scholarly journals Changes in Human Population Density and Protected Areas in Terrestrial Global Biodiversity Hotspots, 1995–2015

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin Cunningham ◽  
Karen Beazley

Biodiversity hotspots are rich in endemic species and threatened by anthropogenic influences and, thus, considered priorities for conservation. In this study, conservation achievements in 36 global biodiversity hotspots (25 identified in 1988, 10 added in 2011, and one in 2016) were evaluated in relation to changes in human population density and protected area coverage between 1995 and 2015. Population densities were compared against 1995 global averages, and percentages of protected area coverage were compared against area-based targets outlined in Aichi target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (17% by 2020) and calls for half Earth (50%). The two factors (average population density and percent protected area coverage) for each hotspot were then plotted to evaluate relative levels of threat to biodiversity conservation. Average population densities in biodiversity hotspots increased by 36% over the 20-year period, and were double the global average. The protected area target of 17% is achieved in 19 of the 36 hotspots; the 17 hotspots where this target has not been met are economically disadvantaged areas as defined by Gross Domestic Product. In 2015, there are seven fewer hotspots (22 in 1995; 15 in 2015) in the highest threat category (i.e., population density exceeding global average, and protected area coverage less than 17%). In the lowest threat category (i.e., population density below the global average, and a protected area coverage of 17% or more), there are two additional hotspots in 2015 as compared to 1995, attributable to gains in protected area. Only two hotspots achieve a target of 50% protection. Although conservation progress has been made in most global biodiversity hotspots, additional efforts are needed to slow and/or reduce population density and achieve protected area targets. Such conservation efforts are likely to require more coordinated and collaborative initiatives, attention to biodiversity objectives beyond protected areas, and support from the global community.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Mouillot ◽  
Laure Velez ◽  
Eva Maire ◽  
Alizée Masson ◽  
Christina C. Hicks ◽  
...  

Abstract Many islands are biodiversity hotspots but also extinction epicenters. In addition to strong cultural connections to nature, islanders derive a significant part of their economy and broader wellbeing from this biodiversity. Islands are thus considered as the socio-ecosystems most vulnerable to species and habitat loss. Yet, the extent and key correlates of protected area coverage on islands is still unknown. Here we assess the relative influence of climate, geography, habitat diversity, culture, resource capacity, and human footprint on terrestrial and marine protected area coverage across 2323 inhabited islands globally. We show that, on average, 22% of terrestrial and 13% of marine island areas are under protection status, but that half of all islands have no protected areas. Climate, diversity of languages, human population density and development are strongly associated with differences observed in protected area coverage among islands. Our study suggests that economic development and population growth may critically limit the amount of protection on islands.


2013 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 137-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dian Spear ◽  
Llewellyn C. Foxcroft ◽  
Hugo Bezuidenhout ◽  
Melodie A. McGeoch

Author(s):  
Michael A. Glassow ◽  
John R. Johnson

If the California Islands were marginal environments for the indigenous people who occupied them, human population densities on the islands should be significantly lower than the adjacent mainland coast. Reconstructing population densities at particular times in the past is fraught with methodological difficulties, but data from site sizes and densities, radiocarbon date distributions, and mission records give no indication that island population densities were significantly lower than along the coastal mainland. Population density measures provide little evidence of environmental marginality on the Northern Channel Islands. Human population densities on islands further south may have been lower than the northern islands, but do not appear to have been significantly different than the adjacent mainland coast.


Author(s):  
Babu Ram Lamichhane ◽  
Saneer Lamichhane ◽  
Rajan Regmi ◽  
Milan Dhungana ◽  
Sham Thapa ◽  
...  

Conservation of large carnivores like leopards requires large and interconnected habitats. Despite the wide geographic range of the leopard globally, only 17% of their habitat is within protected areas. In Nepal, leopards are distributed widely across the country but their status is not adequately studied which compromised the necessary conservation attention for the species. This study carried out sign-based occupancy survey across the Chure (the Himalayan foothills) range (~19,000 km2) to understand the habitat occupancy of leopards along with the covariates affecting their presence. The model-averaged leopard occupancy in the Chure range was 0.5732 (0.0082 SD) with a detection probability of 0.2554 (0.1142 SE). The top model included wild boar, ruggedness, presence of livestock and human population density as covariates. The β coefficient estimate from the model indicated the wild boar was the primary covariate contributing positively to the leopard occupancy followed by the presence of livestock, ruggedness and human population density. The detection probability of leopard was higher outside the protected areas, less in the densely vegetated areas, and higher in the area where there is a presence of livestock. Enhanced law enforcement and mass awareness activities are necessary to reduce poaching/killing of wild ungulates and leopard in the Chure range and to increase leopard occupancy. In addition, maintaining a sufficient natural prey base can contribute to minimize the livestock depredation and hence, decrease the human-leopard conflict in the Chure range.


Alpine Botany ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Körner ◽  
Davnah Urbach ◽  
Jens Paulsen

AbstractMountains are rugged structures in the landscape that are difficult to delineate. Given that they host an overproportional fraction of biodiversity of high ecological and conservational value, conventions on what is mountainous and what not are in need. This short communication aims at explaining the differences among various popular mountain definitions. Defining mountainous terrain is key for global assessments of plant species richness in mountains and their likely responses to climatic change, as well as for assessing the human population density in and around mountainous terrain.


2013 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Maurin ◽  
T.J. Davies ◽  
K. Yessoufou ◽  
B.H. Daru ◽  
B.S. Bezeng ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Fernanda Moser ◽  
Fernanda Rodrigues de Avila ◽  
Roberto Baptista de Oliveira ◽  
Juliano Morales de Oliveira ◽  
Márcio Borges-Martins ◽  
...  

Abstract This work aimed to catalog the species of reptiles of the Sinos River Basin based on records from scientific collections and data collected in the field. We recorded 65 species, including 46 snakes, nine lizards, five turtles, four amphisbaenians and one caiman. Snakes composed most of the recorded specimens (91.3%), and the three most representative are venomous and of medical importance. The most urban region of the basin (Lowland) has the highest number of records. This fact may be a reflection of the high human population density in this region, which would have favored the encounter of specimens and their sending to scientific collections and research centers. It is worth highlighting that most species with few specimens in the collections are also rarely observed in the wild, such as Clelia hussani and Urostrophus vautieri. This observation makes it feasible that these populations are small or that they are declining.


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