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Arneth A, Leadley P, Claudet J, Coll M, Rondinini C, Rounsevell MDA, Shin YJ, Alexander P, Fuchs R. Making protected areas effective for biodiversity, climate and food. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:3883-3894. [PMID: 36872638 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The spatial extent of marine and terrestrial protected areas (PAs) was among the most intensely debated issues prior to the decision about the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Positive impacts of PAs on habitats, species diversity and abundance are well documented. Yet, biodiversity loss continues unabated despite efforts to protect 17% of land and 10% of the oceans by 2020. This casts doubt on whether extending PAs to 30%, the agreed target in the Kunming-Montreal GBF, will indeed achieve meaningful biodiversity benefits. Critically, the focus on area coverage obscures the importance of PA effectiveness and overlooks concerns about the impact of PAs on other sustainability objectives. We propose a simple means of assessing and visualising the complex relationships between PA area coverage and effectiveness and their effects on biodiversity conservation, nature-based climate mitigation and food production. Our analysis illustrates how achieving a 30% PA global target could be beneficial for biodiversity and climate. It also highlights important caveats: (i) achieving lofty area coverage objectives alone will be of little benefit without concomitant improvements in effectiveness, (ii) trade-offs with food production particularly for high levels of coverage and effectiveness are likely and (iii) important differences in terrestrial and marine systems need to be recognized when setting and implementing PA targets. The CBD's call for a significant increase in PA will need to be accompanied by clear PA effectiveness goals to reduce and revert dangerous anthropogenic impacts on socio-ecological systems and biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Almut Arneth
- KIT, Department of Atmospheric Environmental Research, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- KIT, Department of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Paul Leadley
- ESE Laboratory, Université Paris-Saclay/CNRS/AgroParisTech, Orsay, France
| | - Joachim Claudet
- National Center for Scientific Research, PSL Université Paris, CRIOBE, CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Marta Coll
- Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlo Rondinini
- Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, New York City, New York, USA
| | - Mark D A Rounsevell
- KIT, Department of Atmospheric Environmental Research, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- KIT, Department of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe, Germany
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Yunne-Jai Shin
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Univ Montpellier, IFREMER, CNRS, MARBEC, Montpellier, France
| | - Peter Alexander
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Richard Fuchs
- KIT, Department of Atmospheric Environmental Research, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
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Carroll C, Noss RF. How percentage-protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13869. [PMID: 34856009 PMCID: PMC9540251 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Global targets for the percentage area of land protected, such as 30% by 2030, have gained increasing prominence, but both their scientific basis and likely effectiveness have been questioned. As with emissions-reduction targets based on desired climate outcomes, percentage-protected targets combine values and science by estimating the area over which conservation actions are required to help achieve desired biodiversity outcomes. Protected areas are essential for achieving many biodiversity targets, in part because many species are highly sensitive to human-associated disturbance. However, because the contribution of protected areas to biodiversity outcomes is contingent on their location, management, governance, threats, and what occurs across the broader landscape matrix, global percentage-protected targets are unavoidably empirical generalizations of ecological patterns and processes across diverse geographies. Percentage-protected targets are insufficient in isolation but can complement other actions and contribute to biodiversity outcomes within a framework that balances accuracy and pragmatism in a global context characterized by imperfect biodiversity data. Ideally, percentage-protected targets serve as anchors that strengthen comprehensive national biodiversity strategies by communicating the level of ambition necessary to reverse current trends of biodiversity loss. If such targets are to fulfill this role within the complex societal process by which both values and science impel conservation actions, conservation scientists must clearly communicate the nature of the evidence base supporting percentage-protected targets and how protected areas can function within a broader landscape managed for sustainable coexistence between people and nature. A new paradigm for protected and conserved areas recognizes that national coordination, incentives, and monitoring should support rather than undermine diverse locally led conservation initiatives. However, the definition of a conserved area must retain a strong focus on biodiversity to remain consistent with the evidence base from which percentage-protected targets were originally derived.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Carroll
- Klamath Center for Conservation ResearchOrleansCaliforniaUSA
| | - Reed F. Noss
- Florida Institute for Conservation ScienceMelroseFloridaUSA
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