Designing protected areas to conserve riverine biodiversity: Lessons from a hypothetical redesign of the Kruger National Park

The process of designing protected areas to represent all ecosystems in an area adequately is becoming increasingly sophisticated. To date freshwater aquatic ecosystems have seldom been considered in this process. How much of a difference does it make when they are considered as well?This study examined the conservation of riverine biodiversity within 17 assessment units contained by the catchment areas of five perennial rivers flowing through Kruger National Park and two seasonal rivers that are largely contained within this park. Physical river types, fish species and invertebrate families or genera were used as surrogates of riverine biodiversity. Conservation planning software was used to select an optimal set of planning units to represent and maintain riverine biodiversity.The current spatial configuration of Kruger National Park, largely an accident of history, is particularly poor when assessed against the objective of conserving riverine biodiversity. Several alternative layouts are examined. These options are theoretical since there is little current opportunity to reassign land uses in the region. This study shows that substantially improved layouts for both riverine and terrestrial biodiversity are possible, under the constraint of the same total area under protection. The study also shows that even these optimal layouts are only partially successful in efforts to conserve fully representative samples of riverine biodiversity. Because of the longitudinal connectivity of rivers, conservation strategies that extend beyond protected areas are essential. Explicit conservation visions, targets and strategies need to be included in integrated water resource management plans.Based on the results of this study, nine recommendations are provided for increasing the effectiveness of current and future protected areas in conserving riverine biodiversity. These are to use systematic conservation planning to make biodiversity benefits explicit; mend the disconnect between terrestrial and freshwater conservation; use multiple surrogates wherever possible; be strategic about the collection and management of primary data; strive for maximum hydrologic connectivity; resist development pressure; foster good relationships across park fences; where relevant, pursue multi-national cooperation at the basin scale; and engage the value debate and resolve awareness and capacity constraints.     

Prospects for biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic Forest: Lessons from aging human-modified landscapes

Recent global assessments have shown the limited coverage of protected areas across tropical biotas, fuelling a growing interest in the potential conservation services provided by anthropogenic landscapes. Here we examine the geographic distribution of biological diversity in the Atlantic Forest of South America, synthesize the most conspicuous forest biodiversity responses to human disturbances, propose further conservation initiatives for this biota, and offer a range of general insights into the prospects of forest species persistence in human-modified tropical forest landscapes worldwide. At the biome scale, the most extensive pre-Columbian habitats across the Atlantic Forest ranged across elevations below 800 masl, which still concentrate most areas within the major centers of species endemism. Unfortunately, up to 88% of the original forest habitat has been lost, mainly across these low to intermediate elevations, whereas protected areas are clearly skewed towards high elevations above 1200 masl. At the landscape scale, most remaining Atlantic Forest cover is embedded within dynamic agro-mosaics including elements such as small forest fragments, early-to-late secondary forest patches and exotic tree monocultures. In this sort of aging or long-term modified landscapes, habitat fragmentation appears to effectively drive edge-dominated portions of forest fragments towards an early-successional system, greatly limiting the long-term persistence of forest-obligate and forest-dependent species. However, the extent to which forest habitats approach early-successional systems, thereby threatening the bulk of the Atlantic Forest biodiversity, depends on both past and present landscape configuration. Many elements of human-modified landscapes (e.g. patches of early-secondary forests and tree monocultures) may offer excellent conservation opportunities, but they cannot replace the conservation value of protected areas and hitherto unprotected large patches of old-growth forests. Finally, the biodiversity conservation services provided by anthropogenic landscapes across Atlantic Forest and other tropical forest regions can be significantly augmented by coupling biodiversity corridor initiatives with biota-scale attempts to plug existing gaps in the representativeness of protected areas.     

Identification of de facto protected areas in boreal Canada

Canada is dominated by remote wilderness areas that make important conservation contributions, but are currently only protected de facto by their inaccessibility. Mechanisms for the identification and formal protection of such areas can help ensure that they continue to function naturally and provide essential ecosystem services. However, a lack of spatially explicit, publicly available sources of data on anthropogenic disturbances and natural resource extraction challenges the development of detailed wilderness inventories. We suggest that landscape structure can be used to classify areas of natural landscapes, as trained by the landscape structure of protected areas, and demonstrate this approach by mapping de facto protected areas in Canada’s boreal forest. Overall, between 50%, based on landscape structure, and 80%, based on anthropogenic infrastructure alone, of Canada’s boreal zone exists in large, intact blocks. The true extent of boreal wilderness likely falls within this range, as existing infrastructure datasets may omit disturbance and the protected area network in far northern areas proved inadequate to train effective wilderness classifications. We anticipate that such efforts may be improved by refining the identification of training areas or by classifying along additional landscape metrics. Nevertheless, the areas identified are valuable candidates for protected area expansion, and can contribute to a reserve network that meets national and regional conservation targets and is representative of the range of vegetation productivities, which was used as a biodiversity surrogate. Our general approach need not be limited to the boreal forest, as it has the potential to successfully identify relatively undisturbed (or less disturbed) areas over a range of systems and across levels of human influence.     

Expanding protected areas beyond their terrestrial comfort zone: Identifying spatial options for river conservation

There has been very little consideration of freshwater ecosystems in identifying and designing protected areas. Recent studies suggest that protected areas hold enormous potential to conserve freshwater biodiversity if augmented with appropriate planning and management strategies. Recognizing this need, South Africa’s relevant government authority commissioned a spatial assessment to inform their national protected area expansion strategy. This study presents the freshwater component of the spatial assessment, aimed at identifying focus areas for expanding the national protected area system for the benefit of river biodiversity. Conservation objectives to guide the assessment aimed to improve representation of river biodiversity pattern and processes in both new and existing protected areas. Data to address these objectives were collated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a conservation planning algorithm was used as a means of integrating the multiple objectives in a spatially efficient manner. Representation of biodiversity pattern was based on achieving conservation targets for 222 river types and 47 freshwater fish endemic to South Africa. Options were also identified for representing coarse-scale biodiversity processes associated with free-flowing rivers and catchment-estuarine linkages. River reaches that, with only minor expansion of existing protected area boundaries, could be fully incorporated into the national protected area system were also identified. Based on this study, generic recommendations are made on how to locate, design and manage protected areas for river biodiversity: use appropriate planning units, incorporate both biodiversity pattern and process, improve planning and management of individual protected areas, incorporate a mixture of protection strategies, and embed planning into an ongoing research and implementation process.     

Relationship between distributions of threatened plants and protected areas in Britain

The establishment and maintenance of a system of protected areas is central to regional and global strategies for the conservation of biodiversity. The current global trend towards human population growth and widespread environmental degradation means that such areas are becoming increasingly isolated in fragmented habitat islands. In regions in which this process is well advanced a high proportion of species are thus predicted to have become restricted to protected areas. Here using uniquely detailed datasets for Britain, a region with close to the global level of percentage coverage by statutory protected areas, we determine the extent of restriction of Red List vascular plant species of conservation concern to these areas. On the basis of currently known distributions, overall our results strongly support the importance of a dual conservation strategy in Britain, in which protected areas are maintained with particular reference to those biodiversity features (such as many threatened plant species) that are highly dependent on them, and in which components of the wider landscape are also managed in such a way as to promote the abundance and distribution of such features with particular reference to those which are unlikely to persist in protected areas alone.     

Conserving Africa’s rain forests: problems in protected areas and possible solutions

Problems and correlates of success in the conservation of Africa’s rain forests were evaluated for 16 protected areas in 11 countries, representing approximately half of all protected areas in this biome. Data were obtained from questionnaires, published and unpublished accounts, and direct observations. Despite numerous problems, all protected areas conserved indigenous rain forest biodiversity more effectively than did alternative land uses. More than half the protected areas suffered extensive ecological isolation. Effective management of protected areas was seriously compromised by inadequate funding and government support. Dense human populations, often resulting from immigration, constituted major threats to protected areas. Perceived conservation success was greatest for large protected areas surrounded by similar habitat with strong public support, effective law enforcement, low human population densities, and substantial support from international donors. Contrary to expectations, protected area success was not directly correlated with employment benefits for the neighboring community, conservation education, conservation clubs, or with the presence and extent of integrated conservation and development programs. Studies are needed to better understand what shapes positive pubic attitude towards protected areas because none of the conventional public outreach programs were correlated with public attitude. We also identify apparent deficiencies in foreign assistance to these protected areas. The single most important short-term strategy was considered to be the improvement of law enforcement effectiveness through greater technical and financial support. Nine medium-term strategies are identified, including provision of adequate and secure long-term funding, establishing research and monitoring programs, and developing more appropriate conservation and development programs. Long-term strategies deal with two ultimate causal factors, mainly attitudes and value systems, and stabilizing human populations. Future success of Africa’s protected areas is contingent upon long-term international assistance including contingencies mandating realistic performance standards.     

Establishment of protected areas in different ecoregions, ecosystems, and diversity hotspots under successive political systems

Protected areas are valuable tools for nature conservation but the effectiveness of reserve networks must be monitored continuously. Knowing the history of the establishment of protected areas can help to improve future conservation. We explore how different ecoregions, ecosystems and diversity hotspots have been incorporated in protected areas in Estonia during the last century. We found that the average rate of establishment of protected areas has been surprisingly constant despite profound changes in political systems. However, establishment of protected areas has varied regionally; an agricultural region in south-east Estonia has seen less protection, partly due to lower biodiversity. Wetland ecosystems were initially more placed under protection, whereas recently semi-natural grasslands have gained more attention. In contrast, farmland is under-protected. Surprisingly, biodiversity hotspots were no more protected than the national average. We consider how the development of a protected area network has been influenced by individual persons and public opinion under successive political systems. We suggest that simultaneous gap analysis of ecoregions, ecosystems and diversity hotspots provides a more complete picture than examining a single aspect. Therefore this study can be used as a model for other regions.     

Identifying areas of high-value vertebrate diversity for strengthening conservation

Identifying areas with relevant features of biodiversity is useful to rank priorities for strengthening the design of well-sited natural protected areas and to optimize resource investment in conservation. This study provides decision makers critical tools for highlighting pieces of land worthy of conservation in Spain. We studied four taxa—amphibians, reptiles, nesting birds and mammals—in a 50 × 50 km grid (n=259 cells). We used five criteria for identifying areas of high-value diversity: species richness, rarity, vulnerability, a combined index of biodiversity, and a Standardized Biodiversity Index that measured all four taxa together. As far as we know, the combined index of biodiversity and the Standardized Biodiversity Index are original. Areas of high-value diversity were defined as those cells within the 15% top segment of ranked values for the different criteria. Congruence of areas of high-value diversity for taxa pairs was moderate to low, and averaged 38.5% for areas of high-value diversity based on the combined index of biodiversity. The performance based on the average proportion of threatened species excluded from areas of high-value diversity followed the rank combined index of biodiversity=rarity (0.3%) > vulnerability (9.9%) > species richness (13.8%). The areas of high-value diversity identified according to the Standardized Biodiversity Index included all amphibian and mammal species, all but one reptile species (categorized as rare) and all but six bird species (three of which were categorized as threatened). About 70% of the areas of high-value diversity identified based on the Standardized Biodiversity Index included natural protected areas. However, they average only 274.6 km², thus occupying a small fraction of the areas of high-value diversity, and there is no guarantee that the species found in an area of high-value diversity site will be present in its protected fraction. Consequently, we urge managers of natural protected areas to conduct diversity surveys. We also urge that additional natural protected areas be established to include the gap of 30% of areas of high-value diversity not currently protected. We took an step for biodiversity conservation planning in the studied region, and discuss the usefulness of maps of areas of high-value diversity for conservation, ecological restoration, and environmental impact assessment and mitigation.     

Prioritizing avian conservation areas for the Yellowstone to Yukon Region of North America

Prioritizing new areas for conservation in the Rocky Mountains of North America is important because the current intensity and scale of human development poses an immediate threat to biodiversity. We identified priority areas for avian biodiversity within a 3200-km corridor from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, US to the Yukon in Canada (the Y2Y region). We applied the conservation planning tool, MARXAN, to summarize 21 avian values. MARXAN minimizes the area delineated, while simultaneously incorporating multiple criteria (species richness representation, spatial clustering) and biodiversity targets into a single mappable solution. We prioritized avian biodiversity ‘hotspots’ at continental and ecoprovincial scales based on: (1) avian species richness; and (2) habitat associations of 20 focal species. At the continental scale, the single best solution represented 19% of the Y2Y region; 29% of this solution overlapped with existing protected areas. In northern Y2Y, large contiguous areas with high avian value were concentrated on the western edge of the continental divide. In southern Y2Y, contiguous areas were smaller and more numerous than in the north. In contrast to the majority of studies prioritizing conservation areas, we explored the effect of varying the extent of the target region by analyzing data at the scale of the entire Y2Y region and for eight ecoprovinces separately. We found that (1) large contiguous patches characterized only three ecoprovinces, while for the remaining ecoprovinces, numerous single scattered habitat patches of varying sizes were required to meet conservation goals; and (2) generally, only a small percentage of sites was already protected within the existing protected areas network. Our results are important for conservation planners and resource managers in the Y2Y region for incorporating areas of high conservation value for birds at regional and ecoprovincial scales during conservation project design and adaptive planning.     

The efficacy of Romania’s protected areas network in conserving biodiversity

Romania’s protected areas network currently covers 19.29% of the national territory, a significant increase from the 4.1% protected prior to 1989. The increase occurred over the past 20 years with the creation of 27 National and Natural Parks, and recently of 382 protected areas as part of the pan-European Natura 2000 network. Considering the recent increase in number and area of protected lands, we investigated two core topics critical to achieving conservation goals: (1) conservation value and (2) resources for conservation. The newly created Natura 2000 sites overlapped 96.19% of the existing protected areas network, generating up to three different protection statuses for some sites. Conservation goals were often unclear, as the focus switched to protecting species and habitats of European-level concern. Despite the fivefold increase in protected area, many ecoregions were poorly represented in the new system. Planning for conservation neither involved the local communities nor utilized principles for spatial prioritization. Over 80% of the species of European conservation concern were included in at least one protected area, but plants and invertebrates were underrepresented. Administrative bodies were generally under-staffed and poorly financed, conditions that were reflected in a poor enforcement and implementation of conservation goals. Overall, Romania shares many conservation concerns with other Eastern and Central European countries. A regional approach to conserving biodiversity based on spatial prioritization, rigorous scientific documentation, and social acceptance is needed for the Natura 2000 network to achieve its goals.     

Management costs for small protected areas and economies of scale in habitat conservation

Protected area management must be resourced adequately to achieve its conservation objectives. The variability in management costs across candidate sites for protection therefore should inform conservation planning. For example, when considering whether to accept a donation of a property, a conservation organisation must determine whether an adequate endowment is available to fund future management activities. We examine variation in management costs across 78 small protected areas in the UK that are managed by a conservation NGO, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Management costs exceed acquisition costs when funded on an endowment basis and are not correlated with acquisition costs or with proxy measures for conservation costs commonly relied upon in conservation planning studies. A combination of geographic, ecological and socioeconomic characteristics of sites explains 50% of the variation in management costs. Site area is the most important determinant of management costs, which demonstrate economies of scale; implementing conservation management on an additional hectare adjacent to a larger protected area would incur a lower cost than doing the same adjacent to a smaller site. In evidencing this effect of site area, we avoid problems of spurious correlation that confound previous studies. Protected areas that encompass a greater richness of priority habitats for conservation also require more expensive management. Conservation organisations may have little option but to create small protected areas to conserve biodiversity in highly fragmented landscapes, but the decision to do so should take account of the greater cost burden that small protected areas incur.     

Evaluating the efficacy of zoning designations for protected area management

Protected areas worldwide are facing increasing pressures to co-manage human development and biodiversity conservation. One strategy for managing multiple uses within and around protected areas is zoning, an approach in which spatial boundaries are drawn to distinguish areas with varying degrees of allowable human impacts. However, zoning designations are rarely evaluated for their efficacy using empirical data related to both human and biodiversity characteristics. To evaluate the effectiveness of zoning designations, we developed an integrated approach. The approach was calibrated empirically using data from Wolong Nature Reserve, a flagship protected area for the conservation of endangered giant pandas in China. We analyzed the spatial distribution of pandas, as well as human impacts (roads, houses, tourism infrastructure, livestock, and forest cover change) with respect to zoning designations in Wolong. Results show that the design of the zoning scheme could be improved to account for pandas and their habitat, considering the amount of suitable habitat outside of the core zone (area designated for biodiversity conservation). Zoning was largely successful in containing houses and roads to their designated experimental zone, but was less effective in containing livestock and was susceptible to boundary adjustments to allow for tourism development. We identified focus areas for potential zoning revision that could better protect the panda population without significantly compromising existing human settlements. Our findings highlight the need for evaluating the efficacy of zoning in other protected areas facing similar challenges with balancing human needs and conservation goals, not only in China but also around the world.     

Conserving the genetic resources of crop wild relatives in European Protected Areas

European native plant diversity is currently suffering erosion and extinction and thus, it is crucial to improve conservation strategies to maintain this essential resource. If unchecked, this genetic erosion and species extinction will cause unnecessary and irreversible harm to the economy and social well being of Europe. Much plant biodiversity is undoubtedly found in the existing 9654 European protected areas that cover 1,066,358 km², but clearly targeted and active conservation of priority plant species is required within these protected areas. To help ensure more efficient long-term sustainable conservation, a novel approach to the in situ conservation of European plants, notably crop wild relatives, is suggested. The purpose of this approach is to know what plant genetic resources (PGR) we have, where they are located and to assess whether the current network of protected areas includes a representative sample of European PGR diversity. The generation of in situ conservation and management plans for PGR populations in existing protected areas can significantly improve the present conservation status. Additionally, the identification of gaps of certain PGR in current protected areas can provide the basis for the designation of new complementary PGR in situ reserves.     

Avian conservation priorities in a top-ranked biodiversity hotspot

Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil has one of the most diverse and most endangered avifaunas in the continental Americas. Many of these endangered birds are endemic to the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot, and some even endemic to Rio de Janeiro itself. As with all other forested hotspots, little original forest remains. Much of that is outside formal protected areas and faces the risk of deforestation. These factors create special circumstances for setting conservation priorities — ones common to hotspots in general — but typically not to many conservation priority setting exercises.We mapped the distribution of the remaining habitat for the 189 birds in Rio de Janeiro state that are officially endangered and/or endemic to the Atlantic Forest. Using those habitat maps, we calculated the amount of habitat currently within protected areas for each species. We then prioritized all non-protected parts of the state for their avian conservation value and their potential contribution to a comprehensive protected area system. This analysis identified 10% of the remaining unprotected part of the state as the highest priority for avian conservation. We further highlight specific locations where conservation actions could create a more comprehensive protected area system for the avifauna of Rio de Janeiro state.     

The implications of current and future urbanization for global protected areas and biodiversity conservation

Due to human population growth and migration, there will be nearly 2 billion new urban residents by 2030, yet the consequences of both current and future urbanization for biodiversity conservation are poorly known. Here we show that urban growth will have impacts on ecoregions, rare species, and protected areas that are localized but cumulatively significant. Currently, 29 of the world’s 825 ecoregions have over one-third of their area urbanized, and these 29 ecoregions are the only home of 213 endemic terrestrial vertebrate species. Our analyses suggest that 8% of terrestrial vertebrate species on the IUCN Red List are imperiled largely because of urban development. By 2030, 15 additional ecoregions are expected to lose more than 5% of their remaining undeveloped area, and they contain 118 vertebrate species found nowhere else. Of the 779 rare species with only one known population globally, 24 are expected to be impacted by urban growth. In addition, the distance between protected areas and cities is predicted to shrink dramatically in some regions: for example, the median distance from a protected area to a city in Eastern Asia is predicted to fall from 43 km to 23 km by 2030. Most protected areas likely to be impacted by new urban growth (88%) are in countries of low to moderate income, potentially limiting institutional capacity to adapt to new anthropogenic stresses on protected areas. In short, trends in global ecoregions, rare species, and protected areas suggest localized but significant biodiversity degradation associated with current and upcoming urbanization.     

Integrating freshwater and terrestrial priorities in conservation planning

The integration of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity priorities in systematic conservation planning is a major challenge to conservation planners. Maintaining upstream–downstream connectivity and the influence of catchments on freshwater ecological integrity are some of the issues that make it difficult to reconcile terrestrial and freshwater conservation planning. As a result most conservation assessments are often biased towards terrestrial systems without adequate incorporation of freshwater biodiversity in determining priority areas for conservation. In this paper, we propose a protocol for integrating the assessment of freshwater and terrestrial priorities in conservation planning, based on a case study from Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. The approach involves the separate assessment of freshwater priority areas, and using the outcome to influence the selection of terrestrial priority areas. This allowed both freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity to be incorporated in conservation planning without compromising their unique requirements. To test the effectiveness of this approach, we assessed percentage overlap between freshwater and terrestrial priority areas, target achievement, and the area required to achieve targets. We then compared the outcome from the proposed approach with the separate assessments of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity priorities, and when both systems are given an equal weighting in a single assessment. The results showed that there was a noticeable improvement in the overlap of priority areas for freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity from 23% to 47%. Target achievement for freshwater biodiversity improved by 10% when terrestrial assessment was based on freshwater priority areas as opposed to terrestrial systems being assessed alone. There was negligible increase in area required, whether there was integration of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity or no integration. We conclude that the most efficient way to achieve integration in conservation planning is to preferentially select areas where freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity priorities overlap.     

县域生物多样性保护优先性评价指标体系构建与应用——以甘孜藏族自治州为例

生物多样性保护优先性评估是生物多样性保护、管理和决策的重要手段,其中的关键步骤之一是评估指标体系的构建。以四川省甘孜州藏族自治州为研究对象,以县域为评价单元,选择物种层次和生态系统层次的8个指标（脊椎动物丰富度指数、特有性指数、濒危性指数、植物物种丰富度指数、自然生态系统的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、自然生态系统濒危性指数、归一化植被指数（NDVI）、净第一生产力（NPP）指数）构建评价指标体系,然后采用熵权法对各评价指标赋权值,对该区的县域进行生物多样性现状综合评估。结果表明:康定县、理塘县生物多样性保护优先性综合评估指数最高;得荣县、乡城县评估指数最低,甘孜州各县现有自然保护区的分布比较合理。康定县、理塘县自然保护区分布面积最大,分别占该县域面积的44%和27%,生物多样性得到较好的保护。甘孜县和色达县为综合评估指数较高地区,但自然保护区的分布面积极小,建议增设不同级别自然保护区。     

Size of protected areas is the main determinant of species diversity in orchids

Efficient allocation of conservation resources will be achieved only if the priorities for biodiversity conservation – the “hotspots” – are correctly defined. To achieve this we need to pinpoint the main determinants of species diversity. Area, energy available and latitude are thought to be the most important determinants of species richness. Area is clearly the most important, but the relative importance of the other two is uncertain. To test the relative importance of energy available and latitude, data on the species richness of orchids was collected for various countries in the world, the influence of area factored out and the residuals correlated with energy available at these countries and with latitude. This was performed for both total area and that of the protected areas for the 67 countries from five continents, in order to determine which gives a better prediction. We show that – at the large scale considered – area is always very important, latitude is more important than energy available and the size of the protected areas gives a better fit than the total area of the country in most cases. This implies that conservation efforts should be directed to maximizing the size of the protected areas in each country.