Quantifying trade-offs between ecological gains,economic costs,and landowners’ preferences in boreal mire protection

Private land often encompasses biodiversity features of high conservation value, but its protection is not straightforward. Commonly, landowners’ perspectives are rightfully allowed to influence conservation actions. This unlikely comes without consequences on biodiversity or other aspects such as economic considerations, but these consequences are rarely quantitatively considered in decision-making. In the context of boreal mire protection in Finland, we report how acknowledging landowners’ resistance to protection changes the combination of mires selected to conservation compared to ignoring landowners’ opinions. Using spatial prioritization, we quantify trade-offs arising between the amount of landowners’ resistance, protected biodiversity, and financial costs in different conservation scenarios. Results show that the trade-offs cannot be fully avoided. Nevertheless, we show that the systematic examination of the trade-offs opens up options to alleviate them. This can promote the evaluation of different conservation policy outcomes, enabling better-informed conservation decisions and more effective and socially sustainable allocation of conservation resources.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01530-0.     

Aquaculture expansion in Brazilian freshwaters against the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The Convention on Biological Diversity proposed the Aichi Biodiversity Targets to improve conservation policies and to balance economic development, social welfare, and the maintenance of biodiversity/ecosystem services. Brazil is a signatory of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and is the most diverse country in terms of freshwater fish, but its national policies have supported the development of unsustainable commercial and ornamental aquaculture, which has led to serious disturbances to inland ecosystems and natural resources. We analyzed the development of Brazilian aquaculture to show how current aquaculture expansion conflicts with all 20 Aichi Targets. This case suggests that Brazil and many other megadiverse developing countries will not meet international conservation targets, stressing the need for new strategies, such as the environmental management system, to improve biodiversity conservation.     

The forest environmental frontier in Russia: Between sustainable forest management discourses and ‘wood mining’ practice

With 20% of the world’s forests, Russia has global potential in bioeconomy development, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, unsustainable forest management based on ‘wood mining’ reduces this potential. Based on document analysis, participant observations and interviews, this article shows how non-state actors—environmental NGOs and forest companies—address forest resource depletion and primary forest loss in Russia. We analyse two key interrelated forest discourses driven by non-state actors in Russia: (1) intensive forest management in secondary forests as a pathway towards sustained yield and primary forest conservation; (2) intact forest landscapes as a priority in primary forest conservation. We illustrate how these discourses have been integrated into policy debates, institutions and practices and discuss their relation to relevant global discourses. The article concludes that despite successful cases in conserving intact forest landscapes, there is still a frontier between sustainable forest management discourses and forestry practice in Russia.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01643-6.     

Contribution of women’s fisheries substantial,but overlooked,in Timor-Leste

A greater understanding of gendered roles in fisheries is necessary to value the often-hidden roles that women play in fisheries and households. We examine women’s contributions to household food and income using focus group discussions, market surveys, and landings data in six communities in Timor-Leste. Women were actively fishing more days per month than men. Gleaning was the most frequent activity and 100% of trips returned with catch for food and/or income. Mollusc and crab catches were common and exploitation appeared targeted on a dynamic reappraisal of changing food values and changing estimates of group needs. With as many as 80% of households in coastal areas involved in fishing, and at least 50% of women fishing, this highlights the current lack of women’s engagement as a critical gap in fisheries management approaches. The current androcentric dialogue limits social-ecological understanding of these systems and the potential for their effective stewardship.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01335-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A functional perspective on the analysis of land use and land cover data in ecology

Assessments of large-scale changes in habitat are a priority for management and conservation. Traditional approaches use land use and land cover data (LULC) that focus mostly on “structural” properties of landscapes, rather than “functional” properties related to specific ecological processes. Here, we contend that designing functional analyses of LULC can provide important and complementary information to traditional, structural analyses. We substantiate this perspective with an example of functional changes in habitat due to industrial anthropogenic footprints in Alberta’s boreal forest, where there has been little overall forest loss (~ 6% structural change), but high levels of functional change (up to 93% functional change) for species’ habitat, biodiversity, and wildfire ignition. We discuss the methods needed to achieve functional LULC analyses, when they are most appropriate to add to structural assessments, and conclude by providing recommendations for analyses of LULC in a future of increasingly high-resolution, dynamic remote sensing data.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01434-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Frontiers of protected areas versus forest exploitation: Assessing habitat network functionality in 16 case study regions globally

Exploitation of natural forests forms expanding frontiers. Simultaneously, protected area frontiers aim at maintaining functional habitat networks. To assess net effects of these frontiers, we examined 16 case study areas on five continents. We (1) mapped protected area instruments, (2) assessed their effectiveness, (3) mapped policy implementation tools, and (4) effects on protected areas originating from their surroundings. Results are given as follows: (1) conservation instruments covered 3–77%, (2) effectiveness of habitat networks depended on representativeness, habitat quality, functional connectivity, resource extraction in protected areas, time for landscape restoration, “paper parks”, “fortress conservation”, and data access, (3) regulatory policy instruments dominated over economic and informational, (4) negative matrix effects dominated over positive ones (protective forests, buffer zones, inaccessibility), which were restricted to former USSR and Costa Rica. Despite evidence-based knowledge about conservation targets, the importance of spatial segregation of conservation and use, and traditional knowledge, the trajectories for biodiversity conservation were generally negative.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01628-5.     

Plant–pollinator interactions in urban ecosystems worldwide: A comprehensive review including research funding and policy actions

Urbanization has rapidly increased in recent decades and the negative effects on biodiversity have been widely reported. Urban green areas can contribute to improving human well-being, maintaining biodiversity, and ecosystem services (e.g. pollination). Here we examine the evolution of studies on plant–pollinator interactions in urban ecosystems worldwide, reviewing also research funding and policy actions. We documented a significant increase in the scientific production on the theme in recent years, especially in the temperate region; tropical urban ecosystems are still neglected. Plant–pollinator interactions are threatened by urbanization in complex ways, depending on the studied group (plant or pollinator [generalist or specialist]) and landscape characteristics. Several research opportunities emerge from our review. Research funding and policy actions to pollination/pollinator in urban ecosystems are still scarce and concentrated in developed countries/temperate regions. To make urban green spaces contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, transdisciplinary approaches (ecological–social–economic–cultural) are needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01410-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Representative boreal forest habitats in northern Europe,and a revised model for ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation

The natural range of variation of ecosystems provides reference conditions for sustainable management and biodiversity conservation. We review how the understanding of natural reference conditions of boreal forests in northern Europe has changed from earlier perceptions of even-aged dynamics driven by stand-replacing disturbances towards current understanding highlighting the role of non-stand-replacing disturbances and the resultant complex forest dynamics and structures. We show how earlier views and conceptual models of forest disturbance dynamics, including the influential ASIO model, provide estimates of reference conditions that are outside the natural range of variation. Based on a research synthesis, we present a revised forest reference model incorporating the observed complexity of ecosystem dynamics and the prevalence of old forests. Finally, we outline a management model and demonstrate its use in forest ecosystem management and show how regional conservation area needs can be estimated. We conclude that attaining favourable conservation status in northern Europe’s boreal forests requires increasing emphasis on ecosystem management and conservation for old forest characteristics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01444-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

No evidence of systematic pre-emptive loggings after notifying landowners of their lands’ conservation potential

Landowners can intentionally impair biodiversity values occurring on their land to pre-empt biodiversity protection. This often leads to significant negative effects on biodiversity. We studied whether landowners in Finland engaged in pre-emptive loggings after they were notified that their wooded mires are candidate sites for a mire protection program. After the notification, harvesting rates of the candidate wooded mires were significantly lower compared to harvesting rates of similar but non-candidate wooded mires. Annual and monthly harvesting rates indicated that notifying landowners of the conservation potential did not launch systematic pre-emptive logging behavior. Nevertheless, part of the candidate wooded mires were logged, so some landowners place more weight on other values than the biodiversity ones. Pre-emptive behavior has been observed in other studies suggesting that many country- or system-specific factors such as cultural background or level of compensation can affect landowners’ behavior.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01354-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Sustainability of wild plant use in the Andean Community of South America

Overexploitation is the second biggest driver of global plant extinction. Meanwhile, useful plant species are vital to livelihoods across the world, with global conservation efforts increasingly applying the concept of ‘conservation-through-use.’ However, successfully balancing conservation and biodiversity use remains challenging. We reviewed literature on the sustainability of wild-collected plant use across the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia—a region of global importance for its biological and cultural richness. After applying defined search terms and a two-stage screening process, 68 articles were reviewed. The numbers which reported sustainable, unsustainable, or context-dependent outcomes were relatively even, but national differences emerged. Through narrative synthesis, we identified five key, reoccurring themes: plant biology; land tenure; knowledge, resource, and capacity; economics and market pressures; and institutional structures, policy, and legislation. Our results show the need for flexible, context-specific approaches and the importance of collaboration, with bottom-up management and conservation methods involving local communities and traditional ecological knowledge often proving most effective. Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01529-7.     

Community-Based Technology Transfer in Rural Aquaculture: The Case of Mudcrab Scylla serrata Nursery in Ponds in Northern Samar,Central Philippines

Finding aquaculture development approaches to open up livelihood opportunities for the rural poor and in mainstreaming smallholder fish farmers to reduce poverty remain a challenge. This paper examines the community-based technology transfer mechanism of mudcrab nursery in ponds and its socioeconomic impacts on smallholder mudcrab growers in Northern Samar, Philippines. Results indicated that the technology is a viable enterprise done by a straight culture system method, which is the rearing of crablets from <1.0 to 4.0 cm for 42 days, or by-phases. However, technology adoption hinges on many factors like area ownership, farm distance from household, and market including the type of strategy needed to enhance technology uptake. Collaboration among research and development institutions and local partners is critical in training and empowering rural communities to adopt aquaculture technologies.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0528-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Understanding non-compliance in small-scale fisheries: Shark fishing in Myanmar’s Myeik Archipelago

Achieving fisheries compliance is challenging in contexts where enforcement capacity is limited and the incentives for rule-breaking are strong. This challenge is exemplified in Myanmar, where an active shark fishery exists despite a nationwide ban on targeted shark fishing. We used the Kipling method (5W1H) to gather a complete story of non-compliance in five small-scale fishing communities in the Myeik Archipelago. Among 144 fishers surveyed, 49% were aware of the nationwide ban. Shark fishers (24%) tended to be younger individuals who did not own a boat and perceived shark fishing to be prevalent. Compliant fishers were motivated by a fear of sharks and lack of capacity (equipment, knowledge), whereas food and income were cited as key motivations for non-compliance. The results of our study emphasize that in resource-dependent communities, improving compliance for effective shark conservation may require addressing broader issues of poverty, food security and the lack of alternatives.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01400-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Why are Prices in Wild Catch and Aquaculture Industries so Different?

Through a comparative analysis of prices in capture fisheries and aquaculture sectors, the objectives of this paper are a) to investigate three the trends in prices of forage catches to feed the aquaculture species, b) to analyze the amount of fish species need to feed aquaculture species in order to assess the level of efficiency in resource use, and c) to examine the degree of economic concentration either in wild-catch industry and aquaculture sectors. The results show that prices of cultivated species are higher than prices of the same species when harvested from the sea. We explain this fact by the interplay of three forces. First, the amount of wild fish to feed aquaculture species continues to improve over time. Second, the pressure of fishing activities has not been reduced since catches of most forage fishes are declining, which induce higher prices of capture species that feed aquaculture production. Third, the level of seafood market concentration is significantly higher in aquaculture than in wild catches, which generates higher prices in aquaculture.     

Resource allocation in transboundary tuna fisheries: A global analysis

Resource allocation is a fundamental and challenging component of common pool resource governance, particularly transboundary fisheries. We highlight the growing importance of allocation in fisheries governance, comparing approaches of the five tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs). We find all tRFMOs except one have defined resources for allocation and outlined principles to guide allocation based on equity, citizenship, and legitimacy. However, all fall short of applying these principles in assigning fish resources. Most tRFMOs rely on historical catch or effort, while equity principles rarely determine dedicated rights. Further, the current system of annual negotiations reduces certainty, trust, and transparency, counteracting many benefits asserted by rights-based management proponents. We suggest one means of gaining traction may be to shift conversations from allocative rights toward weighting of principles already identified by most tRFMOs. Incorporating principles into resource allocation remains a major opportunity, with important implications for current and future access to fish.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01371-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Threats to China’s Biodiversity by Contradictions Policy

China has among the highest biodiversities in the world, but faces extreme biodiversity losses due to the country’s huge population and its recent explosive socioeconomic development. Despite huge efforts and investments by the government and Chinese society to conserve biodiversity, especially in recent decades, biodiversity losses may not have been reversed, and may even have been exacerbated by unintended consequences resulting from these projects. China’s centralized approach to biodiversity conservation, with limited local participation, creates an inflexible and inefficient approach because of conflicts between local communities and national administrators over the benefits. Although community-based conservation may be an imperfect approach, it is an essential component of a successful future national conservation plan. Biodiversity conservation should be considered from the perspective of systems engineering and a governance structure that combines centralization with community-level conservation. In this paper, we describe China’s complex challenge: how to manage interactions between humans and nature to find win–win solutions that can ensure long-term biodiversity conservation without sacrificing human concerns.     

Paradigm changes in freshwater aquaculture practices in China: Moving towards achieving environmental integrity and sustainability

Contribution of fisheries and aquaculture to global food security is linked to increased fish consumption. Projections indicate that an additional 30–40 million tonnes of fish will be required by 2030. China leads global aquaculture production accounting for 60% in volume and 45% in value. Many changes in the Chinese aquaculture sector are occurring to strive towards attaining environmental integrity and prudent use of resources. We focus on changes introduced in freshwater aquaculture developments in China, the main source of food fish supplies. We bring forth evidence in support of the contention that Chinese freshwater aquaculture sector has introduced major paradigm changes such as prohibition of fertilisation in large water bodies, introduction of stringent standards on nutrients in effluent and encouragement of practices that strip nutrients among others, which will facilitate long-term sustainability of the sector.     

The coalitional politics of the European Union’s environmental forest policy: Biodiversity conservation,timber legality,and climate protection

European forest policymaking is shaped by progressing European integration, yet with notable ideological divisions and diverging interests among countries. This paper focuses on the coalitional politics of key environmental forest issues: biodiversity conservation, timber legality, and climate protection policy. Combining the Advocacy Coalition Framework and the Shifting Coalition Theory, and informed by more than 186 key informant interviews and 73 policy documents spanning a 20-year timeframe, we examine the evolution of coalitional forest politics in Europe. We find that the basic line-up has remained stable: an environmental coalition supporting EU environmental forest policy integration and a forest sector coalition mostly opposing it. Still, strategic alliances across these coalitions have occurred for specific policy issues which have resulted in a gradual establishment of an EU environmental forest policy. We conclude with discussion of our findings and provide suggestions for further research.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01644-5.     

Living with floating vegetation invasions

Invasions of water bodies by floating vegetation, including water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), are a huge global problem for fisheries, hydropower generation, and transportation. We analyzed floating plant coverage on 20 reservoirs across the world’s tropics and subtropics, using > 30 year time-series of LANDSAT remote-sensing imagery. Despite decades of costly weed control, floating invasion severity is increasing. Floating plant coverage correlates with expanding urban land cover in catchments, implicating urban nutrient sources as plausible drivers. Floating vegetation invasions have undeniable societal costs, but also provide benefits. Water hyacinths efficiently absorb nutrients from eutrophic waters, mitigating nutrient pollution problems. When washed up on shores, plants may become compost, increasing soil fertility. The biomass is increasingly used as a renewable biofuel. We propose a more nuanced perspective on these invasions moving away from futile eradication attempts towards an ecosystem management strategy that minimizes negative impacts while integrating potential social and environmental benefits.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01360-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Marine ecosystem appropriation in the Indo-Pacific: a case study of the live reef fish food trade

Our ecological footprint analyses of coral reef fish fisheries and, in particular, the live reef fish food trade (FT), indicate many countries' current consumption exceeds estimated sustainable per capita global, regional and local coral reef production levels. Hong Kong appropriates 25% of SE Asia's annual reef fish production of 135 260-286 560 tonnes (t) through its FT demand, exceeding regional biocapacity by 8.3 times; reef fish fisheries demand out-paces sustainable production in the Indo-Pacific and SE Asia by 2.5 and 6 times. In contrast, most Pacific islands live within their own reef fisheries means with local demand at < 20% of total capacity in Oceania. The FT annually requisitions up to 40% of SE Asia's estimated reef fish and virtually all of its estimated grouper yields. Our results underscore the unsustainable nature of the FT and the urgent need for regional management and conservation of coral reef fisheries in the Indo-Pacific.     

Seafood from a changing Arctic

We review current knowledge about climate change impacts on Arctic seafood production. Large-scale changes in the Arctic marine food web can be expected for the next 40–100 years. Possible future trajectories under climate change for Arctic capture fisheries anticipate the movement of aquatic species into new waters and changed the dynamics of existing species. Negative consequences are expected for some fish stocks but others like the Barents Sea cod (Gadus morhua) may instead increase. Arctic aquaculture that constitutes about 2% of global farming is mainly made up of Norwegian salmon (Salmo salar) farming. The sector will face many challenges in a warmer future and some of these are already a reality impacting negatively on salmon growth. Other more indirect effects from climate change are more uncertain with respect to impacts on the economic conditions of Arctic aquaculture.