| 1. |
- Armitage, Derek, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental governance and its implications for conservation practice
- 2012
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - 1755-263X. ; 5:4, s. 245-255
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Governments are no longer the most important source of decision making in the environmental field. Instead, new actors are playing critical decision-making roles, and new mechanisms and forums for decision making are becoming important (e.g., in some contexts regulation is being supplemented or replaced by markets and cooperative arrangements). New ways of governing in relation to the environment have important implications for the practice of conservation. Greater awareness of key ideas and concepts of environmental governance can help conservation managers and scientists participate more effectively in governance processes. Understanding how conservation practice is influenced by emergent hybrid and network governance arrangements is particularly important. This short review explores key environmental governance concepts relevant to the practice of conservation, with specific reference to institutional fit and scale; adaptiveness, flexibility and learning; the coproduction of knowledge from diverse sources; the emergence of new actors and their roles in governance; and changing expectations about accountability and legitimacy. Case-based examples highlight key directions in environmental governance.
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| 2. |
- Casini, Michele
(författare)
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Spatial management of marine resources can enhance the recovery of predators and avoid local depletion of forage fish
- 2012
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - 1755-263X. ; 5, s. 486-492
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The eastern Baltic cod stock has recently started to recover, after two decades of severe depletion, however with unexpected side effects. The stock has not re-occupied its former wide distribution range, but remains concentrated in a limited area in the southern Baltic Sea. The biomass of forage fish, i.e., sprat and herring, is historic low in this area, which in combination with increasing cod stock results in locally high predation mortality of forage fish and cannibalism of cod. In line with low prey availability, body weight and nutritional condition of cod drastically declined. In the southern Baltic Sea, cod competes with pelagic fisheries for the limited resources of sprat and herring, while the largest biomass of these species is currently found outside the distribution range of cod. Accounting for spatial overlap between species is crucial in developing ecosystem based fisheries management to enhance the recovery of predator stocks.
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| 3. |
- Felton, Adam
(författare)
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Avoiding bio-perversity from carbon sequestration solutions
- 2012
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - 1755-263X. ; 5, s. 28-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of a new carbon economy has the potential to offer winwin outcomes for environments and economies. Large-scale tree plantations are expected to play a major role in carbon economies but could have negative ecological and economic consequences when key environmental values such as biodiversity conservation are not considered. We discuss three potential bio-perversitiesnegative outcomes for biodiversitythat could result from inappropriate plantation tree programs aimed solely at reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide and mitigating rapid climate change effects. These are: (1) clearing native vegetation to establish tree plantations, (2) planting trees that become invasive taxa, and (3) tree plantations negatively affecting key ecosystem processes such as fire and hydrological regimes. These bio-perversities may result from common mistakes in environmental management: (1) too narrow a focus on a single environmental value, (2) failing to adequately quantify ecological uncertainty, and (3) failing to anticipate how different groups of people respond to an environmental problem. We highlight ways to prevent possible bio-perverse outcomes in large-scale plantation programs. These include requiring that risk assessments precede project establishment, full carbon accounting is undertaken, incentives used to stimulate tree plantation establishment are rigorously examined, and rigorous compliance and ecological monitoring is undertaken.
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| 4. |
- Kiehl, Berrit, et al.
(författare)
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A major shift to the retention approach for forestry can help resolve some global forest sustainability issues
- 2012
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - 1755-263X. ; 5, s. 421-431
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Approximately 85% of the global forest estate is neither formally protected nor in areas dedicated to intensive wood production (e.g., plantations). Given the spatial extent of unprotected forests, finding management approaches that will sustain their multiple environmental, economic, and cultural values and prevent their conversion to other uses is imperative. The major global challenge of native forest management is further demonstrated by ongoing steep declines in forest biodiversity and carbon stocks. Here, we suggest that an essential part of such managementsupplementing the protection of large reserves and sensitive areas within forest landscapes (e.g., aquatic features)is the adoption of the retention approach in forests where logging occurs. This ecological approach to harvesting provides for permanent retention of important selected structures (e.g., trees and decayed logs) to provide for continuity of ecosystem structure, function, and species composition in the postharvest forest. The retention approach supports the integration of environmental, economic, and cultural values and is broadly applicable to tropical, temperate, and boreal forests, adaptable to different management objectives, and appropriate in different societal settings. The widespread adoption of the retention approach would be one of the most significant changes in management practice since the onset of modern high-yield forestry.
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| 5. |
- Peterson, Tarla
(författare)
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Rearticulating the myth of human-wildlife conflict
- 2010
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - 1755-263X. ; 3, s. 74-82
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human-wildlife conflict has emerged as the central vocabulary for cases requiring balance between resource demands of humans and wildlife. This phrase is problematic because, given traditional definitions of conflict, it positions wildlife as conscious human antagonists. We used content analysis of wildlife conservation publications and professional meeting presentations to explore the use of the phrase, human-wildlife conflict, and compared competing models explaining its usage. Of the 422 publications and presentations using human-wildlife conflict, only 1 reflected a traditional definition of conflict, >95% referred to reports of animal damage to entities human care about, and <4% referred to human-human conflict. Usage of human-wildlife conflict was related to species type (herbivores with human food, carnivores with human safety, meso-mammals with property), development level of the nation where the study occurred (less developed nations with human food and more developed nations with human safety and property damage), and whether the study occurred on private lands or protected areas (protected areas with human-human conflict and other areas with property damage). We argue that the phrase, human-wildlife conflict, is detrimental to coexistence between humans and wildlife, and suggest comic reframing to facilitate a more productive interpretation of human-wildlife relationships.
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| 6. |
- Alexander, Steven M., et al.
(författare)
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Participation in planning and social networks increase social monitoring in community-based conservation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 11:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity conservation is often limited by inadequate investments in monitoring and enforcement. However, monitoring and enforcement problems may be overcome by encouraging resource users to develop, endorse, and subsequently enforce conservation regulations. In this article, we draw upon the literature on common-pool resources and social networks to assess the impacts of participation and network ties on the decisions of fishers to voluntarily report rule violations in two Jamaican marine reserves. Data was collected using questionnaires administered through personal interviews with fishers (n = 277). The results suggest that local fishers are more likely to report illegal fishing if they had participated in conservation planning and if they are directly linked to community-based wardens in information sharing networks. This research extends well-established findings regarding the role and impacts of participation on biodiversity conservation by highlighting the importance of synergies between participation and social networks for voluntary monitoring of conservation regulations.
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| 7. |
- Baylis, Kathy, et al.
(författare)
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Mainstreaming Impact Evaluation in Nature Conservation
- 2016
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 9:1, s. 58-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- An important part of conservation practice is the empirical evaluation of program and policy impacts. Understanding why conservation programs succeed or fail is essential for designing cost-effective initiatives and for improving the livelihoods of natural resource users. The evidence we seek can be generated with modern impact evaluation designs. Such designs measure causal effects of specific interventions by comparing outcomes with the interventions to outcomes in credible counterfactual scenarios. Good designs also identify the conditions under which the causal effect arises. Despite a critical need for empirical evidence, conservation science has been slow to adopt these impact evaluation designs. We identify reasons for the slow rate of adoption and provide suggestions for mainstreaming impact evaluation in nature conservation.
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| 8. |
- Chapron, Guillaume
(författare)
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Emotions and the Ethics of Consequence in Conservation Decisions: Lessons from Cecil the Lion
- 2016
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 9, s. 302-306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Though the conservation community has long premised its moral foundations on consequentialist thinking and has embraced a dualistic worldview severing reason from emotion, the conservation community has erred by failing to addressor even acknowledgethe limitations of these fundamental tenets. This failure reemerged in 2015 when a wealthy hunter killed an African Lion named Cecil for a trophy, in turn, prompting a debate within the conservation community about the appropriateness of killing Cecil. A number of conservationists: (1) defended such instances of trophy hunting on the basis that money generated by trophy hunting can support conservation and (2) ridiculed as irrational those who oppose such instances of killing in the name of conservation. We suggest this response by the conservation community represents common, but problematic, ethical reasoning. We offer a critique of both the ethical underpinning of such reasoning and the assumptions about the relationship between reason and emotion. We urge ethical and social psychological maturation on behalf of the conservation community.
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| 9. |
- Chen, Cheng, et al.
(författare)
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Global camera trap synthesis highlights the importance of protected areas in maintaining mammal diversity
- 2022
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 15:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The establishment of protected areas (PAs) is a central strategy for global biodiversity conservation. While the role of PAs in protecting habitat has been highlighted, their effectiveness at protecting mammal communities remains unclear. We analyzed a global dataset from over 8671 camera traps in 23 countries on four continents that detected 321 medium- to large-bodied mammal species. We found a strong positive correlation between mammal taxonomic diversity and the proportion of a surveyed area covered by PAs at a global scale (β = 0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.19–0.60) and in Indomalaya (β = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.19–1.2), as well as between functional diversity and PA coverage in the Nearctic (β = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.09–0.85), after controlling for human disturbances and environmental variation. Functional diversity was only weakly (and insignificantly) correlated with PA coverage at the global scale (β = 0.22, 95% CI = −0.02–0.46), pointing to a need to better understand the functional response of mammal communities to protection. Our study provides important evidence of the global effectiveness of PAs in conserving terrestrial mammals and emphasizes the critical role of area-based conservation in a post-2020 biodiversity framework.
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| 10. |
- Clough, Yann, et al.
(författare)
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Field sizes and the future of farmland biodiversity in European landscapes
- 2020
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 13:6
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lower diversity of plant and animal farmland species are usually reported where cropland has been aggregated into larger fields, which raises prospects of curbing declines in European farmland biodiversity and associated ecosystem services by halting trends to field size increases associated to agricultural intensification, without having to set aside arable land for conservation. Here, we consider the factors underlying trade-offs between farmer income and biodiversity as mediated by field size at local and landscape scales, and how these trade-offs may be overcome. Field sizes are still increasing, facilitated by increasing farm sizes and land consolidation. Decreases in working time and fuel expenses when fields are larger, uptake of larger machinery and subsidies favoring larger farms provide incentives to manage land in larger units, putting farmland biodiversity further at risk. Yet, field size-mediated ecological–economic trade-offs are largely ignored in policy and research. We recommend internalizing the ecological effects of changes in landscape-scale field size into land consolidation scheme design, ensuring that EU Common Agricultural Policy post-2020 rewards farmers that maintain and recreate fine-grained landscapes where these are essential for farmland biodiversity targets, and reducing economic–ecological trade-offs by stimulating agricultural research and innovation for economically efficient yet biodiversity-friendly farming in fine-grained landscapes.
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| 11. |
- Cusack, Jeremy J., et al.
(författare)
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Measuring the intensity of conflicts in conservation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1755-263X. ; 14:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conflicts between the interests of biodiversity conservation and other human activities pose a major threat to natural ecosystems and human well-being, yet few methods exist to quantify their intensity and model their dynamics. We develop a categorization of conflict intensity based on the curve of conflict, a model originally used to track the escalation and deescalation of armed conflicts. Our categorization assigns six intensity levels reflecting the discourse and actions of stakeholders involved in a given conflict, from coexistence or collaboration to physical violence. Using a range of case studies, we demonstrate the value of our approach in quantifying conflict trends, estimating transition probabilities between conflict stages, and modeling conflict intensity as a function of relevant covariates. By taking an evidence-based approach to quantifying stakeholder behavior, the proposed framework allows for a better understanding of the drivers of conservation conflict development across a diverse range of socioecological scenarios.
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| 12. |
- Dicks, Lynn V., et al.
(författare)
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A Transparent Process for "Evidence-Informed" Policy Making
- 2014
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 7:2, s. 119-125
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Political institutions are keen to use the best available scientific knowledge in decision-making. For environmental policy, relevant scientific evidence can be complex and extensive, so expert judgment is frequently relied upon, without clear links to the evidence itself. We propose a new transparent process for incorporating research evidence into policy decisions, involving independent synopsis of evidence relating to all possible policy options combined with expert evaluation of what the evidence means for specific policy questions. We illustrate the process using reforms of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy currently being negotiated. Under the reform proposals, 30% of direct payments to farmers will become conditional upon three "compulsory greening measures." Independently, we compiled and evaluated experimental evidence for the effects of 85 interventions to protect wildlife on northern European farmland, 12 of which correspond to aspects of the compulsory greening measures. Our evaluation clearly indicates evidence of consistent wildlife benefits for some, but not all, of the greening measures. The process of evidence synopsis with expert evaluation has three advantages over existing efforts to incorporate evidence into policy decisions: it provides a clear evidence audit trail, allows rapid response to new policy contexts, and clarifies sources of uncertainty.
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| 13. |
- Droste, Nils, et al.
(författare)
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Designing a global mechanism for intergovernmental biodiversity financing
- 2019
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 12:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol display a broad international consensus for biodiversity conservation and equitable benefit sharing. Yet, the Aichi biodiversity targets show a lack of progress and thus indicate a need for additional action such as enhanced and better targeted financial resource mobilization. To date, no global financial burden-sharing instrument has been proposed. Developing a global-scale financial mechanism to support biodiversity conservation through intergovernmental transfers, we simulate three allocation designs: ecocentric, socioecological, and anthropocentric. We analyze the corresponding incentives needed to reach the Aichi target of terrestrial protected area coverage by 2020. Here we show that the socioecological design would provide the strongest median incentive for states which are farthest from achieving the target. Our proposal provides a novel concept for global biodiversity financing, which can serve as a starting point for more specific policy dialogues on intergovernmental burden and benefit-sharing mechanisms to halt biodiversity loss.
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| 14. |
- Ekroos, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Embedding Evidence on Conservation Interventions Within a Context of Multilevel Governance
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 10:1, s. 139-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We outline a conceptual strategy for implementing conservation interventionsin a multiscale, multiactor, and multilevel governance world. Using farmlandas an example, we argue that conservation interventions should be implementedwithin a multiscale framework of guiding ecological principles. Inthis context, findings from multilevel governance research can inform a nuancedunderstanding of the role of evidence in conservation governance anddecision-making. We propose that principles of evidence-based conservationcan be used to refine guiding ecological principles across scales, thereby creatinga comprehensive evidence base that underpins decision-making. Thisevolving evidence base, in turn, should be operationalized by considering thefit of ecologically relevant scales to governance levels, paying explicit attentionto issues such as democratic legitimacy and interplay with existing governancestructures. We outline two specific steps for meeting this challenge. Drawingon a strategic combination of conservation interventions, guiding ecologicalprinciples, and insights from multilevel governance research promises to improveboth the effectiveness and legitimacy of conservation action.
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| 15. |
- Epstein, Yaffa, et al.
(författare)
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A legal-ecological understanding of Favourable Conservation Status for species in Europe
- 2016
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - Chichester, West Sussex : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1755-263X. ; 9:2, s. 81-88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Legislation for the preservation of biodiversity has been instrumental to the recovery of multiple species and habitats. The European Habitats Directive 92/92/EEC is one of the strongest legal tools in nature conservation. This Directive seeks to achieve its biodiversity goals by requiring EU Member States to take measures to reach or maintain Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) of natural habitats and species in Europe. FCS is a legal concept, but must be understood and applied by scientists, managers and policy makers, and therefore a proper interpretation of this concept is crucial for biodiversity conservation and wildlife management. However, its definition contains several aspects that can lead to misinterpretation, being the core of controversies in determining whether or not populations have reached FCS. In this review, we provide legal and ecological clarifications of the most contested aspects of FCS that have not yet been conclusively settled by analyzing and weighting a variety of sources.
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| 16. |
- Farooq, Harith, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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The fear factor-Snakes in Africa might be at an alarming extinction risk
- 2024
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Ingår i: CONSERVATION LETTERS. - 1755-263X. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Snakes in Africa are responsible for over 20,000 deaths annually, their indiscriminate killing. As a result, snakes are vulnerable to human population increases even at low intensities. Thus, the predicted doubling of Africa's population by 2050 is likely to pose a disproportionate threat to snakes compared to other taxa. Here we quantify the current and future overlap of snake distributions and human population density under three scenarios of population growth. We find that by 2050, on average, 71% of snake ranges of conservation concern will overlap with areas occupied by ten or more people per km2, a 22% increase from 2020. In addition, the number of Least Concern species with most of their range within areas with high human population density will more than double, likely increasing the number of threatened species over the next decades. Our results call for immediate policy action targeting people's perceptions and fears of snakes, and incorporating snakes directly into development and conservation plans to reduce the impact of future urban expansions across Africa.
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| 17. |
- Fischer, Joern, et al.
(författare)
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Land Sparing Versus Land Sharing: Moving Forward
- 2014
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 7:3, s. 149-157
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- To address the challenges of biodiversity conservation and commodity production, a framework has been proposed that distinguishes between the integration (land sharing) and separation (land sparing) of conservation and production. Controversy has arisen around this framework partly because many scholars have focused specifically on food production rather than more encompassing notions such as land scarcity or food security. Controversy further surrounds the practical value of partial trade-off analyses, the ways in which biodiversity should be quantified, and a series of scale effects that are not readily accounted for. We see key priorities for the future in (1) addressing these issues when using the existing framework, and (2) developing alternative, holistic ways to conceptualise challenges related to food, biodiversity, and land scarcity.
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| 18. |
- Gamero, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Tracking Progress Toward EU Biodiversity Strategy Targets : EU Policy Effects in Preserving its Common Farmland Birds
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 10:4, s. 395-402
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Maximizing the area under biodiversity-related conservation measures is a main target of the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. We analyzed whether agrienvironmental schemes (AES) within EU common agricultural policy, special protected areas for birds (SPAs), and Annex I designation within EU Birds Directive had an effect on bird population changes using monitoring data from 39 farmland bird species from 1981 to 2012 at EU scale. Populations of resident and short-distance migrants were larger with increasing SPAs and AES coverage, while Annex I species had higher population growth rates with increasing SPAs, indicating that SPAs may contribute to the protection of mainly target species and species spending most of their life cycle in the EU. Because farmland birds are in decline and the negative relationship of agricultural intensification with their population growth rates was evident during the implementation of AES and SPAs, EU policies seem to generally attenuate the declines of farmland bird populations, but not to reverse them.
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| 19. |
- Goodman, Rosa
(författare)
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Carbon and Biodiversity Impacts of Intensive Versus Extensive Tropical Forestry
- 2018
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How should we meet the demand for wood while minimizing climate and biodiversity impacts? We address this question for tropical forest landscapes designated for timber production. We model carbon and biodiversity outcomes for four archetypal timber production systems that all deliver the same volume of timber but vary in their spatial extent and harvest intensity. We include impacts of variable deforestation risk (secure land tenure or not) and alternative harvesting practices (certified reduced-impact logging methods or not).We find that low-intensity selective logging offers both the best and the worst overall outcomes per unit wood produced, depending on whether certified reduced-impact logging methods are used and whether land tenure is secure. Medium-to-high-intensity natural forest harvests and conversion to high-yield plantations generate intermediate outcomes. Deforestation risk had the strongest influence on overall outcomes. In the absence of deforestation, logging impacts were lowest at intermediate and high management intensities.
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| 20. |
- Gustafsson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Natural Versus National Boundaries: The Importance of Considering Biogeographical Patterns in Forest Conservation Policy
- 2015
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 8, s. 50-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Applying biogeographical insights to the regulation of production forestry and the determination of forest reserve strategies is expected to increase the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation actions. Here, we assess the extent to which such applications take place. By using Sweden as a case study, we demonstrate fundamental differences among biogeographical regions in natural patterns and processes, past land-use, and anthropogenic impacts that need to be better incorporated into strategic conservation planning and decisions. Furthermore, assessment of specific forestry regulations and biogeographical variation in a number of other countries/provinces embracing boreal and temperate biomes also indicate that natural boundaries are insufficiently considered in forest management policies. We suggest that a substantial potential exists to better align conservation priorities with biogeographical characteristics. To illustrate the application of such an approach, we present a decision support model on how forest conservation policies that rest on natural boundaries and ecological processes can be developed.
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| 21. |
- Hoban, Sean, et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring status and trends in genetic diversity for the Convention on Biological Diversity : An ongoing assessment of genetic indicators in nine countries
- 2023
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - 1755-263X. ; 16:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent scientific evidence shows that genetic diversity must be maintained, managed, and monitored to protect biodiversity and nature's contributions to people. Three genetic diversity indicators, two of which do not require DNA-based assessment, have been proposed for reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity and other conservation and policy initiatives. These indicators allow an approximation of the status and trends of genetic diversity to inform policy, using existing demographic and geographic information. Application of these indicators has been initiated and here we describe ongoing efforts in calculating these indicators with examples. We specifically describe a project underway to apply these indicators in nine countries, provide example calculations, address concerns of policy makers and implementation challenges, and describe a roadmap for further development and deployment, incorporating feedback from the broader community. We also present guidance documents and data collection tools for calculating indicators. We demonstrate that Parties can successfully and cost-effectively report these genetic diversity indicators with existing biodiversity observation data, and, in doing so, better conserve the Earth's biodiversity.
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| 22. |
- Huntley, Brian, et al.
(författare)
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Climatic Disequilibrium Threatens Conservation Priority Forests
- 2018
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We test the hypothesis that climatic changes since 1800 have resulted in unrealized potential vegetation changes that represent a "climatic debt" for many ecosystems. Caledonian pinewoods, an EU priority forest type, are used as a model system to explore potential impacts of two centuries of climatic change upon sites of conservation importance and surrounding landscapes. Using methods that estimate topographic microclimate, current and preindustrial climates were estimated for 50 m grid cells and simulations made using a dynamic vegetation model. Core Caledonian pinewood areas are now less suitable for growth of pine and more favorable for oak than in 1800, whereas landscapes as a whole are on average more favorable for both. The most favorable areas for pine are now mainly outside areas designated to conserve historical pinewoods. A paradigm shift is needed in formulating conservation strategies to avoid catastrophic losses of this habitat, and of many others globally with trees or other long-lived perennials as keystone species.
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| 23. |
- Josefsson, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Improving scientific rigour in conservation evaluations and a plea deal for transparency on potential biases
- 2020
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 13:5
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The delivery of rigorous and unbiased evidence on the effects of interventions lay at the heart of the scientific method. Here we examine scientific papers evaluating agri-environment schemes, the principal instrument to mitigate farmland biodiversity declines worldwide. Despite previous warnings about rudimentary study designs in this field, we found that the majority of studies published between 2008 and 2017 still lack robust study designs to strictly evaluate intervention effects. Potential sources of bias that arise from the correlative nature are rarely mentioned, and results are still promoted by using a causal language. This lack of robust study designs likely results from poor integration of research and policy, while the erroneous use of causal language and an unwillingness to discuss bias may stem from publication pressures. We conclude that scientific reporting and discussion of study limitations in intervention research must improve and propose some practices toward this goal.
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| 24. |
- Lindenmayer, David B., et al.
(författare)
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New Policies for Old Trees : Averting a Global Crisis in a Keystone Ecological Structure
- 2014
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 7:1, s. 61-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large old trees are critical organisms and ecological structures in forests, woodlands, savannas, and agricultural and urban environments. They play many essential ecological roles ranging from the storage of large amounts of carbon to the provision of key habitats for wildlife. Some of these roles cannot be replaced by other structures. Large old trees are disproportionately vulnerable to loss in many ecosystems worldwide as a result of accelerated rates of mortality, impaired recruitment, or both. Drivers of loss, such as the combined impacts of fire and browsing by domestic or native herbivores, chemical spray drift in agricultural environments, and postdisturbance salvage logging, are often unique to large old trees but also represent ecosystem-specific threats. Here, we argue that new policies and practices are urgently needed to conserve existing large old trees and restore ecologically effective and viable populations of such trees by managing trees and forests on much longer time scales than is currently practiced, and by protecting places where they are most likely to develop. Without these steps, large old trees will vanish from many ecosystems, and associated biota and ecosystem functions will be severely diminished or lost.
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| 25. |
- López-Bao, José Vicente
(författare)
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Indirect Effects on Heathland Conservation and Wolf Persistence of Contradictory Policies that Threaten Traditional Free- Ranging Horse Husbandry
- 2013
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Ingår i: Conservation Letters. - : Wiley. - 1755-263X. ; 6, s. 448-455
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conservation agencies within the European Union promote the restoration of traditional land uses as a cost-effective way to preserve biodiversity outside reserves. Although the European Union pursues the integration of the environment into strategic decision-making, it also dictates sectoral policies that may damage farmland biodiversity. We illustrate this point by outlining the socioeconomic factors that allow the persistence of traditional free-ranging horse husbandry in Galicia, northwestern Spain. Free-ranging Galician mountain ponies provide ecological and socioeconomic services including the prevention of forest fires, the maintenance of heathlands and wolves, and the attenuation of wolf-human conflicts. This traditional livestock system may have persisted because it entails negligible costs for farmers. Wolf predation upon Galician mountain ponies does not threaten farmer's economies and seems to be tolerated better than attacks to more valuable stock. Recently, European Union's regulations on animal welfare, carcass management, or meat production put new economic and administrative burdens on farmers, make freeranging horse rearing economically unsustainable, and incentivize its abandonment. The aim of the European Union to integrate environmental policies may be successful to preserve farmland biodiversity only through careful anticipation of the side effects of apparently unrelated regulations on the fragile equilibrium that sustain traditional land uses.
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