Traditional agriculture in transition: a case of Har-ki Doon Valley (Govind Pashu Vihar Sanctuary and National Park) in Central Himalaya

Traditional crop diversity and landraces in agricultural land use in Himalaya have great significant for long-term sustainability of agroecosystems, together with conservation and management of the surrounding landscape. Traditional crop varieties and races, which evolved over time through trial and error, not only provide basic nutritional requirements, but also food security. Loss of crop biodiversity has taken place over recent years, principally and inadvertently related to changing lifestyle, growing demand for cash crops in regional markets and burgeoning apple farming, whose acreage has increased with a concomitant decline in area under traditional crops. For sustainable landscape development, on-farm conservation of traditional crop diversity is urgently needed. An empirical study was done to understand the causes and consequences of declines in crop biodiversity and production, effect of apple farming on traditional crops and changing lifestyles of traditional people.     

Yar tsa Gumba (Cordyceps sinensis): A call for its sustainable exploitation

Yar tsa Gumba, the local name for Cordyceps sinensis, is an entomophilus fungus in the order Hypocreales and family Scolecosporaceae, found primarily in alpine and subalpine regions, from 3200 to 4000 m asl. The fungus is parasitic on caterpillars, primarily those in the genus Hepialus. Studies on Cordyceps sinensis indicate that the fungus may improve liver function, reduce cholesterol, adjust protein metabolism, inhibit lung carcinoma and treat aging disorders. In the last five years, since it was found in parts of Garhwal and Kumaun Himalaya, massive exploitation has occurred, leading to a drastic decrease in wild populations. This paper presents results of an exploration carried out on the fungus at several important sites, the mode of trafficking and suggested policy initiative for its sustainable exploitation.     

Traditional crop diversity for sustainable development of Central Himalayan agroecosystems

SUMMARY

A rich diversity of traditional crops occurs generally in the Himalaya and more particularly in Central Himalaya. Over forty species of food grains are grown in traditional agroecosystems of Central Himalaya, which have been managed by the local farming communities since time immemorial. These traditional crop varieties have evolved over centuries and are well adapted to the particular area. A number of edaphic, topographic and climatic factors associated with different selection pressures over centuries of cultivation resulted in immense variations in the crop species.

The grain and by-product yield of the majority of the traditional crops cultivated across an altitudinal gradient were worked out and compared with common food crops (paddy, wheat, mustard) at two points in time (1970-74, 1990–94) and it was found that almost all the traditional crops had slightly higher yields during 1970–74 than between 1990–94. However, common food crops grown during the Kharif season had higher yields during 1990–94 whereas, Rabi season crops exhibited higher yield during 1970–74. The yield of rainfed paddy remained static over the years across the altitudinal gradient. Among the traditional crops cultivated during the Kharif and Rabi seasons in mixed and pure forms at different altitudes were Macrotyloma uniforum (at higher altitude), Parilla frutescens and Vigna mungo (at middle altitude) and Panicum miliaceum (at lower altitude) which were found to be eco-energetically efficient. Avena sativa (oat) and mixed cropping of Fagopyrum esculentum and potato had higher energy efficiency ratios whereas the latter also exhibited a higher monetary output/input ratio. Crops like paddy and wheat with mustard, grown in irrigated land were found to be more eco-energetically efficient than the same crops grown in the rainfed land. In general, traditional crops possess higher nutritive value than the common food crops. The contribution of traditional crops to the local diet (kg/capita/year) and their energy and protein equivalents were higher during both time periods. It was observed that while exporting these traditional crops, the locals of the region are highly exploited by middlemen. Despite having huge potential, traditional crop diversity of this region has been reduced to a great extent during the last two decades. Besides, the area under cultivation with these crops has been declining rapidly. However, many of these crops possess immense potential to meet the growing food demand and ensure food security of an increasing population. Therefore, a comprehensive programme of conservation through various means and improvement of agronomic yield in their natural habitats is urgently needed.     

Agro-biodiversity in rice–wheat-based agroecosystems of eastern Uttar Pradesh,India: implications for conservation and sustainable management

In this study, we analysed the indigenous practices of agro-biodiversity, changing patterns of cropping systems and conservation of agriculturally important natural resources of rice–wheat-based agroecosystems. The research was carried out in three villages of Azamgarh district, eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Participatory approaches and personal interviews were combined to collect the data from 180 farmers. The results indicated that resource-poor (RP) farmers, by applying traditional practices of natural resource conservation, outperform their rich (RR) counterparts in conserving agro-biodiversity. Increase in irrigation facilities, adoption of improved crop varieties, commercialisation of farming and socio-economic changes have threatened the agro-biodiversity and related natural resources of these agroecosystems. For most of the crops, the RP farmers had better production stability as compared to the RR ones because the former tend to apply more sustainable and ecologically sound indigenous practices. A negative growth rate was observed in the area/numbers and production of legumes, livestock, pasture lands and community forestry. Women, who are the local custodians of conserving indigenous biodiversity (uncultivated species) and crop varieties through localised knowledge and sociocultural institutions, had significantly higher knowledge on agro-biodiversity than men. We concluded that integration of farmers’ eco-friendly practices with formal science and policy-making in a participatory mode may enhance sustainability of functions of agroecosystem leading to the strengthening of adaptive practices in changing climate and socio-economic scenario.     

Land‐use trade‐offs between tree biodiversity and crop production in the Atlantic Forest

Trade‐offs in ecosystem services (ES) have received increasing attention because provisioning services often come at the expense of biodiversity loss. When land‐use patterns are not maximally efficient relative to productivity, provisioning services, such as crop production, can often be increased without losing biodiversity. The Atlantic Forest (AF) encompasses dense, mixed, and seasonal forests and has high levels of endemism and anthropogenic threat. We examined trade‐offs between biodiversity and crop production in the AF to provide insights into land‐use management decisions. We developed a biodiversity metric that combines information on tree species richness, evolutionary distinctiveness, and rarity at the local level. We examined the extent to which the nature of ES trade‐offs differ among the 3 forest types. We assessed how annual deforestation rates and land management practices affect biodiversity and agricultural revenues. Finally, we tested whether it is possible to achieve the same total regional revenue without reducing biodiversity by improving local management practices. The 3 forest types had similar patterns in ES trade‐offs, although within mixed forest patterns differed. Biodiversity appeared to be more sensitive to land‐use change than crop revenues. Certain crops yielded up to 10 times higher values in some sites. Enhanced crop productivity may increase revenues without reducing biodiversity. Our results showed that to enhance human well‐being without further conversion of AF, maximizing crop productivity is needed . Increasing efficiency of management outcomes by maintaining higher biodiversity and increasing provisioning services depends on knowledge of forest type, the comparative advantage of planting crops in the best places, and preserving species in a balanced manner across forests.     

Avian Diversity and Functional Insectivory on North-Central Florida Farmlands

Abstract:  We studied the potential for native birds to control insect pests on farms. We assessed habitat factors correlated with diversity, distribution, and insect-foraging activity of native birds on farms in north-central Florida and then characterized common bird species that consumed insect biomass in crops as "functional insectivores" (birds most likely to contribute to pest control). Analyses of point-count survey data and foraging observations collected over 2 years on paired organic and conventional farm sites indicated that (1) farms supported most (82–96%) land birds known to breed in the region; (2) bird species richness and abundance varied significantly with matrix habitat and field border type (but not with year or farm management type); (3) the highest bird abundances were associated with mixed crop plantings, field borders, and adjacent matrix composed of forest and hedge; and (4) abundances of 10 species identified as functional insectivores were primarily influenced by crop type (mixed crops attracted significantly more insect foragers into fields than monocrops). We documented birds eating pest insects in crops and did not observe substantive crop damage by birds during growing-season observations. We advocate use of the term functional insectivore to emphasize the potential positive role of avian insectivory on farms during the growing season.     

Impact of a Community‐Based Payment for Environmental Services Intervention on Forest Use in Menabe,Madagascar

Abstract: Despite the growing interest in conservation approaches that include payments for environmental services (PES), few evaluations of the influence of such interventions on behaviors of individuals have been conducted. We used self‐reported changes in six legal and illegal forest‐use behaviors to investigate the way in which a PES for biodiversity conservation intervention in Menabe, Madagascar, influenced behavior. Individuals (n =864) from eight intervention communities and five control communities answered questions on their forest‐use behaviors before and after the intervention began, as well as on their reasons for changing and their attitudes to various institutions. The payments had little impact on individuals’ reported decisions to change behaviors, but it had a strong impact on individuals’ attitudes. Payments appeared to legitimize monitoring of behaviors by the implementing nongovernmental organization (NGO), but did not act as a behavioral driver in their own right. Although there were no clear differences between changes in behaviors in the intervention and control communities, the intervention did influence motivations for change. Fear of local forest associations and the implementing NGO were strong motivators for changing behavior in communities with the PES intervention, whereas fear of the national government was the main reason given for change in control communities. Behavioral changes were most stable where fear of local organizations motivated the change. Our results highlight the interactions between different incentives people face when making behavioral decisions and the importance of considering the full range of incentives when designing community‐based PES interventions.     

草地生态农业与产品革新是西北地区农业的出路

针对西北地区农业越来越依赖化肥、农药来提高产量以及污染问题日趋严重的现状 ,提出将发展草地生态农业与革新产品作为该地区农业可持续发展的出路。建议先主抓多途径开辟有机肥源 ,大田作物资源化增值 ,快速解决奶牛牛源与增加系统生物多样性 4项 ,可改善生态环境 ,使农民增收 ,将农业生态系统导入良性循环     

养分管理与农田杂草生物多样性和遗传进化的关系研究进展

施肥被看作是一项潜在降低农田杂草对作物干扰的有效农作管理措施。不同施肥处理可形成具有不同养分状况的土壤条件,而土壤条件的差异是导致杂草生物多样性的重要因素。论证养分管理可显著改变农田杂草发生状况和杂草生物多样性,强调了深入开展不同养分管理模式对农田杂草生物多样性和遗传进化影响研究的重要性,提出了如何利用养分管理措施调节农田杂草,在控制杂草对农业危害的同时,保持一定农田可控杂草生物多样性的科学问题。长期N、P和K平衡配施,可维持杂草群落和杂草种子库的生物多样性与稳定性,兼顾杂草控制和杂草多样性保护,实现平衡施肥的经济效应与生态效应的统一。同时,农业生态系统中不同养分管理措施条件下的地表光辐射变化特征、不同光辐射变化对杂草种群种子萌发及植株建立的影响、优势杂草种群的确定及其生理生态和遗传进化规律是今后研究的重点和难点。     

Modeling cotton (Gossypium spp.) leaves and canopy using computer aided geometric design (CAGD)

The research presented here develops a geometrically accurate model of cotton crop canopies that can be used to explore changes in canopy microenvironment and physiological function with leaf structure. We develop an accurate representation of the leaves, including changes in three-dimensional folding and orientation with age and cultivar. Photogrammetrical analysis of leaf surfaces is used to generate measured points at known positions. Interpolation of points located on the surface of the cotton leaves is then performed with a tensor product interpolants model that generates a generic leaf shape. Dynamic changes in leaf shape and canopy position over the growing season are based on measurements of cotton canopies in the field, and are used to modulate the generic leaf shape. The simulated leaves populate a canopy element based on statistical distributions from measured crop canopies. The simulation is found to give a good representation of cotton canopy leaves, adequately capturing the three-dimensional structure of the leaves and changes in leaf shape and size over the growing season. The simulated canopy accurately estimates leaf area index, except for the earliest measurement period prior to canopy closure. The application of the CAGD algorithm for representing cotton leaf and canopy geometry, and the technique for changing the leaves’ spatial position, size and shape through time of four representative cotton canopies is found to be a useful tool for developing a realistic crop canopy. We use leaf area index (LAI) as a measure of the accuracy of model-predicted LAI values in comparison to LAI in crop canopies in situ, obtaining r² values ranging from 0.82 to 0.92. The level of detail captured in the model could contribute greatly to future studies of physiological function and biophysical dynamics within a crop canopy.     

Effects of Weed-Management Burning on Reptile Assemblages in Australian Tropical Savannas

Abstract: Fire is frequently used for land management purposes and may be crucial for effective control of invasive non‐native plants. Nevertheless, fire modifies environments and may affect nontarget native biodiversity, which can cause conflicts for conservation managers. Native Australian reptiles avoid habitat invaded by the alien plant rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) and may be susceptible to the impacts of burning, a situation that provides a model system in which to examine possible conservation trade‐offs between managing invasive plants and maintaining native biodiversity. We used replicated, experimental fire treatments (unburned, dry‐season burned, and wet‐season burned) in 2 habitats (riparian and adjacent open woodland) to examine the short‐ (within 12 months of fire) and longer‐term (within 3 years of fire) changes of reptile assemblages in response to wet‐ and dry‐season burning for weed management in tropical savannas of northern Australia. Within 12 months of fire, abundances of the skink Carlia munda (Scincidae) were higher in the burned sites, but overall reptile composition was structured by habitat type rather than by effects of burning. Within 3 years of a fire, the effects of fire were evident. Reptiles, especially the gecko Heteronotia binoei (Gekkonidae), were least abundant in dry‐season burned sites; litter‐associated species, including Carlia pectoralis (Scincidae), were rarely observed in burned habitat; and there were fewer species in the wet‐season burned sites. Reptile abundance was associated with vegetation structure, which suggests that fire‐induced changes detrimentally altered the availability of resources for some reptiles, particularly leaf‐litter species. Invasive alien plants, such as rubber vine, have severe effects on native biodiversity, and control of such species is a fundamental land management objective. Nevertheless, fire management of invasive alien plants may adversely affect native biodiversity, creating a conservation conundrum. In such scenarios, land managers will need to identify the most desired conservation goal and consider the consequences for native biota.     

Biodiversity Conservation and Indigenous Land Management in the Era of Self‐Determination

Abstract: Indigenous people inhabit approximately 85% of areas designated for biodiversity conservation worldwide. They also continue to struggle for recognition and preservation of cultural identities, lifestyles, and livelihoods—a struggle contingent on control and protection of traditional lands and associated natural resources (hereafter, self‐determination). Indigenous lands and the biodiversity they support are increasingly threatened because of human population growth and per capita consumption. Application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to tribal lands in the United States provides a rich example of the articulation between biodiversity conservation and indigenous peoples' struggle for self‐determination. We found a paradoxical relationship whereby tribal governments are simultaneously and contradictorily sovereign nations; yet their communities depend on the U.S. government for protection through the federal‐trust doctrine. The unique legal status of tribal lands, their importance for conserving federally protected species, and federal environmental regulations' failure to define applicability to tribal lands creates conflict between tribal sovereignty, self‐determination, and constitutional authority. We reviewed Secretarial Order 3206, the U.S. policy on “American Indian tribal rights, federal–tribal trust responsibilities, and the ESA,” and evaluated how it influences ESA implementation on tribal lands. We found improved biodiversity conservation and tribal self‐determination requires revision of the fiduciary relationship between the federal government and the tribes to establish clear, legal definitions regarding land rights, applicability of environmental laws, and financial responsibilities. Such actions will allow provision of adequate funding and training to tribal leaders and resource managers, government agency personnel responsible for biodiversity conservation and land management, and environmental policy makers. Increased capacity, cooperation, and knowledge transfer among tribes and conservationists will improve biodiversity conservation and indigenous self‐determination.     

Complementary habitat use by wild bees in agro-natural landscapes

Human activity causes abrupt changes in resource availability across the landscape. In order to persist in human-altered landscapes organisms need to shift their habitat use accordingly. Little is known about the mechanisms by which whole communities persist in human-altered landscapes, including the role of complementary habitat use. We define complementary habitat use as the use of different habitats at different times by the same group of species during the course of their activity period. We hypothesize that complementary habitat use is a mechanism through which native bee species persist in human-altered landscapes. To test this idea, we studied wild bee communities in agro-natural landscapes and explored their community-level patterns of habitat and resource use over space and time. The study was conducted in six agro-natural landscapes in the eastern United States, each containing three main bee habitat types (natural habitat, agricultural fields, and old fields). Each of the three habitats exhibited a unique seasonal pattern in amount, diversity, and composition of floral resources, and together they created phenological complementarity in foraging resources for bees. Individual bee species as well as the bee community responded to these spatiotemporal patterns in floral availability and exhibited a parallel pattern of complementary habitat use. The majority of wild bee species, including all the main crop visitors, used fallow areas within crops early in the season, shifted to crops in mid-season, and used old-field habitats later in the season. The natural-forest habitat supported very limited number of bees, mostly visitors of non-crop plants. Old fields are thus an important feature in these arable landscapes for maintaining crop pollination services. Our study provides a detailed examination of how shifts in habitat and resource use may enable bees to persist in highly dynamic agro-natural landscapes, and points to the need for a broad cross-habitat perspective in managing these landscapes.     

The Melting Himalayas: Cascading Effects of Climate Change on Water, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods

Abstract:  The Greater Himalayas hold the largest mass of ice outside polar regions and are the source of the 10 largest rivers in Asia. Rapid reduction in the volume of Himalayan glaciers due to climate change is occurring. The cascading effects of rising temperatures and loss of ice and snow in the region are affecting, for example, water availability (amounts, seasonality), biodiversity (endemic species, predator–prey relations), ecosystem boundary shifts (tree-line movements, high-elevation ecosystem changes), and global feedbacks (monsoonal shifts, loss of soil carbon). Climate change will also have environmental and social impacts that will likely increase uncertainty in water supplies and agricultural production for human populations across Asia. A common understanding of climate change needs to be developed through regional and local-scale research so that mitigation and adaptation strategies can be identified and implemented. The challenges brought about by climate change in the Greater Himalayas can only be addressed through increased regional collaboration in scientific research and policy making.     

User rights,transaction costs,and the excessive exploitation of internationally shared natural resources

This paper explores the causes of the excessive exploitation and pollution of internationally shared natural resources (as compared to those owned privately or nationally), and gives a survey of the factors impeding effective international environmental regulations (vis‐à‐vis considerable progress at the national levels). Some policy implications of this dilemma are discussed within the Mediterranean context.     

Chemical ecology in coupled human and natural systems: people, manioc, multitrophic interactions and global change

Chemical ecology provides unique perspectives for managing plant/human interactions to achieve food security. Allelochemicals function as chemical defences of crop plants, enhancing yields. While ingested allelochemicals can confer health benefits to humans, at higher concentrations they are often toxic. The delicate balance between their positive and negative effects in crop plants is influenced by many factors. Some of these—how environment affects optimal levels of defence, how metabolic interactions with nutrients affect toxicity of ingested allelochemicals—are the province of chemical ecology. These biological factors, however, interact with social factors, and neither can be studied independently. Chemical ecologists must work together with social scientists to understand the overall system. Here, we illustrate such an integrative approach, analysing the interactions between people and the major tropical crop manioc, which contains cyanogenic glucosides. Polymorphism for cyanogen levels in manioc facilitates analysis of how costs and benefits of crop defences vary among social systems. We first show how people/manioc interactions diversified in this crop’s Amazonian homeland, then turn to the remarkable cultural adaptations of African farmers since manioc’s introduction 400 years ago. Finally, we evaluate new coevolutionary challenges in parts of Africa where people are still unfamiliar with a potentially dangerous crop. Current environmental and social catastrophes have restricted farmers’ options, resulting in acute problems in health of humans and ecosystems. We show that high cyanogen levels confer important agronomic advantages, but also impose costs and constraints that can only be understood when biology is coupled with analysis of social, cultural and economic factors. Detoxifying manioc technologically requires know-how, time, water and other resources. Detoxifying residual dietary cyanogens metabolically depends on being able to grow, or to buy, the nutrients required for detoxification, primarily sulphur-rich proteins. Solutions that appear adaptive today may not be in the future, as changing climate, rising atmospheric CO₂ levels and decreased access to fertilizers affect productivity of crops and the nutrient and allelochemical composition of the foods they are used to produce.     

The evolving sedentary lifestyle among nomadic pastoralists in the humid zone of Nigeria: implications for land-use policy

SUMMARY

The humid zone of Nigeria has traditionally been considered unsuitable for extensive cattle production because of the prevalence of tsetse fly. Over the years, nomadic pastoralists, mainly Fulani, from the northern part of the country paid seasonal visits to this zone in search of pasture and water for their cattle during the dry season when the threat of the tsetse menace is less. The recent increase in the number of settled pastoralists has been associated with changing trends in the ecology and economy of the zone.

Relying on recent survey data, this paper attempts a systematic analysis of the adaptive strategies of the Fulani in pursuit of a sedentary lifestyle in the humid frontier of southwest Nigeria. Some of the adaptive strategies identified include: establishment of grazing orbits within a 20 km radius of their settlements, adjustment of herd size and structure, adoption of a multiple livelihood system, production of arable crops and appropriation of traditional social structures and kinship networks for herd management.

Long-term insecure land-holding arrangements, incessant seasonal bush burning for regeneration of pasture by the Fulani and the gradual destruction of the native forest cover are some of the problems arising from the sedentarisation of livestock production in the area. It was observed that the present land-use arrangement, even though it appears to guarantee the pastoralists security of tenure in the short term, is not sustainable in the long run, given the increasing commercialization of land in the area and rapid population growth. It was, therefore, concluded that government should put in place a land redistribution arrangement that will ensure secure land ownership by the Fulani. Development initiatives in the area should also focus on reinforcing those traditional practices of the Fulani that would guarantee a sustainable land-use system in the area.     

Effects of Coffee Management on Deforestation Rates and Forest Integrity

Knowledge about how forest margins are utilized can be crucial for a general understanding of changes in forest cover, forest structure, and biodiversity across landscapes. We studied forest‐agriculture transitions in southwestern Ethiopia and hypothesized that the presence of coffee (Coffea arabica)decreases deforestation rates because of coffee's importance to local economies and its widespread occurrence in forests and forest margins. Using satellite images and elevation data, we compared changes in forest cover over 37 years (1973–2010) across elevations in 2 forest‐agriculture mosaic landscapes (1100 km² around Bonga and 3000 km² in Goma‐Gera). In the field in the Bonga area, we determined coffee cover and forest structure in 40 forest margins that differed in time since deforestation. Both the absolute and relative deforestation rates were lower at coffee‐growing elevations compared with at higher elevations (?10/20% vs. ?40/50% comparing relative rates at 1800 m asl and 2300–2500 m asl, respectively). Within the coffee‐growing elevation, the proportion of sites with high coffee cover (>20%) was significantly higher in stable margins (42% of sites that had been in the same location for the entire period) than in recently changed margins (0% of sites where expansion of annual crops had changed the margin). Disturbance level and forest structure did not differ between sites with 30% or 3% coffee. However, a growing body of literature on gradients of coffee management in Ethiopia reports coffee's negative effects on abundances of forest‐specialist species. Even if the presence of coffee slows down the conversion of forest to annual‐crop agriculture, there is a risk that an intensification of coffee management will still threaten forest biodiversity, including the genetic diversity of wild coffee. Conservation policy for Ethiopian forests thus needs to develop strategies that acknowledge that forests without coffee production may have higher deforestation risks than forests with coffee production and that forests with coffee production often have lower biodiversity value. Efectos de la Administración Cafetalera sobre las Tasas de Deforestación y la Integridad de los Bosques     

A multispecies assessment of wildlife impacts on local community livelihoods

Conflicts between the interests of agriculture and wildlife conservation are a major threat to biodiversity and human well-being globally. Addressing such conflicts requires a thorough understanding of the impacts associated with living alongside protected wildlife. Despite this, most studies reporting on human–wildlife impacts and the strategies used to mitigate them focus on a single species, thus oversimplifying often complex systems of human–wildlife interactions. We sought to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of impacts by multiple co-occurring species on agricultural livelihoods in the eastern Okavango Delta Panhandle in northern Botswana through the use of a database of 3264 wildlife-incident reports recorded from 2009 to 2015 by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Eight species (African elephants [Loxodonta africana], hippopotamuses [Hippopotamus amphibious], lions [Panthera leo], cheetah [Acinonyx jubatus], African wild dogs [Lycaon pictus], hyenas [Crocuta crocuta], leopards [Panthera pardus], and crocodiles [Crocodylus niloticus]) appeared on incident reports, of which 56.5% were attributed to elephants. Most species were associated with only 1 type of damage (i.e., either crop damage or livestock loss). Carnivores were primarily implicated in incident reports related to livestock loss, particularly toward the end of the dry season (May–October). In contrast, herbivores were associated with crop-loss incidents during the wet season (November–April). Our results illustrate how local communities can face distinct livelihood challenges from different species at different times of the year. Such a multispecies assessment has important implications for the design of conservation interventions aimed at addressing the costs of living with wildlife and thereby mitigation of the underlying conservation conflict. Our spatiotemporal, multispecies approach is widely applicable to other regions where sustainable and long-term solutions to conservation conflicts are needed for local communities and biodiversity.