural learning and broader application in conservation management and decision‐making.
Co‐management has been advocated as an effective tool to achieve natural resource conservation worldwide. Yet, the potential of co‐management arrangements can fail to be realized when there is ...insufficient local engagement.
In this perspective paper, we argue that co‐management schemes focusing on culturally important species (CIS) can help overcome this issue by engaging local people's interest.
To develop this theory, we explore published data on the outcomes of two management schemes, both encompassing multiple independent initiatives, to discuss CIS‐management effects and benefits.
We also show a compilation of CIS examples throughout the world and discuss the potential of CIS‐management to reach a global audience.
Based on these data, we argue that CIS‐management can be an effective tool to reconcile the often intractable goals of biodiversity conservation and human welfare.
Translated
O manejo colaborativo (comanejo) tem sido considerado uma ferramenta eficiente para promover a conservação dos recursos naturais em distintas regiões do planeta. No entanto, o potencial dos arranjos de comanejo tende a falhar quando não existe engajamento local suficiente.
Neste artigo, argumentamos que as iniciativas de comanejo com foco em Espécies Culturalmente Importantes (CIS) podem representar uma alternativa para este problema por promover um maior interesse de povos locais nas iniciativas.
Para desenvolver esta ideia, apresentamos e discutimos os efeitos do comanejo de CIS a partir de dados de literatura provenientes de dois esquemas de manejo presentes na Amazônia, ambos com múltiplas iniciativas independentes.
Trazemos, ainda, uma compilação de exemplos de CIS ao redor de todo o mundo e discutimos o potencial do comanejo de CIS de atingir uma audiência global.
Com base nas informações apresentadas no artigo, defendemos que o comanejo de CIS pode ser uma ferramenta efetiva para conciliar a conservação da biodiversidade com o bem‐estar humano.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Summary
This paper provides a critical analysis of the development and current outcomes of Australia's first endorsed strategic assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity ...Conservation Act 1999, namely, the Melbourne Strategic Assessment. It covers progress towards protection of a number of Nationally Significant Species and Ecological Communities – most notably, the native grassland communities immediately adjacent to Melbourne's Urban Growth Boundary. The Commonwealth approval to protect biodiversity and allow urban development was made in 2010 and it aimed to achieve its outcomes by 2020. These outcomes included providing new land for homes, for new transport corridors, and for conservation of biodiversity. Natural Temperate Grassland (4,667 ha), Grassy Eucalypt Woodland (709 ha) and seven other Matters of National Environmental Significance will be impacted. Mitigation for this is establishment of 15,000 ha of grassland reserves, 1,200 ha of grassy woodland reserves, over 4,000 ha of other land zoned for conservation and 300 ha of wetland restoration. We conclude that the Melbourne Strategic Assessment has been a success in terms of the elegance and comprehensiveness of the approach, in cooperation between the levels of government, in the economic benefits, and in some aspects of social engagement of the agreement. However, the achievement of environmental outcomes must be currently considered a failure due to poor implementation. This failure includes not meeting the agreed 10 year deadline for land acquisition and management, poor monitoring and protection of set‐aside areas, and in reporting. We offer suggestions for how these current shortcomings could be overcome. These align well with the recommendations of the review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (The independent statutory review of the Act in 2020) and include the establishment of the proposed Office of Compliance and Enforcement, the adoption of National Environmental Standards and the reforms regarding the role of Indigenous Australians in strategic assessments. If these were adopted, we conclude that the strategic assessment approach should be more widely used because of the more holistic approach and efficiencies that it envisages compared with site by site approaches.
One of the most important tasks in community ecology is identifying the co-occurrence patterns of the community and identifying the underlying processes that control such patterns. Null model ...analysis,which has been facilitated by the processes of biodiversity maintenance,has been used to identify the co-occurrence patterns in communities. However,few studies have focused on co-occurrence pattern dynamics of belowground soil communities. In this study,we identify the cooccurrence pattern dynamics of a Carabidae community in a Pinus koraiensis planted forest on a small scale,based on five investigations from June 2013 to October 2014. A plot( 20 m x 20 m) was established and further divided into 100 squares of 2 m x 2 m at the Maoer Mountain Ecosystem Research Station of the Northeast Forestry University in Heilongjiang Province,Northeast China. One hundred pitfall traps were set to collect the Carabidae community for each investigation. To determine non-random patterns of species co-existence and significant
The abundance and taxonomic composition of the aquatic insect fauna were investigated, with focus on adult water bugs, water beetles and water scavenger beetles (Heteroptera: Nepomorpha and ...Gerromorpha, and Coleoptera: Hydradephaga and Hydrophilidae) in two different freshwater habitats: (1) a periodically flooded area of the Special Zoological Reserve in Kopački rit Nature Park, Croatia; and (2) melioration canals in the wider area of the Nature Park during 2005. Aquatic insects are generally abundant in various water systems, including floodplains that are exposed to water level fluctuations. Our aims were (1) to determine abundance and species richness in relation to habitat type; (2) to determine the influence of high flood peaks and oscillations during high water levels on the diversity of aquatic Coleoptera and Heteroptera in the flooded area; and (3) to identify characteristic species associated with each habitat type. We collected 71 species; 41 were captured at canals and 64 at the flooded area. Diversity of the two habitat types varied depending on the months but there were remarkable differences in species pool and their abundance. Both high and low water levels as well as oscillations during high water levels had major influence on species assemblages at the flooded area. Diversity of aquatic Coleoptera and Heteroptera was higher when the water level decreased after high water level peaks. A total of 11 species fulfilled the criteria for specificity and were sufficiently abundant to be suitable species characteristic for these two habitats. A higher proportion of significant characteristic species was present in the flooded area than in the canals. The presence of two Red List species of water beetles (Graphoderus bilineatus De Geer, 1774 and Berosus geminus Reiche et Saulcy, 1856) and nine significant characteristic species at the flooded area clearly indicates that the contribution of floodplains in maintaining freshwater biodiversity is not only important regionally but also at the international level. Also, our results suggest that the power of high water levels is an important factor that can be used in analyses on aquatic Coleoptera and Heteroptera assemblages, showing the uniqueness of large floodplain areas.
This paper reports the chorological data on 3 internationally significant floristic species in Serbia, in the Ibar river valley, Kosovo and Metohija North. Those are: Gladiolus palustris Gaudin, ...Himantoglossum caprinum (M. Bieb) Spreng. and Narcissus poeticus subsp. radiiflorus (Salisb.) Baker. It also reports new research findings on a rare species of vascular flora of Serbia - Phlomoides tuberosa (L.) Moench. The distribution of the mentioned species is shown in UTM 10 km X 10 km squares, based on the field researches, herbarium collections inspections and literature data. As the studied species belong to the group of internationally important and rare species, the familiarity with the status of their populations and degree of their vulnerability would present a good basis for monitoring their protection both in Serbia and Europe.
Seed banks in rare shoreline communities (Nova Scotia, Canada), were examined in order to determine their role in the persistence of rare plant species. A pristine shoreline which supports globally ...and nationally significant Atlantic coastal plain species averaged 8500 seeds/m2. Seeds were most abundant high on the shore and where standing crop was greatest. Rare species, which made up 22% of the standing crop and litter of the adult vegetation, comprised only 4% of the seed bank. Common rushes such as Juncus canadensis and J. filiformis, were not well represented in the adult vegetation (5% of the standing crop and litter) but were abundant in the seed bank (52% of all seeds). Seed densities were on average, much lower on an intensely disturbed shoreline (1000 seeds/m2), where heavy all-terrain vehicle traffic had destroyed the adult vegetation. These results suggest that intense disturbances will destroy both existing vegetation and the seed bank and moderate disturbances will alter community composition so that common rushes will replace already endangered Atlantic coastal plain species.
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