Tropical Protected Areas Under Increasing Threats from Climate Change and Deforestation

Tabor, Karyn; Hewson, Jenny; Tien, Hsin; González‐Roglich, Mariano; Hole, David G.; Williams, John W.

doi:10.3390/land7030090

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(89 reference statements)

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“…Connectivity will become increasingly important in the Americas: South American protected areas are exposed to severe climate change risk that will likely necessitate large‐scale range shifts (Tabor et al. ), and Central American protected areas are undergoing forest loss that will result in increased isolation (Olsoy et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Likewise, connectivity allows for mobile species to use multiple protected areas to meet lifehistory needs (Hannah et al 2007, Santini et al 2016). Connectivity will become increasingly important in the Americas: South American protected areas are exposed to severe climate change risk that will likely necessitate large-scale range shifts (Tabor et al 2018), and Central American protected areas are undergoing forest loss that will result in increased isolation (Olsoy et al 2016). For protected areas located near borders, connectivity with other protected areas often is higher across an international border than with those located in the interior of the country, and protected area habitat is less fragmented in border landscapes than in interior landscapes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Thornton

Branch

Murray

2019

Ecological Applications

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Large‐scale anthropogenic changes to landscapes will cause species to move and shift their ranges against a backdrop of international political boundaries. Transboundary conservation efforts are therefore key to preserving intact and connected landscapes, particularly if such efforts can be implemented within the framework of protected area networks that provide for resiliency and persistence in the face of threats such as climate change. We studied the distribution, connectivity, and integrity of protected areas in regions near international borders within the Americas. We found that there is a greater proportion of land protected near vs. far from borders, with this effect extending approximately 125 km from the border. This trend was most pronounced when considering multiuse categories of protected areas in the analysis. We also found that there is greater connectivity of protected areas in border regions than more internally within countries, and relatively low rates of habitat loss within border‐situated and internal protected areas. Our results indicate that protected area networks are larger and more connected if considered in a transboundary context and that efforts to conserve species and mitigate effects of long‐term stressors like climate change will be most successful when planning includes neighboring countries. Despite a relative lack of attention to transboundary conservation in the Americas, our results suggest substantial opportunities for linking landscapes via a focus on international border regions and coordination across borders in protected areas management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Thornton

Branch

Murray

2019

Ecological Applications

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“…Between year 2010 and 2015, the average loss rate was estimated to 1.3% per year (Macdicken et al 2016), with the highest forest loss (−22%) in the Mekong region between 1996 and 2015 (Ingalls et al 2018a). Even protected areas are under increased pressure from deforestation (Grogan et al 2018, Tabor et al 2018, and drivers of deforestation have become increasingly international in scope and are strongly tied to global commodity markets and investment flows (Ingalls et al 2018b). Political efforts are therefore needed in order to reduce deforestation caused by industrial-scale, export-oriented agricultural production (Defries et al 2010).…”

Section: Economic Land Concessions and Carbon Loss In Cambodiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Foreign demand for agricultural commodities drives virtual carbon exports from Cambodia

Johansson

Olin

Seaquist

2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Rapid deforestation is a major sustainability challenge, partly as the loss of carbon sinks exacerbates global climate change. In Cambodia, more than 13% of the total land area has been contracted out to foreign and domestic agribusinesses in the form of economic land concessions, causing rapid large-scale land use change and deforestation. Additionally, the distant drivers of local and global environmental change often remain invisible. Here, we identify hotspots of carbon loss between 1987-2017 using the dynamic global vegetation model LPJ-GUESS and by comparing past and present land use and land cover. We also link global consumption and production patterns to their environmental effects in Cambodia by mapping the countries to which land-use embedded carbon are exported. We find that natural forests have decreased from 54%-21% between 1987 and 2017, mainly for the expansion of farmland and orchards, translating into 300 million tons of carbon lost, with loss rates over twice as high within economic land concessions. China is the largest importer of embedded carbon, mainly for rubber and sugarcane from Chinese agribusinesses. Cambodian investors have also negatively affected carbon pools through export-oriented products like rubber. The combined understanding of environmental change and trade flows makes it possible to identify distant drivers of deforestation, which is important for crafting more environmentally and socially responsible policies on national and transnational scales.

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Section: Regional Focus Area: the Dry Deciduous Forests Of Western Mamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As countries and regions differ in their demographics, geographies and governance [31], and are differently affected by climate change and biodiversity threats [32], we selected one regional example which promises high conservation payoff (in terms of biodiversity protection): the dry deciduous forest in western Madagascar. Madagascar is one of many developing countries rich in biodiversity and natural resources, but economically highly disadvantaged [33].…”

Section: Regional Focus Area: the Dry Deciduous Forests Of Western Mamentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Key Knowledge Gaps to Better Protect Biodiversity and Simultaneously Secure Livelihoods in a Priority Conservation Area

Frank

Schäffler

2019

Sustainability

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Global agreements like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Achi Biodiversity Targets (ABTs) aim to secure human well-being and to protect biodiversity, but little progress has been made in reaching these aims. The key role of biodiversity in securing human well-being is rarely considered a priority – instead short-term economic profits benefiting a few are prioritized. Particularly where local livelihoods rely on resources of protected areas for immediate survival, top-down enforced biodiversity conservation often increases social inequality, hunger and poverty and thus regularly fails. Identifying key knowledge gaps helps to adjust political priority setting and investment strategies to assess conservation threats and improve natural resource management. Since acting usually occurs at a local or regional scale, we focused on a priority conservation area in one of the world’s poorest countries — the dry deciduous forests of western Madagascar. We aimed to identify key knowledge gaps in this area which need to be filled to better protect biodiversity and simultaneously ensure well-being of the local poor. We consulted 51 predominantly Malagasy experts using questionnaires. These questionnaires listed 71 knowledge gaps we collated from the literature which the experts were asked to rank by importance. Experts were encouraged to list additional knowledge gaps. Averaging the scores of all experts, we identified the top 10 knowledge gaps. Two political knowledge gaps addressing the need to determine strategies which improve law enforcement and reduce corruption ranked highest, followed by an ecological one concerning appropriate restoration and a socio–economic one regarding economic benefits locals gain from biodiversity. The general knowledge gap perceived as most important addressed strategies for long-term funding. Only one additional knowledge gap was identified: the impact of climate change-driven human migration from southwestern to central western Madagascar on socio–economic problems and its impacts on natural resources We linked the identified top 10 knowledge gaps as well as the additional knowledge gap suggested by experts to the SDGs, ABTs and 2 °C target of the Paris Climate Agreement, and discussed why these gaps were considered a priority. This research highlights important ecological, socio–economic and political research priorities and provides guidelines for policy makers and funding organizations.

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Tropical Protected Areas Under Increasing Threats from Climate Change and Deforestation

Cited by 32 publications

References 67 publications

Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Foreign demand for agricultural commodities drives virtual carbon exports from Cambodia

Identifying Key Knowledge Gaps to Better Protect Biodiversity and Simultaneously Secure Livelihoods in a Priority Conservation Area

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