Ethical pluralism, pragmatism, and sustainability in conservation practice

Conservation organizations are asked to be responsive to a number of ethical obligations beyond that of the conservation of biodiversity: the reduction of poverty, the imperative of social justice and cultural integrity, and the improvement in human livelihoods. Yet how a conservation project is designed and structured can negatively impact people’s access to resources, privilege one group of people over another, or protect some species at a cost to others. Ideological conflict among nature protectionists, advocates for indigenous people, those promoting a pro-poor agenda, and those seeking to move conservation into the economic mainstream has characterized the conservation debate. I argue that in practice, most conservation programs should adopt a pluralistic and pragmatic approach, adopting multiple goals and making decisions on the basis of what works. Choosing among approaches requires an appreciation of trade-offs, and consideration of biological, social, and cultural values. Ultimately conservation approaches must be sustainable – ecologically, culturally, socially, economically and politically – otherwise they will fail both practically and ethically.     

The New Conservation Debate: Ethical foundations, strategic trade-offs, and policy opportunities

The “parks vs. people” debate – i.e., the dispute over whether conservation projects and policies should prioritize biodiversity and landscape protection or poverty alleviation and human livelihood improvement – should be quite familiar to most conservation scientists and policy scholars today. Yet, it is clearly a more expansive debate than the argument over whether a particular conservation project should emphasize biodiversity protection or development: it is also a wider disagreement about the proper value and ethical foundations of biological conservation in the age of sustainability, as well as the wisdom and consequences of making complex trade-offs among rivalrous conservation goals in practice. This essay introduces a special section of Biological Conservation focused on this larger dispute, what we are calling the “New Conservation Debate” to distinguish it from the historical debate in the US between “wise use” conservationists and preservationists at the turn of the 20th century. Articles in this special section explore the normative and ethical dimensions of the debate, as well as more pragmatic considerations relating to trade-off analysis and decision-making in real-world conservation plans and projects that impact both biodiversity and human well-being. Collectively, the papers in this section clarify many of the ethical and strategic divisions in the New Conservation Debate, while also revealing opportunities for reconciliation and principled compromise among advocates of strong nature protection and human welfare in the conservation community.     

Application of fragmentation research to conservation planning for multiple stakeholders: An example from the Taita Hills, southeast Kenya

Attrition and fragmentation of natural habitats remains one of the most persistent problems for conservationists. Exactly how habitat loss leads to the loss of biodiversity is not easily pinned down, and varies across species, taxonomic groups and landscapes. Integrating theory with conservation on the ground is challenging due to the multi-faceted nature of the problem. Here, we briefly highlight and review key scientific results from an ongoing long-term ornithological research project in the highly fragmented and threatened forests of the Taita Hills, SE Kenya. The findings point to the inability of birds to disperse between remnant habitats, or to adjust to changing habitat quality as the main mechanisms underlying adverse effects of forest loss on birds. We integrated our findings and their implications for conservation in a recent stakeholders’ workshop bringing together scientists, government officials and members of the local community in the Taita Hills. During this workshop the local community and the government voiced their priorities concerning these forest resources, by identifying the pressing problems and suggesting best avenues of mitigating them. We discuss how the scientific results and recommendations from a biodiversity standpoint are being translated into actual conservation, taking into account the views and priorities of other key stakeholders. This exemplifies one of the few unique situations in eastern Africa where enormous effort is being made towards bridging the chronic gap between scientists, government and local communities concerning the conservation of natural resources. We believe that this approach holds great promise for achieving lasting conservation on the ground.     

Hard choices: Making trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human well-being

Win–win solutions that both conserve biodiversity and promote human well-being are difficult to realize. Trade-offs and the hard choices they entail are the norm. Since 2008, the Advancing Conservation in a Social Context (ACSC) research initiative has been investigating the complex trade-offs that exist between human well-being and biodiversity conservation goals, and between conservation and other economic, political and social agendas across multiple scales. Resolving trade-offs is difficult because social problems – of which conservation is one – can be perceived and understood in a variety of disparate ways, influenced (in part at least) by how people are raised and educated, their life experiences, and the options they have faced. Pre-existing assumptions about the “right” approach to conservation often obscure important differences in both power and understanding, and can limit the success of policy and programmatic interventions. The new conservation debate challenges conservationists to be explicit about losses, costs, and hard choices so they can be openly discussed and honestly negotiated. Not to do so can lead to unrealized expectations, and ultimately to unresolved conflict. This paper explores the background and limitations of win–win approaches to conservation and human well-being, discusses the prospect of approaching conservation challenges in terms of trade-offs and hard choices, and presents a set of guiding principles that can serve to orient strategic analysis and communication regarding trade-offs.     

Smart spatial incentives for market-based conservation

Market-based instruments such as payments, auctions or tradable permits have been proposed as flexible and cost-effective instruments for biodiversity conservation on private lands. Trading the service of conservation requires one to define a metric that determines the extent to which a conserved site adds to the regional conservation objective. Yet, while markets for conservation are widely discussed and increasingly applied, little research has been conducted on explicitly accounting for spatial ecological processes in the trading. In this paper, we use a coupled ecological-economic simulation model to examine how spatial connectivity may be considered in the financial incentives created by a market-based conservation scheme. Land use decisions, driven by changing conservation costs and the conservation market, are simulated by an agent-based model of land users. On top of that, a metapopulation model evaluates the conservational success of the market. We find that optimal spatial incentives for agents correlate with species characteristics such as the dispersal distance, but they also depend on the spatio-temporal distribution of conservation costs. We conclude that a combined analysis of ecological and socio-economic conditions should be applied when designing market instruments to protect biodiversity.     

The concept and utility of ‘ecological thresholds’ in biodiversity conservation

In the life and natural sciences, the concept of thresholds or points or zones of change from one state to another has been investigated since the late 18th century. Over the past three decades, ecologists and economists around the world have been examining the existence and use of ‘ecological thresholds’ in natural and modified systems, primarily as a conceptual basis for the development of tools to conserve and sustainably manage natural resources. In Australia, there has been a recent renewed interest in the definition and application of ecological thresholds in the conservation of threatened fauna and flora, modelling the impact of habitat loss, modification and fragmentation on terrestrial biota, management of pest plant and animal species, and development of natural resource management policies and plans. This paper reviews the threshold concept from an ecological perspective. It considers the definition, types and behaviour of this phenomenon. The theoretical and empirical evidence for their purported existence is reviewed and their potential utility in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management is discussed, along with key issues relating to their use.     

GIS-models work well, but are not enough: Habitat preferences of Lanius collurio at multiple levels and conservation implications

Species conservation largely depends on knowledge of habitat needs of target species. GIS-models are increasingly used to assess habitat preferences and distribution of target species, but their accuracy is constrained by availability of digital data layers. We developed a two-steps approach aiming at showing pros and cons of landscape (GIS)- and site-level habitat models, identifying key habitat factors for conservation of a threatened bird species, the red-backed shrike Lanius collurio. A spatially explicit GIS-model was generated using landscape variables, and a second model at site level was developed using fine-scale variables measured on the ground. The GIS-based model was then extrapolated to the entire region to obtain a map of distribution of suitable habitats. Positive associations between shrike occurrence and both hedgerow length and partial shrub cover were detected at both scales. Shrikes were also positively associated with grassland cover at landscape level and with partial cover of untilled herbaceous vegetation at the finer scale, and negatively affected by lucerne cover. The GIS-model led to an affordable map of predicted habitat suitability which should help conservationists to focus on different local priorities, but was unable to identify effects of untilled and lucerne cover. Site-level model gave fine details for habitat management, but its application elsewhere requires ground-measurements of factors. Combining the multiscale models could indicate more urgent actions at large scales (e.g. maintaining suitable habitats, or improving connectivity among isolated patches) and draw a detailed figure of the most suitable habitat for the species. Shrike occurrence was associated with a higher number of shrub and tree species: the indicator value of the species should ensure general benefits for biodiversity from dedicated management.     

基于InVEST模型和莫兰指数的甘肃省生境质量与退化度评估

生境质量的高低与土地利用/土地覆被类型为生物多样性提供的栖息地适宜性有直接关系,尤其是农业开发活动、城市、道路等严重威胁生境质量,为了评估西北生态脆弱地区生境质量和退化程度,该研究以甘肃省为例,应用INVEST模型和莫兰指数对甘肃省生境质量和生境退化空间特征进行分析,明确其热点区域,并探讨了生境质量与退化度及其热点与各类自然保护地的关系。结果表明：甘肃省生境质量从南到北逐渐下降,而生境退化度从北到南逐渐升高,自然生态条件好的区域这种变化主要取决于人类活动的位置和强度;甘肃省生境质量热点区面积占到全省国土面积的25.59%,高于全省自然保护地面积占比,形成了保护空缺,甘肃省生境退化热点地区面积虽然不高,但多为自然生态条件较好的区域;各类保护地中,国家公园是各类保护地类型中生境退化度最低的类型,保护水平相对较低的其他保护地类型在生境质量和退化程度上表现出相反的结果。研究结果对精准实施生物多样性保护战略和生态系统管理决策具有重要意义。     

The sacred commons: Conflicts and solutions of resource management in sacred natural sites

Sacred natural sites are considered an additional pillar for biodiversity conservation, next to the protected areas network. However, sacred landscapes are not primarily conservation areas, but exist for cultural and social reasons. To evaluate their strengths and weaknesses as community-based conservation areas, a thorough understanding of the underlying values, institutional arrangements, and outcomes is required. Here, I use institutional economics for a meta-analysis of publications on sacred natural sites to identify potential conflicts in their maintenance, and to analyze institutional arrangements to solve these conflicts. I show that most sacred natural sites resemble common-pool resources and that many design principles that are linked to common-pool resources are also found in traditional institutions managing sacred places. Design principles are no blue-print solution but they may guide future research to identify locally robust institutional arrangements that are linked to the ecological integrity of sacred natural sites.     

Interactions among Scientists, Managers and the Public in Defining Research Priorities and Management Strategies for Marine and Coastal Resources: Is the Red Sea Marine Peace Park a New Paradigm?

It has been assumed that marine habitats and resources, especially, are almost unlimited, and that if one habitat became degraded or a particular fisheries resource depleted, there always would be another to replace it. Therefore, natural resource management principals are beginning to include human motivation and responses as part of the marine and coastal systems that are being studied and managed. Managers of marine resources face the challenge of balancing conservation and development objectives in the context of the inherent uncertainty of natural systems and the political and social pressures of human systems. Natural resource managers, scientists and the general public seem to share a vision for the future as a world in which societal and economic decisions will be strongly coupled with an increasingly comprehensive understanding of the environment. This in turn will lead to both socio-economic health and ecosystem health. A paradigm shift is being seen in the evolution of the role of scientists in society from simply observers of the natural world with tenuous linkages to resource managers and the public, to partners in modern society's quest for answers to pressing questions related to sustainable use and conservation of natural resources. A US Agency for International Development supported, joint effort between the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Government of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to conduct a comprehensive research and monitoring program directed at the new Binational Red Sea Marine Pearce Park will be a pioneering effort to employ and test this new paradigm.     

Habitat-based conservation priorities for carabid beetles within the Picos de Europa National Park, northern Spain

Quick biodiversity studies on poorly studied taxa and areas are increasingly popular for setting conservation priorities over a wide range of spatial scales. However, the implementation of such studies is complicated by the variable extent to which the different criteria used in prioritisation are correlated to each other. Using methods of constrained ordination, we examined the species-habitat relationships of carabid beetles based on ground beetle assemblages from 22 sites in the Picos de Europa National Park, northern Spain. We found characteristic species assemblages for subalpine meadows, Genista shrublands, and pastures, whereas mown meadows, heathlands, beech and riparian woodlands were occupied by more habitat generalist species. Species associated with subalpine meadows and Genista shrublands tended to be mostly brachypterous and to have geographic ranges restricted to northern Spain. In contrast, we found no relationship between the degree of species' association with pastures and geographic range-wing size type. Although the species richness was higher in riparian woodlands and mown meadows, we suggest a higher conservation value for subalpine meadows and Genista shrublands across the landscape because they sustain characteristic assemblages dominated by species with restricted ranges and reduced powers of dispersal. Our study suggests that preserving areas in the landscape supporting higher biodiversity will not necessarily preserve those species potentially more susceptible to habitat loss and fragmentation. It also supports the feasibility of biodiversity studies based on multivariate techniques for setting conservation priorities over complex landscapes.     

Where to put things? Spatial land management to sustain biodiversity and economic returns

Expanding human population and economic growth have led to large-scale conversion of natural habitat to human-dominated landscapes with consequent large-scale declines in biodiversity. Conserving biodiversity, while at the same time meeting expanding human needs, is an issue of utmost importance. In this paper we develop a spatially explicit landscape-level model for analyzing the biological and economic consequences of alternative land-use patterns. The spatially explicit biological model incorporates habitat preferences, area requirements and dispersal ability between habitat patches for terrestrial vertebrate species to predict the likely number of species that will be sustained on the landscape. The spatially explicit economic model incorporates site characteristics and location to predict economic returns for a variety of potential land uses. We apply the model to search for efficient land-use patterns that maximize biodiversity conservation objectives for given levels of economic returns, and vice versa. We apply the model to the Willamette Basin, Oregon, USA. By thinking carefully about the arrangement of activities, we find land-use patterns that sustain high levels of biodiversity and economic returns. Compared to the 1990 land-use pattern, we show that both biodiversity conservation and the value of economic activity could be increased substantially.     

农业文化遗产中传统知识的概念与保护——以普洱古茶园与茶文化系统为例

传统知识不仅是地方社区内居民与自然环境长期适应中所积累的经验智慧,也是农业文化遗产的结构性存在,对遗产系统具有支持作用。因此,传统知识的传承保护是农业文化遗产保护工作的重要内容。本文通过归纳分析当前相关国际公约及研究中对于传统知识的定义及内涵,结合农业文化遗产特征将农业文化遗产中的传统知识定义为"农业文化遗产内,居民在长期生产生活过程中,围绕农业所积累的与生计维持、资源管理、生物多样性保护、精神信仰维持等多个方面密切相关的知识、创新及实践",可分为生计维持类传统知识、生物多样性保护类传统知识、传统技艺类传统知识、文化类传统知识及自然资源管理类传统知识5类。文章通过梳理农业文化遗产与传统知识的相关关系,以普洱古茶园与茶文化系统为例,结合遗产地实地情况,针对当前传统知识保护中所存在的实物载体遭到破坏、传承存在危机、受到旅游业冲击及保护措施相对低效等问题,提出加强保护意识、将传统知识保护纳入遗产系统保护规划、开展传统知识的调查编目、加强传承记录工作及充分利用现有制度对传统知识进行保护等措施,以期为农业文化遗产中传统知识的保护提供建议参考。     

Effects of habitat degradation on the abundance, richness and diversity of raptors across Neotropical biomes

Population growth and human development result in biodiversity loss and biological homogenization not only in developed countries, but increasingly in the less developed countries as well. In those countries, where urbanization and agricultural intensification occur at a faster rate than in developed countries, habitat degradation appears to be the leading cause of wildlife loss. During the breeding seasons of 2002–2005 we conducted road surveys across five biomes of Argentina to detect variations in raptor community attributes as potential indicators of broad scale habitat degradation. Abundance of individuals, richness and diversity of species were calculated to assess the effects of habitat transformation and patch size on these community attributes. Raptor communities strongly varied in relation to habitat transformations, with lower abundance of individuals, richness and diversity of species in more transformed landscapes. Small patches of natural vegetation and locations in which natural and cultivated lands where interspersed showed lower richness and diversity of raptors than large patches. Fragmentation was the main cause of reductions in abundance of individuals. Although the relative contribution of our two estimates of habitat degradation to abundance, richness and diversity of raptors varied among biomes, these community attributes proved useful as predictors of habitat degradation. This was especially true in habitats where raptor communities are more complex although overall patterns remained constant across biomes, from forests to deserts. Taking into account current trends of habitat transformation (drastic increments in monocultures, urban areas, and habitat patchiness), the conservation of raptor communities in these biomes could be seriously compromised. In terms of species-specific responses of raptors to habitat degradation, a rapid process of homogenization can be expected, resulting in only a few winner species within a general scenario of losers.     

The paradox of keystone species persecuted as pests: A call for the conservation of abundant small mammals in their native range

Small mammals, such as European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), traditionally have been perceived as pests and targeted for control within their native ranges, where they perform essential ecosystem roles and are considered keystone species. These species can reach high densities, and have been subjected to eradication campaigns because of their putative negative impact on natural habitats and agriculture and their competition with livestock for forage. Eradication programmes have been a main factor causing sharp declines of these species in their natural ranges. Paradoxically, they are keystone species where they are abundant enough to be perceived as pests. The term “pest” is usually a social perception that is rarely supported by scientific data, whereas there is considerable scientific evidence of the key ecological roles played by these species. We call for the conservation of these species and present a conceptual model regarding the management of their populations. Where they occur at high numbers, and hence their effects on biodiversity are still of crucial importance, the persecution of these species should be avoided and their natural habitats preserved. In areas with high conservation value, but where these species occur at low densities, management efforts should aim to increase their density. In areas of high commercial value, managers ideally should consider changing prioritization of the area to high conservation value by purchasing the land or obtaining conservation easements. In situations with high commercial value and demonstrable low conservation concern, small mammals could be reduced humanely.     

Prioritizing areas for conservation and vegetation restoration in post-agricultural landscapes: A Biosphere Reserve plan for Bioko, Equatorial Guinea

Although the conversion of natural vegetation to agriculture threatens biodiversity, post-agricultural lands may provide an opportunity to preserve biodiversity if they are allowed to regenerate. We develop a framework for incorporating abandoned agricultural fields into the design of a Biosphere Reserve using former cocoa plantations on Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, as a case study. First, we used BIOCLIM to model the potential distribution of 62 ferns, 327 monocotyledons, 749 dicotyledons, seven primates, and 104 birds on Bioko. Next, we quantitatively assessed the representation of these distributions in conservation areas proposed by the Equatoguinean administration (hereafter “EPAs”). In addition, we used an area prioritization algorithm implemented in the ResNet software package to select an initial set of sites to serve as the Biosphere Reserve’s core areas, that is, intact forest in Bioko’s montane regions. Then, to augment the beta-diversity of the Reserve, we used the area prioritization algorithm to prioritize buffer zones in lowland sites including rainforest remnants and abandoned plantations that have partially regenerated to forest. We also compared the representation of biodiversity in the EPAs to its representation in Biosphere Reserves designed with ResNet. The representation of vegetation types and species in Reserves selected by ResNet that occupy 25% of the land on Bioko is equivalent to the representation achieved by the EPAs, which would cover 42% of Bioko. To conclude, we propose a conservation plan for Bioko.     

The challenge of monitoring biodiversity in payment for environmental service interventions

Payments for environmental services (PES) aim to improve the supply of environmental services by making payments to service providers, which are conditional on the provision of those services. Payments cannot be conditional unless the service can be effectively monitored, making monitoring of service provision a central feature of PES. We introduce a framework for designing monitoring programmes in PES schemes for biodiversity conservation. We suggest that decisions must be made concerning the indicators to be used (e.g. species, threats or positive actions), how they will be monitored (e.g. using ground-based or remote-sensed data) and how the monitoring information will be used to differentiate payments (e.g. trends over time, performance relative to neighbouring sites, performance against a target). We then use this framework to examine the feasibility of monitoring species and threat indicators in a community-based biodiversity payment scheme in Menabe, Madagascar. We find that detecting population changes, differences between sites, or whether a target has been met is only feasible for the most common indicators, suggesting that it may not be possible to base payments on the species conservationists are most interested in. If payments need to be based on relatively common indicators, threat indicators may be more appropriate than common species indicators due to a stronger relationship to the service of interest (presence of a rare species). It is, however, possible to incorporate information from rare indicators using accumulation curves to compare between sites. This study highlights the impact of indicator choice on the monitoring effort required in a biodiversity PES. We urge caution in the design of payment schemes and suggest it can be detrimental to structure a scheme around an indicator that cannot be effectively monitored.     

Systematic reserve design as a dynamic process: F-TRAC and the Florida Forever program

Systematic conservation planning has become an important tool for increasing the efficiency of conservation decisions, but many planning efforts result in static plans that may lose relevance over time. We developed a process whereby planning is integrated into the decision-making process and updated every six months in response to conservation actions. The Florida Forever program is a 10-year, $3 billion land acquisition program expected to acquire approximately 1.25 million acres (607,000 ha) for conservation in Florida through the year 2010. With limited funding and duration, the program needs to be able to efficiently protect the most natural resources for a fixed cost, a situation well suited to a systematic reserve design approach. To inform this program, we conducted an assessment of natural resource conservation needs and developed the Florida Forever Tool for Efficient Resource Acquisition and Conservation (F-TRAC), a systematic reserve design analysis based on a simulated annealing site selection algorithm using Marxan software. The analysis considered conservation needs for a variety of natural resources including species, natural communities, high quality watersheds, wetlands, and sustainable forestry. Each 6-month analysis identifies an efficient portfolio of sites for resource protection, given the amount of land area likely remaining to be acquired by the Florida Forever program. The Spring 2004 model portfolio had a cost threshold of 206,308 ha, met conservation targets for 18 of 32 resource conservation features, and identified approximately 116,000 ha outside of current land acquisition projects. This study also demonstrates the use of reserve design results to evaluate existing and proposed land acquisition projects and inform decision makers; and the evaluation of acquisition trends and program success based on potential achievements as indicated by reserve design analyses.