This collaborative project, sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and others, developed biodiversity indicators to support planning and decision-making at the national level in four participating countries. In each country national partners developed and tested several indicators for a single focal ecosystem, using an iterative process of consultation, inventory and synthesis of existing data.
The BINU project has launched this 20-page booklet on its experience and lessons learned in developing biodiversity indicators for national use.
Resource Type: ReportsThe World Atlas of Biodiversity is the first map-based view of the world's living resources and so addresses the remarkable growth in concern at all levels for living things and the environment. It provides a wealth of facts and figures on the importance of forests, wetlands, marine and coastal environments and other key ecosystems.
Resource Type: BooksThe Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forest series was produced under the Tropical Forest Conservation Programme of IUCN, with much of the research, editing and map preparation done at WCMC. The Atlases provide an overview of the status of tropical forests, with discussions on their history, agricultural colonization policies and deforestation, conservation polices for plants and wildlife, protected areas and a country-by-country analysis of status and trends. Although these Atlases were produced in the early 1990s, they still provide a valuable reference source for forest conservationists and researchers.
Resource Type: BooksThe Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forest series was produced under the Tropical Forest Conservation Programme of IUCN, with much of the research, editing and map preparation done at WCMC. The Atlases provide an overview of the status of tropical forests, with discussions on their history, agricultural colonization policies and deforestation, conservation polices for plants and wildlife, protected areas and a country-by-country analysis of status and trends. Although these Atlases were produced in the early 1990s, they still provide a valuable reference source for forest conservationists and researchers.
Resource Type: BooksThe Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forest series was produced under the Tropical Forest Conservation Programme of IUCN, with much of the research, editing and map preparation done at WCMC. The Atlases provide an overview of the status of tropical forests, with discussions on their history, agricultural colonization policies and deforestation, conservation polices for plants and wildlife, protected areas and a country-by-country analysis of status and trends. Although these Atlases were produced in the early 1990s, they still provide a valuable reference source for forest conservationists and researchers.
Resource Type: BooksThis synthesis focuses on estimates of biodiversity change as projected for the 21st century by models or extrapolations based on experiments and observed trends. The term “biodiversity” is used in a broad sense as it is defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity to mean the abundance and distributions of and interactions between genotypes, species, communities, ecosystems and biomes. This synthesis pays particular attention to the interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem services and to critical “tipping points” that could lead to large, rapid and potentially irreversible changes. Comparisons between models are used to estimate the range of projections and to identify sources of uncertainty. Experiments and observed trends are used to check the plausibility of these projections. In addition we have identified possible actions at the local, national and international levels that can be taken to conserve biodiversity. We have called on a wide range of scientists to participate in this synthesis, with the objective to provide decision makers with messages that reflect the consensus of the scientific community and that will aid in the development of policy and management strategies that are ambitious, forward looking and proactive.
Resource Type: ReportsChapter from Biodiversity Loss & Conservation in Fragmented Forest Landscapes. The Forests of Montane Mexico and South America.
Resource Type: ReportsOver recent decades, biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction have both become international societal and political goals. There is recognition of the links between these two goals both within the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Millennium Development Goals. However, the causal relationships are not so simple either that one can say poverty causes biodiversity loss, or improvements in biodiversity reduce poverty. This suggests a need to be more specific in defining what types of poverty and biodiversity issues are being assessed.
Two “state of knowledge” reviews were commissioned to explore the evidence base for two common assumptions about the link between biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction: 1) that the poor depend on biodiversity; and 2) that biodiversity conservation can be a mechanism for poverty reduction. These attempt to tease apart the issues of what type of poverty and what type of biodiversity are being assessed.
Resource Type: ReportsThis study demonstrates the utility of carbon isotope discrimination in describing genetic adaptation to arid environments, although it is probably most useful in detecting differentiation when the strategy of the species under investigation is to increase water use efficiency, rather than drought-avoidance. The results suggest that populations on the eastern and western sides of the Andes should be treated as separate management units for the purposes of conserving the genetic resource of this species.
Resource Type: Journal PapersThis is a brief introduction to biodiversity indicators in a forest environment - their definition, source, presentation and uses.
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