The Circle

The Circle is a magazine produced by the WWF Global Arctic Programme. The Circle is published four times a year, and each issue will focus on one specific Arctic-related topic. e

WWF - The Energy Report - 100% Renewable Energy

The WWF, World Wildlife Fund, has a vision of a world that is powered by 100% renewable energy resources by 2050. This report has recomendations and information on how this institution sees this transition possible

Plan de restauración a nivel de Paisaje del Corredor Ecológico Llanganates Sangay, Ecuador

Constituye el Plan de Restauración del Paisaje del Corredor Ecológico Llanganates Sangay, como resultado del proyecto se comparte una propuesta de monitoreo y evaluación del plan de restauración, sustentada en el seguimiento continuo de los avances a nivel de finca, el planteamiento de implementar parcelas permanentes de monitoreo con variables e indicadores para las distintas prácticas de restauración; y, un sistema cartográfico a nivel de CELS para el monitoreo quinquenal del estado de la cobertura y uso del suelo, de tal manera de permitir el establecimiento de comparaciones en este período de tiempo

Protected-Area Monitoring Dilemmas: a New Tool to Assess Success

Understanding factors that influence the success of protected areas in curbing unsustainable resource consumption is essential for determining best management strategies and allocating limited resources to those projects most likely to succeed. I used a law-enforcement and monitoring game-theory model from the political science literature to identify three key variables useful in predicting the success of a protected area: costs of monitoring for rule breakers, benefits of catching a rule breaker, and probability of catching a rule breaker if monitoring. Although assigning exact values for each of these variables was difficult, the variables had a strong predictive capacity even when coded as coarse ordinal values. A model in which such values were used correctly predicted the outcome of 88 of 116 protected areas sampled from the peer-reviewed literature. The model identified a critical zone of common mismatch between protected-area circumstances and management policies. In situations where the costs of monitoring were greater than the product of the probability of catching a rule breaker and the benefit of doing so, conservation was unlikely to succeed. Control of illegal use of protected resources was reported in only 8% of such cases, regardless of strategies to motivate potential users to cooperate with conservation. My model does not prescribe a best management policy for conserving natural resources; rather, it can be used as a tool to help predict whether a proposed management policy will likely succeed in a given situation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73781/1/COBI_1203_sm_AppendixS2.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73781/2/COBI_1203_sm_AppendixS1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73781/3/j.1523-1739.2009.01203.x.pd

Practitioner insights as a means of setting a context for conservation

A key obstacle to conservation success is the tendency of conservation professionals to tackle each challenge individually rather than collectively and in context. We sought to prioritize barriers to conservation previously described in the conservation literature. We undertook an online survey of 154 practitioners from over 70 countries to ascertain the most important barriers to conservation they faced. We used statistical analyses to identify the key impediments to conservation success and to examine whether these were affected by organizational attributes. Twenty‐one barriers were identified. The importance ascribed to those was influenced by continent of operation and organization size, but not by organization age or autonomy (from larger parent organizations). We found the most important barriers to consider when undertaking conservation action were wider issues (e.g., population growth, consumerism, favoring development, and industrial‐scale activity), operating environment (e.g., lack of political will, ineffective law enforcement, weak governments, corruption, safety and security), community attributes (e.g., dynamics, conflicts, and education levels), and the way conservation is undertaken (overconfidence, lack of funding, and externally set agendas). However, we advise against applying a one‐size‐fits‐all approach. We propose that conservationists account for the complex socioecological systems they operate in if they are to achieve success

Catching the future : Applying Bayesian belief networks to exploratory scenario storylines to assess long‐term changes in Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras, Clupeidae) and salmon (Salmo salar, Salmonidae) fisheries

Fisheries management aims to ensure that the fishing activities are environmentally sustainable in the long term, while also achieving the economic, social and food security related management objectives. To facilitate this, both the ecological and human dimensions of sustainability need to be included in fisheries assessment. In addition, assessing long-term sustainability calls for taking into account plausible changes in the surrounding societal conditions that shape the characteristics of the fisheries governance system, as well as the ecological conditions. The paper uses a combination of qualitative exploratory scenario storylines (ESS) and Bayesian belief networks (BBN) to integrate the environmental, economic, social and food security dimensions in an interdisciplinary assessment of the future sustainability of Baltic herring (Clupea harengus membras, Clupeidae) and salmon (Salmo salar, Salmonidae) fisheries. First, four alternative ESS were created based on plausible changes in societal drivers. The ESS were then formulated into a BBN to (a) visualize the assumed causalities, and (b) examine quantitatively how changes in the societal drivers affect the social-ecological fisheries system and ultimately the fisheries management objectives. This type of probabilistic scenario synthesis can help in thinking qualitative scenarios in a quantitative way. Moreover, it can increase understanding on the causal links between societal driving forces and the complex fisheries system and on how the management objectives can be achieved, thereby providing valuable information for strategic decision-making under uncertainty.Peer reviewe

A comparative approach to assess drivers of success in mammalian conservation recovery programmes

The outcomes of species recovery programmes have been mixed, with high-profile population recoveries contrasting with species-level extinctions. Although each conservation intervention faces its own challenges, it is imperative to assess whether such lessons have wider general applicability. To contribute towards evidence-based improvement of future conservation strategies, we conducted global-scale quantitative analysis of 48 mammalian recovery programmes based on peer-reviewed literature and semi-structured interviews with conservation scientists and practitioners, investigating ecological, management and political factors associated with population recoveries or declines. The importance of identifying and removing threats was shown strongly by our results, emphasizing that populations are likely to continue to be negatively impacted if threats are not reduced or removed. Our analysis also highlights the importance of management strategies such as robust threat monitoring. Small population size and lack of habitat were associated with longer-term dependence on conservation intervention; this demonstrates the importance of increasing population numbers quickly, and restoring and protecting habitat to ensure long-term population recovery. Informants also cited poor stakeholder coordination and management as key weaknesses in recovery programmes, indicating the importance of effective leadership and shared goals and management plans. Project outcomes were not influenced by ecological variables, suggesting that recommendations from our results are applicable to other recovery programmes. Our study demonstrates the value in conducting quantitative comparative assessments of factors influencing success in conservation interventions. We encourage further such studies, particularly at more geographically localised scales, and recommend that the conservation community continues to evaluate and learn lessons from past experiences and adapt future strategies accordingly

Causes and consequences of liana infestation in southern Amazonia

1. Lianas, a key component of tropical forests, can limit growth of trees, impacting both the structure and functioning of forests, and are expected to benefit from fragmentation and potentially from global climatic changes. While it is critical to understand the impacts of liana infestation on contemporary tropical forests across large geographical areas, to date most liana studies have been focussed on single or few sites. 2. We measured and quantified liana infestation of 16,066 trees with diameter ≥10 cm in 27 plots distributed across southern Amazonia, a region characterized by substantial ecological and environmental variation and environmental change. We examined the influence of potential drivers of liana infestation at the plot, species and individual tree level. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of liana infestation on tree growth. 3. More than half of all trees had lianas in their crown. At the plot level, infestation by lianas was driven by forest structure but not by the studied climate or soil fertility variables, though low levels of liana infestation were found in seasonally flooded forests. 4. At the tree level, larger and stouter trees had a greater proportion of their crown infested with lianas. At the species level, trees belonging to intrinsically slow‐growing, dense‐wooded species were more susceptible to liana infestation. 5. Liana infestation had a negative impact on tree growth, with growth of heavily infested trees reduced by 33% compared to non‐infested. The impact of liana infestation on tree growth was strongest for the best‐lit tree crowns, indicating that lianas act to reduce the large competitive advantage that well‐lit trees otherwise hold over their neighbours. 6. Synthesis. Lianas are a pervasive and influential feature of the extensive forests at the southern edge of Amazonia. The degree of liana infestation in forests was closely linked to species‐level variables such as potential growth and wood density as well as the size of the individual tree. The growth of heavily infested trees was particularly restricted by lianas, and especially so for trees growing in otherwise favourable conditions, indicating the potential for lianas not only to reduce forest growth rates overall, but also to modify competitive hierarchies among trees within tropical forests