scholarly journals Cercopithecine and Colobine Abundance Across Protected and Unprotected Land in the Greater Mahale Ecosystem, Western Tanzania

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 687-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward McLester ◽  
Lilian Pintea ◽  
Fiona A. Stewart ◽  
Alex K. Piel
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Red Colobus ◽  
Papio Anubis ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Chlorocebus Pygerythrus ◽  
Western Tanzania

AbstractMost primates live in unprotected land where abundances and threats may differ from those in protected areas. We therefore need to establish population densities in both unprotected and protected areas to effectively inform conservation planning. The Greater Mahale Ecosystem in western Tanzania is a region of mixed protected status with seven cercopithecine and colobine species: blue (Cercopithecus mitis doggetti), red-tailed (C. ascanius schmidi), and vervet (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) monkeys; ashy red colobus (Piliocolobus tephrosceles); black-and-white colobus (Colobus angolensis); and olive (Papio anubis) and yellow (P. cynocephalus) baboons. These species may be threatened by increasing human activity; however, except for ashy red colobus, no data on local abundances are available. We walked over 350 km of line transects in legally protected (Village Forest Reserves) and unprotected general land between August 2011 and October 2012 to estimate densities of primates and human activity. Primate densities were consistently low across the Greater Mahale Ecosystem. Blue and red-tailed monkey and ashy red colobus densities were especially low compared to populations in predominantly forested landscapes. Primate and human activity densities did not differ significantly inside and outside of reserves. Low primate densities could be natural responses to the lower proportions and quality of riparian forest habitat in the region. High levels of human activity and the absence of significantly higher primate densities in reserves suggest unprotected land could provide important refuges for primates in the Greater Mahale Ecosystem. This result further reinforces a broad need to include unprotected areas in primate conservation strategies.

scholarly journals Patterns, Trends and Drivers of Water Transparency in Sri Lanka Using Landsat 8 Observations and Google Earth Engine

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2193
Author(s):  
Deepakrishna Somasundaram ◽  
Fangfang Zhang ◽  
Sisira Ediriweera ◽  
Shenglei Wang ◽  
Ziyao Yin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Water Transparency ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
North East ◽  
South West Monsoon

Addressing inland water transparency and driver effects to ensure the sustainability and provision of good quality water in Sri Lanka has been a timely prerequisite, especially under the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda. Natural and anthropogenic changes lead to significant variations in water quality in the country. Therefore, an urgent need has emerged to understand the variability, spatiotemporal patterns, changing trends and impact of drivers on transparency, which are unclear to date. This study used all available Landsat 8 images from 2013 to 2020 and a quasi-analytical approach to assess the spatiotemporal Secchi disk depth (ZSD) variability of 550 reservoirs and its relationship with natural (precipitation, wind and temperature) and anthropogenic (human activity and population density) drivers. ZSD varied from 9.68 cm to 199.47 with an average of 64.71 cm and 93% of reservoirs had transparency below 100 cm. Overall, slightly increasing trends were shown in the annual mean ZSD. Notable intra-annual variations were also indicating the highest and lowest ZSD during the north-east monsoon and south-west monsoon, respectively. The highest ZSD was found in wet zone reservoirs, while dry zone showed the least. All of the drivers were significantly affecting the water transparency in the entire island. The combined impact of natural factors on ZSD changes was more significant (77.70%) than anthropogenic variables, whereas, specifically, human activity accounted for the highest variability across all climatic zones. The findings of this study provide the first comprehensive estimation of the ZSD of entire reservoirs and driver contribution and also provides essential information for future sustainable water management and conservation strategies.

scholarly journals Challenges of assessment and mapping of ecosystem services in Bulgarian (Rhodope) and Russian (Altai) mountain protected areas in the context of post-socialist transformations and new conservation paradigms

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-68
Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Chernykh ◽  
Maria Glushkova ◽  
Dmitry K. Pershin ◽  
Miglena Zhiyanski ◽  
Alina E. Zinovieva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Altai Mountains ◽  
Altai Mountain ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Forest Exploitation ◽  
Different Types

The overarching goal of this survey was to identify the challenges of ecosystem services assessment and mapping in Russian and Bulgarian mountain protected areas in the context of post-socialist transformations, new conservation paradigms and climate change. The Altai Mountains in Russia and the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria were selected as key mountain territories for comparison due to their similar characteristics: agriculture, forest exploitation, tourism activities, etc. Both in Bulgaria and in Russia, perceptions of the protected areas functioning have been changing, facilitated by global shifts. Thus, the concept of ecosystem services has now been actively introduced in nature and biodiversity conservation policies. Based on WDPA data the emergence of different types of protected areas in Russia and Bulgaria was determined. Key problems of assessment and mapping of ecosystem services in Russian and Bulgarian mountain protected areas were recognised, mainly related to the shortage and quality of baseline data. At the same time, there were also some specifics for the two countries due to their size and national legislation. Like many other mountainous regions in the world, the Rhodopes in Bulgaria and the Altai Mountains in Russia are flagships in the improvement of nature conservation strategies. These regions often participate in a variety of international conservation programmes and are constantly expanding the range of protected areas. It is generally accepted that the Altai Mountains and the Rhodopes are not only centres of biodiversity richness in their countries, but also hotspots of a variety of ecosystem services.

scholarly journals ANALYZING TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL TRENDS IN MANAGEMENT PLANS OF FEDERAL PROTECTED AREAS IN BRAZIL

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 846-854
Author(s):  
Alessandro Ribeiro Morais ◽  
◽  
Mariana Nascimento Siqueira ◽  
Roniel Freitas-Oliveira ◽  
Daniel Brito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Group A ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Group B

Protected areas are the most frequently used tool for the mitigation of threats to biodiversity. However, without effective management, the creation of new protected areas may be ineffective. In Brazil, protected areas must have both a governing body (consultative or deliberative council) and an official management plan. Here, we analyzed general trends and patterns in the approval of the management plans for Brazilian federal protected areas. We considered all federal protected areas, and compiled data on (i) the year the area was created, (ii) the type of protected area (integral protection vs. sustainable use), (iii) year its management plan was approved, (iv) year in which the management plan was revised after its approval, (v) total area (in hectares), and (vi) the biome in which the area is located. We stablished three groups of protected area: 1) Group A: protected areas created prior to 1979, 2) Group B: protected areas created between 1979 and 1999, and 3) Group C: protected areas created between 2000 to the present time. Finally, we tested whether time for the approval of the management plan suffered a simultaneous effect of the type of biome and type of categories of protected area (strictly protected vs. sustainable use areas). We found 211 (63.17% of the 334) protected areas with management plan. On average, the time taken for the creation and approval of a management plan far exceeds the deadlines (5 yrs.) defined under current Brazilian law. All Brazilian biomes are poorly covered by protected areas with effective management plans, with the highest and lowest value observed in the Pantanal (100%) and Caatinga (46.42%), respectively. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of many federal protected areas in Brazil can be reduced considerably by the lack of a management plan, with deleterious consequences for the country’s principal conservation strategies.

From the cloud to the ground: converting satellite data into conservation decisions

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-34
Author(s):  
Lilian Pintea
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Earth Observation Data ◽  
Conservation Decisions

An estimated 65% of the world’s land and more than 80% of Earth’s biodiversity are under indigenous or local community customary ownership, care, and use. Recent developments in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), mobile, and cloud computing provide the opportunity to systematically and cost-effectively monitor land-cover and land-use changes and threats at multiple scales. It is now possible, via satellite observations, to obtain a synoptic view of ecosystems at spatial and temporal resolutions that are more detailed, locally relevant, and consistent from village to global scales. However, to make geospatial data and technologies work for conservation, we still need to understand how data turn into actionable information and conservation decisions. This chapter uses Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation as a framework to discuss insights from 18 years of using geospatial technologies with the local communities, village and district governments, and other partners to monitor chimpanzee habitats and threats and inform chimpanzee conservation strategies and actions in Tanzania. It focuses on how Earth Observation data and associated technologies enabled and benefitted from the creation of research-implementation spaces in which stakeholders were able to collaborate and interact with geospatial data and results in a diversity of ways. This enabled development of geospatial applications and solutions ‘with’ and not ‘for’ local stakeholders, resulting in expansion of new protected areas managed by village and districts governments and restoration of habitats in some degraded village forest reserves.

scholarly journals Expert knowledge assessment of threats and conservation strategies for breeding Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl across Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
DARÍO FERNÁNDEZ-BELLON ◽  
JOHN LUSBY ◽  
JULES BOS ◽  
TONIO SCHAUB ◽  
ALAN MCCARTHY ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Conservation Threats ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hen Harrier

Summary Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus and Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus are open-country birds of prey with overlapping distributions. Although both species face similar conservation threats across their ranges, work to date has largely been undertaken at a national scale with few attempts to collate and assess factors relevant to their conservation at an international scale. Here we use an expert knowledge approach to evaluate the impact of conservation threats and the effectiveness of conservation strategies for each species across Europe. We report results of responses to a questionnaire from 23 Hen Harrier experts from nine countries and 12 Short-eared Owl experts from six countries. The majority of responses for both species reported declines in breeding numbers. The perceived impact of threats was broadly similar for both species: ecological factors (predation, extreme weather and prey availability), changes in land use (habitat loss and agricultural intensification) and indirect persecution (accidental nest destruction) were considered to be the greatest threats to breeding Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl. Short-eared Owl experts also highlighted lack of knowledge and difficulties associated with monitoring as a major conservation challenge. Despite broad-scale similarities, geographical variation was also apparent in the perceived importance of conservation threats, with some threats (such as direct persecution, large-scale afforestation or habitat degradation) requiring country-specific actions. Implementation of different conservation strategies also varied between countries, with the designation of protected areas reported as the most widespread conservation strategy adopted, followed by species and habitat management. However, protected areas (including species-specific protected areas) were perceived to be less effective than active management of species and habitats. These findings highlight the overlap between the conservation requirements of these two species, and the need for collaborative international research and conservation approaches that prioritise pro-active conservation strategies subject to continued assessment and with specific conservation goals.

scholarly journals Zanzibar's endemic red colobus Piliocolobus kirkii: first systematic and total assessment of population, demography and distribution

Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim R.B. Davenport ◽  
Said A. Fakih ◽  
Sylvanos P. Kimiti ◽  
Lydia U. Kleine ◽  
Lara S. Foley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Population Demography ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Red Colobus ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Area Of Occupancy ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Better Than

AbstractWe present the first systematic assessment of the population, demography and distribution of the Endangered Zanzibar red colobus Piliocolobus kirkii, in Unguja in the Zanzibar archipelago, based on a survey effort of 4,725 hours. We estimate the total population comprises 5,862 individuals in 342 groups (mean group size 17.12); 3.4 times the mean of all previous estimates. We calculated a total area of occupancy of 376 km2, with 4,042 individuals living within protected areas. Mean group sizes were significantly higher within protected areas (20.57) than outside (12.80). The number of adult females was 3,179 (54.21%), with a mean of 9.29 per group, and the number of adult males was 932 (15.89%), with a mean of 2.71 per group, giving a ratio of 3.31 adult females to adult males. This ratio was significantly lower outside protected areas. The total number of infants was 958 (16.34%), with a mean of 2.80 per group, and the number of subadults/juveniles was 793 (13.52%), with a mean of 2.32 per group, giving ratios of 0.30 infants to adult females, and 0.25 subadults/juveniles to adult females. The results indicate that P. kirkii is resilient and thriving far better than assumed. However, recruitment is low and the population may be in decline, with individuals outside protected areas most at risk. We tentatively support the categorization of P. kirkii as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, argue for greater protected area status for southern Uzi, Vundwe and Mchamgamle, and discuss conservation implications for this charismatic flagship species.

scholarly journals Bees, farmers, tourists and hunters: conflict dynamics around Western Tanzania protected areas

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 2679-2703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Hausser ◽  
Helene Weber ◽  
Britta Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Western Tanzania

Conservation strategies for Africa's large mammals

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 459 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hanks
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
African Mammals ◽  
Wide Range

Africa’s large mammals are conserved for their aesthetic, scientific and economic values. Many of these species face a gloomy future precipitated by a combination of factors directly and indirectly influenced by the activities of man, including habitat loss, overexploitation, poor management of designated protected areas, and the vulnerability of small isolated populations. Africa’s designated protected areas and biodiversity hotspots are also under threat, highlighting the importance of embracing community participation to address accelerating poverty and malnutrition. Innovative strategies are required for the conservation of Africa’s mammals, such as the integration of a wide range of species in the production landscape, including the farming community. Transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) have been established with the combined objectives of conserving biodiversity, creating new jobs in the tourism and wildlife industry, and promoting a culture of peace. These areas extend far beyond traditional national parks, providing opportunities for integrating large mammals into sustainable land-use practices, at the same time as addressing some of the continent’s more pressing socioeconomic needs. Research on African mammals will inevitably have to change direction to accommodate the growing threats and changed circumstances. Priorities will include the identification of corridors associated with TFCA establishment, the determination of the economic value of certain species in consumptive use programmes, research on contraception as a management option in restricted areas, and further work on the indirect use value of species. There will also be worthwhile opportunities to be pursued with ex situ conservation programmes, but these need to be focussed more efficiently.

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