scholarly journals Global marine biodiversity in the context of achieving the Aichi Targets: ways forward and addressing data gaps

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanieh Saeedi ◽  
James Davis Reimer ◽  
Miriam I. Brandt ◽  
Philippe-Olivier Dumais ◽  
Anna Maria Jażdżewska ◽  
...  

In 2010, the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed on the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As this plan approaches its end, we discussed whether marine biodiversity and prediction studies were nearing the Aichi Targets during the 4th World Conference on Marine Biodiversity held in Montreal, Canada in June 2018. This article summarises the outcome of a five-day group discussion on how global marine biodiversity studies should be focused further to better understand the patterns of biodiversity. We discussed and reviewed seven fundamental biodiversity priorities related to nine Aichi Targets focusing on global biodiversity discovery and predictions to improve and enhance biodiversity data standards (quantity and quality), tools and techniques, spatial and temporal scale framing, and stewardship and dissemination. We discuss how identifying biodiversity knowledge gaps and promoting efforts have and will reduce such gaps, including via the use of new databases, tools and technology, and how these resources could be improved in the future. The group recognised significant progress toward Target 19 in relation to scientific knowledge, but negligible progress with regard to Targets 6 to 13 which aimed to safeguard and reduce human impacts on biodiversity.

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARCO GIRARDELLO ◽  
STEFANO MARTELLOS ◽  
ADARA PARDO ◽  
SANDRO BERTOLINO

SUMMARYSpecies distribution data are critical information sources when it comes to implementing the multiple Aichi Targets set by the international Convention on Biological Diversity. Although there have been international-scale efforts to aggregate distribution data, the magnitudes and locations of the gaps in biodiversity knowledge remain unclear. In this study, we use a large database, including over 200 000 species occurrence records, to identify knowledge gaps in biodiversity inventories for nine animal taxa in a Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot. Spatial modelling methods were employed to relate the completeness of inventories to population, road and protected area density. The completeness of faunistic inventories was correlated with the amount of protected areas, roads and population density. Despite more than 200 years of faunistic sampling, knowledge of the distributions of most animal taxa is still limited, especially for invertebrates. As the window of opportunity for achieving Aichi Targets 11 and 19 begins to close, means of filling such knowledge gaps are required. We argue that a combination of quantitative tools and citizen science data collection programmes may help inform conservation decisions.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e9616
Author(s):  
Paola Fajardo ◽  
David Beauchesne ◽  
Alberto Carbajal-López ◽  
Rémi M. Daigle ◽  
L. Denisse Fierro-Arcos ◽  
...  

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.


Conservation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
André Derek Mader ◽  
Brian Alan Johnson ◽  
Yuki Ohashi ◽  
Isabella Fenstermaker

Biodiversity knowledge is communicated by scientists to policymakers at the biodiversity “science-policy interface” (SPI). Although the biodiversity SPI is the subject of a growing body of literature, gaps in our understanding include the efficacy of mechanisms to bridge the interface, the quality of information exchanged between science and policy, and the inclusivity of stakeholders involved. To improve this understanding, we surveyed an important but under-studied group—biodiversity policymakers and scientific advisors representing their respective countries in negotiations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). We found that a wide variety of SPI mechanisms were being used. Overall, they were considered to be sufficiently effective, improving over time, and supplied with information of adequate quality. Most respondents, however, agreed that key actors were still missing from the biodiversity SPI.


Author(s):  
Ni Ketut Supasti Dharmawan ◽  
Made Sarjana

Protection and conservation of marine biodiversity and their utilization based on sustainable environment, balance, and fairness play an important role in the context of sustainable tourism. The importance of protecting the availability of a healthy environment, which not only focuses on the present, but also a sustainable environment for future generations, is regulated under several provisions such as: Law of the Republic of  Indonesia Number 27 Year 2007 on the Management of Coastal Areas and Small  Islands, Law No. 32 of 2009 on the Environmental Protection and Management, Law No. 10 Year 2009 on Tourism, Law No. 5 Year 1990 on the Conservation of Biological Diversity and Ecosystems,  the UN WTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. In order to protect and conserve marine biodiversity, it is considered relevant to use deep ecology approach in realizing the presence of marine biota and sustainable biodiversity for the entire ecosystem of life, including human life ecosystems in the development of tourism activities. States and all stakeholders have responsibility for the protection and conservation of biodiversity, including sustainable development of marine biota and its diversity for tourism activities.Keywords: Biodiversity, Protection, Conservation, Responsibility, Sustainable Tourism


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 249-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Buck

AbstractThe Ninth Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP9) in May 2008 in Bonn was one of the major international environmental meetings in 2008. Its decisions significantly advance global biodiversity politics on a range of critical issues and thereby help achieving the global target of substantially reducing current rates of biodiversity loss by 2010. This article describes the main decision adopted by COP9 on biofuels, marine biodiversity, biodiversity and climate change, access and benefit-sharing and the science-policy interface of international biodiversity politics.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-341
Author(s):  
Serge Beslier

AbstractThis paper examines how marine biodiversity and genetic resources in the high seas can be protected and whether their exploitation should be regulated. As to their protection, it raises the question whether existing sectoral approaches should continue or to create a new mechanism based on an integrated approach. In accordance with the European Union's position, the latter is favoured, while acknowledging that several States still have reservations and question the need for new legal instruments. Concerning the necessity of a regulatory scheme governing their exploitation, existing mechanisms under the Law of the Sea Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity are examined and it is concluded that they are not applicable or do not provide for specific rules on this issue. It is further presumed that the resulting absence of a clear framework is acceptable because the potential of commercial exploitation is still uncertain, so that there will only be scientific research without vital negative impact on the marine environment in the near future. It is suggested that the international community should rather focus on defining the legal status of genetic resources and clarifying whether they belong to the common heritage of mankind and require a benefit-sharing system, as proposed by developing countries.


Author(s):  
Leslie Roberson ◽  
Casey O'Hara ◽  
James Watson ◽  
Benjamin Halpern ◽  
Carissa Klein ◽  
...  

Marine species are declining at an unprecedented rate, catalyzing many nations to adopt conservation and management targets within their jurisdictions. However, marine species are naive to international borders and an understanding of cross-border species distributions is important for informing high-level conservation strategies, such as bilateral or regional agreements. Here, we examined 28,252 distribution maps to determine the number and locations of marine transboundary species. Over 90% of species have ranges spanning at least two jurisdictions, with 58% covering over ten jurisdictions. The highest concentrations of transboundary species are in the USA, Australia, and Indonesia. To effectively protect marine biodiversity, international governance mechanisms—particularly those related to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Migratory Species, and Regional Seas Organizations—must be expanded to promote multinational conservation planning, and complimented by a holistic governance framework for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 64-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noella J. Gray ◽  
Rebecca L. Gruby ◽  
Lisa M. Campbell

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) continues to promote marine protected areas (MPAs) as a preferred tool for marine biodiversity conservation, in spite of concerns over their effectiveness and equity. However, explanations for this consensus on the utility of MPAs focus primarily on their measurability and ignore the ways in which they are conceptualized through ongoing governance processes. Drawing on the results of collaborative event ethnography at the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the CBD, this paper adopts the concepts of boundary objects and scalar narratives to analyze the ways in which consensus on MPAs is produced, in spite of conflicting understandings of MPA forms and functions. Both a local narrative of participatory MPAs and a global narrative of science driven high seas conservation articulate a regional scale as ideal for MPA governance, although with different priorities. Ultimately, consensus at the CBD is enabled only by accommodating competing visions of MPAs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Hansen ◽  
Bengamin P. Noble ◽  
Jaris Veneros ◽  
Alyson East ◽  
Scott J. Goetz ◽  
...  

Signatory countries to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are formulating indicators through 2030 under the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). These goals include increasing the integrity of natural ecosystems. However, the definition of integrity and methods for measuring it remain unspecified. Moreover, nations did not achieve their 2011-2020 CBD targets, partly due to inability to monitor and report progress on these targets. Here, we define ecological integrity (EI) and suggest a framework to measure and evaluate trends in terrestrial EI. Our approach builds on three topics: the concept of ecological integrity, satellite-based Earth observation, and Essential Biodiversity Variables. Within this framework, EI is a measure of the structure, function and composition of an ecosystem relative to the pre-industrial range of variation of these characteristics. We recommend 13 indicators of EI to facilitate the efforts of nations to monitor, evaluate, and report during implementation of the post-2020 GBF. These indicators can help assess the condition of ecosystems relative to benchmark states, and track the degradation or improvement of ecosystem condition due to human impacts or restoration strategies. If operationalized, this framework can help Parties to the CBD systematically evaluate and report progress on achieving ecosystem commitments in the post-2020 GBF


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document