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  Meeting Aichi Target 11: What does success look like for protected area systems? »

  The Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 was adopted at the 10th Conference of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan. The plan outlines 20 Aichi Targets to achieve global biodiversity conservation. A fundamental global approach to biodiversity conservation is the use of protected areas. Arguably all 20 Aichi Targets have implications for the establishment and management of protected areas, but only Target 11 addresses them directly. This paper carries out a clause by clause analysis of Target 11 and makes recommendations to countries on interpreting each clause in order to best achieve biodiversity conservation using protected areas. Despite containing only 61 words, Target 11 is surprisingly dense. It applies to both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and sets goals for spatial planning (representativeness, ecological connectivity and areas of importance for biodiversity); protected areas management (including management effectiveness and social equity); and criteria about what counts toward being a protected area under Target 11. The authors argue for a holistic interpretation of Target 11 as a way for the global community to use protected areas to change the current unacceptable trends in global biodiversity loss.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  ECO-ED: rhetoric or progress? »

  The World Congress for Education and Communication on Environment and Development (ECO-ED), which took place in Toronto, Canada, 17-21 October 1992, was multisectoral in scope, accommodating individuals and groups from business, aid agencies, the NGO community, government, the media, UN agencies (UNEP/UNESCO), educators and education associations.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Crossroads of Life on Earth - Exploring means to meet the 2010 Biodiversity Target »

  The aim of this assessment study was to explore policy options under current discussion in the global political arena that could have major positive or negative impacts on biodiversity. The central concern of the assessment is the achievement of the 2010 Biodiversity Target at global and regional levels, as agreed upon under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Protecting the future: carbon, forest, protected areas and local livelihoods »

  Protected areas can act as a case study for REDD: lessons can be learnt from their success or otherwise in reducing deforestation and supporting local livelihoods. Further research into the most effective management and governance frameworks for acheiving goals on carbon emissions, biodiversity and communities, and the extent to which protected areas reduce (or merely displace) deforestation within national boundaries would be useful in informing REDD implementation.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Physiographic control on the development of Spartina marshes »

  We made a complete survey of all the extant populations in Djibouti and to collect samples for genetic analysis with a view conserving the palm for the future.
  Our survey revealed that there were a total of 314 adults, 20 juveniles, 134 rosettes, 210 small rosettes (more than 6 leaves) and 465 seedlings (<3 leaves) living in the Bankouale area of Djibouti. These are distributed unequally amongst three valley systems. 65% of the adults, 85% of the juveniles, 75% of the rosettes, 76% of the small rosettes, and 93 % of the seedlings were found in the Bankouale valley.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  A comparison between Tundra and wet grassland breeding waders with special reference to the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) »

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  China Ecosystem Services and Poverty Alleviation Situation Analysis and Research Strategy Final Report »

  In 2008 UNEP-WCMC produced a report with a consortium of Chinese and international partners on research needs for reducing poverty through better ecosystem management in China. This work was for DFID, NERC and ESRC of the UK government, as a contribution to their design of a proposed international research programme on ecosystem services for poverty alleviation (www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/espa/) The China ESPA report identified that China’s great progress in poverty reduction has slowed, as the remaining poor tend to be found in environments of low productivity or high risk of ecosystem degradation, such as mountains, grasslands and deserts. The government of China is investing heavily in poverty reduction and environmental management, with opportunities for improving the synergies between these activities. Research needs include better understanding of ecosystem functioning for multiple services, and development of methods to analyse policies and projects for both poverty reduction and supply of ecosystem services.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Carbon in Drylands: Desertification, Climate Change and Carbon Finance »

  This paper reviews the potential for carbon sequestration in dryland ecosystems, which includes forests, but also covers other habitats, such as grasslands, and, importantly, soils. It also considers ways in which carbon storage in drylands affects land degradation issues.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Patterns of Biodiversity in Arctic Birds: WCMC Biodiversity Bulletin No. 3 (1998) »

  Arctic ecosystems are harsh and inhospitable, containing very low species diversity. However, although the habitats are relatively homogeneous throughout the circumpolar Arctic region, differences in species richness and areas of outstanding species richness can be recognised. Analysis of patterns in species diversity can be used to prioritise regions for conservation in the Arctic. Towards this goal, the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) programme has been compiling information on the distribution and abundance of species and ecosystems in the Arctic. The work described in this report was designed to complement other ongoing projects and was included in the CAFF V work plan. It was carried out under an EU fellowship at UNEP-WCMC.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Progress towards international targets for protected area coverage in mountains »

  Through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the world’s governments recently adopted a target to protect at least 17% of the global land area by 2020. This paper evaluates current levels of protection for mountains at multiple scales. It shows that the CBD’s 17% target has already been almost met at a global scale: 16.9% of the world’s mountain areas outside Antarctica fall within protected areas. However, protection of mountain areas at finer scales remains uneven and is largely insufficient, with 63% (125) of countries, 57% (4) of realms, 67% (8) of biomes, 61% (437) of ecoregions and 53% (100) of Global 200 priority ecoregions falling short of the target. The CBD target also calls for protected areas to be focussed “especially [at] areas of particular importance for biodiversity”. Important Bird Areas and Alliance for Zero Extinction sites represent existing global networks of such sites. It is therefore of major concern that 39% and 45% respectively of these sites in mountain areas remain entirely unprotected. Achievement of the CBD target in mountain regions will require more focused expansion of the protected area network in addition to enhanced management of individual sites and the wider countryside in order to ensure long term conservation of montane biodiversity and the other ecosystem services it provides.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers