scholarly journals Conservation planning for Africa's Albertine Rift: conserving a biodiverse region in the face of multiple threats

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Plumptre ◽  
Sam Ayebare ◽  
Deo Kujirakwinja ◽  
Dan Segan
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Restricted Range ◽  
Albertine Rift ◽  
Agricultural Conversion ◽  
Conservation Costs ◽  
The Face ◽  
Republic Of The Congo

Abstract The Albertine Rift is one of Africa's most biodiverse regions, but is threatened by habitat loss as a result of agricultural expansion and human development. Previous studies estimated that 30% of the region has been lost to agricultural conversion and we estimate here that 33% is allocated for mining concessions. For conservation planning, we used niche models for species endemic to the Albertine Rift and those that are globally threatened. We assessed where to conserve these species using three scenarios: (1) a baseline assuming equal conservation costs across all grid cells in the study area, (2) a scenario locking in existing protected areas (i.e. always selecting them by default) and assessing which unprotected areas require conservation, and (3) a scenario considering mining planned across the region. Marxan analyses produced similar results for the three scenarios, highlighting the importance of existing protected areas and the value of several community-managed or provincial protected areas in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The current protected area network covers 134,246 km2 and an additional 64,586 km2 would be required to ensure the conservation of all threatened and endemic species outside the parks and wildlife reserves. However, if trying to avoid mining concessions this increases to 145,704 km2, an area larger than the existing protected areas. Some mining concessions harbour species with a restricted range and would thus need to be protected to ensure the persistence of threatened and endemic fauna and flora. These mining concessions should be challenged by the conservation community.

scholarly journals Repenser Le Rôle Des Institutions De Conservation De La Nature À L’ère De La Globalisation En Afrique: À Propos Du Parc National De La Salonga (RDC)

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Mampeta Wabasa Salomon
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
The Other ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Contemporary Management

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the protectionist conservatism influenced by colonialism, which exploited African countries for the prosperity of the colonizing countries, still has a high visibility in the Salonga National Park (PNS). If, in theory, the Central Africans seem to free themselves from the colonial powers on their land, in practice they are still there. The hostility of settlers who have become neo-colonists to the development of Central Africa remains intact, he adds (Ndinga, 2003). This reflects a "logic from above" that has disregarded local values. Yet, in the era of sustainable development and globalization, African protected areas appear to be essential tools for States to reposition themselves in a complex set of actors with the aim of capturing and using the new environmental rent (Giraut, Guyot, & Houssay-Holzschuch, 2003). This is a "bottom-up logic", placing people at the heart of all activities and aiming to reorganize their long-term relationships with the environment. From these two logics, a third "logic from the other side" emerges, reflecting a collective awareness of the fragility of the planet. The restoration of the rights of Africans in the various national frameworks constitutes a major challenge for the contemporary management of African protected areas. Because the protected areas inherited from the different colonial systems must accompany the change in management methods and the redefinition of their functions in order to better serve the local community in the long-term.

scholarly journals A new species of Kosteletzkya (Hibisceae, Malvoideae, Malvaceae) and notes on a second species, both from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Phytotaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
ORLAND J. BLANCHARD, JR. BLANCHARD, JR.
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Albertine Rift ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
A New Species

A new species, Kosteletzkya rotundalata, is described from northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. A second species, K. borkouana, originally characterized as endemic to northern Chad, is here documented from several localities in the Albertine Rift of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

scholarly journals Providing more protected space for tigers Panthera tigris: a landscape conservation approach in the Western Ghats, southern India

Oryx ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Gubbi ◽  
Kaushik Mukherjee ◽  
M.H. Swaminath ◽  
H.C. Poornesha
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Landscape Conservation ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Protected Area Network ◽  
Indian State

AbstractConservation of large carnivores is challenging as they face various threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation. One of the current challenges to tiger Panthera tigris conservation in India is the conversion of habitat to uses that are incompatible with conservation of the species. Bringing more tiger habitat within a protected area system and in the process creating a network of connected protected areas will deliver dual benefits of wildlife conservation and protection of watersheds. Focusing on the southern Indian state of Karnataka, which holds one of the largest contiguous tiger populations, we attempted to address this challenge using a conservation planning technique that considers ecological, social and political factors. This approach yielded several conservation successes, including an expansion of the protected area network by 2,385 km2, connection of 23 protected areas, and the creation of three complexes of protected areas, increasing the protected area network in Karnataka from 3.8 to 5.2% of the state's land area. This represents the largest expansion of protected areas in India since the 1970s. Such productive partnerships between government officials and conservationists highlight the importance of complementary roles in conservation planning and implementation.

scholarly journals Nature protection across countries: Do size and power matter?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Germán Baldi
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
The Face ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Limited Spectrum ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Effective Growth

AbstractProtected areas are one of the most effective tools for nature conservation. Consequently, almost all countries have agreed to set increasingly demanding goals for the expansion of their protected area systems. However, there is a large disparity among countries, and research on the cultural drivers of differences remains quite unexplored. Here, we explore the relationship between protected extent and a limited spectrum of socio-economic characteristics, making focus on size and power features. Protected areas under strict conservation categories (I to IV, IUCN) were considered for 195 countries, and relationships were modeled by means of LOESS regressions, violin plots, and a random forest ensemble learning method. Larger and more powerful countries (in terms of land area, gross domestic product, or military expenditure) protect less and in relatively smaller units than smaller and less powerful countries. Out of the twenty most extensive countries of the world, only two exceed 10% of protection. This situation is problematic since an effective growth of the global protected area network depends on the willingness of larger and more powerful countries. We propose different hypotheses a posteriori that explain the role of size and power driving protection. These hypotheses involve direct mechanisms (e.g., the persuasive capacity of large countries) or mechanisms that mediate the interactions of some others (e.g., tourism contribution to GDP and insularity). Independently of mechanisms, our results emphasize the conservation responsibilities of large and powerful countries and contribute to envision conservation scenarios in the face of changes in the number and size of countries.

scholarly journals Preliminary inventory of bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) in three Protected Areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
André B. Malekani ◽  
◽  
Prescott A. Musaba ◽  
Guy-Crispin T. Gembu ◽  
Elie P. Bugentho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Republic Of The Congo

scholarly journals Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (29) ◽  
pp. 7641-7646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda T. Brum ◽  
Catherine H. Graham ◽  
Gabriel C. Costa ◽  
S. Blair Hedges ◽  
Caterina Penone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Mammal Conservation ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to (i) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity—taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits—and (ii) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts.

scholarly journals Primates in peril: the significance of Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for global primate conservation

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Estrada ◽  
Paul A. Garber ◽  
Russell A. Mittermeier ◽  
Serge Wich ◽  
Sidney Gouveia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Primate Conservation ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
Republic Of The Congo

Primates occur in 90 countries, but four—Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—harbor 65% of the world’s primate species (439) and 60% of these primates are Threatened, Endangered, or Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017-3). Considering their importance for global primate conservation, we examine the anthropogenic pressures each country is facing that place their primate populations at risk. Habitat loss and fragmentation are main threats to primates in Brazil, Madagascar, and Indonesia. However, in DRC hunting for the commercial bushmeat trade is the primary threat. Encroachment on primate habitats driven by local and global market demands for food and non-food commodities hunting, illegal trade, the proliferation of invasive species, and human and domestic-animal borne infectious diseases cause habitat loss, population declines, and extirpation. Modeling agricultural expansion in the 21st century for the four countries under a worst-case-scenario, showed a primate range contraction of 78% for Brazil, 72% for Indonesia, 62% for Madagascar, and 32% for DRC. These pressures unfold in the context of expanding human populations with low levels of development. Weak governance across these four countries may limit effective primate conservation planning. We examine landscape and local approaches to effective primate conservation policies and assess the distribution of protected areas and primates in each country. Primates in Brazil and Madagascar have 38% of their range inside protected areas, 17% in Indonesia and 14% in DRC, suggesting that the great majority of primate populations remain vulnerable. We list the key challenges faced by the four countries to avert primate extinctions now and in the future. In the short term, effective law enforcement to stop illegal hunting and illegal forest destruction is absolutely key. Long-term success can only be achieved by focusing local and global public awareness, and actively engaging with international organizations, multinational businesses and consumer nations to reduce unsustainable demands on the environment. Finally, the four primate range countries need to ensure that integrated, sustainable land-use planning for economic development includes the maintenance of biodiversity and intact, functional natural ecosystems.

scholarly journals Operationalizing ecological connectivity in spatial conservation planning with Marxan Connect

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remi M Daigle ◽  
Anna Metaxas ◽  
Arieanna Balbar ◽  
Jennifer McGowan ◽  
Eric A Treml ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Landscape Connectivity ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Eigenvector Centrality ◽  
Ecological Connectivity ◽  
Prioritization Process ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Spatial Conservation Planning

Globally, protected areas are being established to protect biodiversity and to promote ecosystem resilience. The typical spatial conservation planning process leading to the creation of these protected areas focuses on representation and replication of ecological features, often using decision support systems such as Marxan. Unfortunately, Marxan currently requires manual input or specialised scripts to explicitly consider ecological connectivity, a property critical to metapopulation persistence and resilience. "Marxan Connect" is a new open source, open access Graphical User Interface (GUI) designed to assist conservation planners in the systematic operationalization of ecological connectivity in protected area network planning. Marxan Connect is able to incorporate estimates of demographic connectivity (e.g. derived from tracking data, dispersal models, or genetics) or structural landscape connectivity (e.g. isolation by resistance). This is accomplished by calculating metapopulation-relevant connectivity metrics (e.g. eigenvector centrality) and treating those as conservation features, or using the connectivity data as a spatial dependency amongst sites to be included in the prioritization process. Marxan Connect allows a wide group of users to incorporate directional ecological connectivity into conservation plans. The least-cost conservation solutions provided by Marxan Connect, combined with ecologically relevant post-hoc testing, are more likely to support persistent and resilient metapopulations (e.g. fish stocks) and provide better protection for biodiversity than if connectivity is ignored.

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