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  Environment on the Edge 2006 - 2007 »

  This publication presents five of the lectures from the 2006 - 2007 'Environment on the Edge' lecture series. It includes the following themes:

  •Europe on the edge Professor - Jacqueline McGlade
  •Are we running out of oil? - Dr Jeremy Leggett and Dr Ian Vann
  •The impacts of the Three Gorges Dam - Professor Zhang Jing
  •Humans and carbon: a Faustian bargain? - Professor Berrien Moore III
  •Valuing sustainability - Richard Saxon CBE
  •Transport: a case of systematic sclerosis? - Professor David Fisk

  Resource Type: Reports
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  UN-REDD in Tanzania. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (MSc Project) »

  The conservation of world forests is an important measure in order to address the ever-worsening consequences of climate change. Tanzania has over 34 million hectares of forests and woodland habitats (more than 30% of the whole country). This report concludes that REDD strategies in Tanzania should be integrated with, and improve upon, current conservation strategies.

  Resource Type: Reports
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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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  Using Higher-Taxon Richness as a Surrogate for Species Richness: I. Regional Tests »

  In the first of two papers, we explored congruence between species and higher-taxon richness across protected areas in Indo-Malaya and the Pacific rim. Our results support the use of the higher-taxon approach in guiding tropical conservation, but with certain reservations. In all three groups examined, higher-taxon richness was quite closely related to species number. However, the precision with which absolute species richness of reserves could be predicted from higher-taxon richness was often surprisingly low, particularly for rich sites where surveying higher taxa rather than species would save most time. The performance of higher taxa as surrogates also dropped sharply with increasing taxonomic rank, resulting in a trade-off between time saved by high-level surveys and the value of those surveys. Lastly, we found that species richness within individual higher taxa was potentially as powerful an indicator of the overall species diversity of a site as the number of higher taxa it contained.

  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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  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
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  Restoration of Tropical Dry Forests »

  Chapter from MAINSTREAMING BIODIVERSITY ISSUES INTO FORESTRY AND AGRICULTURE. Abstracts of Poster Presentations at the 13th Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity 18-22 February 2008, Rome, Italy.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Uncertainty in predictions of extinction risk/Effects of changes in climate and land use/Climate change and extinction risk (reply) »

  The number of environmental variables used during modelling could affect the outcome, but we found no correlation between these and our estimates of extinction risk in global samples. Although further investigation is needed, it is unlikely to result in substantially reduced estimates of extinction. Anthropogenic climate change seems set to generate very large numbers of species-level extinctions.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Restoration of wooded landscapes: placing U.K. initiatives in a global context »

  This publication comprises the proceedings of the conference ‘The Restoration of Wooded Landscapes’, held at Heriot Watt University in September 2000. The principle aim of the conference was to bring together researchers, practitioners and policymakers to allow a full and free exchange of views, information and ideas on the theme of native woodland restoration at the landscape scale (areas in excess of 1 km2). This includes creating new native woodland, restoring planted ancient woodland, and expanding existing native woodlands.

  Resource Type: Reports