Originally conceived to conserve iconic landscapes and wildlife, protected areas are now expected to achieve an increasingly diverse set of conservation, social and economic objectives. The amount of ...land and sea designated as formally protected has markedly increased over the past century, but there is still a major shortfall in political commitments to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of protected areas. Financial support for protected areas is dwarfed by the benefits that they provide, but these returns depend on effective management. A step change involving increased recognition, funding, planning and enforcement is urgently needed if protected areas are going to fulfil their potential.
Conservation biologists should seek to work with those involved in sustainable agriculture and rural development in expanded integrated approaches to reduce pesticide harm to humans, biodiversity and ...environmental services. Despite new evidence, conservation organisations have tended not to fully recognize the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity, and current conservation strategies pay little heed to addressing this threat. A comprehensive suite of strategies are required to reduce and rationalize pesticide use and mitigate risks to species conservation. This paper proposes six steps for conservationists to address pesticide problems: (1) revisit the land sparing versus land sharing debate and include the external impacts of agriculture as vital components in systematic conservation planning; (2) redefine narratives on intensive agriculture and support emerging forms of sustainable intensification; (3) focus and inform on improved delivery mechanisms and monitoring legal use to achieve better pesticide targeting and a major reduction in volumes used; (4) support efforts to reduce wastage and inefficiency in the food system by promoting technical changes and informed consumer choice; (5) design and encourage resilient temperate and tropical landscapes that minimise pesticide contamination on farms and at landscape scale; and (6) develop comprehensive policy responses to promote both better alternatives to synthetic pesticides and limit the use of the most harmful pesticides.
•Three recent meta-studies suggest that pesticide impacts on biodiversity have frequently been under-estimated•We propose six necessary responses, aimed at conservationists, researchers and government policy-makers•Potential pesticide impacts can be recognized and factored into systematic conservation planning, and resilient landscapes designed to minimize environmental contamination•Pesticide contamination in agriculture can be reduced by promoting effective pesticide reduction strategies, reducing wastage in pesticide delivery systems and developing strong policy responses to control the most hazardous pesticides•At a more general level, steps to cut down waste throughout the food system will further reduce the need for pesticide application.
Most people follow and are influenced by some kind of spiritual faith. We examined two ways in which religious faiths can in turn influence biodiversity conservation in protected areas. First, ...biodiversity conservation is influenced through the direct and often effective protection afforded to wild species in sacred natural sites and in seminatural habitats around religious buildings. Sacred natural sites are almost certainly the world's oldest form of habitat protection. Although some sacred natural sites exist inside official protected areas, many thousands more form a largely unrecognized "shadow" conservation network in many countries throughout the world, which can be more stringently protected than state-run reserves. Second, faiths have a profound impact on attitudes to protection of the natural world through their philosophy, teachings, investment choices, approaches to land they control, and religious-based management systems. We considered the interactions between faiths and protected areas with respect to all 11 mainstream faiths and to a number of local belief systems. The close links between faiths and habitat protection offer major conservation opportunities, but also pose challenges. Bringing a sacred natural site into a national protected-area system can increase protection for the site, but may compromise some of its spiritual values or even its conservation values. Most protected-area managers are not trained to manage natural sites for religious purposes, but many sacred natural sites are under threat from cultural changes and habitat degradation. Decisions about whether or not to make a sacred natural site an "official" protected area therefore need to be made on a case-by-case basis. Such sites can play an important role in conservation inside and outside official protected areas. More information about the conservation value of sacred lands is needed as is more informed experience in integrating these into wider conservation strategies. In addition, many protected-area staff need training in how to manage sensitive issues relating to faiths where important faith sites occur in protected areas.
Recognizing that protected areas (PAs) are essential for effective biodiversity conservation action, the Convention on Biological Diversity established ambitious PA targets as part of the 2020 ...Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. Under the strategic goal to "improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity," Target 11 aims to put 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine regions under PA status by 2020. Additionally and crucially, these areas are required to be of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, and well-connected and to include "other effective area-based conservation measures" (OECMs). Whereas the area-based targets are explicit and measurable, the lack of guidance for what constitutes important and representative; effective; and OECMs is affecting how nations are implementing the target. There is a real risk that Target 11 may be achieved in terms of area while failing the overall strategic goal for which it is established because the areas are poorly located, inadequately managed, or based on unjustifiable inclusion of OECMs. We argue that the conservation science community can help establish ecologically sensible PA targets to help prioritize important biodiversity areas and achieve ecological representation; identify clear, comparable performance metrics of ecological effectiveness so progress toward these targets can be assessed; and identify metrics and report on the contribution OECMs make toward the target. By providing ecologically sensible targets and new performance metrics for measuring the effectiveness of both PAs and OECMs, the science community can actively ensure that the achievement of the required area in Target 11 is not simply an end in itself but generates genuine benefits for biodiversity. En reconocimiento de que las areas protegidas (APs) son esenciales para la acción efectiva de la conservación de la biodiversidad, la Convención Biológica sobre la Diversidad estableció objetivos ambiciosos de áreas protegidas como parte del Plan Estratégico para la Biodiversidad 2020. Bajo la meta estratégica de "mejorar el estado de la biodiversidad por medio de salvaguardar a los ecosistemas, las especies y la diversidad genética", el Objetivo 11 busca poner 17% de las regiones terrestres y 10% de las marinas en estado de AP para 2020. Además y de manera crucial, estas áreas necesitan ser de particular importancia para la biodiversidad y los servicios ambientales, estar manejadas efectiva y equitativamente, ser representativas ecológicamente, estar bien conectadas e incluir "otras medidas de conservación efectiva basadas en el área" (OMCE). Mientras que los objetivos basados en el área son explícitos y medibles, la falta de dirección para qué significan importante, representativo, efectivo y OMCE está afectando cómo las naciones están implementando el objetivo. Existe un riesgo real de que el Objetivo 11 se alcance en términos de área y falle en el objetivo estratégico general por el cual fue establecido ya que las áreas se encuentran mal ubicadas, manejadas inadecuadamente o basadas en una inclusión injustificada de las OMCE. Argumentamos que la comunidad de científicos de la conservación puede ayudar a establecer objetivos de APs ecológicamente sensibles para ayudar a priorizar áreas de biodiversidad importantes y alcanzar la representación ecológica; identificar medidas claras y comparables de la efectividad ecológica para poder evaluar el progreso hacia estos objetivos; e identificar medidas y reportar sobre la contribución que las OMCE aportan al objetivo. Si proporcionamos objetivos ecológicamente sensibles y nuevas medidas de desempeño para calcular la efectividad de las APs y las OMCE, la comunidad científica puede asegurar activamente que la obtención del área exigida en el Objetivo 11 no sea sólo un fin por sí misma, sino también que genere beneficios genuinos para la biodiversidad.
Continued biodiversity loss has prompted calls for half of the planet to be set aside for nature – including E. O Wilson's “Half-Earth” approach and the Wild Foundation's “Nature Needs Half” ...initiative. These efforts have provided a necessary wake-up call and drawn welcome global attention for the urgent need for increased action on conserving biodiversity and nature in general. Yet they have also sparked debate within the conservation community, particularly due to the huge practical and political obstacles to establishing or expanding protected areas on this scale. The new designation of “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) provides the opportunity for formal recognition of and support for areas delivering conservation outcomes outside the protected area estate. We argue that OECMs are essential to the achievement of big and bold conservation targets such as Half-Earth. But integration of OECMs into the conservation estate requires fundamental changes in protected area planning and how the conservation community deals with human rights and social safeguards issues; it therefore challenges our understanding of what constitutes “conservation”. It will only succeed if the key drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem service loss are addressed in the whole planet. A broad, multifaceted and innovative approach, coupled with ambitious targets, provides our best hope yet of addressing complex conservation challenges. Keywords: Protected areas, Half-earth, Aichi targets, OECMs, Conservation strategy
Despite significant progress in understanding climate risks, adaptation efforts in biodiversity conservation remain limited. Adaptation requires addressing immediate conservation threats while also ...attending to long term, highly uncertain and potentially transformative future changes. To date, conservation research has focused more on projecting climate impacts and identifying possible strategies, rather than understanding how governance enables or constrains adaptation actions. We outline an approach to future-oriented conservation that combines the capacities to anticipate future ecological change; to understand the implications of that change for social, political and ecological values; and the ability to engage with the governance (and politics) of adaptation. Our approach builds on the adaptive management and governance literature, however we explicitly address the (often contested) rules, knowledge and values that enable or constrain adaptation. We call for a broader focus that extends beyond technical approaches to acknowledge the socio-political challenges inherent to adaptation. More importantly, we suggest that conservation policy makers and practitioners can use this approach to facilitate learning and adaptation in the context of complexity, transformational change and uncertainty.
This book examines the concept of naturalness in ecosystems, discusses its values and considers choices about the level of naturalness in conservation efforts. The author argues that all ecosystems ...have been modified and the idea of places 'untouched by humans' is a myth. But there are large differences in the degree of modification and levels of naturalness which can be identified. Changes are not always irreversible; some apparent wilderness areas are sites of former civilizations. There is no longer any simple distinction possible between 'natural' and 'cultural' systems. In the future, society will, to some extent, choose the degree of naturalness in land and seascapes. The growth of protected areas is an early sign of this, as are changes in forest management, dam removal and control of invasive species. To make informed choices about these areas, the author shows that we must understand the characteristics and values of naturally regulating ecosystems - their practical benefits, social values and management needs.
Authenticity in Nature uses a rigorous definition of authenticity to help in the understanding and measurement of naturalness. It discusses the choices facing us and some of the information we need to make decisions relating to land and water management. Practical issues of management and numerous terrestrial and aquatic examples from around the world are discussed. It is an optimistic and highly original book, aiming to make genuine advances in our understanding and management of natural systems.
Most protected areas (e.g.national parks and nature reserves) have been created to protect wildlife and land- and seascape values. They currently cover over 13% of the world's land surface, around ...12% of marine coastal areas and 4% of the marine shelf. Retaining and expanding these areas in the future will depend on showing their wider benefits for society.
This book provides a concise and persuasive overview of the values of protected areas. Contributing authors from over fifty countries examine a wide range of values that are maintained in protected areas, including food, water and materials; health; tourism; cultural and spiritual values; and buffering capacity against climate change and natural disasters. The book also considers the role of protected areas in poverty reduction strategies, their relationship with traditional and indigenous people and in fostering conflict resolution through peace parks initiatives.
The chapters draw on a series of authoritative reports published by WWF over recent years under the 'Arguments for Protection' banner, in association with various partners, and on additional research carried out especially for the volume. It analyses the opportunities and limitations of protected areas for supplying the various values along with practical advice for planners and managers about maximising benefits. It provides an important contribution to the debate about the role of protected areas in conservation and other aspects of natural resource management and human livelihoods.
Published with WWF
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