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Laméris DW, Tagg N, Kuenbou JK, Sterck EHM, Willie J. Drivers affecting mammal community structure and functional diversity under varied conservation efforts in a tropical rainforest in Cameroon. Anim Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D. W. Laméris
- Animal Ecology Research Group Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
- Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC) Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA) Antwerp Belgium
| | - N. Tagg
- Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC) Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA) Antwerp Belgium
- Association de la Protection de Grands Singes (APGS) Yaoundé Cameroon
| | - J. K. Kuenbou
- Department of Forestry Dschang University Dschang Cameroon
| | - E. H. M. Sterck
- Animal Ecology Research Group Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
- Ethology Research Biomedical Primate Research Centre Rijswijk The Netherlands
| | - J. Willie
- Centre for Research & Conservation (CRC) Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA) Antwerp Belgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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Shanee S, Shanee N, Monteferri B, Allgas N, Alarcon Pardo A, Horwich RH. Protected area coverage of threatened vertebrates and ecoregions in Peru: Comparison of communal, private and state reserves. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2017; 202:12-20. [PMID: 28715677 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Protected areas (PAs) are a conservation mainstay and arguably the most effective conservation strategy for species protection. As a 'megadiverse' country, Peru is a priority for conservation actions. Peruvian legislation allows for the creation of state PAs and private/communal PAs. Using publicly available species distribution and protected area data sets we evaluated the coverage of Threatened terrestrial vertebrate species distributions and ecoregions provided by both kinds of PA in Peru. Peru's state PA system covers 217,879 km2 and private/communal PAs cover 16,588 km2. Of the 462 species of Threatened and Data Deficient species we evaluated, 75% had distributions that overlapped with at least one PA but only 53% had ≥10% of their distributions within PAs, with inclusion much reduced at higher coverage targets. Of the species we evaluated, 118 species are only found in national PAs and 29 species only found in private/communal PAs. Of the 17 terrestrial ecoregions found in Peru all are represented in PAs; the national PA system included coverage of 16 and private/communal PAs protect 13. One ecoregion is only protected in private/communal PAs, whereas four are only covered in national PAs. Our results show the important role private/communal PAs can play in the protection of ecological diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Shanee
- Neotropical Primate Conservation, Manchester, UK; Asociación Neotropical Primate Conservation Perú, Lima, Peru; Nocturnal Primate Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
| | - Noga Shanee
- Neotropical Primate Conservation, Manchester, UK; Asociación Neotropical Primate Conservation Perú, Lima, Peru
| | - Bruno Monteferri
- Conservamos por Naturaleza, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental, Lima, Peru
| | - Nestor Allgas
- Asociación Neotropical Primate Conservation Perú, Lima, Peru
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Logging Activity Adversely Impacts Primate Diversity and Density in the Kwabre Rainforest of Ghana. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1155/2016/7497326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge on the impacts of logging activity on inhabitant primate species in Kwabre Rainforest, Ghana, is vital for the development of a comprehensive conservation and management plan. With this background, primate density and diversity were recorded along line transects in logged and unlogged areas (strata) to assess the impact of logging activity on these parameters. Six distinct primate species were confirmed including Roloway monkey (Cercopithecus roloway, listed as endangered in the IUCN List of Threatened Species), white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus, vulnerable), and Geoffroy’s black-and-white colobus (Colobus vellerosus, vulnerable). There was a significant difference (Mann-WhitneyUtest:U=36.0,p<0.01) in primate encounter rates between the logged and unlogged strata with higher species diversity in unlogged stratum (H=2.91) compared to the logged stratum (H=1.44). Regression analysis indicated a significant effect (r2=0.945,p<0.01) of logging on primate encounter rates. Our results suggest that logging activity can alter composition of primate communities. One option to forestall further forest degradation and its adverse effects on primates would be to grant the Kwabre Rainforest protected area status under Ghanaian law and manage it under an integrated conservation plan that includes neighbouring Ankasa Conservation Area in Ghana and Tanoé Forest in Cote d’Ivoire.
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Anthony NM, Atteke C, Bruford MW, Dallmeier F, Freedman A, Hardy O, Ibrahim B, Jeffery KJ, Johnson M, Lahm SA, Lepengue N, Lowenstein JH, Maisels F, Mboumba JF, Mickala P, Morgan K, Ntie S, Smith TB, Sullivan JP, Verheyen E, Gonder MK. Evolution and Conservation of Central African Biodiversity: Priorities for Future Research and Education in the Congo Basin and Gulf of Guinea. Biotropica 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola M. Anthony
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of New Orleans; New Orleans Louisiana 70148 U.S.A
| | - Christiane Atteke
- Département de Biologie; Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku; Franceville B.P. 901 Gabon
| | - Michael W. Bruford
- Organisms and Environment Division; School of Biosciences; Cardiff University; Cardiff CF10 3TL U.K
| | - Francisco Dallmeier
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability; Box 37012 MRC 705 Washington DC 20013-7012 U.S.A
| | - Adam Freedman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Tropical Research; Institute of Environment and Sustainability; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles California 90092 U.S.A
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Harvard University; Boston Massachusetts U.S.A
| | - Olivier Hardy
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology; Université Libre de Bruxelles; CP 160/12 1050 Brussels Belgium
| | - Brama Ibrahim
- Département de Biologie; Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku; Franceville B.P. 901 Gabon
| | - Kathryn J. Jeffery
- Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux; Libreville BP 20379 Gabon
- School of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA U.K
- Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale; BP13354 Libreville Gabon
| | - Mireille Johnson
- Gabon Biodiversity Program; Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability; Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; B.P. 48 Gamba Gabon
| | - Sally A. Lahm
- Department of Global Health; George Washington University; Washington DC 20037 U.S.A
| | - Nicaise Lepengue
- Département de Biologie; Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku; Franceville B.P. 901 Gabon
| | - Jacob H. Lowenstein
- Department of Ecology Evolution and Environmental Biology; Columbia University; New York New York 10027 U.S.A
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology; American Museum of Natural History; New York New York 10024 U.S.A
| | - Fiona Maisels
- School of Natural Sciences; University of Stirling; Stirling FK9 4LA U.K
- Wildlife Conservation Society; 2300 Southern Boulevard New York New York 10460 U.S.A
| | - Jean-François Mboumba
- Département de Biologie; Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku; Franceville B.P. 901 Gabon
- Equipe Biodiversité et Gestion des Territoires; UMR 7204 Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Université de Rennes 1; Rennes France
| | - Patrick Mickala
- Département de Biologie; Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku; Franceville B.P. 901 Gabon
| | - Katy Morgan
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of New Orleans; New Orleans Louisiana 70148 U.S.A
| | - Stephan Ntie
- Département de Biologie; Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku; Franceville B.P. 901 Gabon
| | - Thomas B. Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Tropical Research; Institute of Environment and Sustainability; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles California 90092 U.S.A
| | - John P. Sullivan
- Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates; Ithaca New York 14850 U.S.A
| | - Erik Verheyen
- OD Taxonomy and Phylogeny; Vertebrates; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Vautierstraat 29 1000 Brussels Belgium
- Evolutionary Biology Group; Department of Biology; University of Antwerp; Groenenborgerlaan 171 2020 Antwerpen Belgium
| | - Mary K. Gonder
- Department of Biology; Drexel University; Philadelphia Pennsylvannia 19104 U.S.A
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Stokes EJ, Strindberg S, Bakabana PC, Elkan PW, Iyenguet FC, Madzoké B, Malanda GAF, Mowawa BS, Moukoumbou C, Ouakabadio FK, Rainey HJ. Monitoring great ape and elephant abundance at large spatial scales: measuring effectiveness of a conservation landscape. PLoS One 2010; 5:e10294. [PMID: 20428233 PMCID: PMC2859051 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2010] [Accepted: 03/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Protected areas are fundamental to biodiversity conservation, but there is growing recognition of the need to extend beyond protected areas to meet the ecological requirements of species at larger scales. Landscape-scale conservation requires an evaluation of management impact on biodiversity under different land-use strategies; this is challenging and there exist few empirical studies. In a conservation landscape in northern Republic of Congo we demonstrate the application of a large-scale monitoring program designed to evaluate the impact of conservation interventions on three globally threatened species: western gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants, under three land-use types: integral protection, commercial logging, and community-based natural resource management. We applied distance-sampling methods to examine species abundance across different land-use types under varying degrees of management and human disturbance. We found no clear trends in abundance between land-use types. However, units with interventions designed to reduce poaching and protect habitats--irrespective of land-use type--harboured all three species at consistently higher abundance than a neighbouring logging concession undergoing no wildlife management. We applied Generalized-Additive Models to evaluate a priori predictions of species response to different landscape processes. Our results indicate that, given adequate protection from poaching, elephants and gorillas can profit from herbaceous vegetation in recently logged forests and maintain access to ecologically important resources located outside of protected areas. However, proximity to the single integrally protected area in the landscape maintained an overriding positive influence on elephant abundance, and logging roads--even subject to anti-poaching controls--were exploited by elephant poachers and had a major negative influence on elephant distribution. Chimpanzees show a clear preference for unlogged or more mature forests and human disturbance had a negative influence on chimpanzee abundance, in spite of anti-poaching interventions. We caution against the pitfalls of missing and confounded co-variables in model-based estimation approaches and highlight the importance of spatial scale in the response of different species to landscape processes. We stress the importance of a stratified design-based approach to monitoring species status in response to conservation interventions and advocate a holistic framework for landscape-scale monitoring that includes smaller-scale targeted research and punctual assessment of threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma J Stokes
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, New York, United States of America.
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Blake S, Deem SL, Strindberg S, Maisels F, Momont L, Isia IB, Douglas-Hamilton I, Karesh WB, Kock MD. Roadless wilderness area determines forest elephant movements in the Congo Basin. PLoS One 2008; 3:e3546. [PMID: 18958284 PMCID: PMC2570334 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2008] [Accepted: 09/29/2008] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A dramatic expansion of road building is underway in the Congo Basin fuelled by private enterprise, international aid, and government aspirations. Among the great wilderness areas on earth, the Congo Basin is outstanding for its high biodiversity, particularly mobile megafauna including forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis). The abundance of many mammal species in the Basin increases with distance from roads due to hunting pressure, but the impacts of road proliferation on the movements of individuals are unknown. We investigated the ranging behaviour of forest elephants in relation to roads and roadless wilderness by fitting GPS telemetry collars onto a sample of 28 forest elephants living in six priority conservation areas. We show that the size of roadless wilderness is a strong determinant of home range size in this species. Though our study sites included the largest wilderness areas in central African forests, none of 4 home range metrics we calculated, including core area, tended toward an asymptote with increasing wilderness size, suggesting that uninhibited ranging in forest elephants no longer exists. Furthermore we show that roads outside protected areas which are not protected from hunting are a formidable barrier to movement while roads inside protected areas are not. Only 1 elephant from our sample crossed an unprotected road. During crossings her mean speed increased 14-fold compared to normal movements. Forest elephants are increasingly confined and constrained by roads across the Congo Basin which is reducing effective habitat availability and isolating populations, significantly threatening long term conservation efforts. If the current road development trajectory continues, forest wildernesses and the forest elephants they contain will collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Blake
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, USA.
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Laurance WF, Croes BM, Guissouegou N, Buij R, Dethier M, Alonso A. Impacts of roads, hunting, and habitat alteration on nocturnal mammals in African rainforests. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2008; 22:721-32. [PMID: 18477030 DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00917.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Nocturnal mammals are poorly studied in Central Africa, a region experiencing dramatic increases in logging, roads, and hunting activity. In the rainforests of southern Gabon, we used spotlighting surveys to estimate abundances of nocturnal mammal species and guilds at varying distances from forest roads and between hunted and unhunted treatments (comparing a 130-km(2) oil concession that was nearly free of hunting, with nearby areas outside the concession that had moderate hunting pressure). At each of 12 study sites that were evenly divided between hunted and unhunted areas, we established standardized 1-km transects along road verges and at 50, 300, and 600 m from the road. We then repeatedly surveyed mammals at each site during 2006. Hunting had few apparent effects on this assemblage. Nevertheless, the species richness and often the abundance of nocturnal primates, smaller ungulates, and carnivores were significantly depressed within approximately 30 m of roads. Scansorial rodents increased in abundance in hunted forests, possibly in response to habitat changes caused by logging or nearby swidden farming. In multiple-regression models many species and guilds were significantly influenced by forest-canopy and understory cover, both of which are altered by logging and by certain abiotic variables. In general, nocturnal species, many of which are arboreal or relatively small in size (<10 kg), were less strongly influenced by hunting and more strongly affected by human-induced changes in forest structure than were larger mammal species in our study area.
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Affiliation(s)
- William F Laurance
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panama.
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Abstract
AbstractOver 8 months we surveyed the Lake Tumba landscape, Democratic Republic of Congo, walking 86 km of transects and 324 km of reconnaissance, to document the distribution and estimate the abundance of great apes. Five separate groups of bonobo Pan paniscus were located in the areas of Bolombo-Losombo, Mbala-Donkese, Ngombe-Botuali, Botuali-Ilombe, and Mompulenge–Mbanzi-Malebo–Nguomi, and one population of chimpanzees Pan troglodytes in the Bosobele-Lubengo area. Mean bonobo densities ranged from 0.27 individuals km-2 in the vicinity of Lake Tumba to 2.2 individuals km-2 in the Malebo-Nguomi area. In the latter they appear to be living at a higher density than reported for any other site. This may be due to the area's forest-savannah mosaic habitat, which may provide year-round fruit sources, with bonobos falling back on savannah fruits when forest resources are scarce. The bonobos of the Bolombo-Losombo area and the Bosobele-Lubengo chimpanzees have low relative abundances and live in marginal habitats of islands of terra firma within inundated forests.
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Dinerstein E, Loucks C, Wikramanayake E, Ginsberg J, Sanderson E, Seidensticker J, Forrest J, Bryja G, Heydlauff A, Klenzendorf S, Leimgruber P, Mills J, O'Brien TG, Shrestha M, Simons R, Songer M. The Fate of Wild Tigers. Bioscience 2007. [DOI: 10.1641/b570608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 215] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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Laurance WE, Croes BM, Tchignoumba L, Lahm SA, Alonso A, Lee ME, Campbell P, Ondzeano C. Impacts of roads and hunting on central African rainforest mammals. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2006; 20:1251-61. [PMID: 16922241 DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00420.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Road expansion and associated increases in bunting pressure are a rapidly growing threat to African tropical wildlife. In the rainforests of southern Gabon, we compared abundances of larger (>1 kg) mammal species at varying distances from forest roads and between hunted and unhunted treatments (comparing a 130-km2 oil concession that was almost entirely protected from bunting with nearby areas outside the concession that had moderate hunting pressure). At each of 12 study sites that were evenly divided between hunted and unhunted areas, we established standardized 1-km transects at five distances (50, 300, 600, 900, and 1200 m) from an unpaved road, and then repeatedly surveyed mammals during the 2004 dry and wet seasons. Hunting had the greatest impact on duikers (Cephalophus spp.), forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus), and red river hogs (Potamochoerus porcus), which declined in abundance outside the oil concession, and lesser effects on lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and carnivores. Roads depressed abundances of duikers, sitatungas (Tragelaphus spekei gratus), and forest elephants (Loxondonta africana cyclotis), with avoidance of roads being stronger outside than inside the concession. Five monkey species showed little response to roads or hunting, whereas some rodents and pangolins increased in abundance outside the concession, possibly in response to greater forest disturbance. Our findings suggest that even moderate hunting pressure can markedly alter the structure of mammal communities in central Africa. Roads had the greatest impacts on large and small ungulates, with the magnitude of road avoidance increasing with local hunting pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- William E Laurance
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Republic of Panamá.
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Dudley N, Baldock D, Nasi R, Stolton S. Measuring biodiversity and sustainable management in forests and agricultural landscapes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2005; 360:457-70. [PMID: 15814357 PMCID: PMC1569449 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2004.1593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Most of the world's biodiversity will continue to exist outside protected areas and there are also managed lands within many protected areas. In the assessment of millennium targets, there is therefore a need for indicators to measure biodiversity and suitability of habitats for biodiversity both across the whole landscape/seascape and in specific managed habitats. The two predominant land uses in many inhabited areas are forestry and agriculture and these are examined. Many national-level criteria and indicator systems already exist that attempt to assess biodiversity in forests and the impacts of forest management, but there is generally less experience in measuring these values in agricultural landscapes. Existing systems are reviewed, both for their usefulness in providing indicators and to assess the extent to which they have been applied. This preliminary gap analysis is used in the development of a set of indicators suitable for measuring progress towards the conservation of biodiversity in managed forests and agriculture. The paper concludes with a draft set of indicators for discussion, with suggestions including proportion of land under sustainable management, amount of produce from such land, area of natural or high quality semi-natural land within landscapes under sustainable management and key indicator species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel Dudley
- Equilibrium, 47 The Quays, Cumberland Road, Spike Island, Bristol BS1 6UQ, UK.
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Rodrigues ASL, Andelman SJ, Bakarr MI, Boitani L, Brooks TM, Cowling RM, Fishpool LDC, Da Fonseca GAB, Gaston KJ, Hoffmann M, Long JS, Marquet PA, Pilgrim JD, Pressey RL, Schipper J, Sechrest W, Stuart SN, Underhill LG, Waller RW, Watts MEJ, Yan X. Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity. Nature 2004; 428:640-3. [PMID: 15071592 DOI: 10.1038/nature02422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 515] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2003] [Accepted: 02/11/2004] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, announced in September 2003 that the global network of protected areas now covers 11.5% of the planet's land surface. This surpasses the 10% target proposed a decade earlier, at the Caracas Congress, for 9 out of 14 major terrestrial biomes. Such uniform targets based on percentage of area have become deeply embedded into national and international conservation planning. Although politically expedient, the scientific basis and conservation value of these targets have been questioned. In practice, however, little is known of how to set appropriate targets, or of the extent to which the current global protected area network fulfils its goal of protecting biodiversity. Here, we combine five global data sets on the distribution of species and protected areas to provide the first global gap analysis assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in representing species diversity. We show that the global network is far from complete, and demonstrate the inadequacy of uniform--that is, 'one size fits all'--conservation targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana S L Rodrigues
- Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, Washington, DC 20036, USA.
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