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Junker J, Quoss L, Valdez J, Arandjelovic M, Barrie A, Campbell G, Heinicke S, Humle T, Kouakou CY, Kühl HS, Ordaz-Németh I, Pereira HM, Rainer H, Refisch J, Sonter L, Sop T. Threat of mining to African great apes. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadl0335. [PMID: 38569032 PMCID: PMC10990274 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
The rapid growth of clean energy technologies is driving a rising demand for critical minerals. In 2022 at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), seven major economies formed an alliance to enhance the sustainability of mining these essential decarbonization minerals. However, there is a scarcity of studies assessing the threat of mining to global biodiversity. By integrating a global mining dataset with great ape density distribution, we estimated the number of African great apes that spatially coincided with industrial mining projects. We show that up to one-third of Africa's great ape population faces mining-related risks. In West Africa in particular, numerous mining areas overlap with fragmented ape habitats, often in high-density ape regions. For 97% of mining areas, no ape survey data are available, underscoring the importance of increased accessibility to environmental data within the mining sector to facilitate research into the complex interactions between mining, climate, biodiversity, and sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Junker
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Re:wild, 500 N Capital of Texas Hwy Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746, USA
| | - Luise Quoss
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jose Valdez
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mimi Arandjelovic
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Primate Behavior and Evolution, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Abdulai Barrie
- Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, 55 Wilkinson Road, Freetown, Sierra Leone
| | - Geneviève Campbell
- Re:wild, 500 N Capital of Texas Hwy Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746, USA
| | - Stefanie Heinicke
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Tatyana Humle
- Re:wild, 500 N Capital of Texas Hwy Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746, USA
- Durrell of Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Célestin Y. Kouakou
- Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire
- Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques (CSRS), 17 Rte de Dabou, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Hjalmar S. Kühl
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Senckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz, Am Museum 1, 02826 Görlitz, Germany
- International Institute Zittau, Technische Universität Dresden, Markt 23, 02763 Zittau, Germany
| | - Isabel Ordaz-Németh
- Re:wild, 500 N Capital of Texas Hwy Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746, USA
- Senckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz, Am Museum 1, 02826 Görlitz, Germany
| | - Henrique M. Pereira
- Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Helga Rainer
- Independent consultant, PO Box 4107, 759125 Kampala, Uganda
| | - Johannes Refisch
- Great Apes Survival Partnership, United Nations Environment Programme, P.O. Box 30552, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Laura Sonter
- School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia
- Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia
| | - Tenekwetche Sop
- Re:wild, 500 N Capital of Texas Hwy Building 1, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78746, USA
- Senckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz, Am Museum 1, 02826 Görlitz, Germany
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Dickson I, Butchart SHM, Catalano A, Gibbons D, Jones JPG, Lee‐Brooks K, Oldfield T, Noble D, Paterson S, Roy S, Semelin J, Tinsley‐Marshall P, Trevelyan R, Wauchope H, Wicander S, Sutherland WJ. Introducing a common taxonomy to support learning from failure in conservation. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e13967. [PMID: 35694785 PMCID: PMC10107954 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Although some sectors have made significant progress in learning from failure, there is currently limited consensus on how a similar transition could best be achieved in conservation and what is required to facilitate this. One of the key enabling conditions for other sectors is a widely accepted and standardized classification system for identifying and analyzing root causes of failure. We devised a comprehensive taxonomy of root causes of failure affecting conservation projects. To develop this, we solicited examples of real-life conservation efforts that were deemed to have failed in some way, identified their underlying root causes of failure, and used these to develop a generic, 3-tier taxonomy of the ways in which projects fail, at the top of which are 6 overarching cause categories that are further divided into midlevel cause categories and specific root causes. We tested the taxonomy by asking conservation practitioners to use it to classify the causes of failure for conservation efforts they had been involved in. No significant gaps or redundancies were identified during this testing phase. We then analyzed the frequency that particular root causes were encountered by projects within this test sample, which suggested that some root causes were more likely to be encountered than others and that a small number of root causes were more likely to be encountered by projects implementing particular types of conservation action. Our taxonomy could be used to improve identification, analysis, and subsequent learning from failed conservation efforts, address some of the barriers that currently limit the ability of conservation practitioners to learn from failure, and contribute to establishing an effective culture of learning from failure within conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stuart H. M. Butchart
- BirdLife InternationalCambridgeUK
- Department of ZoologyCambridge UniversityCambridgeUK
| | | | - David Gibbons
- RSPB Centre for Conservation ScienceRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds, The LodgeSandyUK
| | - Julia P. G. Jones
- College of Environmental Sciences and EngineeringBangor UniversityBangorUK
| | | | | | - David Noble
- The British Trust for Ornithology, The NunneryThetfordUK
| | - Stuart Paterson
- Fauna & Flora InternationalCambridgeUK
- Conservation Leadership ProgrammeCambridgeUK
| | | | | | | | | | - Hannah Wauchope
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
- Conservation Science Group, Department of ZoologyCambridge UniversityCambridgeUK
| | - Sylvia Wicander
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring CentreCambridgeUK
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Sheherazade, Tsang SM, Lanusi AA. The power of woman-to-woman mentorship in creating long-term changes in biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.1006437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that women’s involvement and leadership are important to creating inclusive conservation programs, increasing likelihood of success, and achieving sustainability. Effective future women leaders can be created by providing them with dedicated mentorship, as in long-term support and dynamic learning that encompass the entirety of a person, not only their technical training. Mentorship by women is key to ensuring more women are empowered, can advance their careers, and become independent leaders in their domains. The ways mentorship contribute to a woman’s career have been frequently studied in medicine, sports, and education, yet rarely in conservation. Providing real examples of long-term mentorships centered on the perspective of a mentee from the Global South will demonstrate an applicable roadmap towards recruiting and retaining women in conservation. We recount two sets of ten-year long mentor-mentee relationships—one with a foreign mentor and the other domestic—based on our personal experiences in Indonesia. We examined issues raised by Indonesian women in conservation and provided targeted solutions that may be applicable to a broader audience. The resulting group of empowered, capable women can rely on one another for technical and moral support, along with work together to shift social norms towards becoming more inclusive of women in more varied roles and at multiple career levels in conservation. In highlighting real examples, mentees can understand what they should seek out and expect from mentorship, and how women from the Global North and Global South can provide true mentorship to more women without access to the same opportunities. We hope to inspire more women from the Global South to continue their careers and be leaders in conservation.
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Measuring the Impact of Conservation: The Growing Importance of Monitoring Fauna, Flora and Funga. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d14100824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Many stakeholders, from governments to civil society to businesses, lack the data they need to make informed decisions on biodiversity, jeopardising efforts to conserve, restore and sustainably manage nature. Here we review the importance of enhancing biodiversity monitoring, assess the challenges involved and identify potential solutions. Capacity for biodiversity monitoring needs to be enhanced urgently, especially in poorer, high-biodiversity countries where data gaps are disproportionately high. Modern tools and technologies, including remote sensing, bioacoustics and environmental DNA, should be used at larger scales to fill taxonomic and geographic data gaps, especially in the tropics, in marine and freshwater biomes, and for plants, fungi and invertebrates. Stakeholders need to follow best monitoring practices, adopting appropriate indicators and using counterfactual approaches to measure and attribute outcomes and impacts. Data should be made openly and freely available. Companies need to invest in collecting the data required to enhance sustainability in their operations and supply chains. With governments soon to commit to the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, the time is right to make a concerted push on monitoring. However, action at scale is needed now if we are to enhance results-based management adequately to conserve the biodiversity and ecosystem services we all depend on.
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Strengthening capacity for species conservation in South-east Asia: a provisional assessment of needs and opportunities for the Asian Species Action Partnership. ORYX 2022. [DOI: 10.1017/s0030605321001010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
South-east Asia is home to exceptional biodiversity, but threats to vertebrate species are disproportionately high in this region. The IUCN Species Survival Commission Asian Species Action Partnership aims to avert species extinctions. Strengthening individual and organizational capacity is key to achieving long-term, sustainable conservation impact, and is a core strategic intervention for the Partnership. To look at the needs and opportunities for developing capacity for species conservation in South-east Asia, we undertook a needs assessment with organizations implementing species conservation within this region. We conducted a review of available training opportunities, mapping them against a list of identified competences needed for species conservation to determine gaps in current training. Our assessments revealed an imbalance in the focus of training opportunities vs the actual competences needed for effective species conservation, and that training opportunities within South-east Asia are limited in number and highly competitive. These findings corroborate other similar reviews, particularly on capacity gaps in the Global South. We discuss the implications of our review and use the findings to generate recommendations.
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The Role of Citizen Science in the Research and Management of Invasive Lionfish across the Western Atlantic. DIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/d13120673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Managing invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) in the Western Atlantic Ocean is beyond the capacity of natural resource organizations alone. In response, organizations have mobilized members of the public and citizen scientists to help. We used a structured survey to assess the activities and perceptions of 71 organizations that engage the public and citizen scientists in lionfish research and management throughout the invaded range of the Western Atlantic. Five case studies were also conducted that exemplified varied and multi-pronged approaches to engagement of the public and citizen scientists in lionfish control, monitoring, and knowledge-sharing. The public has been engaged to some extent in every approach, but organizations most frequently indicated engaging members of the public in raising awareness, promoting consumption, organized culling/removal, tournaments, and data collection. Sixty-five percent of organizations surveyed engaged the public in data collection, and data collection was ranked as the scientific research activity in which the public is most often involved. Most organizations indicated their data has contributed to scientific publications, management, and government agency research and/or policy. Collectively these findings demonstrate the conservation value of citizen scientists to assist organizational efforts to control, manage, and study a large-scale marine invasion.
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Sanders MJ, Miller L, Bhagwat SA, van der Grient JMA, Rogers AD. Practitioner insights as a means of setting a context for conservation. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2020; 34:113-124. [PMID: 31454857 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/25/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A key obstacle to conservation success is the tendency of conservation professionals to tackle each challenge individually rather than collectively and in context. We sought to prioritize barriers to conservation previously described in the conservation literature. We undertook an online survey of 154 practitioners from over 70 countries to ascertain the most important barriers to conservation they faced. We used statistical analyses to identify the key impediments to conservation success and to examine whether these were affected by organizational attributes. Twenty-one barriers were identified. The importance ascribed to those was influenced by continent of operation and organization size, but not by organization age or autonomy (from larger parent organizations). We found the most important barriers to consider when undertaking conservation action were wider issues (e.g., population growth, consumerism, favoring development, and industrial-scale activity), operating environment (e.g., lack of political will, ineffective law enforcement, weak governments, corruption, safety and security), community attributes (e.g., dynamics, conflicts, and education levels), and the way conservation is undertaken (overconfidence, lack of funding, and externally set agendas). However, we advise against applying a one-size-fits-all approach. We propose that conservationists account for the complex socioecological systems they operate in if they are to achieve success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Jeanette Sanders
- Zoology Department, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, U.K
- Synchronicity Earth, 32a Thurloe Place, London, SW7 2HQ, U.K
| | - Laura Miller
- Synchronicity Earth, 32a Thurloe Place, London, SW7 2HQ, U.K
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