Increasing the Scientific Evidence Base in the “High Conservation Value” (HCV) Approach for Biodiversity Conservation in Managed Tropical Landscapes

Senior, Michael; Brown, Emily J.; Villalpando, Paulina; Hill, Jane K.

doi:10.1111/conl.12148

Cited by 36 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…; Senior et al . ). The evaluation should therefore investigate whether the policy is science‐based (C2). Because impractical policies are pointless, the evaluation should assess whether the policy is operational (C3). Because N2000 sites witness highly diverse human activities (Tsiafouli et al .…”

Section: Policy Analytics As Evaluation Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatch between Habitat Science and Habitat Directive: Lessons from the French (Counter) Example

Jeanmougin

Dehais²,

Meinard

2016

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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The European Habitat Directive encompasses a conservation policy devoted to conserve habitats rather than single species. This ambition has strong ecological justifications, and inspires other initiatives such as the IUCN red list of ecosystems. Evaluating this policy is therefore pivotal to identify and reproduce best practices. However, the habitat aspect of this policy has so far not been systematically assessed. To make up for this lacuna, we take advantage of decision‐aiding methodologies to introduce a new normative framework. According to this framework, a conservation policy is positively evaluated if it contributes to conservation, is science‐based, operational, and legitimate. Based on an exploration of the published literature and unpublished reports and databases, we identify knowledge gaps plaguing the European habitat conservation policy. We argue that, due to these knowledge gaps, the contribution of this policy to the conservation of habitats is unproven, it is not science‐based, not operational and not legitimate. Our study draws heavily on the French implementation. Analyzing this example, we highlight knowledge gaps that carry lessons for European conservation policies as a whole, but also for conservation initiatives focused on habitats in a broader geographical and political context. We then identify concrete means to strengthen habitats conservation policies.

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Section: Policy Analytics As Evaluation Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatch between Habitat Science and Habitat Directive: Lessons from the French (Counter) Example

Jeanmougin

Dehais²,

Meinard

2016

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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“…Conservation set‐asides are one approach used to meet such conservation goals (Green, Cornell, Scharlemann, & Balmford, ). To encourage such set‐asides, voluntary sustainability certification standards such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) require members to identify and conserve areas within plantations that support High Conservation Values (HCVs; Senior, Brown, Villalpando, & Hill, ). HCVs are biological, social or cultural values of critical importance that are split into six broad types.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…for species diversity and ecosystem services), whilst types 5–6 are important for the livelihoods of local communities (e.g. community needs and cultural values) (see Senior et al, , for a full description of HCV types). In the humid tropics, HCV types 1–4 are areas most likely to be forested, and one HCV criterion is that forest areas should be identified and protected if they are important for forest connectivity and/or the preservation of forest corridors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the benefits of conservation set‐asides for improved habitat connectivity in tropical agricultural landscapes

Scriven

Carlson

Hodgson

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Habitat connectivity is important for tropical biodiversity conservation. Expansion of commodity crops, such as oil palm, fragments natural habitat areas, and strategies are needed to improve habitat connectivity in agricultural landscapes. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) voluntary certification system requires that growers identify and conserve forest patches identified as High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) before oil palm plantations can be certified as sustainable. We assessed the potential benefits of these conservation set‐asides for forest connectivity.We mapped HCVAs and quantified their forest cover in 2015. To assess their contribution to forest connectivity, we modelled range expansion of forest‐dependent populations with five dispersal abilities spanning those representative of poor dispersers (e.g. flightless insects) to more mobile species (e.g. large birds or bats) across 70 plantation landscapes in Borneo.Because only 21% of HCVA area was forested in 2015, these conservation set‐asides currently provide few connectivity benefits. Compared to a scenario where HCVAs contain no forest (i.e. a no‐RSPO scenario), current HCVAs improved connectivity by ~3% across all dispersal abilities. However, if HCVAs were fully reforested, then overall landscape connectivity could improve by ~16%. Reforestation of HCVAs had the greatest benefit for poor to intermediate dispersers (0.5–3 km per generation), generating landscapes that were up to 2.7 times better connected than landscapes without HCVAs. By contrast, connectivity benefits of HCVAs were low for highly mobile populations under current and reforestation scenarios, because range expansion of these populations was generally successful regardless of the amount of forest cover. Synthesis and applications. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) requires that High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) be set aside to conserve biodiversity, but HCVAs currently provide few connectivity benefits because they contain relatively little forest. However, reforested HCVAs have the potential to improve landscape connectivity for some forest species (e.g. winged insects), and we recommend active management by plantation companies to improve forest quality of degraded HCVAs (e.g. by enrichment planting). Future revisions to the RSPO's Principles and Criteria should also ensure that large (i.e. with a core area >2 km2) HCVAs are reconnected to continuous tracts of forest to maximize their connectivity benefits.

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“…Scientists have previously highlighted the need for greater scientific input into the HCV process (Edwards, Fisher & Wilcove ; Senior et al . ), and our case study demonstrates how existing scientific knowledge can be used.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…HCVs include high concentrations of biodiversity, endangered species or habitats, or important ecosystem services (Senior et al . ). Growers are responsible for identifying and retaining these HCV areas, and for ensuring that HCVs are maintained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Reframing the evidence base for policy‐relevance to increase impact: a case study on forest fragmentation in the oil palm sector

Lucey

Palmer

Yeong

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary It is necessary to improve knowledge exchange between scientists and decision‐makers so that scientific evidence can be readily accessed to inform policy. To maximise impact of scientific evidence in policy development, the scientific community should engage more fully with decision‐makers, building long‐term working relationships in order to identify and respond to ‘policy windows’ with science that is reframed for policy‐relevance. We illustrate the process and challenges using a case study in which we synthesised evidence from studies of habitat fragmentation to provide information for improved biodiversity conservation in the oil palm sector, resulting in the uptake of this research into new industry guidelines. Policy implications. The case study demonstrates how having an in‐depth understanding of the ‘policy arena’ (the state of policy and the actors and influencing factors that affect policy) and responding with relevant and specific information, enabled effective uptake of science to inform the design of conservation set‐asides in the oil palm industry.

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Increasing the Scientific Evidence Base in the “High Conservation Value” (HCV) Approach for Biodiversity Conservation in Managed Tropical Landscapes

Cited by 36 publications

References 25 publications

Mismatch between Habitat Science and Habitat Directive: Lessons from the French (Counter) Example

Mismatch between Habitat Science and Habitat Directive: Lessons from the French (Counter) Example

Testing the benefits of conservation set‐asides for improved habitat connectivity in tropical agricultural landscapes

Reframing the evidence base for policy‐relevance to increase impact: a case study on forest fragmentation in the oil palm sector

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