Conservation Success Flashcards
1980-2012: ≈154 Mha forest converted
77x Wales
Gibbs et al. 2010 PNAS + Hansen et al. 2013 Science
State of biodiversity is decreasing
Stuart Butchart 2010
Pressure is increasing ecological footprint nitrogen deposition alien species proportion of fish stocks overexploited
Conservation costs too much
Cost of downlisting bird species
$0.85 million
Total ~$1 billion/yr
Current spend = 12%
McCarthy et al. 2012 Science
Plus site protection…
Compensation costs (all IBAs) = $50.7 bn/year Management costs (all IBAs) = $7.1 bn/year Species (all) = $18.3 bn/year
Total = $76.1 bn/year
of which «10% is currently being met….
Protected areas
Currently cover ~13% of world’s terrestrial environment
CBD Aichi Target 11: increase this to 17% by 2020
One of the main pillars in global conservation - but do they actually work?
More spent on soft drinks than conservation (400 billion dollars per year)
Global military expenditure 1700 billion dollars
Do PAs work?
Match PAs to unprotected sites
Use satellite imagery to compare rates of habitat loss
Compare rates in buffer areas outside sites
Many PAs are “rock and ice” sites with low levels of threat
PAs may displace habitat loss to other areas (leakage)
Little systematic PA monitoring in place for habitats or species
Success of PAs likely to vary by habitat, altitude, region, human population density, governance, etc.
>1000 IBAs in Africa. Match protected and unprotected important Bird Areas on: Area Altitude Dominant land cover Accessibility (roads) Human population density Analysis inside IBA & in 20-km buffer zone
Beresford et al. 2013 PLOS One
Remote monitoring
Satellite images: Increasingly freely available Have extensive coverage Can be analysed remotely Spatial, temporal and thematic resolution can be tailored
Inside IBA Here for KE031, where land cover was stable, we found an increase in agric surrounding the park
(suggesting increased pressure on the park vegetation outside)
If we look at rates of only forest loss (which most studies of PA effectiveness have considered), we find that they are twice as high in PAs and buffers than loss of all land cover together.
Protection reduces forest loss
Suggests that the results of studies on forest loss can be used to make a relative assessment of PA efgfectiveness, but the absolute estimates will not be comaprable as rates of loss twice as high.
The EU Birds Directive
Strengths of the Directive
Binding law with an ultimate authority
Increasingly science-based
International approach
Provides a level playing-field across the EU
Covers all species
Links with Habitats Directive (Natura 2000)
Annex I species did significantly better in the EU after the introduction of the Birds Directive
The results showed that the populations of Annex I species increased rapidly after the BD was brought in, but that non-Annex I species did not respond much, being on average about stable in both periods
Why are we observing these ‘big scale’ successes?Mauritius: extinction crisis
Mauritius Kestrel
1979: Jones took over recovery project
Implemented:
‘double-clutching’
dietary supplements for parents
hacking of captive-reared birds
fostering of captive-reared young to wild pairs
1983-1993: 333 birds reared
Late 1990s 350-500 individuals
Downlisted to Endangered (1994) & Vulnerable (2000)
Echo parakeet + Mauritius pink pigeon
Echo parakeet
Mid-1990’s = 50-60 individuals; 2000 = >100 birds
343 birds in 2007 downlisted to Endangered
2015 = 650 birds
Mauritius pink pigeon
Downlisted to Endangered in 2000
2015 = ~400 wild birds
Union of concerned scientists
Translating Complex Science into Plain English (Spanish, Portuguese, etc.)
Science-based advocacy organization Founded in 1969 at M.I.T. About 160 staff in four US-based offices About 450,000 members No government or business funding
UCS Activities with Scientists
Reports Books Journal papers Lobbying Advocacy at International climate negotiations Interviews Social media Blogging
Policymakers aren’t stupid, but they are busy
What You Say is not the same thing as What They Hear
What you Know the Best, is not the same as what they Need the Most
You have a Theory of Change – make it clear
Publication is not nearly enough
Don’t be totally negative - Keep Hope Alive
Daniel Katz was instrumental in initiating the rainforest conservation movement when he co-founded the Rainforest Alliance in 1986 at the age of 24. The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization that focuses on environmental conservation throughout the world. Under Katz’s leadership, the Rainforest Alliance became the first nonprofit organization to create a global program to monitor, evaluate, certify and audit forests. The Rainforest Alliance is known world-wide for creating independent third-party certification in forestry, agriculture and tourism. He was the Executive Director of the Rainforest Alliance from its inception until 2000; today he serves as the Chairman of the Rainforest Alliance board.
The Rainforest Alliance is not an advocacy group or a think tank. We work with people: from farm workers in the field, to corporate CEO’s and business owners to everyday people trying to buy a sustainably produced product.
International nonprofit conservation and development organisation
Land use, business, consumer behaviour going towards protecting biodiversity and livelihoods
Value chain
Training and support for producers
Auditing / certification / verification
Chain of custody - traceability
Corporate engagement
Marketing support and brand awareness
Capacity Building
&
Technical Assistance
Certification
&
Sustainability Standards
Market development
&
Corporate engagement
producers - buyers - distributors - consumers
Mountain gorillas
Dian Fossey
Born 1932 in California. She self-funded her degree in occupational therapy in 1954. In 1963 she borrowed $8000 (a years salary), spent her life savings and went to Africa for 7-week tour from Kenya to DRC. She met Leakey (human evolution), and ended up encountering gorillas for a few days. Three years later in Louisville (repay debts) she met Leakey again. He suggested that she take up a long-term study of Mountain Gorillas similar to that of Jane Goodall on Chimpanzees in Tanzania. She emigrated to Africa. She went to the Virunga Mountains in the DRC. She lived in tents for 1 month, then trek down the mountain and drive 2 hours to local town for provisions.
She habituated three groups, but civil war meant she had to move to the Rwandan side of the Virungas.
Protecting mountain gorillas
1967 founded the Karisoke Research Center
Nyiramacyibili: “Woman who lives alone on the mountain”
Digit killed by poachers in 1977, then other study gorillas
Created Digit Fund (now Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Intl.)
Anti-poaching patrols
Park boundary lowered 3,000 > 2,500 masl
Later, managed sustainable ecotourism
Wrote Gorillas in the Mist, 1983
Film in 1988, Warner Bros.
Protecting mountain gorillas
Since 1996, 140 Virunga rangers have been killed
Two populations – Virungas & Bwindi – both increasing
Virungas: 1981 = 254 »_space; 2010 = 480 individuals
Total ~880 individuals in 2015
Habituated groups for research/ecotourism high growth rates
$750 per person per visit (social projects, bodyguards, etc.)
Bonn Challenge
To restore 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded lands by 2020
Why conservation will succeed
Passionate people about conserving wildlife
Not in it for the money
aka rubbish salaries for most, but not all
Human capital makes up for a lot of the conservation financial shortfall
Massive array of ways to effect conservation
What is going to be your role?
