Industrial oil palm plantations in South East Asia have caused significant biodiversity losses and perverse social outcomes. To address concerns over plantation practices and in an attempt to improve ...sustainability through market mechanisms, civil society organisations and industry representatives developed the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004. The effectiveness of RSPO in improving the sustainability of the palm oil industry is frequently debated and to date, few quantitative analyses have been undertaken to assess how successful RSPO has been in delivering the social, economic and environmental sustainability outcomes it aims to address. With the palm oil industry continuing to expand in South East Asia and significant estates being planted in Africa and South America, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of RSPO plantations compared to non-certified plantations by assessing the relative performance of several key sustainability metrics compared to business as usual practices. Using Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) as a case study, a novel dataset of RSPO concessions was developed and causal analysis methodologies employed to evaluate the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the industry. No significant difference was found between certified and non-certified plantations for any of the sustainability metrics investigated, however positive economic trends including greater fresh fruit bunch yields were revealed. To achieve intended outcomes, RSPO principles and criteria are in need of substantial improvement and rigorous enforcement.
The invasion of a novel habitat often results in a variety of new selective pressures on an individual. One pressure that can severely impact population establishment is predation. The strategies ...that animals use to minimize predation, especially the extent to which those strategies are habitat or predator specific, will subsequently affect individuals' dispersal abilities. The invasion of land by a fish, the Pacific leaping blenny, Alticus arnoldorum, offers a unique opportunity to study natural selection following the colonization of a novel habitat. Various studies have examined adaptations in respiration and locomotion, but how these fish have responded to the predation regime on land was unknown. We studied five replicate populations of this fish around the island of Guam and found their body coloration converged on the terrestrial rocky backgrounds on which the fish were most often found. Subsequent experiments confirmed that this background matching significantly reduced predation. Natural selection has therefore selected for background matching in the body coloration of the Pacific leaping blenny to minimize predation, but it is a strategy that is habitat specific. A subsequent comparative study of closely related blenny species suggested that the evolutionary ancestor of the Pacific leaping blenny might have resembled the rocky backgrounds on land prior to invasion. The ancestors of the Pacific leaping blenny may therefore have already been ideally suited for the predator regime on land. More generally our results imply that animals must either already possess antipredator strategies that will be effective in new environments, or must adapt very quickly to new predation pressures if successful establishment is to occur.
•The Pacific leaping blenny, Alticus arnoldorum, is a land fish.•We studied five populations around the island of Guam.•Body colour of fish matched the rocks on which the fish were typically found.•Experiments subsequently showed background matching significantly reduced predation.•Background matching in this blenny has therefore been selected to reduce predation.
Divergence between populations in reproductively important features is often vital for speciation. Many studies attempt to identify the cause of population differentiation in phenotype through the ...study of a specific selection pressure. Holistic studies that consider the interaction of several contrasting forms of selection are more rare. Most studies also fail to consider the history of connectivity among populations and the potential for genetic drift or gene flow to facilitate or limit phenotypic divergence. We examined the interacting effects of natural selection, sexual selection and the history of connectivity on phenotypic differentiation among five populations of the Pacific leaping blenny (Alticus arnoldorum), a land fish endemic to the island of Guam.
We found key differences among populations in two male ornaments--the size of a prominent head crest and conspicuousness of a coloured dorsal fin--that reflected a trade-off between the intensity of sexual selection (male biased sex ratios) and natural selection (exposure to predators). This differentiation in ornamentation has occurred despite evidence suggesting extensive gene flow among populations, which implies that the change in ornament expression has been recent (and potentially plastic).
Our study provides an early snapshot of divergence in reproductively important features that, regardless of whether it reflects genetic or plastic changes in phenotype, could ultimately form a reproductive barrier among populations.
Abstract
Oil palm (
Elaeis guinensis
) is a controversial crop. To assess its sustainability, we analysed the contribution of different types of plantations (smallholder, industrial and unproductive) ...towards meeting six Sustainable Development Goals. Using spatial econometric methods and data from 25,067 villages in Sumatra, Indonesia, we revealed that unproductive plantations are associated with more cases of malnutrition, worsened school access, more air pollution and increased criminality. We also proposed a strategy for sustainable palm oil expansion based on replanting unproductive plantations with either industrial or smallholder palm oil. Smallholder replanting was beneficial for five Goals (Zero poverty, Good health, Quality Education, Environmental preservation and Crime reduction), while the same intervention only improved two Goals in the industrial case (Zero poverty and Quality Education). Our appraisal is relevant to policymakers aiming towards the 2030 Agenda, organisations planning oil palm expansion, and retailers or consumers concerned about the sustainability of oil consumption.
Protected areas (PAs) are central to sustainability targets, yet few evaluations explore outcomes for both conservation and development, or the trade‐offs involved. We applied counterfactual analyses ...to assess the extent to which PAs maintained forest cover and influenced well‐being across >31,000 villages in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia. We examined multidimensional aspects of well‐being, tracking education, health, living standards, infrastructure, environment, and social cohesion in treatment and control villages between 2005 and 2018. Overall, PAs were effective at maintaining forest cover compared to matched controls and were not detrimental to well‐being. However, impacts were highly heterogeneous, varying by island and strictness of protection. While health, living standards, and infrastructure aspects of well‐being improved, education access, environmental conditions, and social cohesion declined. Our analysis reveals the contexts through which individual PAs succeed or fail in delivering multiple benefits and provides insights into where further on‐ground support is needed to achieve conservation and development objectives.
Scholars have long stressed the need to bridge the gap between science and action and seek the most efficient use of knowledge for decision making. Many contributors have attempted to consider and ...understand the sociopolitical forces involved in knowledge generation and exchange. We argue, however, that a model is still needed to adequately conceptualize and frame the knowledge networks in which these processes are embedded. We devised a model for knowledge mapping as a prerequisite for knowledge management in the context of conservation. Using great ape conservation to frame our approach, we propose that knowledge mapping should be based on 2 key principles. First, each conservation network results from the conglomeration of subnetworks of expertise producing and using knowledge. Second, beyond the research‐management gradient, other dimensions, such as the scale of operation, geographic location, and organizational characteristics, must also be considered. Assessing both knowledge production and trajectory across different dimensions of the network opens new space for investigating and reducing the gap between science and action.
Uso del Conocimiento del Mapeo para Replantear la Separación entre la Ciencia y la Acción
Resumen
Durante mucho tiempo los académicos han hecho énfasis en la necesidad de cerrar la brecha entre la ciencia y la acción, así como encontrar el uso más eficiente del conocimiento para la toma de decisiones. Muchos contribuyentes han intentado considerar y entender las fuerzas sociopolíticas involucradas en la generación e intercambio de conocimiento. Sin embargo, argumentamos que todavía se necesita un modelo para conceptualizar y enmarcar adecuadamente las redes de conocimiento en las que están incorporados estos procesos. Diseñamos un modelo para el mapeo del conocimiento como prerrequisito para el manejo del conocimiento como parte del contexto de la conservación. Usamos la conservación de los grandes simios para enmarcar nuestra estrategia y proponemos que el mapeo del conocimiento debería estar basado en dos principios clave. Primero, cada red de conservación es resultado de la conglomeración de subredes de experiencias que produce y usa conocimiento. Segundo, más allá del gradiente de manejo de investigaciones, otras dimensiones como la escala de operación, la ubicación geográfica y las características de organización también deben considerarse. La evaluación de la producción y la trayectoria del conocimiento a través de diferentes dimensiones de la red de conservación abre un nuevo espacio para la investigación y la reducción de la brecha entre la ciencia y la acción.
摘要
长期以来, 学者们一直强调应填补科学与行动之间的鸿沟, 并寻求在决策中最有效地利用知识。许多研究者试图考虑和理解在知识产生和交流中涉及的社会政治力量。然而, 我们认为仍需要用模型来充分概念化并构建嵌入这些过程的知识网络。我们设计了一个保护背景下的知识图谱模型, 以作为知识管理的前提条件。本研究利用类人猿保护来构建相关方法, 并提出知识图谱应基于两个关键原则。第一, 每一个保护网络都是由生产和使用知识的专业知识子网络聚集而成的。第二, 必须考虑除研究管理梯度之外的其它维度, 如保护行动的规模、地理位置和组织特征。评估网络中不同维度的知识生产和知识轨迹, 将为研究和缩小科学与行动之间的差距开辟新的空间。翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚
Article impact statement: Considering subnetworks of expertise for knowledge mapping provides opportunities to bridge the gap between science and action.
In conservation, Collaboration is thought to improve returns from investment and is frequently encouraged, however not all collaborations are equal and may therefore lack characteristics important ...for addressing collective action problems. Furthermore, partnerships that are advantageous for a collective may not necessarily be advantageous for an individual. This study investigated collaboration within the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) conservation sector – a system with reported inefficiencies and for which there has been a renewed call for collaborative partnerships. Collaborative partnerships were conceptualised as a social network and analysed using exponential random graph modelling. The prevalence of structural attributes associated with social processes considered to be important for solving collective action problems such as trust and innovation were investigated. Qualitative surveying techniques were used to measure the perceptions of collaboration held by individual actors within the network and the impact of organizational attributes on network formation and perceptions was assessed. Collaboration was found to be occurring within the conservation network and was positively perceived at the individual organisational level. At the collective level, the current collaborative network contains some structural characteristics important for addressing the collective-action problem of orangutan conservation, particularly through innovation and knowledge sharing. However efforts to develop trust between organisations may be needed. To improve returns on investment, future collaborative partnerships must be strategically implemented with individual roles and desired overall outcomes explicitly articulated. Increased operational transparency and improved performance evaluation will be critical for achieving improved collaborative efficiency.
Beyond protected areas for koala conservation Williams, Brooke A; Morgans, Courtney; Rhodes, Jonathan R
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
03/2023, Letnik:
379, Številka:
6638
Journal Article
Each year an estimated US$20–30 million is spent by government and non-government organisations in efforts to conserve the Bornean orangutan. However, recent population analysis reveals that these ...efforts have been unable to reduce species decline. A major aim of the Indonesian National Action Plan for orangutan conservation is to “improve in-situ conservation as the principal activity ensuring the orangutan's survival in its native habitats”. This paper summarises and examines current investment in conservation activities and provides recommendations on the strategic allocation of funds for future conservation. The cost data of major conservation initiatives, including orangutan rescue and rehabilitation, habitat protection, habitat restoration and community education, was collated from non-government agency annual reports and primary literature. A recent population density and distribution model, and reports documenting the effectiveness of conservation strategies for the species were then used to calculate population trends in the presence and absence of interventions. Using an open-access cost-effectiveness resource allocator tool, we investigate expenditure and program performance. We then provide recommendations on how to strategically allocate conservation funding to future programs to ensure maximum effectiveness.
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