Removing the abyss between conservation science and policy decisions in Brazil

Azevedo‐Santos, Valter M.; Fearnside, Philip M.; Sobotyk, Caroline; Padial, André Andrian; Pelicice, Fernando Mayer; Lima, Dilermando Pereira; Simberloff, Daniel; Lovejoy, Thomas Ε.; Magalhães, André Lincoln Barroso; Órsi, Mário Luís; Agostinho, Ângelo Antônio; Esteves, Francisco A.; Pompeu, Paulo Santos; Laurance, William F.; Petrere, Miguel; Mormul, Roger Paulo; Vitule, Jean R. S.

doi:10.1007/s10531-017-1316-x

Cited by 115 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Developing these assessments in the Amazon would be challenging, particularly given the current changes in environmental laws in Brazil (e.g. Azevedo‐Santos et al., ; Fearnside, ; Ferreira et al., ). One option would be to use demonstration studies at ecoregion (McCormick et al., ) or basin (Jiménez‐Valencia, Kaufmann, Sattamini, Mugnai, & Baptista, ) scales to develop these schemes—effective protocols could then be rolled out to other regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is environmental legislation conserving tropical stream faunas? A large‐scale assessment of local, riparian and catchment‐scale influences on Amazonian fish

Leal

Barlow

Gardner

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Agricultural expansion and intensification are major threats to tropical biodiversity. In addition to the direct removal of native vegetation, agricultural expansion often elicits other human‐induced disturbances, many of which are poorly addressed by existing environmental legislation and conservation programmes. This is particularly true for tropical freshwater systems, where there is considerable uncertainty about whether a legislative focus on protecting riparian vegetation is sufficient to conserve stream fauna. To assess the extent to which stream fish are being effectively conserved in agricultural landscapes, we examined the spatial distribution of assemblages in river basins to identify the relative importance of human impacts at instream, riparian and catchment scales, in shaping observed patterns. We used an extensive dataset on the ecological condition of 83 low‐order streams distributed in three river basins in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We collected and identified 24,420 individual fish from 134 species. Multiplicative diversity partitioning revealed high levels of compositional dissimilarity (DS) among stream sites (DS = 0.74 to 0.83) and river basins (DS = 0.82), due mainly to turnover (77.8% to 81.8%) rather than nestedness. The highly heterogeneous fish faunas in small Amazonian streams underscore the vital importance of enacting measures to protect forests on private lands outside of public protected areas. Instream habitat features explained more variability in fish assemblages (15%–19%) than riparian (2%–12%), catchment (4%–13%) or natural covariates (4%–11%). Although grouping species into functional guilds allowed us to explain up to 31% of their abundance (i.e. for nektonic herbivores), individual riparian – and catchment – scale predictor variables that are commonly a focus of environmental legislation explained very little of the observed variation (partial R2 values mostly <5%). Policy implications. Current rates of agricultural intensification and mechanization in tropical landscapes are unprecedented, yet the existing legislative frameworks focusing on protecting riparian vegetation seem insufficient to conserve stream environments and their fish assemblages. To safeguard the species‐rich freshwater biota of small Amazonian streams, conservation actions must shift towards managing whole basins and drainage networks, as well as agricultural practices in already‐cleared land.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is environmental legislation conserving tropical stream faunas? A large‐scale assessment of local, riparian and catchment‐scale influences on Amazonian fish

Leal

Barlow

Gardner

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…However, many of these ecosystems have been disrupted by human activities, threatening the maintenance of native biodiversity and ecosystem services. This scenario points to the urgent need for a variety of different conservation strategies in the scientific, educational and political realms (Azevedo‐Santos et al, ; Karam‐Gemael, Loyola, Penha, & Izzo, ; Pelicice et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protected areas: A focus on Brazilian freshwater biodiversity

Azevedo‐Santos

Frederico

Fagundes³

et al. 2018

Diversity and Distributions

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Brazil has a variety of aquatic ecosystems and rich freshwater biodiversity, but these components have been constantly damaged by the expansion of unsustainable activities. An array of different conservation strategies is needed, especially the creation of protected areas (PAs, hereafter). However, Brazil's PAs are biased towards terrestrial ecosystems and we argue that current PAs have limited efficacy in the protection of freshwater biodiversity. New PAs should better consider aquatic environments, covering entire basins, rivers and other freshwater habitats. We recommend ways to implement these PAs and provide guidance to avoid social impacts. Freshwater systems in Brazil provide essential goods and services but these ecosystems are being rapidly degraded and will be lost if not adequately protected.

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“…This method has been adopted by scientists (Kark et al., ) and could allow them to be introduced as a political entity in society. As a component of conservation policies, decision‐makers would then be called to “remove the abyss” between science and management under the guidance of scientists (Azevedo‐Santos et al., ) and society (including environmentalists and the agribusiness sector). The lower acceleration of marine cultivation reported in our results could represent a future zone of exploitation, but this is not the case yet.…”

Section: Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A network meta‐analysis of threats to South American fish biodiversity

et al. 2019

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While environmental alterations have made Homo sapiens the hyperkeystone species of the globe, biotic homogenization initiated a new era, the “Homogenocene.” Still, some terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in South America are considered pristine and wild, which can lead to a general faith that economic progress is consistent with conservation strategies, even without scientific support. We compiled anthropogenic threats to fish biodiversity in a hierarchical meta‐analysis, along with an evidence synthesis of threats related to biological invasions, based on peer‐reviewed research with the aim to represent the actual conservation status of the South American ichthyofauna. We highlighted human‐related threats and synergistic effects of biological invasions, climate change, environmental alterations (e.g., pollution, aquaculture and damming) and fisheries. Considering measures that reinforce novel alien fish (e.g., artificial hybrids or genetically modified) introductions, it became clear why an eventual increase in local or regional species richness is not always beneficial to aquaculture, biodiversity, human well‐being or nature. In fact, citizens in all societal roles, including scientists, should revise their concepts about threats to fish biodiversity. Environmental policies require more than taxonomic diagnostics to achieve conservation goals under an incompatible scenario of a multiplying number of fish species and biotic homogenization. We advocate for countries in South America using science‐based strategies useful to maintain their social and economic growth along with their “remaining nature.” We live a crucial moment when the government overlooks threats to biodiversity and uses agribusiness as the most acceptable manner of fuelling the economy.

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Removing the abyss between conservation science and policy decisions in Brazil

Cited by 115 publications

References 28 publications

Is environmental legislation conserving tropical stream faunas? A large‐scale assessment of local, riparian and catchment‐scale influences on Amazonian fish

Is environmental legislation conserving tropical stream faunas? A large‐scale assessment of local, riparian and catchment‐scale influences on Amazonian fish

Protected areas: A focus on Brazilian freshwater biodiversity

A network meta‐analysis of threats to South American fish biodiversity

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