Looking beyond avoided deforestation to realistic land-use options for REDD+ in Papua New Guinea

In Africa, most land and many natural resources are the property of the state and/or vested in the government for the people. Governments have established separate, distinct rights regimes for land and many resources (e.g., oil, natural gas, minerals and wildlife), governed by different laws and administered by various institutions. Rural people may legally hold a relatively small bundle of land rights—usually limited to surface rights and some rights to certain natural resources (e.g., water rights for domestic use only). Often, rights to high-value natural resources are allocated to outside, foreign entities for large-scale operations. As a result, rights to various resources on/under a plot of land may be held by various individuals and entities. As governments promote economic development through private investments in their natural resources, instances of overlapping land and natural resource rights have become more common. Overlapping rights are a growing source of rural conflict as rights holders pursue sometimes contradictory land use practices. We provide a legal review of mineral and petroleum laws in Liberia, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya to assess the authorities of resource holders operating on private land and the rights of landholders. We provide some comparative analyses across the two natural resources and across the research countries. The recommendations are designed to reduce conflicts over land use and better secure the wellbeing of landholders.

As the human population becomes larger, wealthier and more sophisticated, the pressures we exert on the natural environments around us expand and intensify at pace. Understanding the current state of these influences, as well as how they have changed in the past and might be expected to change in the future, is a fundamental prerequisite for making informed decisions about how and where to protect our remaining natural areas. Here, we present an update to the human footprint map and its complement, the last of the wild. These maps give us a quantitative metric to measure and visual at the global scale the impacts of humans on nature for the approximate periods of 1990, 2000 and 2010. By comparing across these periods we are able to identify the places on the globe that have been most significantly impacted over the last two decades, and areas that still remain largely ‘wild’. Some of this observed change is due to true expansion of human impacts, while some can be attributed to improvements in the data products that describe our understanding of these impacts. We use complementary data on economic trends to tease apart these phenomena. Using a statistical description of the observed changes in the human footprint from 1990 to 2010, we are able to project the human footprint into the future, and highlight which of the planet’s last while areas are most at risk of being lost in the future to expanding human impacts.

Funding constrains have traditionally limited conservation interventions, with most organizations relying on individual donations as their key fundraising strategy. The WWF, for example, raised through this system in 2011, more than US$ 415 million, about 53% of its total income. As such, an understanding of what drives individual donations is key to improve fundraising for conservation. One popular system of capturing individual donations is through symbolic animal adoptions. In this context, we set out to understand what were the factors driving animal adoptions on WWF-US website. To achieve this, we used a four year dataset on adoptions of 104 species. We used best-subsets regression and AICc values to identify the strongest model, which explained about a third of the variation in donations to different species. Species physical attributes such as appearance and body size played an important role in driving donations, with more attractive but smaller bodied species receiving more donations. Another key was the amount of online coverage that WWF-US dedicated to a species, with more coverage leading to an increased in donations. Lastly, the number of similar species within the dataset was also an important factor, with more distinctive species receiving more donations. This study is one of the first to investigate the drivers of real monetary donations to conservation, showing that both flagship species and marketing strategy can be crucial to fundraising.

Forested buffers are a common management tool for pool-breeding amphibians in eastern North America, yet the demographic consequences of buffer size have not been experimentally tested. We used clear cuts to manipulate buffer width at 11 vernal pools in central Maine. We assigned each pool to one of three treatments: uncut (i.e., reference), 100m buffer, or 30m buffer. From 2004 to 2009, we captured all adult spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) using these pools. We assessed the relative importance of buffer treatment and other factors on abundance, recapture rates, sex ratios, and size. Buffer treatment affected salamander abundance, but pool hydroperiod mediated treatment effects. Wood frog abundance increased with mean hydroperiod across all treatments. For both species, the proportion of recaptured adults was lowest at 30m pools. Salamander sex ratio increased post-cut at both cut treatments, while frog sex ratio did not vary with treatment, year, or hydroperiod. Salamanders and frogs were smallest at 30m pools. Salamander, but not frog, recapture rates and size recovered with time. Our clear cuts were associated with short-term negative demographic consequences for these species, with 30m-treatment populations experiencing the most severe impacts. Conservation plans for these species should address both buffer width and pool hydroperiod.

Public lands traditionally have been the primary focus of biodiversity conservation, but does this approach sufficiently protect the capacity for and flow of ecosystem services (ES) for people across the broader landscape? Conservation easements on private lands provide an alternative approach that may be equal in magnitude to public land conservation (acre for acre), but has the potential to deliver benefits to more people due to their proximity to human population centers. However, individual easements are smaller and may be closed to the public, which limits the capacity for some services (e.g. recreation). Using GIS, spatially-explicit ES models, and publically available data on land conservation and human population, we compared measures of ES capacity and demand between traditional public conservation areas (national wildlife refuges, parks and forests) and private conservation easements in Virginia. We estimated the relative value of both conservation approaches based on the services provided and the number of people potentially affected. Our focal ES include surface water production, groundwater protection, riparian filtration, recreational fishing and birding. We found that conservation easements protect critical services in areas where public conservation is no longer an option and discuss a strategy for enhancing ES conservation through easements in areas facing already high and increasing service demand.

Systematic conservation planning focuses on optimizing trade-offs between conservation objectives and human activities. However, the most efficient plan can be very dissimilar to any other plan achieving the set of conservation objectives. This is problematic if all or part of the plan becomes unattainable, e.g. if sites are lost before they are acquired, and there are no replacement sites available. We demonstrate this by solving different conservation problems and showing in which conditions the optimal plan has limited chances to be implemented and where implementation attempts would miss the objectives. To balance optimality and likelihood of implementation we propose a new method for identifying conservation priorities and scheduling conservation actions. We generate a family of alternative plans and select that with the highest density of nearby plans in a non-metric multidimensional scaling space (i.e. plans with similar site composition). When perfect implementation is uncertain - a common reality - our method outperforms both all other heuristics tested and stochastic programming in terms of likelihood of achieving objectives and similarity of the conservation plan implemented with the plan intended. Our method can assist planning authorities to prioritize conservation efforts in the face of uncertainty about future sites' condition and availability.

Feeding habit of an Antarctic fish Trematomus bernacchii under the fast ice around Japanese Syowa Station was investigated between the summer of 2004/2005 and 2009/2010. This fish is a dominant species in the coastal water of the Antarctic continent. However, little information was known on temporal changes in the diets of T. bernacchii under the changes of the climate in the northeastern part of Antarctica. The results showed that amphipods and krill were the major prey items. However, there was a significant difference in the proportions of larger invertebrates such as crabs, squids, and octopus found in the fish stomachs between 2009/2010 and the previous years. Moreover, the percentage of amphipods and krill in the fish stomachs was decreased during the 5-year period in all fish size classes. In addition, more ectoparasites were observed on fish samples collected during 2009/2010 expedition. Several factors including sea ice melting, habitat and environmental changes may influence the pattern of feeding behavior of the Antarctic fish.

Neutral genetic markers, i.e. genes not directly targeted by selection, are frequently used to quantify genetic diversity of populations and often provide the basis for management plans. However, patterns of variation and divergence in adaptive traits such as immune competence are not always correlated with variation in neutral markers. The validity of approaches using only neutral markers for development of conservation strategies is therefore questionable. The present study of conservation genetics and demography in E. minor aims to assess connectivity between penguin colonies along the Australian coast of New South Wales (NSW). A fine-scale analysis of genetic structure is being conducted to determine the extent of dispersal among these colonies and compare their genetic variability. In addition to using neutral genetic markers (microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA), we present the first study investigating non-neutral genetic diversity in penguins. Sequencing of an immune gene of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) showed high allelic diversity at the functionally relevant peptide binding groove of the MHC molecule in penguins from Western Australia (WA). It is thus an ideal candidate gene to augment the population genetic study in NSW. This new genetic marker will be used to facilitate the choice of management strategies for E. minor and related species with a particular focus on resilience to pathogenic threats and immunogenetic population viability.

The European Marsh Thistle, Cirsium palustre, is an invasive species first reported in New York in 1994. By 2005 it appeared to be spreading to natural wetlands and agricultural lands. The goals of our study were 1) to document current distribution and population sizes using the iMaps database system, 2) to predict the speed and potential direction of spread into other areas of the State, and 3) develop a control protocol. Our maps reveal several prime areas for invasion in the northern Catskills and in the southern Adirondacks. An EDRR protocol involved volunteers and included experimental cutting at or after flowering at five sites. A demographic study revealed this monocarpic species is not a true biennial, but lives 2-5 years in the rosette stage prior to flowering. Population surveys of life stages indicated this approach may be useful to distinguish new populations with uneven life stage distributions from entrenched populations with stable age distributions and more accurately define the leading edge.

Sea level rise (SLR) and disturbances from increased storm activity are expected to diminish coastal habitats available for sea turtle, seabird, shorebird, and beach mouse nesting by removing habitat as well as inundating nests during critical incubation periods. The goal of our research is to evaluate past nesting patterns of fourteen coastal nesting species and predict future effects of sea level rise on nesting beaches along the South Atlantic Bight. Our study links long-term survey data for three species of sea turtle, three species of shorebird, five species of seabird, and two beach mouse species to maps of coastal vulnerability to sea level rise (SLR) in order to understand the effects of sea level rise on population viability. First, we will present habitat suitability maps for coastal nesting species along the South Atlantic Bight. Second, we will integrate a model of future SLR along with long term field biological observations in order to predict vulnerability to nesting habitat loss for sea turtle, seabird and shorebird, and beach mouse species within our study region. Maps of coastal vulnerability to SLR combined with historical data sets of long-term and spatially extensive nesting habitat will lead to models that enhance our understanding of the complex environmental changes occurring from global climate change and their effects on globally imperiled species.

Solving one environmental problem at a time can be costly when compared to policies that address multiple problems simultaneously. Yet, programs to achieve multiple restoration goals must overcome technical, social, institutional and financing barriers. Despite these challenges, a number of programs within the Chesapeake Bay watershed have found innovative ways to overcome barriers. I draw lessons from several successful programs and a workshop of local decision-makers to highlight what is working. The case studies include approaches for promoting reforestation and engaging farmers in reducing nutrient runoff. Some take home lessons from the programs are that innovation can be fostered through flexible and creative use of existing programs. Keys to success include allowing participants to define goals and methods to achieve them, being entrepreneurial in partnering with regulators, and using market forces to enhance cost-effectiveness and engage a wide array of actors. Work remains to enhance program cost-efficiency and diversify funding sources. Past successes will also be examined in the context of promoting multiple successful outcomes of the Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. The TMDL is the first milestone in the Bay’s restoration and it sets nutrient and sediment caps for achieving aquatic habitat goals. Yet, the program’s focus on water quality alone means that opportunities to produce multiple benefits could be missed, if lessons learned are not applied.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses provide great potential for detecting rare species, monitoring invasion fronts, re-discovering species thought to be extirpated, confirming successful removal of non-native species, and quantifying biodiversity. This novel method allows researchers to detect the DNA of species of interest from a water sample and has been shown to improve detection probability and cost efficiency compared to traditional field surveys. Since 2008 when the method was first demonstrated, the application of eDNA approaches has expanded rapidly. These eDNA samples are likely to be degraded, include inhibitors, and contain low quantities of target species DNA, requiring special precautions. As the use of this method escalates for monitoring purposes, it is critical to consider possible sources of error and develop field and laboratory protocols to ensure accurate results. This talk will review key approaches for avoiding error and contamination during the following stages: sample collection and handling, molecular assay design, DNA extraction, and molecular assay implementation. Careful consideration of sources of error and approaches for minimizing and avoiding these errors is key to the future development of eDNA methods for conservation biology.

Over 25 million free-roaming cats in the U.S. represent a significant animal welfare issue and potential environmental threat. Wildlife and birding organizations have launched campaigns aimed at confining cats indoors and removing cat colonies using lethal and non-lethal methods. Debate over these techniques has contributed to conflict among animal welfare and wildlife conservation groups, stakeholders that can influence management initiatives. To test a psychological model of intention to support non-lethal management, we administered a mail survey to randomly selected stakeholders in Florida (n=1,596), where conflict over the management of outdoor cats has been wide-spread. The hypothesized model fit the data acceptably (CFI=0.946, RMSEA=0.058) and explained 58% of the variance in management support. Specific attitudes about the humaneness of management had the largest impact on management support. Positive beliefs about outdoor cats influenced general attitudes toward cats, but had no direct relationship on attitudes toward lethal management or management support. These results will aid managers in the development of outreach campaigns and materials aimed at garnering support for the management of both native and non-native species. These results suggest that management preference is multifaceted and highlight the importance of understanding the variables driving stakeholder conflict and support for management.

Research on the effectiveness of conservation interventions is supposedly carried out for the benefit of practitioners. However, limited access to scientific literature is one of the barriers preventing practitioners from using science to inform their management decisions and its consequences for conservation practice are unknown. This study aims to test if improved access to scientific evidence in a concise, summarised format could change practice. We studied the views of conservation practitioners on 28 management interventions to reduce predation on birds by invasive or other problematic species, which is an important global conservation issue. These were collected using two online questionnaires, before and after providing the practitioners with a summary of the scientific literature on the effectiveness of these interventions. Conservation practitioners were likely to change their views about an intervention on average 45.7% of the time after reading the literature. They were more likely to implement effective interventions and avoid ineffective actions. Practitioners who had more experience in the conservation field were less likely to change their management practices, despite having a lower awareness of the existing science. The practitioners' willingness to change their opinions when the evidence was easily accessible and clearly summarised, suggests that poor access to scientific literature can affect management decisions and limit overall conservation outcomes.