3.2.4: Conserving biodiversity Flashcards
Strategies to conserve biodiversity range from
total protection (scientific reserves) to schemes which integrate economic development into conservation
Example of total protection
Surtsey
Surtsey
Location
A volcanic island near Iceland, approx. 32km from its coast
Surtsey
formation
formed by volcanic eruptions along the mid-atlantic ridge that took place from 1963-1967
Surtsey
ecosystem characteristics
vegetation succession has occured here
ongoing ecological processes
Surtsey
total protection measures
IUCN category 1a strict nature reserve
globally important ‘natural laboratory’
Example of economic development integrated into conservation
Brazil, ‘the extractive idea’
Brazil, ‘the extractive idea’
ALto Jurua reserve
conserve forests and extract their resources
lower rates of deforestation
involves land clearing, community management keeps this to a minimum
Conservation issues
4
- Which areas and which species to conserve
- The design of areas
- In-situ or ex-situ approaches
- Legislation and financing of programmes
Types of conservation due to location
2
eco-region approach
hotspots
Eco-region approach
conservation
A location which is a particular representation of a particular ecosystem type
Hotspots
conservation
Places where the greatest number of species are under imminent threat
Hotspots occupy …% of land surface?
2.3%
Endemic species
Plants or animals found in one particular area or region and nowhere else on Earth
Hotspots
characteristics
Very high biodiversity which is under threat from human activity
contain large amounts of endemic species
Problems with conservation of hotspots
too large, too broad approach
heavy focus on endemic species - rainforests, what about other regions under threat?
Eco-regions
characteristics
Focussed no small scale conservation
Example of an eco-region survey
140 Indo-pacific eco-regions
In an analysis of 140 Indo-pacific eco regions in 2004, those with the highest proportion of endemics are islands and mountain tops
Are eco-regions a good approach?
smaller areas are easier to protect
fairly new approach, still a work in progress
In-situ conservation approach
Conservation involves maintaining organisms in their wild state in existing locations.
Ex-situ conservation approach
Conservation involves moving species and managing them in captivity.
Ex-situ conservation approach
issue
costly
In-situ vs/+ ex-situ
example of the Iberian lynx
In Spain and Portugal
combined approaches led to the IUCN revising the status of them from critically endangered to endangered in 2015
IUCN
stands for
International union for conservation of nature
Expense issue with conservation
Can’t be left to individual countries.
In general HICs have a higher proportion of protected areas than LICs but also have higher conservation costs per km2 due to high land prices.
Mini casestudy: Eco-tourism in Ecuador
- family-run rainforest farm
- developed to become a sustainable destination
- still a full time farm with bananas, sigar, coffee, cattle and horses outputs
- buildings made from sustainable resources, bamboo
- holidays include tours into the forest, camping, use of existing paths, small groups, non-invasive tourism
Method for sustainable management of rainforests
8
- logging and replanting
- education
- international agreements
- debt reduction, some countries relieved of debt if they protect rainforests
- afforestation
- rubber tapping
- shifting cultivation
- agroforestry
Agroforestry
Simultaneously growing trees and crops, prevents soil erosion
Shifting cultivation
Farmers move on after 2-3 years to allow recovery
Method for sustainable management of coral reefs
8
- clear zones
- limits on fishing
- water quality improvement
- reef safe products
- companies using the reef pay charges
- promotion of ecotourism
- sustainable use plans
- coral nursery
The Andros Barrier Reef
In the Bahamas,
national parks set up
world’s third largest coral reef
example of good conservation
East Anglian Fens
more than 99% of them drained in historic times,
remaining areas have some of the highest biodiversity in the British Isles
Method of conservation of wetlands
Acquire farmland and restore it to habitat to create a fenland mosaic which is made of seasonally wet grassland, woodland, reeds and open water
Fen
type of wetland, with peat, with a steady source of ground water.
Benefits of conservation of wetlands
3
+hydrological cycle benefits, flooding control
+carbon sinks
+increase in biodiversity
Potential issue with conservation of wetlands
food security worries
