Integrated index-based assessment reveals long-term conservation progress in implementation of Convention on Biological Diversity

Of late, particularly since the inception of the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), there has been some recognition of the relevance of biological resources and the need to protect and conserve these resources for the benefit of humankind. Natural disasters which have been occurring around the world, such as the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, the 2009 earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan and the mystery surrounding the fallen dead birds from the sky en masse in Arkansas have raised concerns on the state of the environment in which we live in today. The resultant long-term effects of such natural disasters is colossal to the inhabitants of mother Earth although those who are not directly affected by such disasters are rarely of the view that they have, in some way, contributed to the happenings of such disasters. In Europe and parts of America, winter temperatures plummeted towards the end of 2010 recording some of the lowest temperatures in history whilst in the southern hemisphere, cyclones and floods have plagued Australia thereby giving rise to prophecies that perhaps, the world may be coming to an end.

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Challenges of Gauging the Impact of Area-Based Fishery Closures and OECMs: A Case Study Using Long-Standing Canadian Groundfish Closures

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.612859 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Nancy L. Shackell ◽

David M. Keith ◽

Heike K. Lotze

Keyword(s):

Biological Diversity ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Effective Area ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Population Growth Rates ◽

Research Survey ◽

Development Goals ◽

Marine Areas ◽

The Impact

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was established in 1993. Canada is a signatory nation that has adopted, and exceeded, the UN Aichi biodiversity target to protect 10% of coastal and marine areas through marine protected areas or “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) by 2020. However, the science of OECMs as contributors to biodiversity conservation is relatively young and their definition and efficacy testing continue to evolve. Here, we examine whether areas closed to fishing on the Scotian Shelf in Atlantic Canada, where the groundfish community had collapsed in the early 1990s, have the potential to serve as OECMs for groundfish recovery. Using long-term research survey data, we show that three long-term area-based fishing fleet closures did not enhance per capita population growth rates of the majority of 24 common groundfish species. At a regional scale, 10 out of 24 species are currently at less than 50% of their pre-collapse (1979–1992) biomass, reflecting a sustained diminished productivity, even though fishing mortality has been drastically reduced through a moratorium in 1993. Additional measures are needed to protect severely depleted groundfish, especially when the causes of continued diminished productivity are still largely unresolved. The importance of OECMs as a risk-averse approach toward sustainability is globally accepted and they can be considered a tool toward the overarching UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-14). Our study provides further impetus toward articulating the criteria of OECMs and improving their design, monitoring, and testing, while placing OECMs within the broader context of sustainable ecosystem-based management.

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The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s Post-2020 target on invasive alien species – what should it include and how should it be monitored?

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.62.53972 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 99-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Franz Essl ◽

Guillaume Latombe ◽

Bernd Lenzner ◽

Shyama Pagad ◽

Hanno Seebens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Invasions ◽

Alien Species ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Invasive Alien Species ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Wide Range ◽

Biodiversity Policy ◽

Global Biodiversity ◽

Main Components

The year 2020 and the next few years are critical for the development of the global biodiversity policy agenda until the mid-21st century, with countries agreeing to a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Reducing the substantial and still rising impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on biodiversity will be essential if we are to meet the 2050 Vision where biodiversity is valued, conserved, and restored. A tentative target has been developed by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), and formally submitted to the CBD for consideration in the discussion on the Post-2020 targets. Here, we present properties of this proposal that we regard as essential for an effective Post-2020 Framework. The target should explicitly consider the three main components of biological invasions, i.e. (i) pathways, (ii) species, and (iii) sites; the target should also be (iv) quantitative, (v) supplemented by a set of indicators that can be applied to track progress, and (vi) evaluated at medium- (2030) and long-term (2050) time horizons. We also present a proposed set of indicators to track progress. These properties and indicators are based on the increasing scientific understanding of biological invasions and effectiveness of responses. Achieving an ambitious action-oriented target so that the 2050 Vision can be achieved will require substantial effort and resources, and the cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders.

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Effective Management of Trans boundary Landscapes – Geospatial Applications

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprsarchives-xl-8-1309-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol XL-8 ◽

pp. 1309-1317 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Kotru ◽

R. S. Rawal ◽

P. K. Mathur ◽

N. Chettri ◽

S. A. Chaudhari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Regional Cooperation ◽

Vegetation Type ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Ecological Monitoring ◽

Agroforestry System ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity advocates the use of landscape and ecosystem approaches for managing biodiversity, in recognition of the need for increased regional cooperation. In this context, ICIMOD and regional partners have evolved Transboundary Landscape concept to address the issues of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and systems (e.g., biodiversity, rangelands, farming systems, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, etc.). This concept defines the landscapes by ecosystems rather than political/administrative boundaries. The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is extremely heterogeneous, with complex inter linkages of biomes and habitats as well as strong upstream-downstream linkages related to the provisioning of ecosystem services. Seven such transboundary landscapes, identified across west to east extent of HKH, have been considered for programmatic cooperation, include: Wakhan, Karakoram-Pamir, Kailash, Everest, Kangchenjunga, Brahmaputra-Salween, and Cherrapunjee- Chittagong. The approach is people centered and considers the cultural conservation as an essential first step towards resource conservation efforts in the region. Considering the multi-scale requirements of study, the geospatial technology has been effectively adopted towards: (i) understanding temporal changes in landscapes, (ii) long term ecological and social monitoring, (ii) identifying potential bio corridors, (iii) assessing landscape level vulnerability due to climatic and non-climatic drivers, and (iv) developing local plans on extractions of high value economic species supporting livelihoods, agroforestry system and ecotourism, etc. We present here our recent experiences across different landscapes on assessment of three decadal changes, vegetation type mapping, assessment of socio-ecological drivers, corridor assessment, ecosystem services assessment, models for optimal natural resource use systems and long term socio-ecological monitoring.

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Measuring progress in marine protection: A new set of metrics to evaluate the strength of marine protected area networks

10.31230/osf.io/t2835 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kelsey Roberts ◽

Rebecca Valkan ◽

Carly Cook

Keyword(s):

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Current Value ◽

Marine Protection ◽

Mpa Network

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have proven to be a valuable tool for both promoting the sustainable use of marine resources and long-term biodiversity conservation outcomes. Targets for marine protection under the Convention on Biological Diversity have seen rapid growth in MPAs globally, with progress judged using targets for total area protected rather than evaluating growth based on the capacity to protect biodiversity. The value of a MPA network to biodiversity conservation depends on a range of attributes of both individual MPAs and portfolios of MPAs, which are not captured by simple area-based targets. Therefore, a clear and efficient set of metrics are needed to effectively evaluate progress towards building MPA networks, considering the representation and adequacy of protection for biodiversity. We developed a universally applicable set of metrics that can evaluate network structure in relation to its capacity to conserve marine biodiversity. These metrics combine properties of effective individual MPAs with metrics for their capacity to function collectively as a network. To demonstrate the value of these metrics, we apply them to the Australian MPA network, the largest in the world. Collectively, the indicators suggest that while Australia has made significant progress in building a representative and well-structured MPA network, the level of protection offered to marine biodiversity is generally low, with insufficient coverage of no-take MPAs across many bioregions. The metrics reveal how the current value of the MPA network could be greatly increased by reducing the prevalence of multi-use zones that allow extractive activities known to negatively impact biodiversity.

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Policy Effects on the Sustainability of Animal Breeding

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147787 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7787

Author(s):

Elżbieta Martyniuk

Keyword(s):

Genetic Resources ◽

Policy Development ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Animal Breeding ◽

Control Measures ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Animal Genetic Resources ◽

Livestock Sector ◽

And Control

Sustainability in animal breeding can be understood as continuous availability of breeding animals and their germinal products for commercial production, that now and in the future, meet the requirements of a broad range of stakeholders: breeders, farmers, livestock keepers, producers, consumers and others, while respecting animal welfare and promoting more sustainable agriculture. Breeding goals are established to contribute to fulfilling various aspects of sustainability: quality, diversity, acceptability, environment and economics. Government policies and strategies have major impacts on animal breeding; they provide the basis for establishing the legal landscape for national priorities for livestock sector development and provide for institutional arrangements and control measures. Implementation of international agreements supports policy development for sustainability in animal breeding and production. The Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources was prepared to directly contribute to sustainable management of livestock calling for improved characterization, monitoring, breeding and conservation. The Convention on Biological Diversity calls for the conservation of genetic diversity, including agricultural genetic resources. Animal breeding and strategies for livestock development require long-term policy perspectives, as poor decisions can have lasting detrimental effects. This paper is intended to highlight the importance of policy development in efforts to achieve sustainability in the livestock sector.

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Science of conservation for populations at risk

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s1752756200021554 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 2007 ◽

pp. 252-252

Author(s):

J. A. Woolliams

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

At Risk ◽

Genetic Variation ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

Visual Diversity ◽

Populations At Risk ◽

Scientific Justification

Conservation is a long term activity, and the objectives of the activity must be clear and justified for it to be sustained in the long-term. Whilst the obligations for conservation-related activities are clearly set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity (“Rio” convention or CBD), the scale of activities will depend on the scope and quality of the case. A market-led justification for conservation of livestock is fraught with difficulty since if markets supported the full scope of existing genetic variation there would be no need for conservation. This does not imply that a long-term economic case cannot be made, but it does focus the arguments onto the future importance of the range of livestock breeds. Therefore beyond the benefits of visual diversity on the quality of life, there is a need for evaluating the scientific justification for conserving livestock breeds.

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Sharing the benefits of taxonomic research: time to upgrade the model

Biodiversity Information Science and Standards ◽

10.3897/biss.3.35406 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Lyal ◽

Dirk Neumann ◽

Anne Nivart

Keyword(s):

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Biological Samples ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Genetic Material ◽

Convention On Biological Diversity ◽

New Model ◽

Taxonomic Research ◽

Informatics Tools

Many permits for collecting biological samples have simple conditions, such as returning specimens and information. In meeting them researchers are ‘sharing benefits’ in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). However, the documents giving such conditions are often poorly connected to long-term research by many individuals, leading to tail-off of delivery. The conditions and the benefits shared are also often ineffective for biodiversity conservation because of inefficient linkage to environmental managers and policy priorities. A new model is needed to better manage permit conditions so that users of biological and genetic material are aware of the agreements and can deliver with minimal additional effort, and to provide better linkage to application in provider countries. Many of the informatics tools to permit this are already available. The paper will outline the elements of the model and suggest means of implementation.

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