Conservation Letters最新文献

Solar photovoltaic (PV) has become the second renewable energy source, giving rise to potential conflicts with biodiversity conservation. However, the information available about the impacts and mitigation measures of solar PV energy is scarce and scattered, and a rigorous and comprehensive review on the topic is lacking. Here, we review the state of knowledge on its impacts and mitigation measures and identify main knowledge gaps. For that, we reviewed more than 2000 articles, out of which only 180 assessed the impacts of solar PV (N = 138) and/or propose mitigation measures (65). Even though Asia and Europe head the list of regions with the highest PV installed capacity (59% and 22%, respectively), a large portion of the existing knowledge is drawn from North American environmental contexts (48% of the studies), specifically from deserts (41%). Impacts were addressed on plants (26%), arthropods (14%), birds (10%), microorganisms (10%), reptiles (7%), mammals (4%), and bats (1%), but also on abiotic factors (e.g., humidity and temperature; 20%) and ecosystem services (3%). Most studies addressed the impact of PV on habitat alteration at landscape (33%) and microhabitat scale (20%), and on microclimate at microhabitat scale (17%), but other topics have been scarcely addressed (e.g., impact on microclimate at landscape scale or the potential of agrivoltaic systems). Lastly, 53% of the studies employed a single PV facility, and preconstruction situations were rarely reported (8%). There is a strong environmental context bias in the current understanding of PV impacts, which might not be extrapolable to other environmental situations like farmlands, where most of the solar PV capacity is being installed. Moreover, standardized and robust sampling designs are lacking to address cumulative, long-term, and long-scale impacts and produce comparable findings across contexts. Given the lack of empirical evidence and the irrepressible development of PV energy, it is advisable to apply an iterative monitoring and adaptive process to guarantee a safe energy transition. This review may provide useful guidance on prioritizing research efforts for a smooth shift to renewable energy.

Unsustainable snaring is causing biodiversity declines across tropical protected areas, resulting in species extinctions and jeopardizing the health of forest ecosystems. Here, we used 11 years of ranger-collected data to assess the impact of intensive snare removal on snaring levels in two protected areas in Viet Nam. Snare removal resulted in significant declines in snare occupancy (36.9, 95% Bayesian credible interval [4.6, 59.0] reduction in percent area occupied), but snaring levels nonetheless remained high (31.4, [23.6, 40.8] percent area occupied), and came with a substantial financial cost. Our results indicate that snare removal remains an important component of efforts to protect tropical protected areas but by itself is likely insufficient to address this threat. To stop snaring in protected areas, a multifaceted approach will be necessary that combines short-term reactive snare removal with long-term proactive programs that address the underlying drivers behind snaring.

Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) create opportunities for a wide range of area-based conservation strategies. As countries seek to integrate OECMs into conservation planning, it is useful to consider the types of areas that might meet the formal criteria. To support this goal, I analyzed the different types of measures discussed as possible OECMs in the literature, identifying a wide range of measures, far more diverse than those currently recognized as OECMs. There was a strong emphasis on measures with conservation as a secondary management objective, with most studies being supportive of the potential to balance biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource use. However, many studies have highlighted the need to ensure biodiversity outcomes are achieved and sustained, and that appropriate governance and management structures are in place. Concerns were raised about measures associated with resource extraction, such as fisheries and forestry, which were often considered incompatible with conservation. Very few studies offered a nuanced discussion of specific measures or evaluated whether sites offer conservation outcomes, leaving clear knowledge gaps in translating speculation into evidence. Nevertheless, the current literature offers a strong starting point from which to target potential case studies to build the evidence base necessary to advance OECMs.

To achieve the goals of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), agreed by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, there is an urgent need to address the economic drivers of biodiversity loss. The KMGBF includes a target to encourage businesses and financial institutions to disclose their impacts and dependences on biodiversity. While transparent biodiversity disclosures could help shift business operations away from activities that harm biodiversity, the weak target wording implies voluntary and unstandardized disclosures, which tend to be low quality and ineffective. Moreover, examination of scientific and practical insights strongly indicates that the evolving strategy of disclosures led by businesses may prioritize short-term business and investment interests while neglecting biodiversity outcomes and the wider systemic risks they pose. We argue that there is a risk of limited if not altogether perverse outcomes from the target, where businesses provide ambiguous disclosures that fail to reduce impacts on biodiversity, yet an increase in volume and frequency of disclosures suggests progress toward the target. Consequently, we advocate for a regulatory approach, supported by scientific engagement in the development of disclosure standards and associated policy indicators, to ensure that the emerging response to the KMGBF target on disclosures avoids perverse outcomes and instead results in positive impacts on biodiversity.

Ecological risk assessments (ERAs) are crucial when developing national strategies to manage adverse effects from pesticide exposure to natural populations. Yet, estimating risk with surrogate species in controlled laboratory studies jeopardizes the ERA process because natural populations exhibit intraspecific variation within and across species. Here, we investigate the extent to which the ERA process underestimates the risk from pesticides on different species by conducting a meta-analysis of all records in the ECOTOX Knowledgebase for honey bees and wild bees exposed to neonicotinoids. We found the knowledgebase is largely populated by acute lethality data on the Western honey bee and exhibits within and across species variation in LD50 up to 6 orders of magnitude from neonicotinoid exposure. We challenge the reliability of surrogate species as predictors when extrapolating pesticide toxicity data to wild pollinators and recommend solutions to address the (a)biotic interactions occurring in nature that make such extrapolations unreliable in the ERA process.

The international community set a global conservation target to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (“30 × 30”) to reverse biodiversity loss, including through marine protected areas (MPAs). However, varied MPAs result in significantly different conservation outcomes, making MPA coverage alone an inadequate metric. We used The MPA Guide framework to assess the the world's largest 100 MPAs by area, representing nearly 90% of reported global MPA coverage and 7.3% of the global ocean area, and analyzed the distribution of MPA quality across political and ecological regions. A quarter of the assessed MPA coverage is not implemented, and one-third is incompatible with the conservation of nature. Two factors contribute to this outcome: (1) many reported MPAs lack regulations or management, and (2) some MPAs allow high-impact activities. Fully and highly protected MPAs account for one-third of the assessed area but are unevenly distributed across ecoregions in part because some nations have designated large, highly protected MPAs in their overseas or remote territories. Indicators of MPA quality, not only coverage, are needed to ensure a global network of MPAs that covers at least 30% of the ocean and effectively safeguards representative marine ecosystems from destructive human activities.

Environmental losses are increasingly evoking ‘‘ecological grief’’ among environmental and conservation professionals. Ecological grief is a natural but difficult psychological experience, and a risk to well-being. Despite this, there are currently few resources available to support environmental professionals and their organizations to reduce the risks to well-being and cope effectively with ecological grief. As a result, environmental professionals who experience this risk in the workplace are unlikely to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, or context to support themselves, colleagues, or peers, in experiences of ecological grief. In this paper, we provide information, guidance, and examples of workplace support for ecological grief. Drawing on insights from the field of grief and bereavement, we identify peer support and organizational responses as key supportive factors for those experiencing ecological grief. We also present a new concept, ‘‘ecological grief literacy,’’ to guide effective peer and organizational support. While peers have the potential to provide interpersonal support and connection for ecological grieving, it is essential that the organizations that employ environmental professionals enact policies and practices that provide structures, resources, and contexts to enable environmental professionals to effectively support ourselves and each other.

Uncontrolled crossbreeding is a major challenge to the conservation of landrace horses in East Asia. Understanding the factors driving this trend is crucial for effective conservation efforts. Here, we investigate the genomic makeup of 40 Mongolian Naadam racehorses and 21 Asian landrace horse breeds through analyzing whole-genome resequencing and Y chromosome data. Our results show that crossbreeding practices are linked to horse-racing traditions. Regions characterized by strong horse-racing traditions and a lack of crossbreeding regulations exhibit significant levels of exotic genetic introgression, as observed in populations from Inner Mongolia and Central Asia. However, in Mongolia, despite having strong horse-racing traditions, the implementation of policies aimed at preserving traditional horse-racing culture effectively reduces exotic introgression. These results suggest that horse-racing traditions are the main driver of crossbreeding practices. Our research highlights that the preservation of traditional values in landrace horses, achieved through carefully managed horse-racing activities, can lead to successful conservation outcomes.

Forest loss and overhunting are eroding African tropical biodiversity and threatening local human food security, livelihoods, and health. Emblematic of this ecological crisis is Africa's most endangered group of monkeys, the red colobus (genus Piliocolobus). All 17 species, found in forests from Senegal in the west to the Zanzibar archipelago in the east, are threatened with extinction. Red colobus are among the most vulnerable mammals to gun hunting, typically disappearing from heavily hunted forests before most other large-bodied animals. Despite their conservation status, they are rarely a focus of conservation attention and continue to be understudied. However, red colobus can act as critical barometers of forest health and serve as flagships for catalyzing broader African tropical forest conservation efforts. We offer a plan for conservation of red colobus and their habitats and discuss conservation and policy implications.