scholarly journals Scaling Biodiversity Conservation Efforts: An Examination of the Relationship Between Global Biodiversity Targets and Local Plans

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Rae Pierce ◽  
Sabrina Drill ◽  
Michael D. Halder ◽  
Mika Mei Jia Tan ◽  
Anushri Tiwari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Spheres Of Influence ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
The Relationship

Cities have a critical role to play in meeting global-scale biodiversity targets. Urban socio-ecological systems connect human and ecological well-being. The outsized impact of cities reaches well-beyond their geographic borders through cultural, ecological, and economic interactions. Although cities account for just 2% of the earth's surface, they host over half of the human population and are responsible for 75% of consumption. The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and others have acknowledged the important role cities can play in achieving global targets. In response, at least 110 cities have produced plans focused on biodiversity, but we do not know the extent to which these city plans align with global targets or what role they play in achieving these targets. Here, we explore the relationship between global biodiversity conservation targets and local biodiversity plans to identify how elements at the two scales align or diverge. We compared the CBD Strategic Plan 2011–2020 (Aichi Targets) with 44 local biodiversity plans (often called LBSAPs) from cities around the world. We analyzed more than 2,800 actions from the local plans to measure the relationship with these global targets. Our results show how local approaches to biodiversity conservation can inform post-2020 global frameworks to improve coordination between global and local scale processes. We identify actions particular to the local scale that are critical to conserve global biodiversity and suggest a framework for improved coordination between actors at different scales that address their respective roles and spheres of influence.

Governing New Biotechnologies for Biodiversity Conservation: Gene Drives, International Law, and Emerging Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse L. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Gene Drive ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Gene Drives

The outdoor use of organisms modified with gene drives—emerging biotechnologies of biased inheritance—could further human well-being and biodiversity conservation, yet also poses environmental risks and diverse social challenges. This article describes and analyzes the international law and politics of gene drives’ research, development, and possible use, with an emphasis on their potential biodiversity applications. The Convention on Biological Diversity is central, and its institutions and others have taken actions toward governing gene drive organisms. Gene drives’ governance and politics are contrasted with those of agricultural genetically modified organisms, with emphases on states, nonstate actors, the precautionary approach, and decision-making forums. Developing and implementing governance—especially in international forums—for gene drives may prove to be difficult. The observations and analysis here indicate that the politics of gene drive organisms is a manifestation of a larger struggle regarding emerging technologies among those concerned about sustainability.

Using information on ecosystem services in Nepal to inform biodiversity conservation and local to national decision-making

Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishana Thapa ◽  
Stuart H. M. Butchart ◽  
Hum Gurung ◽  
Alison J. Stattersfield ◽  
David H. L. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Trade Offs

AbstractPolicy-makers are paying increasing attention to ecosystem services, given improved understanding that they underpin human well-being, and following their integration within the Aichi Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Decision-makers need information on trends in biodiversity and ecosystem services but tools for assessing the latter are often expensive, technically demanding and ignore the local context. In this study we used a simple, replicable participatory assessment approach to gather information on ecosystem services at important sites for biodiversity conservation in Nepal, to feed into local and national decision-making. Through engaging knowledgeable stakeholders we assessed the services delivered by Nepal's 27 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, the pressures affecting services through impacts on land cover and land use, and the consequences of these for people. We found that these sites provide ecosystem services to beneficiaries at a range of scales but under current pressures the balance of services will change, with local communities incurring the greatest costs. The approach provided valuable information on the trade-offs between ecosystem services and between different people, developed the capacity of civil society to engage in decision-making at the local and national level, and provided digestible information for Nepal's government. We recommend this approach in other countries where there is a lack of information on the likely impacts of land-use change on ecosystem services and people.

scholarly journals Aichi Target 18 beyond 2020: mainstreaming Traditional Biodiversity Knowledge in the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e9616
Author(s):  
Paola Fajardo ◽  
David Beauchesne ◽  
Alberto Carbajal-López ◽  
Rémi M. Daigle ◽  
L. Denisse Fierro-Arcos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Biodiversity Knowledge ◽  
Global Biodiversity

Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) have inhabited coastal areas, the seas, and remote islands for millennia, and developed place-based traditional ancestral knowledge and diversified livelihoods associated with the biocultural use of marine and coastal ecosystems. Through their cultural traditions, customary wise practices, and holistic approaches to observe, monitor, understand, and appreciate the Natural World, IPLCs have been preserving, managing, and sustainably using seascapes and coastal landscapes, which has been essential for biodiversity conservation. The international community has more than ever recognized the central role of IPLCs in the conservation of biodiversity-rich ecosystems, in particular, for the achievement of the Global Biodiversity Targets determined by the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to tackle biodiversity loss. However, much remains to be done to fully recognize and protect at national levels IPLCs’ Traditional Biodiversity Knowledge (TBK), ways of life, and their internationally recognized rights to inhabit, own, manage and govern traditional lands, territories, and waters, which are increasingly threatened. At the 2018 4th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity held in Montréal, Canada, eight themed working groups critically discussed progress to date and barriers that have prevented the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets agreed for the period 2011–2020, and priority actions for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Discussions in the “Application of Biodiversity Knowledge” working group focused on Targets 11 and 18 and the equal valuation of diverse Biodiversity Knowledge Systems (BKS). This Perspective Paper summarizes the 10 Priority Actions identified for a holistic biodiversity conservation, gender equality and human rights-based approach that strengthens the role of IPLCs as biodiversity conservation decision-makers and managers at national and international levels. Furthermore, the Perspective proposes a measurable Target 18 post-2020 and discusses actions to advance the recognition of community-based alternative conservation schemes and TBK to ensure the long-lasting conservation, customary biocultural use, and sustainable multi-functional management of nature around the globe.

scholarly journals Toward a More Expansive Discourse in a Changing World: An Analysis of Political Leaders’ Speeches on Biodiversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2899
Author(s):  
Sang Hun Lee ◽  
Yi Hyun Kang ◽  
Rong Dai
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Subject ◽  
High Level

Speeches delivered in the Conference of the Parties (COPs) to the Convention on Biological Diversity represent leading discourses about biodiversity conservation. The discourse shared by high-level politicians is especially influential in the financing and decision-making process of global biodiversity governance. However, the speeches given in the COPs have not been the subject of systematic analyses until now. This study analyzes the host countries’ speeches given at the six most recent COPs and investigates which discourses have been expressed in the speeches. The regulatory discourse that views nature as a resource was found to be the dominant discourse, while other discourses that view nature as a scientific object or a spiritual entity were represented only marginally. As the need for a transformational policy for biodiversity conservation is growing amid a global pandemic, it is essential to deepen our understanding of the dynamics and complexity of nature and reflect it in the policy process. This study suggests that more balanced discourse on biodiversity may earn broader audiences’ consensus on biodiversity conservation.

The Convention on Biological Diversity: From Realism to Cosmopolitanism

2005 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 335-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Maris
Keyword(s):  
Deleterious Effect ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
International Agreement ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Global Environmental

The decline of biodiversity is without a doubt one of the most important symptoms of what could be called a “global environmental crisis.” Our ability to stop this decline depends on the capacity to implement an effective, collective system of preservation on a global scale. In this paper, I will analyze the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the international agreement that aims at creating this type of global cooperation.While I consider that cosmopolitan governance is desirable, given the legitimacy of the preservation of global biological diversity, I will not attempt to directly argue for it here. Still, it is worth mentioning some of the reasons that might lead us to adopt this position. First, certain past conservation measures have been harshly criticized as imperialistic. For example, Project Tiger in India, which Western environmentalists often cited as a success, have had a deleterious effect on local populations.

Well-Being in Practice and Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 52-73
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
The People ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

Recent research focuses on the concept of well-being, aiming to systematize it and obtain design guidelines. In latest years, various building certification systems have arisen, which, although used for ex post evaluations, contain, specularly, design guidelines. In a first phase the concept of well-being was intended on a global scale, linked to the pitfalls of pollution and consumption of resources, so design guidelines and control systems developed within the construction industry to ensure the conservation of the environment and therefore the “well-being” and “health” of human communities. Having therefore developed certification systems measuring and evaluating the performance of buildings in relation to their impact on the environment and its resources, we are now faced with a shift of attention on a smaller scale, linked to the performance that buildings offer not so much with respect to the environment as to the people who live in them. This chapter explores the concepts behind such systems and the relationship between building certification systems and people's well-being.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting the Awareness of Biodiversity Conservation Among Students in Malaysia Private University

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.35) ◽  
pp. 791
Author(s):  
Nurul Jannah Jalil ◽  
Zainon Mat Sharif
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Private University ◽  
Perceived Behavioral Control ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
Human And Nature ◽  
The Relationship

Recently, biodiversity loss has become direr international. Human behavior is one of the causes that harm the biodiversity richness. Malaysia which is known as the megadiversity country also facing with the similar problem. Conservation of the biodiversity must be taken seriously and importantly by people to maintain the relationship between human and nature because we are affecting each other. Thus, this research was aiming to evaluate the relationship between human attitude, experience and knowledge toward the awareness of biodiversity conservation. The research was conducted using 4 variables from Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) which are behavior, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms and attitude. This study was carried out in Malaysia by conducting a survey of 30 students from a private university. The findings of this study indicate that the mentioned have given the positive effect to the awareness of biological diversity conservation. In addition, the relation of knowledge and attitude also show the great correlation between themselves. Therefore, knowledge, experience and attitude are the factors that could increase peoples' awareness towards the biodiversity conservation and knowledge is the greatest influence in creating peoples' awareness.

scholarly journals Exploring Perceived Well-Being from Urban Parks: Insights from a Megacity in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7586
Author(s):  
Andrea Parra-Saldívar ◽  
Sebastián Abades ◽  
Juan L. Celis-Diez ◽  
Stefan Gelcich
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Relationship

Urbanization has impacted biodiversity and ecosystems at a global scale. At the same time, it has been recognized as a driver of the physical and emotional gap between humans and nature. The lack of direct contact with nature can have a negative impact on several aspects of human well-being and change knowledge and attitudes of people towards the environment. However, this phenomenon is still poorly understood in megacities outside developed countries. Here, we explore the relationship between ecological knowledge and self-reported well-being in an important urban park in Santiago, Chile. We conducted semi-structured surveys of park users to explore their beliefs, preferences, ecological knowledge of plants and birds, and self-reported well-being. Citizens associated urban parks mainly with “nature,” and particularly with the presence of trees and plants. Trees were recognized as the most relevant elements of urban parks; in turn, birds were ranked as the less relevant. Regarding formal ecological knowledge, respondents correctly identified an average of 2.01 plants and 2.44 birds out of a total of 10 for each taxon, and exotic species were more likely to be recognized. Park users also reported high scores for self-reported well-being. Interestingly, variance of self-reported well-being scores tended to increase at low levels of ecological knowledge of trees, but no significant relationship was detected with knowledge of birds, nor native species. Ecological knowledge of trees was positively related to self-reported well-being. Results suggest that parks can positively contribute to bring people closer to nature in middle-income countries. Improving ecological knowledge can be critical to restore the relationship between humans and nature in megacities.

Biodiversity conservation and drug discovery in Suriname. Explorations in nature's combinatorial library

2001 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 595-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. I. Kingston
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Combinatorial Library ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pharmaceutical Products ◽  
Tropical Rain Forests ◽  
Important Goal ◽  
Collaborative Program

The preservation of tropical rain forests is an important goal both for the intrinsic value of their cultural and biological diversity and for the well-being of the forest peoples who make these forests their home. In addition, tropical forests are potential sources of new pharmaceutical products which can only be found by chemical prospecting in nature's genetically encoded combinatorial library. A collaborative program to discover potential pharmaceuticals in the rain forest of Suriname is described as part of an effort to integrate biodiversity conservation and drug discovery with economic development. Progress on this project will be reported, including results obtained on the isolation of bioactive diterpenoids, quinones, alkaloids, and polyketides, and the benefits of this general approach to biodiversity and drug discovery will be discussed.

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