Forests as Resources for the Poor : The Rainforest Challenge.

At AGM01, the CGIAR decided to immediately initiate the regular Challenge Program(CP) process by calling for ideas. Of the 41 CP ideas received, 13 were recommended bythe interim Science Council (iSC) and endorsed by the CGIAR for pre-proposaldevelopment. The attached pre-proposal, Forests as Resources for the Poor: The Rainforest Challenge, is one of four proposals that the iSC considered meritorious and would further consider for review after meeting certain requirements. This preproposal was discussed at the stakeholder meeting at AGM02 : Agenda item 3, session III.Document date and author are unspecified

Necessity and challenges of nature conservation

Nature conservation is the preservation of resources that are produced naturally for example wild animals and plants, ecosystem and biodiversity especially from the effects of human activities for example exploitation and industrialization. Nature conservation is necessary in protecting the biodiversity for example to prevent animal species from endangering or extinct, protection for natural ecosystem and human’s freshwater sources for drinking purposes. Moreover, nature conservation is important in maintaining a long-life natural environment as well as an environment that is sustainable towards development. However, nature conservation is not an easy task as it requires a lot of manpower as well as money. Therefore, nature conservation is challenging as well. The challenges of nature conservation include human’s overpopulation, global warming and overharvesting. Human’s overpopulation is one of the most challenging factors that influences the practice of nature conservation

Nature Conservation Advisory Service for Farmers - A New Approach to Integrate Nature Conservation on Farm Level

From a historical point of view, it is obvious that agriculture is responsible for building the cultural landscapes of Europe. In a process of hundreds of years, the natural landscapes had been replaced by cultural ones. Of course, agriculture led to extinction of at least some mammal species, but replacing the forests by settlements with pastures, meadows, orchards, arable fields and structural elements increased the number of plant and animal species in the landscape. Several species were introduced from other continents

Valuing nature-conservation interests on agricultural floodplains

The ecosystem approach and evaluation of ecosystem services is gaining increasing attention from scientists, practitioners and policy makers. An important part of this process is to establish the `value' of the nature-conservation assets within an area. This value can then be compared with data for other ecosystem services to identify management priorities under different future scenarios. However, there is little consensus on how to perform such an evaluation. In this study, we assess seven methods of valuing nature-conservation interest and compare their utility. Five agricultural land drainage schemes across lowland England were selected for study. The current land-use was determined and four different scenarios of future management were developed. The land-use and habitats predicted under each scenario were assessed using seven methods of determining value, namely: Ecological Impact Assessment method, reserve-selection criteria, target-based criteria, stakeholder-choice analysis, reserve-selection criteria guided by stakeholders, agri-environment scheme payments and contingent valuation. The first three methods derive values based on pre-defined priorities, the next two use stated preferences of stakeholders, and the last two methods derive monetary values based on revealed and expressed preference, respectively. The results obtained from the different methods were compared. The methods gave broadly similar results and were highly correlated, but each method emphasized a different aspect of conservation value, leading to different possible outcomes in some cases. The advantages and disadvantages of each method were evaluated. Synthesis and applications. As the ecosystem services approach becomes embedded in decision-making, ecologists are increasingly called upon to value the biodiversity of a site or to compare the value of different sites. This study has shown that seven different valuation methods, although all giving significantly correlated findings, resulted in seven different rankings of nature-conservation value for the 25 situations studied. This difference occurred in spite of the sites being of the same landscape type and occurring within the same country. The discussion concludes that each method has its strengths; monetary valuations are appropriate in some contexts, stakeholder preferences are paramount in others, but where objectivity is key, then assessment against independently defined criteria or targets should be the preferred method

Compensatory Measures in European Nature conservation law

The Birds and Habitats Directives are the cornerstones of EU nature conservation law, aiming at the conservation of the Natura 2000 network, a network of protected sites under these directives, and the protection of species. The protection regime for these sites and species is not absolute: Member States may, under certain conditions, allow plans or projects that can have an adverse impact on nature. In this case compensatory measures can play an important role in safeguarding the Natura 2000 network and ensuring the survival of the protected species.This contribution analyses whether taking compensatory measures is always obligatory, and discusses the aim and the characteristics of compensatory measures, in relation to other kinds of measures such as mitigation measures, usual nature conservation measures, and former nature development measures, and to the assessment of the adverse impact caused by the plan or project and of the alternative solutions. The questions will be discussed in light of the contents of the legislation, the guidance and practice by the European Commission, (legal) doctrine and case law, mainly of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Framing the relationship between people and nature in the context of European conservation

A key controversy in conservation is the framing of the relationship between people and nature. The extent to which the realms of nature and human culture are viewed as separate (dualistic view) or integrated is often discussed in the social sciences. To explore how this relationship is represented in the practice of conservation in Europe, we considered examples of cultural landscapes, wildlife (red deer, reindeer, horses), and protected area management. We found little support, for a dualistic worldview, where people and nature are regarded as separate in the traditional practice of conservation in Europe. The borders between nature and culture, wild and domestic, public land and private land, and between protected areas and the wider landscape were blurred and dynamic. The institutionalized (in practice and legislation) view is of an interactive mutualistic system in which humans and nature share the whole landscape. However, more dualistic ideals, such as wilderness and rewilding that are challenging established practices are expanding. In the context of modern day Europe, wilderness conservation and rewilding are not valid for the whole landscape, although it is possible to integrate some areas of low-intervention management into a wider matrix. A precondition for success is to recognize and plan for a plurality of values concerning the most valid approaches to conservation and to plan for this plurality at the landscape scale