Conservation Letters最新文献

Worldwide, more people are migrating to the forest frontier, significantly altering land use in smallholder farming communities, yet there is limited empirical evidence on the environmental impacts of this migration. The common assumption is that migrants disproportionately contribute to resource degradation. In this study, we investigate if migration drives deforestation in Madagascar, using national census data, global land cover datasets, and qualitative insights from drought-affected migrant-sending and forest-margin migrant-receiving areas. Quantitative analysis showed no evidence of spatial overlap between net positive in-migration and forest loss, and only a marginally significant negative relationship between in-migration and forest cover for extreme in-migration. The qualitative findings suggested that while in-migrants may sometimes access lands through clearing forestlands, they were no more likely than local people to clear land. These results challenge narratives of migrants as primary drivers of environmental degradation and highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of migration–environment interactions.

Lions (Panthera leo) in Africa are targeted for the illegal wildlife trade, driven by demand in African and Asian markets, for their body parts. This threat is distinct from traditional drivers of lion decline such as prey depletion, habitat loss, and persecution and is poorly understood, underreported, growing, and prone to the influence of organized transnational crime. Here, we synthesize the current state of knowledge on targeted poaching for lion parts, identify key conservation and legal challenges, and propose a coordinated response agenda, drawing on examples from around the continent. We call for consideration in six critical areas: improving in situ protection, effective engagement of communities in conservation interventions, improved understanding of trade dynamics, disrupting the trade via multiple mechanisms, strengthening legal frameworks, and demand reduction. We recommend a proactive approach to prevent entrenchment of poaching and illicit markets and avert severe impacts on lion populations. Without coordinated action to address targeted poaching, there is a significant risk of lion population declines and extirpations. Urgent action is needed to acknowledge and address this issue, because it represents a potentially existential threat to the species.

Chinese giant salamanders (CGSs, Andrias spp.) are apex freshwater predators representing an ancient evolutionary group, but are now critically endangered. Although multiple species-level lineages have recently been identified, their distributions remain poorly documented, hampering targeted conservation efforts. In response to wild population declines, over 200,000 captive-bred individuals have been released into the wild, sparking considerable controversy regarding their potential to bolster wild populations or cause genetic pollution. In this study, we surveyed 43 sites across China and detected CGSs at 35 locations using environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques. However, genetic analysis revealed a dominance of the widely farmed species Andrias davidianus outside its natural range, indicating genetic homogenization in the wild. This raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of CGS, as genetic uniformity in wild populations is associated with reduced diversity that potentially compromises adaptability and resilience. Our findings underscore the current challenges in CGS conservation, highlighting the importance of strategic conservation efforts that not only address population numbers but also prioritize the preservation of genetic diversity.

Effective and equitable conservation requires navigating complex interactions among diverse actors with often conflicting interests. While the concept of common interest holds promise for fostering collaboration and guiding decision-making, it remains underexplored in conservation. This article introduces a typology of interest and relevant concepts designed to distinguish common interests—those broadly shared within a community and expected to benefit the whole over the long term—from special interests that serve narrower constituencies. We define an interest as a pattern of demands supported by expectations and grounded in identifications, and classify conflicts of interest as primary (identity-based), secondary (value-based), and tertiary (assumption-based). To assess whether a policy truly serves the common interest, we propose three evaluative standards: substantive validity (whether assumptions are supported by evidence), pragmatic effectiveness (whether value outcomes meet community demands), and procedural inclusiveness (whether relevant perspectives are meaningfully engaged). Using elephant conservation as a recurring example, this article illustrates how the proposed typology can help conservationists achieve both conceptual clarity and practical competence in engaging diverse actors in effective problem-solving. Finally, we highlight the importance of deliberative democratic processes for aligning diverse interests toward the flourishing of people and nature.

Surfing's potential as a conservation tool is evaluated in West Africa and Atlantic Maghreb by analyzing the spatial overlap between surf spots and key environmental areas. Surfing communities often advocate for protecting their favored locations, linking wave preservation with broader ecosystem conservation. The methodology integrates surf spot data from reference guides with geospatial analysis to assess proximity to Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Ramsar sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). Findings reveal that of 146 surf spots across 15 countries, 96 are within or less than 3 km from protected or labeled areas, including 59 near MPAs, 61 near KBAs, and 31 near Ramsar sites. High-density regions, such as South Morocco, Senegal's Dakar Peninsula, Liberia's Robertsport, and Ghana's Gold Coast, offer significant opportunities for synergy between surfing and conservation. The concept of Surf Conservation and Wave/Surfing reserves could be integrated into coastal management policies to strengthen community-driven conservation efforts. Such initiatives could raise awareness, engage local communities, authorities, NGOs, and foreign stakeholders, and promote sustainable tourism. By adopting these strategies, West African and Maghreb nations could protect marine ecosystems, create economic opportunities, and establish a development model where environmental preservation and local economies mutually reinforce each other, fostering sustainable livelihoods.

Effective conservation of degraded ecosystems requires mitigation of the original cause of decline, but this is difficult in the context of global climate change. On coral reefs, persistent environmental stress, which causes coral bleaching, may be addressed in restoration efforts by using coral stocks which are naturally more resilient, an approach termed “proactive restoration” in terrestrial management. To explore the feasibility and consequences of this approach, we outplanted 391 colonies of seven species of reef-building coral designated as “thermally tolerant” or “thermally sensitive” via stress testing and monitored them for 2 years using photogrammetry to evaluate tradeoffs and Relative Return-on-Effort. We found no growth, complexity, or effort tradeoffs when using thermally tolerant corals, but tolerant corals had lower survivorship during our monitoring period, driven primarily by one genus. These data illustrate nuanced tradeoffs and consequences to proactive reef restoration and suggest that the potential benefits of this approach may only be fully realized during future coral bleaching events.

Fishery stocks that range partly or entirely beyond national jurisdictions pose substantial coordination challenges. Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) were created to coordinate the sustainable management of these resources. Although RFMOs aim to make decisions by consensus, formal votes can be held when that proves impossible. Each organization sets a threshold for a vote to pass, and these range from simple majority to supermajority or unanimity. Here, we use a multiplayer bioeconomic model to examine how different voting thresholds could affect conservation outcomes in these types of multilateral governance organizations. We show that higher thresholds—particularly consensus—result in worse conservation outcomes for fisheries with a history of open access and high exploitation. By contrast, lower voting thresholds, such as simple majority, result in worse conservation outcomes for emerging fisheries with a history of low exploitation. Our results show that the choice of voting thresholds has the potential to affect conservation outcomes, but is moderated by the initial exploitation state of the stock. These results raise questions about the UN's recommendation that all RFMOs aim for consensus-based decision-making.

Funding for conservation is limited and often biased towards charismatic megafauna. Funding agencies are less likely to support conservation focusing solely on herpetofauna that are relatively unknown to the public. Roadkill is a serious threat to the Hong Kong newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis), which is named after the city where it was first discovered but remained relatively unknown to its 7 million human inhabitants. To raise awareness about this threatened species and raise funds for its conservation, we organized a crowd-funded, single-species eco-art exhibition that showcased different aspects of the Hong Kong newt through high-quality art in various formats, including photography, videography, scientific illustration, and installation art. In a relatively short time, we managed to crowdsource the funds (>$40,000) needed to host the exhibition, raise awareness about the conservation of this species, and conduct systematic research to inform decision-making on the roadkill issue threatening this species using the funds raised. Here, we share the lessons learned through this experience, reflect on its impact on the conservation of a lesser-known local fauna, and highlight the potential applicability of this model.

Mixed-source translocation can reduce immediate extinction risk by increasing population size, genetic diversity, and individual fitness, but their long-term consequences remain debated. To rescue the perennial plant Arenaria grandiflora from extinction in the Fontainebleau Forest (northern France), local and non-local (Chinon, Central France) plants were multiplied in vitro, and clones were translocated to unoccupied sites in their original area of distribution. Therefore, the translocated populations presented higher genetic diversity compared to either source populations. Since then, two decades of demographic and genetic monitoring revealed that the genetic diversity of the restored populations remained stable while the relative amount of non-local genetic ancestry increased over generations. We found no evidence of maladaptation and, instead, a higher fitness of admixed individuals compared to individuals resembling either local or non-local gene-pools. This study provides unique insights into the dynamics between admixture and fitness in a conservation translocation program spanning approximately five generations.