New Research on Biodiversity and Nature
A round-up of recent work published in scientific journals
Africa’s disappearing raptors. Conservation philanthropy in China. Eating sharks in India. Leaky EU biodiversity strategy. National bioeconomy visions. Sacred forests.
Widespread population collapses for birds of prey in Africa. Many of Africa’s raptors are at risk from loss of habitat and of prey, as well as persecution. In this paper, researchers assessed population trends for 42 raptor species and found that 37 of them have declined in recent decades. Notably, for 29 of these species, the population decline has been steep enough to indicate a risk of extinction. Declines were greatest in West Africa, and more than twice as severe outside of protected areas than within. Read the full paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Aligning philanthropy with conservation in China: Philanthropic funding for biodiversity conservation in China equated to US$279 million in the past five years. This was less than one percent of philanthropic funding to all sectors nationwide. This paper analyzes sources and uses of conservation funding, and highlights significant results despite the modest amount of finance. The authors urge philanthropic donors and nongovernmental organizations to align their strategies with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Read the full paper in Conservation Science and Practice.
Who is eating sharks in India? Many species of sharks and rays are threatened by overfishing. In India, which ranks third among nations for catching these fish, researchers surveyed more than 2,600 seafood restaurants in ten coastal states to understand consumption patterns. Only 9.8 percent of the restaurants sold shark or ray meat, and just two states accounted for 70 percent of the restaurants selling shark. Local people and tourists are both driving demand. The authors suggest ways to reduce threats to sharks and rays through targeted activities in consumption hotspots. Read the full paper in Conservation Science and Practice.
Leakage of biodiversity risks under the EU Biodiversity Strategy: The European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2030 is a landmark policy enhancing forest conservation and protection in the EU. But according to this paper, implementing the strategy could harm biodiversity elsewhere by causing timber harvesting to increase in non-EU countries with poorer governance, less sustainable forest management and higher extinction risks. The authors say that safeguards — and sustained roundwood production in the EU — are needed to protect ecosystems elsewhere. Read the full paper in Conservation Biology.
Global analysis of governmental bioeconomy visions: Governments around the world are developing strategies for shifting towards a bioeconomy that uses renewable biological resources — rather than fossil fuels — for materials, chemicals, energy, and so on. In this paper, researchers analyzed policy documents from 50 countries to understand how governments envision a bioeconomy. They identified more than 200 distinct policy goals and linked them to three main types of bioeconomy visions. They found that ‘bioresource visions’ focused on efficient production and use of biomass dominated over ‘biotechnology visions’ and ’bioecology visions’. Policy goals and visions prioritize economic growth, while environmental considerations are less common. Read the full paper in Ambio.
Biodiversity in sacred forests: Communities around the world protect local forests that have religious or spiritual value. Few studies have assessed how important these sacred forests are for conserving biodiversity. This paper reviewed 35 studies from 17 countries to compare sacred forests with nearby non-sacred forests. The researchers found that sacred forests had similar levels of biodiversity and can be effective areas for conservation. Read the full paper in Conservation Science and Practice.
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