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  Carbon Markets and Forest Conservation: A review of the Environmental Benefits of REDD Mechanisms »

  This report considers the measures that have been and might be undertaken to promote environmental co-benefits from REDD. Such measures may be linked to decisions on financing. The report surveys the measures that are found in existing REDD initiatives, including in the proposed UNFCCC REDD mechanism itself. It considers the options and opportunities for how these measures might be amended and developed in the future.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Carbon, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services: Exploring Co-benefits Ecuador »

  Analyses of the spatial relationships between carbon, co-benefits and socio-economic context can support planning and decision-making at national and sub-national scales. When such spatial analyses are based on data developed at an appropriate scale, done in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, they can help to prioritise among the different benefits and services under consideration and the actions that might best deliver them.

  Ecuador is a country with high forest cover and very high biodiversity. However, Ecuadorian forests are under pressure from deforestation and resource exploitation. The government is addressing the issue by planning for a high quality REDD+ mechanism that maximises benefits for the climate, the environment and people. This report presents the result of spatial analyses to support this planning process.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Threat from deforestation to montane and lowland birds and mammals in insular South-east Asia »

  A reduction in forest area should result in a reduction of its number of species and, moreover, do so in a characteristic way according to the familiar species-area relationship. Brooks, Pimm & Collar (1997) applied this formula to the losses in forest area in the Philippines and Indonesia. Independently derived totals of the number of endemic bird species that are threatened with extinction broadly agree with these predicted losses. In some cases, however, predicted losses overestimate or underestimate the actual numbers of threatened species.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Dead planet, living planet: Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development »

  This report is a contribution to the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity and is a complement to the UNEP-hosted Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) which is bringing visibility to the wealth of the world’s natural capital. It documents over 30 successful case studies referencing thousands of restoration projects ranging from deserts and rainforests to rivers and coasts. The report confirms that restoration is not only possible but can prove highly proftable in terms of public savings; returns and the broad objectives of overcoming poverty and achieving sustainability. It also provides important recommendations on how to avoid pitfalls and how to minimize risks to ensure successful restoration.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Monitoring international wildlife trade with coded species data: response to Gerson et al »

  We suggest that well-targeted instruments that consider contextual information, such as conservation status, are the most effective and efficient approach to monitoring international wildlife trade for conservation purposes. Where relevant, such instruments could be expanded to include additional species not currently protected, or new instruments could be developed to monitor certain groups as appropriate.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  First indications of a sharp population decline in the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhuchus pygmeus »

  Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus is classed as globally Vulnerable, based on the only available population estimate, made in 1977, of 2,000-2,800 pairs. Surveys for breeding Spoon-billed Sandpipers were carried out in summer 2000 on the Anadyr estuary coast, the Chukotka autonomous region, Russia. Although six new breeding sites were found, only 16-17 breeding males/pairs were recorded on the northern coast of the Anadyr estuary and five males/pairs on the southern coast and more southerly lagoons. These numbers were much lower than expected, and the species was not recorded in several apparently suitable areas.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Conservation data for smarter business decisions »

  National Parks and other protected areas not only provide a safe haven for biodiversity, they provide benefits to local communities and preserve some of the most beautiful places on our planet. ‘Coverage of protected areas’ is also a specific indicator in the 2010 Target of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
  Obtaining the data necessary to monitor trends in protected areas requires a massive effort by national authorities to compile, analyse and then distribute this data to the centralised depository of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). With a living and growing system of protected areas that now exceed 100,000 sites covering 19 million square kilometres, you can imagine that this is no small task!

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Mountain watch: map-based overview of environmental change in mountains »

  Chapter from STATUS AND TRENDS OF, AND THREATS TO, MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, MARINE, COASTAL AND INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS: abstracts of poster presentations at the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Biodiversity Data Sourcebook (1994) »

  140 pages of tabular data with supporting text and graphics, on global biodiversity. Topics are covered in a concise way, using tables supported by minimal text and graphics. They include country species diversity, threatened species, national Red Data Books, major food crops, domestic livestock, marine resources, tropical forests, protected areas and systematics collections.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Protected areas: an effective tool to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries? »

  Successful implementation of REDD is likely to require the reduction of deforestation rates on a national scale. Designation of new protected areas and strengthening of the current protected area network could form one strategy for achieving this. This review aims to inform the debate through an assessment of the effects of forest designation and management on deforestation rates, and through consideration of the design and management-related factors that influence protected area effectiveness in reducing deforestation. The evidence suggests that protected areas are an effective tool for reducing deforestation within their boundaries. The extent to which this deforestation is displaced to surrounding areas is unclear. Protected areas designated under the more restrictive IUCN categories (I-II) seem to be more effective than those that may include a focus on sustainable use (V-VI). However, there are only a small number of studies on deforestation within category V-VI protected areas.

  Resource Type: Reports