Integrating strict protection and sustainable use areas to preserve the Brazilian Pampa biome through conservation planning

Biodiversity conservation planning must be ecosystem-specific and take into account human needs as food production. The Pampa biome is a temperate grassland with high species richness and with an important role in food production in South America. Here we present the first formal Systematic Conservation Planning for the Brazilian part of the Pampa, which is the least protected biome in Brazil. We aimed to build conservation scenarios where at least 17 % of the biome area were protected, following the 11^th Aichi target for terrestrial lands protection according to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Our conservation targets were the vegetation types of this biome. Three scenarios were built varying in their proportions of strict protection (SP) and sustainable use areas (SU): Permissive scenario (5 % SP, 12 % SU); Intermediate scenario (10 % SP, 7 % SU) and Restrictive scenario (15 % SP, 2 % SU). Urban and rural areas, as well as bovine and ovine density, were used as prioritization costs, aiming to minimize possible conservation conflicts. Four main clusters of priority areas to protect the vegetational diversity can be observed in all scenarios and should be considered when implementing future protected areas in this threatened biome. Sustainable use areas are suitable for low-density livestock raising, combining biodiversity protection and food production, but strictly protected areas are still important to species most affected by livestock. The combination of strict protection and sustainable use areas can be effective in similar biomes. It should be considered in future international negotiations, such as the 2020 Conference to be held in Beijing, opening new strategies to achieve the 17 % of land protection. We expect that this Systematic Conservation Planning reinforces the recently started scientific discussion regarding the conservation of non-forest ecosystems in Brazil.     

我国物种保护拯救与自然保护区建设回顾与展望

总结了我国林业物种保护拯救与自然保护区建设成就。全国野生动植物保护及自然保护区建设工程实施8年来,初步形成了国家、省、市三位一体的野生动植物保护体系,有效保护着我国90%的陆地生态系统类型、85%的野生动物种群和65%的高等植物群。提出今后工程建设的重点是认真编制好规划,积极研究保护立法,完善保护区布局,加强珍稀濒危野生动植物拯救力度,扩大拯救范围,强化野生动植物繁育利用的市场监管和执法监督。     

Are bilateral conservation policies for the Białowieża forest unattainable? Analysis of stated preferences of Polish and Belarusian public

Transboundary nature protected areas constitute a considerable proportion of all the existing spatial forms of biodiversity protection. One prominent example is the Białowieża Forest, shared by Poland and Belarus. There is a considerable literature on allocation of funds to preserving nature shared by several countries. Some of this literature assess the funding schemes and the impacts on biodiversity within the EU. A particular challenge for the Białowieża Forest is that the larger part of it is outside the EU border. There has been less research on the economic benefits that citizens attach to protected transboundary land nature on the other side of the border. We are trying to fill the gap by finding out and comparing preferences towards increased protection of domestic and foreign segments of the transboundary Białowieża Forest, stated by samples of Polish and Belarusian citizens. The results of a discrete choice experiment show an almost unilateral preference for nature conservation, passive protection of forest land, on the domestic side. Whilst Polish respondents on average are willing to pay for an increased area under protection, on their side of the border, most Belarusians seem to be satisfied with the status quo. Taken at face value, there is even an apparent mutual disutility derived from the perspective of co-financing bilateral passive protection programmes in the Białowieża Forest. By use of latent class analyses of responses, a group of the Polish sample willing to contribute to the transboundary conservation is identified and described, and compared against the non-cooperative groups on both sides of the border. The results can to some extent be explained by a strict border division with a high fence, by differences in welfare or by behavioural reasons. However, it cannot be ruled out that the affected populations simply do not perceive the Białowieża Forest as a binational public good.     

云南国家级自然保护区存在问题研究

云南是我国生物多样性丰富的地区,在生物多样性保护中扮演着重要角色;而云南国家级自然保护区在云南省自然保护区中又拥有较大比重,分布在云南生物多样性关键地区,对多种生态系统和大量动植物的保护起到了至关重要的作用。经过多年的努力,一些重要珍稀濒危动物种群数量有所增加。但这些保护区仍然存在一系列问题,主要包括三方面,一是客观因素,大多数保护区地处边远落后山区;二是来自于周边村寨巨大的人口压力;三是来自于当地政府和保护区,主要是缺乏长远规划、大力投资等问题。保护区资源受到如此多种因素的威胁,保护效果得不到充分发挥。只有采取强有力的保护措施,如加强社区共管、拓宽投资渠道、进行科学规划管理等,才能使保护区走上可持续发展的轨道。     

Need for a cross-sector approach in protected area management

The need for various stakeholders to harmonize their policies and practices has emerged as a dominant paradigm for 21st century natural resource management. Cross-sector coordination is promising because it can enhance policy consistency, enable the realization of synergies and resolve conflicts among sectors regarding resource management. The extent to which ministries and their main stakeholders make efforts to achieve integrated policies for nature conservation requires further research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the consultation reports of ministries from relevant fields (i.e., environmental protection, agriculture, spatial planning, and security) regarding the management plans for Romania’s protected areas. We analysed and visualized 152 consultation reports (2013–2016) covering 15% of Romania's protected areas using self-organizing maps (SOMs), an unsupervised machine-learning method. Our results showed that considerable attention was paid to formal issues in these reports. The cross-sector issues that emerged as the most important were those related to forest landowner consultation, and the harmonization of agricultural and forestry practices, as well as spatial plans for conservation. The resulting SOMs could be used as a tool to strengthen protected area management in the future because they can (i) guide managers of protected areas to develop plans that ensure that resources will be used in the best way according to the visions of multiple sectors and (ii) help the relevant ministries to improve future consultation reports.     

Adaptive capacity of legal and policy frameworks for biodiversity protection considering climate change

Protection of biodiversity under conditions of climate change is likely to place large requirements on existing frameworks for biodiversity protection at both EU and national level. While these systems are not perfectly adapted today, the inclusion of climate change concerns will require revision and addition of new issues, such as species migration corridors and buffers, as well as proactive strategies in areas that may not be protected today. Biodiversity in forest is particularly important as forest range over large areas that include also other land uses; this holds particularly true for the large forested areas in northern Europe. Illustrating complexities regarding biodiversity protection, this study reviews the applicable legal framework related to biodiversity in forests on EU and national level in Sweden, one of the countries with the largest forest areas in the EU. Mainly drawing on a policy and legal study, the paper concludes that adapting the legislative and policy system to a future with large uncertainties in terms of extent of change poses a problem for what are largely reactive systems in particular in terms of legislation.     

生物多样性管理与农民土地权益保护

生物多样性管理经历了从个别物种保护、物种和栖息地保护到自然保护区保护的发展阶段。建立自然保护区已成为中国生物多样性管理的重要手段,但自然保护区的建立对当地居民的生计构成了潜在威胁。应当通过增加自然保护区的财政投入,完善自然保护区集体土地征用制度,实行自然保护区社区共管等措施,实现自然保护区管理与农民土地权益保护之间的和谐发展。     

Knowing but not knowing: Systematic conservation planning and community conservation in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca,Mexico

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) seeks to propose new reserves through a scientifically rigorous process using databases and research selection algorithims. However, SCP exercises have been criticized for “knowing but not doing”, i.e. not implementing the proposed reserve. But there is an additional problem that can be called “knowing but not knowing”, knowing things from databases, but not knowing crucial contextual information about community-based social processes that have supported the high forest cover and biodiversity detected. Examined here is how a common property region of the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico has maintained high forest cover in the absence of public protected areas, while multiple SCP exercises have advocated for the creation of public protected areas in communal tropical montane cloud forests and pine forests as strategies for biodiversity conservation and resilience to climate change. Methods included archival research, review of community documents, focus group interviews, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, land use transects, and GIS analysis and remote sensing. Conservation in the region originally occurred because of low population densities, steep slopes and a lack of agricultural subsidies, supported by locally adapted agricultural practices. In the 1990s, a transition from passive to active conservation took place with land use zoning plans, community conservation rules, community forestry enterprises and payments for environmental service programs that consolidated a trend towards high, unthreatened forest cover. Today, the study communities have an average of 88.3% forest cover, with 61% of that in informal conservation based on community land use zoning and rules and another 14% governed by forest management plans approved by the Mexican government. We argue that truly systematic conservation plans would seek to understand how communities in the region are already managing forests for conservation. It is pointless and uninformed to advocate for top-down conservation interventions of forests that are already robustly conserved and resilient to climate change due to community action.     

A quantitative assessment of policy options for no net loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the European Union

The Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union includes a target to “ensure no-net-loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2020”. Many policy options can be envisioned to achieve such a no-net-loss target, mainly acting on land use and land management. To assess the effectiveness of such policies at a European Union (EU) scale, we simulated land use changes and their impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services indicators. We analysed a Business–as-Usual scenario, and three no-net-loss scenarios. The no-net-loss scenarios included measures that aim to reduce negative impacts of land use change on biodiversity and ecosystem services, by better implementation of existing biodiversity conservation measures (Scenario 1); and enhancement of existing measures (Scenario 2); and offsetting residual impacts on areas of high biodiversity and ecosystem service value (Scenario 3).Results show that none of the scenarios achieved overall no-net-loss. Compared to a Business-as-Usual scenario, the no-net-loss scenarios reduced the overall degree of land cover change at EU level, hence reducing impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services in large parts of the EU. The more comprehensive no-net-loss scenarios resulted in a gain of natural land cover. Moreover, natural areas became better connected, especially in peri-urban areas as a result of impact avoidance and offsetting. Richness of farmland bird species was projected to increase. Measures included in the no-net-loss scenarios had net positive effects on pollination and carbon sequestration, neutral effects on crop production, erosion prevention and flood regulation, and negative effects on nature-based recreation, compared to Business-as-Usual. In particular circumstances policy measures invoked displacement effects in land use allocation, reducing the effectiveness of the measures. This was primarily the case for flood regulation services throughout the EU.This study differentiates the potential effectiveness of a no-net-loss policy framework in three manners: (i) considering biodiversity and ecosystem services simultaneously; (ii) in the light of existing policies and land use pressures; and (iii) in different land use contexts across the EU. Taken together, we conclude that achieving no-net-loss for biodiversity and ecosystem services throughout the EU remains challenging given high land use demands. Nevertheless, in large parts of Europe there appears room for improvement for certain kinds of biodiversity and ecosystem services compared to Business-as-Usual, while still meeting other land use demands.     

The attitude of grassland farmers towards nature conservation and agri-environment measures—A survey-based analysis

Grasslands have a multi-layer protection function for nature, biodiversity and climate. These functions can be fostered by an adapted management on grassland farms. Promoting nature protection alongside agricultural production is an aim of European agricultural policy. However, a number of studies indicate that existing Agri-environment measures (AEM) are not as effective as assumed, mainly because they are not sufficiently used by farmers. We investigated the view of grassland farmers on nature conservation and on existing AEM in four distinct regions on a west to east gradient in the North German Plain. We conducted a survey on 82 grassland farms inquiring basic farm data and asking questions on general agricultural issues and nature protection. The results indicate that the majority of all respondents is generally interested in nature conservation and believes it to be of concern for every farmer. In contrast, only a minority of grassland farmers is using the existing AEM to the full extend on their own farm. By applying the concept of farming styles, we classified farmers into four groups, namely Traditionalist, Idealist, Modernist, and Yield Optimizer. These farming styles groups differ in farm and management parameters, general attitudes towards agricultural issues, farming objectives and economic success. We found that in our survey the farming styles groups differ in their attitude towards nature conservation. However, they do not differ in the adoption of AEM and have different reasons for not taking part. We state that for a better implementation of AEM into agricultural practice a better communication, which is adapted to the different ways that farmers manage their farm and think and feel, is needed. Consequently, AEM need to be revised as well.     

古林箐自然保护区资源保护现状及居民保护意识调查

通过对古林箐自然保护区内居民保护意识的问卷调查,结果表明,居民对保护区的重点保护对象及保护区与自己生存关系密切的问卷内容认知率较高;对环境保护、保护区功能、生物多样性和生态旅游有关知识及法律法规问卷认知率较低;当地吃野生动物比其产品利用现象普遍;分析了影响该自然保护区和社区协调发展的因索,根据调查和分析结果,提出6条保护和管理建议。     

Participation in the implementation of Natura 2000: A comparative study of six EU member states

The establishment of Natura 2000, the European Union’s network of protected areas, has been a challenging process and has caused a variety of conflicts. These conflicts are related to contradictory stakeholder interests and perceptions, as well as to procedural issues and feelings of exclusion, especially by concerned local land user groups. To prevent further conflict, local participation has been stressed as an important tool to increase the inclusiveness of Natura 2000 and its acceptance among land users. In this paper, we present an analysis of participation practices related to the Natura 2000 implementation processes in six EU member states. Based on material collected from semi-structured interviews and document analysis, we describe the organisational settings of the participatory processes, focusing, among other things, on the type of participants involved, the level and intensity of their involvement, and the goal of participation. In addition, we also describe the local context in which the participation processes have been embedded. Finally, we assess the outcomes of the participatory processes in terms of their impact on forest and nature conservation management practices. Our results show that local participation practices were shaped not just by the Natura 2000 policy, but also by the history of the area, including, for example, earlier conflicts among the local actors. We also show that although the participation process leads to a greater acceptance of the Natura 2000 policy, this does not relate to significant changes in management practices among local actors. These findings, however, do not suggest that participation is irrelevant. Rather, we conclude that participation involves context-dependent, localised learning processes that can only be understood by taking the historical socio-economic and institutional context in which they are situated into account.     

Reducing agrochemical use for nature conservation by Italian olive farmers: an evaluation of public and private governance strategies

A variety of public policies and private strategies have been implemented to stimulate farmers to implement nature conservation measures. Examples include publicly funded agri-environment schemes (AES) but also eco-labels and Alternative Food Networks; strategies that have been implemented in response to the continuous decline in species abundance and diversity due to agricultural intensification and scale enlargement. Whereas AES as a distinct governance strategy has been evaluated in detail, less is known about other strategies. In this paper, we assess the relative importance of the variety of public and private strategies aimed at enhancing species abundance and diversity in Italian olive farming through a reduction in agrochemical use. In a survey of olive farmers in the region of Tuscany, we found that although farmers are exposed to a variety of public and private strategies, personal motives to reduce agrochemical use are most important. Moreover, having a Corporate Social Responsibility plan or engaging in direct sales to consumers are the only strategies that are related to a reduction in agrochemical use. These findings suggest self-governance is a powerful strategy for enhancing species diversity and abundance in agricultural landscapes. Yet it also means contributing to nature conservation and restoration is a voluntary act. Olive farmers who do not voluntarily contribute to nature conservation by reducing agrochemicals need to be incentivized by show-casing farmers who did reduce their agrochemical use, by critical consumers or by stricter rules in AES or in generic agri-environmental legislation.     

Perceived importance of ecosystem services in the Białowieża Forest for local communities – Does proximity matter?

Effective protection of biodiversity in areas of high conservation value requires trade-offs between local use of natural resources and conservation restrictions. The compromise is often difficult to reach, which causes conflicts over the management priorities of existing and potential protected areas. Ecosystem services (ES) perspective offers a promising avenue for diagnosing and reconciling contrasting interests concerning the use of benefits from ecosystems. We examined how the spatial proximity to the Białowieża Forest (BF), a European biodiversity hotspot, affects the perceived use of ES by local communities. We performed a survey among 719 respondents from 35 villages situated within BF and in its vicinity. We found that both the declared use of ES and the perceived influence of ES on household’s economy was declining with the distance from BF with particularly high differences between areas not further than 3 km from BF and areas located 3-15 km from BF. Different zones varied in terms of benefits from tourism and costs connected with a potential limited access to ES due to conservation. Broadening the perspective, we argue that the trade-offs linked to ES may vary depending on the location in relation to the protected area and that local communities should not be treated as a homogenous group when considering benefits from the forest. Awareness of common patterns of ES use over space and local specificity may enhance effective management of even highly contested conservation areas.     

Anticipating a new conservation bureaucracy? Land and power in Indonesia’s Essential Ecosystem Area policy

As an emerging policy in Indonesia, “Essential Ecosystem Areas” (EEA) is being established as an instrument to expand protections for conservation areas at sites beyond the classical domain of the conservation bureaucracy. The policy impetus is from recent global research identifying high conservation values located outside of formally designated conservation areas. EEA policy provides a foundation for justifying conservation practices at sites based on high biodiversity indicators, but which might not have previously held formal protections. This policy instrument is particularly unique in Indonesia because it is envisioned to support initiatives that emerge voluntarily, even in areas that might not have been historically thought of as conservation areas. This is unusual because it applies to all land categories, including private and public lands. In this article, we introduce the EEA policy and identify the potential applications it might have, considering the possibilities for future conservation area management in Indonesia. In particular, we identify some key principles for researchers and practitioners to follow when assessing EEA implementation. Our organizing framework consists of several elements based on existing land and power characteristics, which we connect to the institutions that might emerge amidst these new policy arrangements. We apply the land and power framework to two emerging EEA sites in Sulawesi to anticipate the extent to which the policy suggests a future trajectory for conservation management, or whether conservation policy will remain tied to existing rigid bureaucratic structures. Findings from the two cases point to the continued primacy of the centralized conservation bureaucracy, indicating that EEA sites are being negotiated through the classical approach for administering conservation areas.     

Promoting nature conservation by Dutch farmers: a governance perspective†

Reconciling productive agricultural practices with nature conservation is not only an ecological challenge, but also a demanding matter of governance. This paper analyses the potential as well as the limitations of various governance arrangements, and explores ways to enhance the governance of nature conservation in agricultural landscapes. We assume four conditions to contribute to the performance of these arrangements: farmers should be motivated, demanded, enabled, and legitimized to participate in arrangements that promote nature conservation by farmers. We analyse 10 distinct Dutch governance arrangements in the period 2000–2016, including agri-environment schemes but also privately initiated arrangements. The arrangements target a large but unknown share of farmers and farmlands, but nature conservation ambition levels are generally low to moderate. The expected low-to-moderate performance is associated with a low-to-moderate motivation, demand, and ability. Underlying are stronger forces driving towards intensification and problems farmers face in recuperating the cost of nature conservation. New greening requirements in the EU Common Agricultural Policy and in agri-food supply chains are first, cautious steps addressing these fundamental drivers of ecological degradation. More ambitious greening requirements may contribute to a higher motivation and ability of larger groups of farmers to implement nature conservation measures.     

Agri-environment scheme protects diversity of mountain grassland species

Most evaluations of agri-environment policies conducted in Europe have focused on biodiversity improvement effects. Their effectiveness with respect to protecting existing biodiversity has been less investigated. Biodiversity and landscape protection effects can be expected in marginal agricultural areas, where farming has been less intensive.We investigated (i) the effectiveness of the Ecological Compensation Area (ECA) scheme for biodiversity protection according to different evaluation criteria and (ii) how the effectiveness of the scheme was influenced by climate, socio-economic conditions and farming structures. Vegetation surveys were carried out in 18 municipalities across the Swiss Alps on 162 randomly selected meadows managed as ECAs and on 162 conventionally managed meadows. Average species richness of ECA-meadows per municipality ranged between 27 and 46 vascular plant species per 25m² (conventionally managed meadows: 16-35 species per 25 m²). In lower altitude municipalities (mainly fulltime farming) where ECA meadows constituted 20% of farmland, the difference in species richness between the two land-use types was highly significant and the contribution of ECA-meadows to the grassland species pool was highest. In higher altitude municipalities (mainly part-time farming) where ECA meadows constituted at least 40% of farmland, higher species richness was found. This was associated with a strong botanical similarity of ECA and conventionally managed meadows.We conclude that at lower altitudes, where farming is relatively intensive, the ECA scheme protects a few, economically marginal, species rich and botanically complementary sites, important for maintaining the species pool. At higher altitudes the ECA scheme contributes to protecting existing biodiversity at the landscape scale. As it is more efficient to protect than to restore biodiversity, the protection effect of agri-environmental schemes needs to be adequately recognized.     

Environmental policy integration: Towards a communicative approach in integrating nature conservation and urban planning in Bulgaria

As urban areas continue to expand, the need to consider nature conservation objectives in planning is growing. Policy makers across Europe recognize that effective nature conservation requires an integrated approach to land use planning that includes relevant ecological and spatial knowledge. Although a number of such integrated approaches have been developed, many local authorities in Europe encounter important institutional barriers to this integration. This is particularly true for countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) like Bulgaria. The post-socialist transformation in Bulgaria led to intensified urban growth and local authorities struggle to find a balance between environmental and socio-economic interests. Meanwhile, the Environmental Policy Integration ‘principle’ (EPI) has been gaining prominence in Europe, aiming to address the trade-offs between environmental and economic incentives. Research highlights that successful EPI depends on institutional processes within different economic sectors and across governmental scales. These processes have not yet been comprehensively studied in the CEE and in Bulgaria. This article assesses the EPI process in urban planning in Bulgaria and identifies the institutional approaches that may contribute best to EPI in urban planning. Using the example of the “Corner Land” project in the city of Burgas, we discuss the key challenges that the local authorities face in addressing nature conservation in land use plans. The findings indicate that EPI is to a high degree constrained by the lack of an efficient communicative process across fragmented organizational structures throughout the entire planning process. While a procedural approach to EPI appears to be prevalent it is concluded that a communicative approach is urgently needed if the sustainability of urban plans is to be safeguarded and negative impacts on nature prevented.     

都江堰市生物多样性保护现状、问题及对策

分析了都江堰市生物多样性的特点、保护现状及存在问题;认为种类丰富、特有种多、显示度高是其物种多样性特点;物种的吉毒性和珍稀濒危性是其遗传多样性特点;类型多样、结构复杂则体现了生态系统多样性特点;目前,全市已成功开展了生物多样性的就地与迁地保护。但在保护区管理与人类活动的影响方面仍存在不少问题;提出了加强宣传教育、加大监测力度,促进科学研究、加强地方立法与执法和加强国际合作与交流等生物多样性保护的对策措施。     

Playing musical chairs with land use obligations: Market-based instruments and environmental public policies in Brazil

In Brazil, market-based instruments focusing on land use dimensions are increasingly promoted as a means to make public environmental policies effective. Landowners and farmers call for more flexible regulations and economic incentives to adopt ecologically sound practices, while public agencies and conservation NGOs seek new ways of financing and legitimising legal standards. Market-based instruments are considered by these actors as having the potential to both achieve their own goals and conciliate all interests. As a result, legal frameworks (including cap-and-trade systems, biodiversity offsetting and payments for ecosystem services) are being designed which allow to exchange land use rights and obligations. Under a sociolegal approach, this article provides an overview of such instruments. It shows to what extent they may entail a reconfiguration of the burden sharing and the priority setting of nature conservation. Depending on how actors use legal standards, their responsibilities may be eased and the level of conservation may be lowered, both facts that raise significant controversy.