tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/ecosystem-services-8156/articlesEcosystem services – The Conversation2023-10-11T00:23:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143902023-10-11T00:23:30Z2023-10-11T00:23:30ZIf we protect mangroves, we protect our fisheries, our towns and ourselves<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552007/original/file-20231004-25-5j7ipt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C7337%2C4891&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mangroves might not look like much. Yes, they can have strange aerial roots. Yes, they’re surrounded by oozing mud. </p>
<p>But looks can be deceiving. These remarkable shrubs and trees are nurseries for many species of fish, shellfish and crabs. They protect our coastlines from erosion, storm surges, wind and floods. And that mud? It’s one of the best biological ways we know of to store carbon. </p>
<p>These ecosystem services are extremely valuable – but people often don’t notice what they offer until they’re lost to aquaculture, firewood or settlement. </p>
<p>Conserving mangroves by declaring parks and other protected areas seems like a logical solution. But often, nations can see protected areas as a cost, walling them off from human use, and ignoring their benefits to people. </p>
<p>What our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41333-3">new research shows</a> is that you don’t have to choose between nature and humans. Protecting mangroves offers a win-win, given how valuable they are to coastal communities, fishers and the fight against climate change. </p>
<p>As nations aim to conserve 30% of their lands and waters by decade’s end, those lucky enough to have mangroves should look to their coasts. </p>
<h2>Why are mangroves so important?</h2>
<p>Mangroves thrive on the coast, poised between land and sea. They first evolved between 100 and 65 million years ago. Each of the 65 species of mangrove is a shrub or tree which has, over time, evolved to live in salt or brackish water. </p>
<p>These trees are extremely resilient, surviving in low-oxygen conditions which would kill other trees. To survive, they’ve acquired adaptations such as aerial roots that can take in oxygen. These tangled roots make excellent hiding places for the creatures of land and sea, such as mudskipper fish able to survive out of water.</p>
<p>Their complex roots are ideal nurseries for juvenile fish, crabs and prawns by providing shelter and places to feed. In turn, these nurseries keep populations healthy, sustaining commercial fisheries and supplying direct sources of protein for coastal people. </p>
<p>Their robust tangles of roots protect them from the force of waves, storm surges and wind. In turn, this helps people, who can shelter behind this green wall.</p>
<p>Mangroves also act as a natural way to tackle climate change. Their roots trap sediment, burying inorganic and organic carbon in the process. They also store carbon in their biomass. Overall, these sea forests <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-marine-010213-135020">store carbon</a> at almost three times the rate of tropical rainforests, twice that of peat swamps, and almost seven times the rate of seagrasses. </p>
<h2>Protecting mangroves needs a different approach</h2>
<p>While mangroves give us a host of benefits, many of these only become apparent when these ecosystems are gone. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, mangroves are often cleared to make way for aquaculture, farming and human settlements, or for firewood. An estimated 20–35% of the world’s mangroves <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010095">have been lost since 1980</a>. In better news, losses have declined significantly. We now lose around <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15275">0.13% per year</a>.</p>
<p>Protected areas work well as a way to cut mangrove losses. When a government sets out to create these areas, the aim is usually to protect biodiversity while minimising conflict with human use. </p>
<p>In our research, we found the world’s network of protected areas isn’t doing a great job in protecting either mangrove biodiversity or the ecosystem benefits mangroves give us. In fact, it’s no better than just picking areas at random. </p>
<p>That means high-priority mangrove forests important for both biodiversity and ecosystem services are not being properly conserved. Clever expansion of the current network could solve the problem. At present, parks and other protected areas cover about 13% of the world’s mangrove forests, which are clustered around the tropics. </p>
<p>Boosting this to 30% – in line with the biodiversity conservation target agreed to by <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/nations-adopt-kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework/">196 nations last year</a> – would reap benefits. Our research suggests it would safeguard houses and infrastructure worth A$25.6 billion, protect six million people against coastal flooding, and store over one billion extra tonnes of carbon. Also, fishers would gain an extra 50 million days of successful fishing a year.</p>
<p>Even better – we found optimising conservation of both biodiversity and ecosystem services needed only 3–9% more area protected compared to mangrove protection areas based on saving species alone. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protecting-mangroves-can-prevent-billions-of-dollars-in-global-flooding-damage-every-year-132424">Protecting mangroves can prevent billions of dollars in global flooding damage every year</a>
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<h2>Protect mangroves in Asia and Oceania</h2>
<p>Mangrove forests urgently needing protection are almost all in Asia (63% of the total) and Oceania (17%), where we find large biodiverse mangrove forests which support fishing industries and many coastal communities.</p>
<p>Indonesia is a particular hotspot, given its 17,000-odd islands are often ringed by mangroves. Mangroves in India, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea also need better protection. </p>
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<span class="caption">This map shows the highest-priority mangroves needing protection. The darker the colour, the more important these mangroves are.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Australia does reasonably well. Around 18% of our mangroves are protected, above the global average of 13.5%. Over 20% of the areas we have flagged are high-priority for mangrove conservation are already protected. Even so, expanding the protected area network would be a good move, as Australian mangroves are some of the world’s most biodiverse and carbon-rich.</p>
<p>Mangroves in parts of northern Queensland need better protection.
Some mangroves are already protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Reserve, but there are still large unprotected tracts.</p>
<p>Mangroves around Darwin and Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory need expanded protected areas, as do those on the coast between the Pilbara and the Kimberley in Western Australia. </p>
<p>Too often, protecting nature is seen as a cost to society. What our modelling shows is that we can have a win-win. By protecting the most precious areas of mangrove, we can protect human communities and wider biodiversity at a stroke.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-decades-of-loss-the-worlds-largest-mangrove-forests-are-set-for-a-comeback-182951">After decades of loss, the world's largest mangrove forests are set for a comeback</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alvise Dabalà was supported by the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems – TROPIMUNDO.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Richardson receives funding for developing new tools for marine spatial planning from the Norwegian Government and the Waitt Foundation. He is affiliated with CSIRO Environment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Dunn receives funding for developing new tools for marine spatial planning from the Norwegian Government, the Waitt Foundation, and the International Climate Initiative (IKI). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Everett receives funding for developing new tools for marine spatial planning from the Norwegian Government and the Waitt Foundation. He is affiliated with CSIRO Environment and the University of New South Wales, Australia.</span></em></p>Mangroves do a surprising amount for us. But we’re often not looking after them. Here’s how we can protect these forests of the sea edge better.Alvise Dabalà, Research associate, The University of QueenslandAnthony Richardson, Professor, The University of QueenslandDaniel Dunn, A/Prof of Marine Conservation Science & Director of the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (CBCS), The University of QueenslandJason Everett, Senior research fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2117192023-08-30T22:16:16Z2023-08-30T22:16:16ZGlobal biodiversity: Why the proposed changes to Ontario’s Greenbelt matter<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/global-biodiversity-why-the-proposed-changes-to-ontarios-greenbelt-matter" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government continues to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-fords-greenbelt-scandal-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-his-years-in-power-211629">tied up in a massive scandal</a> over <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-greenbelt-plan-ford-housing/">its plans to remove lands from Ontario’s Greenbelt</a> — including the integrity commissioner’s <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-housing-minister-steve-clark-broke-ethics-rules-in-greenbelt-development-1.6541247">finding that the housing minister broke ethics rules</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, as world leaders gathered in Vancouver on Aug. 24 to launch a <a href="https://www.thegef.org/newsroom/press-releases/new-global-biodiversity-fund-launched-vancouver">“game-changing” global fund to fight biodiversity loss</a>, Ford was already leading Canada’s most populous province in a very different direction.</p>
<p>Political controversy aside, what has become abundantly clear is that Ford’s Greenbelt plans fly in the face of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/countries-launch-fund-protect-nature-un-calls-more-money-2023-08-24/">Canada’s freshly funded commitment to halt biodiversity loss</a>.</p>
<p>Stretching over two million acres, the <a href="https://www.greenbelt.ca/learn">Greenbelt is the largest protected area of its kind in the world</a>. It includes some of Ontario’s best farmland as well as over seven hundred thousand acres of wetlands, grasslands and forests.</p>
<p>With the climate change crisis fuelling devastating <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-wildfires-an-area-larger-than-the-netherlands-has-been-burned-so-far-this-year-heres-what-is-causing-them-207577">wildfires</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-drought-is-complex-but-the-message-on-climate-change-is-clear-125941">droughts</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-heatwave-whats-causing-it-and-is-climate-change-to-blame-209653">heat waves</a>, it can be easy to forget that we <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/06/the-biodiversity-crisis-in-numbers-a-visual-guide-aoe">are also living through a global biodiversity crisis</a>.</p>
<p>So, what exactly is it that we gain from biodiversity — and what does protecting lands like the Greenbelt have to do with it?</p>
<h2>Nature’s interconnected benefits</h2>
<p><a href="https://biodiversity.europa.eu/europes-biodiversity/ecosystems">Ecosystem services are the benefits we get from the natural environment</a>. It is a long list that includes everything from the foods we eat and the clean air we breathe to the simple joy of walking through the woods.</p>
<p>These services are usually divided into three main groups: provisioning, regulating and cultural services. </p>
<p>Provisioning services give us the physical things we need, like the plants and animals we eat, clean water to drink and plant life that provide things like oxygen, lumber and paper. Nature provides these vital resources. Even modern food industries still ultimately rely on the health of both agricultural and natural ecosystems.</p>
<p>Agricultural systems <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2010.0143">rely on regulating services</a> like erosion protection, pollination and pest control. Regulating services, as the name suggests, regulate environmental conditions, including the climate and the water cycle.</p>
<p>A better-known example of this kind of service is <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-carbon-sequestration">carbon sequestration: the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide</a>. It is a key climate regulation process that natural lands provide.</p>
<p>The Greenbelt scoops up an estimated 71 million tonnes of carbon annually. For context, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions.html">the average Canadian is responsible for about 20 tonnes</a> of carbon entering the atmosphere over the same period. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-wetland-an-ecologist-explains-191495">Wetlands are another example of a regulating service</a>. The soils and plants in wetlands — <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ontario-greenbelt-farmland-wetlands-floodplains/">some of which are targeted for removal from the Greenbelt</a> — take up water and absorb carbon and other pollutants. This offers not only flood control, but also helps to clean both the water and air.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pollution-timebombs-contaminated-wetlands-are-ticking-towards-ignition-208345">Pollution timebombs: Contaminated wetlands are ticking towards ignition</a>
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<p>Finally, cultural services capture the spiritual, historical and cultural significance of certain natural lands and ecosystems. These services also include things like recreation, aesthetics and the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-athletes-way/202204/why-living-near-greenery-helps-us-think-better">general improvements to our well-being</a> that <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nature-that-nurtures/">come from being in or around nature</a> — and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101502">cultural services are particularly important for Indigenous Peoples</a>.</p>
<p>With over nine million people living within 20 kilometres of the Greenbelt, it provides a space for nearly a quarter of Canada’s population to enjoy these benefits. </p>
<h2>A diverse support system</h2>
<p>Biodiversity supports these ecosystem services, helping to keep natural processes working. Not all environments will provide the same services and having several types of ecosystems helps to maintain the wide variety of services we need — a type of biodiversity called ecosystem diversity.</p>
<p>In a healthy, resilient ecosystem, many different species will perform the same function, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ncon.2015.11.001">something known as “functional diversity.”</a> For example, there are many different insects — bees, butterflies, beetles and more — that pollinate flowering plants. With many species doing the same job, the ecosystem can keep humming along even if one is impacted by disease, droughts or heat waves.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ivy-dandelions-and-other-common-wildflowers-are-often-seen-as-weeds-but-theyre-a-crucial-resource-for-pollinating-insects-210813">Ivy, dandelions and other common wildflowers are often seen as weeds – but they're a crucial resource for pollinating insects</a>
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<p>Genetic biodiversity — the variety of genetic material that exists within a species — is the basis for natural selection. It allows species to evolve and survive in changing environments — something that is increasingly important in a warming world.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.greenbelt.ca/biodiversity_in_ontario">The Greenbelt is home to 78 species at risk</a>. Several of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9806793/ontario-ford-government-greenbelt-changes-at-risk-species/">these species are located on the parcels of land slated to lose their protections</a>, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/barn-owls-reflect-moonlight-in-order-to-stun-their-prey-122796">barn owls</a>, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/related-information/faq-consultation-recovery-strategy-eastern-meadowlark.html">the eastern meadowlark</a> and <a href="https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/federal-money-to-help-researchers-study-health-of-blandings-turtles-in-sudbury">Blanding’s turtle</a>.</p>
<h2>The land-use battle</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/5-key-drivers-nature-crisis">leading driver of biodiversity loss is the destruction of habitats due to changes in land use</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/adjusting-the-intensity-of-farming-can-help-address-climate-change-191293">mainly for agricultural purposes</a> and general urbanization.</p>
<p>This is what world leaders are trying to curtail with the launch of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund in Vancouver this past week — with <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2023/08/canada-announces-contribution-to-global-biodiversity-framework-fund-to-protect-worlds-nature.html">Canada pledging $200 million dollars to the cause</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this type of habitat destruction is also exactly what is being proposed for the Greenbelt.</p>
<p>The issue is not only about the amount of land that is protected, but also where it is and its connection to other natural areas. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500052">fragmentation of ecosystems</a> — where natural lands are divided into smaller, isolated patches — restricts the movement of species and can impact both functional and genetic diversity.</p>
<p>The current setup of the Greenbelt helps to prevent fragmentation by <a href="https://ontarionature.org/greenbelt-lands-at-stake-blog/">connecting landscapes, allowing wildlife</a> to move between different areas. Slicing out one chunk of protected land and passing those protections elsewhere could destroy this.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protecting-biodiversity-and-making-it-accessible-has-paid-off-for-costa-rica-180301">Protecting biodiversity – and making it accessible – has paid off for Costa Rica</a>
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<p>Ultimately, biodiversity plays a vital role in supporting the ecosystem services we, and all life on earth, rely upon and will become even more important as we face a changing climate. </p>
<p>In the face of distracting political controversy it is easy to lose sight of a more fundamental fact: that preserving the Greenbelt — and Canadian biodiversity in general — is essential to our ongoing survival.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211719/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Loog receives funding from CIRAIG, the International Reference Center for Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Transition and its industrial partners.</span></em></p>While Canada pledges $200 million to promote biodiversity, Doug Ford removes lands from the Greenbelt. Here is why we all should care.Kathryn Loog, PhD Candidate, Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique MontréalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039082023-04-18T20:01:01Z2023-04-18T20:01:01ZA forgotten and neglected ecosystem covers a third of Earth’s coastlines, with a collective value of $500 billion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521495/original/file-20230418-20-ivxgck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=67%2C40%2C2874%2C1935&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Belanger/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Underwater forests known as kelp have been sustaining people and cultures for millennia. However, most of us are only vaguely aware of the vibrant masses of seaweed hugging the ocean shores around Earth. Furthermore, we don’t realise how valuable and necessary they really are.</p>
<p>In a new study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37385-0">published today in Nature Communications</a>, we have produced the first global estimate of the economic value of kelp forests – revealing they provide hundreds of billions of dollars in value to humans across the world.</p>
<h2>A human history of kelp</h2>
<p>Along the Pacific, kelp harvest has long played an important role in Asian societies. In Japan, seaweed was among the marine products people could use to pay taxes, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/raq.12524">according to a law code from the year 701</a>.</p>
<p>In Medieval Europe, kelp was used to fertilise soil and increase crop yields, to treat <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/goitre#:%7E:text=Goitre%20is%20an%20enlarged%20thyroid,hard%20to%20breathe%20or%20swallow.">goitre</a>, and was used to fortify building materials <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-009-4057-4_24">for centuries</a>. In the 21st century kelp forests have become the <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-10-6910-9_2">main source for alginate</a>, a common food and medical additive.</p>
<p>And throughout this time, kelps have supported <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/environmental-conservation/article/kelp-forest-ecosystems-biodiversity-stability-resilience-and-future/105EB05670376912F180E116D64135D6">teeming ecosystems</a> and important <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12483">fisheries</a> of abalone, lobsters and many different types of fishes. Through their prolific productivity, kelp forests <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12601-015-0001-9">draw carbon from the atmosphere</a>, exude oxygen, and help reduce <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v531/p155-166/">nutrient pollution in our oceans</a>.</p>
<p>A marine marvel, hidden kelp forests spread across <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327606143_Status_and_Trends_for_the_World%27s_Kelp_Forests">almost one third of our world’s coastlines</a> and lie within 50km of 740 million people. If you live in London, Tokyo, New York, Vancouver, Santiago, Cape Town, Los Angeles or Lisbon, you have one of these ecosystems on your doorstep.</p>
<p>Yet they tend to be forgotten or misunderstood. People often aren’t even aware of a kelp forest, and if they are, they might be most familiar with a pile of decomposing seaweed on the beach after a storm.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An underwater view of seaweed in blue water with fishes swimming through" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521237/original/file-20230417-22-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A kelp forest is a rich habitat, a provider of oxygen and a sequester of carbon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew b Stowe/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>This disconnect has real-world implications. Despite sitting next to some of the biggest research centres on the planet and likely covering <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/geb.13515">more seafloor than any other biotic habitat</a>, research and conservation of kelp forests is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpy.13239">terribly behind</a> other ecosystems.</p>
<p>This knowledge gap impedes desperately needed action and conservation. Kelp populations in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51114-y">northern California</a>, <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v653/p1-18/">Tasmania</a>, and the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0229703">Salish Sea</a> have all but disappeared in living memory. Elsewhere, kelp populations have been <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1606102113">continually declining</a> over the last 50 years.</p>
<p>What we value and how we value it is actually quite a complicated process. And despite the fact we make value judgements over and over each day, we have a really poor understanding of something’s value if it doesn’t have a price tag on it.</p>
<p>Our natural world is perhaps the ultimate value provider – everything we do in our societies is ultimately tied to nature, ecosystems, and a healthy planet. But because these processes and benefits happen with or without humans, they are often taken for granted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white sandy beach with masses of black seaweed lying in the sun" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521236/original/file-20230417-24-w9r1p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The seaweed we step over on our beaches is just a small fraction of the vibrant kelp ecosystems beneath the waves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/1Y-x8lPnqDU">Andrew Dawes/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So, what is the ‘value’ of a kelp forest?</h2>
<p>Our research has brought together data from all across our oceans to produce a global estimate of the economic value of kelp forest ecosystems. Looking at six key genera of kelp – <em>Macrocystis</em>, <em>Nereocystis</em>, <em>Laminaria</em>, <em>Saccharina</em>, <em>Ecklonia</em>, and <em>Lessonia</em> – and the potential economic value of the fisheries they support, the carbon they pull from the atmosphere, and the nutrient pollution they remove from the water, we found that kelp forests are valued at US$500 billion per year.</p>
<p>The highest of these values was the removal of excess nitrogen from the water, which can trigger blooms of algae, reduced water quality, and <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/nutrients-and-eutrophication">ultimately oxygen-depleted dead zones</a>.</p>
<p>A close second was the fisheries values – kelp forests support some of our most iconic fisheries, including lobster and abalone.</p>
<p>Lastly, despite finding the carbon sequestration of kelp forests was comparable to other terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the economic value was much lower, as society has yet to place a high price on carbon. This finding suggests that carbon credits may not be an economic driver of kelp conservation, but kelp forests still play an important role in the blue carbon cycle.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An orange fish with a long snout and limbs swimming among kelp" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521498/original/file-20230418-14-zqggqg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Weedy seadragons are just one of many fishes living in kelp forests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnwturnbull/41749070410/in/album-72157703596928075/">John Turnbull/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future of kelp</h2>
<p>When nature is treated as a freebie, where we can take what we want and not pay for the damages, this attitude has direct consequences; people and the environment suffer.</p>
<p>First, it can mean that people and government don’t see the value in protecting and restoring ecosystems. Second, development projects are <a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-laws-have-failed-to-tackle-the-extinction-emergency-heres-the-proof-122936">able to destroy nature</a> without compensating for those damages.</p>
<p>Lastly, it leads to poor management. How can we manage something if we cannot quantify it? Imagine if you didn’t know where your bank account was, or how much money was in it.</p>
<p>The battle to save our kelp forests is just getting started, and we need greater action to protect these intrinsically and economically valuable marine ecosystems.</p>
<p>That is why researchers like me have started the not-for-profit <a href="https://kelpforestalliance.com/who-we-are">Kelp Forest Alliance</a>, and have now launched the <a href="https://kelpforestalliance.com/kelp-forest-challenge">Kelp Forest Challenge</a>, a global call to protect and restore 4 million hectares of kelp forest by 2040. This is a call for governments to meet their commitments to the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework">Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework</a> and act now to save these ecosystems and #HelpTheKelp.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whether-youre-a-snorkeller-or-ceo-you-can-help-save-our-vital-kelp-forests-202620">Whether you're a snorkeller or CEO, you can help save our vital kelp forests</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Eger is the Founder and Program Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance, a research driven not-for-profit organization. He is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales Sydney. The Kelp Forest Alliance is supported by the Nature Conservancy, The Banner Foundation, the Van Dyson Foundation, and UNSW Sydney.</span></em></p>We cannot afford to ignore kelp – these vibrant underwater forests have sustained people and ecosystems for centuries, and continue to do so today.Aaron Eger, Postdoctoral research fellow, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1986692023-02-02T19:15:14Z2023-02-02T19:15:14ZLosing the natural world comes with major risks for your super fund and bank<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507774/original/file-20230202-5376-6lbgd6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C19%2C6331%2C4097&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the economist Herman Daly pithily said, the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment – not the reverse. Nature makes our lives possible through what scientists call <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-humans-really-need-other-species-185171">ecosystem services</a>. Think healthy food, clean water, feed for livestock, building materials, medicine, flood and storm control, recreation, and attractions for tourists. </p>
<p>Despite this, Australian businesses and financial institutions have so far failed to track how their activities both rely on and affect nature. This means our investments and superannuation could be exposed to <a href="https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0667/">hidden financial risks</a> because of nature loss – and may also contribute to the destruction of nature. </p>
<p>That’s set to change. The private sector is <a href="https://theconversation.com/taking-care-of-business-the-private-sector-is-waking-up-to-natures-value-153786">waking up</a> to nature’s value (and the risks of losing it). The world’s biodiversity rescue plan <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-historic-cop15-outcome-is-an-imperfect-game-changer-for-saving-nature-heres-why-australia-did-us-proud-196731">agreed to last year</a> could help motivate governments and businesses to clean up their investments by directing more money to protect nature and less towards <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/28/banks-lent-1-9tn-linked-to-ecosystem-and-wildlife-destruction-in-2019-report-aoe">bankrolling extinction</a>. </p>
<p>There’s one crucial plank we’re missing though – mandatory reporting of how businesses both depend on and impact nature.</p>
<h2>Nature and financial health are inextricably linked</h2>
<p>Fully half of the world’s total economic activity – <a href="https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/01/half-of-world-s-gdp-moderately-or-highly-dependent-on-nature-says-new-report/">around A$61 trillion</a> – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. </p>
<p>In Australia, that figure is very similar: <a href="https://www.acf.org.au/the-nature-based-economy-how-australias-prosperity-depends-on-nature">around half</a> of our GDP – $896 billion – has a moderate to very high direct dependence on ecosystem services provided by nature.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507279/original/file-20230131-18-wacbvj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=768&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s economy and industries are dependent on nature. GVA refers to gross value added to the economy by industry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Conservation Foundation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What happens when we breach nature’s limits? Ecosystem services seize up or collapse, eventually disrupting these sectors. The tireless pollination work of honeybees, for instance, is <a href="https://www.wheenbeefoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Karasinski-JM-2018_The-Economic-Valuation-of-Australian-Managed-and-Wild-Honey-Bee-Pollinators-in-2014-2015.pd">valued at</a> $14 billion a year. Or take Australia’s wheatbelt, where poor soil health is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ldr.3130">now costing</a> farmers almost $2 billion a year in lost income. </p>
<p>Ecosystem services are not hypothetical. They have real value – and we will absolutely notice if they are gone. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bee on apple blossom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507770/original/file-20230202-3208-x816a4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Without pollinators, many agricultural businesses would struggle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What does this have to do with my super?</h2>
<p>Australia’s super sector is responsible for the retirement savings of around <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/research-and-statistics/in-detail/super-statistics/super-accounts-data/multiple-super-accounts-data/">12 million Australians</a>. Super funds are directly exposed to <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/nature-risk-is-the-next-challenge-that-demands-a-global-solution">financial risk</a> from nature loss through their investment portfolios. </p>
<p>Just as farmers can’t grow crops without healthy soils or pollinators, developers can’t build apartments without timber or environmental permits. In turn, that has implications for their value as investments. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/taking-care-of-business-the-private-sector-is-waking-up-to-natures-value-153786">Taking care of business: the private sector is waking up to nature's value</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And because so many sectors are exposed, classic investment strategies such as <a href="https://moneysmart.gov.au/how-to-invest/diversification">diversification</a> may no longer protect your super from losses. </p>
<p>So what are our super funds and banks doing about it?</p>
<p>To find out, we <a href="https://www.acf.org.au/risky-business-report">surveyed</a> ten super funds and ten retail banks about their responses to nature-related risks. The survey – commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation – is the first time this has been done in Australia. </p>
<p>The findings? Not ideal. Every participating super fund and bank agreed the loss of nature now presented a serious risk to investment returns. They all agreed it was part of their responsibility to members and customers to measure and manage these risks. But only 20% of super funds and 10% of banks had attempted to assess how exposed they were.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507465/original/file-20230131-23-fkfyh1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Of the ten super funds and ten banks we surveyed, just 10% of banks (left) and 20% of super funds (right) had assessed their nature-related risks or opportunities. Half of the banks and 30% of super funds had plans to, while 40% of banks and 50% of super funds had no plans yet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Conservation Foundation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Again, this is not abstract. Super funds often have large holdings in the big four banks. Together, these banks have $170 billion in exposure to agriculture, mining, fisheries, and forestry – sectors directly reliant on a functioning natural world. </p>
<p>So why isn’t it a higher priority? One issue may be that many financial institutions are currently focused on climate change, given how rapidly impacts are mounting. But climate change and the breakdown of natural systems are twin crises. Nature offers far and away the largest method of taking carbon back out of the atmosphere, for instance. But that only works if salt marshes and wetlands and forests are intact. </p>
<p>Net zero targets for our banks and super funds are not fully credible unless there is a commitment to end the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/high-level-expert-group">financing of deforestation</a>. Only one organisation, Australian Ethical, had made such a commitment.</p>
<p>You would think Australia’s super funds and banks would be interested to find out how exposed their investments were to this growing risk. Tools to do this such as <a href="https://www.ibat-alliance.org/">IBAT</a> and <a href="https://encore.naturalcapital.finance/en">ENCORE</a> are readily available. </p>
<p>But to date, our survey findings don’t indicate banks and funds will do this <a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-more-firms-think-mandatory-biodiversity-risk-reporting-needed">voluntarily</a>. </p>
<h2>Banks and super funds may soon have to report these risks</h2>
<p>The biodiversity rescue plan agreed to last year – known as the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf">Kunming-Montreal agreement</a> – is intended to set expectations for responsible finance and business globally, as the Paris Agreement did for climate change. </p>
<p>That means Australia will be expected to introduce disclosure requirements. If this comes to pass, banks, super funds, and the businesses they invest our savings in will have to measure and publicly report their impact on nature – as well as how much they rely on nature to make a profit.</p>
<p>First, though, the Australian government must introduce mandatory nature risk reporting. It’s already moving ahead with plans to make climate risk disclosures <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2022-314397">mandatory</a>. </p>
<p>Treasurer Jim Chalmers has indicated nature is <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/jim-chalmers-2022/speeches/address-australian-sustainable-finance-institute-sydney">also on his radar</a>.</p>
<p>The question then will be whether making this information public will actually do what we hope it will and use money to help natural systems rather than extract from them. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="sugar cane and forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507772/original/file-20230202-19-ajnhrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For farms to function, they need natural services such as clean water, pollinators and healthy soil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What happens next?</h2>
<p>Since taking office, the Labor government has pledged to take action on the perilous decline of the natural world with plans such as bringing the value of nature into our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/16/cop15-australia-us-commit-to-measuring-value-of-nature-and-reflecting-it-in-national-accounts">national accounts</a>. </p>
<p>While positive, the real action won’t happen until nature risk reporting is mandatory, <a href="https://theconversation.com/complete-elation-greeted-pliberseks-big-plans-to-protect-nature-but-hurdles-litter-the-path-196287">environment laws with teeth</a> are introduced, and until both governments and private industry direct <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/conl.12682">serious money</a> into helping nature, not harming it. Risky <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-government-hopes-private-investors-will-help-save-nature-heres-how-its-scheme-could-fail-193010">nature credit markets</a> aren’t going to cut the mustard. </p>
<p>You don’t have to sit back and wait. Why not ask your super fund and bank what nature-related risks they are exposing your money to? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-historic-cop15-outcome-is-an-imperfect-game-changer-for-saving-nature-heres-why-australia-did-us-proud-196731">The historic COP15 outcome is an imperfect game-changer for saving nature. Here's why Australia did us proud</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeline Combe receives funding from the University of Technology, Sydney.
The research report on how super funds and banks are responding to nature-related risks was funded by the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Dr Megan Evans is one of Madeline's PhD supervisors.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan C Evans receives funding from the Australian Research Council through a Discovery Early Career Research Award. She received funding from the Australian Conservation Foundation to support this research. She has previously been funded by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, WWF Australia, and the National Environmental Science Program's Threatened Species Recovery Hub.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nathaniel Pelle is an Honorary Associate of the Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney, and works for the Australian Conservation Foundation.</span></em></p>Your super is likely exposed to major nature-based risks. How big a risk? We don’t know - because to date, banks and super funds haven’t looked into it. But that’s likely to changeMadeline Combe, Doctoral student, University of Technology SydneyMegan C Evans, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow, UNSW SydneyNathaniel Pelle, Honorary Associate, Sydney Environment Institute, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968602022-12-21T20:49:19Z2022-12-21T20:49:19ZTo attain global climate and biodiversity goals, we must reclaim nature in our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502471/original/file-20221221-23-etpc0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C370%2C5673%2C3138&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conserving nature in cities can help protect the biodiversity within them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The climate and biodiversity crises we have been experiencing for the past few decades are <a href="https://www.unep-wcmc.org/en/news/in-the-eye-of-the-climate-nature-storm-from-cop27-to-cop15">inseparable</a>. The scientific research presented at the back-to-back international summits on climate and biodiversity held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt and in Montréal, Canada, respectively, has made this abundantly clear. </p>
<p>Addressing these crises requires real transformative action and commitments — including plans that call for the conservation of 30 per cent of global land and sea areas within the decade — have been made to <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-cbd-press-release-final-19dec2022">halt biodiversity loss by 2030</a>. But where do we start implementing these targets?</p>
<p>At the 7th Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities, an official parallel event to the COP15 biodiversity conference, <a href="https://cbc.iclei.org/7thsummitandpavilion/">cities were brought to the forefront of conversations</a> on how to protect life on Earth. </p>
<p>As a researcher of terrestrial ecosystems, I believe that we cannot think of nature as something set aside in wildernesses, far from human activity. We need to conserve some elements of nature everywhere, including in the cities we live in.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop15s-global-biodiversity-framework-must-advance-indigenous-led-conservation-to-halt-biodiversity-loss-by-2030-195188">COP15's Global Biodiversity Framework must advance Indigenous-led conservation to halt biodiversity loss by 2030</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cities need nature</h2>
<p>Cities are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0436-6">growing rapidly</a> and covering more and more land. They are often built on the most fertile land, near rivers or coastlines. This is also where most of the biodiversity lives. It is, therefore, crucial to conserve nature in cities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A firetruck drives through a flooded street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Healthy soils and wetlands absorb rainwater and snowmelt to buffer floods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Bruce Smith)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To add to this, some ecosystem services that humans rely on only operate within short geographical limits. Healthy soils and wetlands absorb rainwater and snowmelt to buffer <a href="https://en.habitat-nature.com/nosprojets/la-fondation-david-suzuki">floods</a>, while trees filter <a href="https://montreal.ca/en/articles/greening-montreal-to-adapt-to-climate-change">pollutants</a> from the air and alleviate <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-warm-cool-places-interactive-1.3669639">heat waves</a>. All these services are most effective when nature is close to where people live, making it crucial for cities to preserve their nature.</p>
<p>In Canada, the richest ecosystems and the highest numbers of species are <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-biodiversity-doesnt-stop-at-the-city-limits-and-conservation-needs/">found in the south</a>, and this is also where most of the cities and farms are, leaving little land available for wilderness.</p>
<p>To protect healthy population sizes of species native to this region, we need to preserve green spaces in cities. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYnD-rPmm_M">Research</a> has shown that small protected areas can have disproportionately large effects in protecting biodiversity. </p>
<p>Contact with nature also brings tremendous physical and mental <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/wellness-benefits-great-outdoors">health benefits</a> as seen during the pandemic when spending time outdoors became very valuable to people suffering from stress and isolation. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2052474435747">Equitable distribution</a> of natural areas around a city is also important. Public green spaces can be especially valuable to people who do not own country cottages or backyards. </p>
<h2>Montréal leads the way</h2>
<p>Montréal, the host city of the COP15 biodiversity conference, is a perfect case in point for how cities are both succeeding at and struggling with conserving nature.</p>
<p>The City of Montréal committed to <a href="https://projetmontreal.org/nouvelles/en-route-vers-la-cop-15-la-ville-adopte-le-plan-montr%C3%A9al-territoire-de-biodiversit%C3%A9-par-la-protection-des-pollinisateurs">protecting 10 per cent</a> of its territory in November 2022. This commitment was reaffirmed at COP15, along with the launch of the <a href="https://montreal.ca/en/articles/montreal-pledge-call-cop15-launched-to-worlds-cities-39529">Montréal Pledge</a>, which called on cities around the world to protect biodiversity on their territories and provided practical steps on how to do so. So far, <a href="https://twitter.com/Val_Plante/status/1602418468976005143">47 cities</a> from all five continents have committed to the pledge.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qt0LNlF0g2E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Falaise St-Jacques green space boasts of 83 species of birds including some threatened species.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meeting this target includes the creation of new parks like Montréal’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-park-st-jacques-falaise-escarpment-1.6278864">Falaise St-Jacques</a> escarpment and <a href="https://champdespossibles.org/">Champ des Possibles</a>. </p>
<p>The Falaise St-Jacques, long used as a <a href="https://www.realisonsmtl.ca/14902/widgets/59422/documents/40299">dumping ground</a> by businesses nearby was revitalized by a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sauvonslafalaise/">community group</a>. They organized <a href="https://www.thesuburban.com/news/city_news/falaise-cleanup/article_86645ec9-0de2-514e-9625-d064d1a0cdd0.html">clean-ups</a>, removed hundreds of tires and other debris, <a href="https://www.urbanature.org/single-post/explore-montreal-forest-activity">built trails</a> and transformed the site into an urban oasis enjoyed by local residents, human, feathered and furry. Home to <a href="https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4654593">83 bird species</a>, including two species at risk, the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/chimney-swift-2018.html">Chimney Swift</a> and the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/wood-thrush-2012.html">Wood Thrush</a>, Falaise St-Jacques has become an important habitat for migratory birds. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://wwf.ca/biopolis-projects/champ-des-possibles-2/">Champ des Possibles</a> — a railway triage site turned industrial wasteland — was saved by a group of local residents, who planted gardens, installed beehives and held concerts, creating a de-facto park that is now <a href="https://journalmetro.com/actualites/montreal/524896/champ-des-possibles-un-plan-de-rehabilitation-dans-moins-de-deux-mois/">co-managed</a> by the community organization and the city. This area now boasts of a <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/champ-des-possibles-mile-end-montreal">wealth of biodiversity too</a>.</p>
<p>However, the island of Montréal continues to include many other unprotected green spaces, including the <a href="https://www.technoparcoiseaux.org/">Technoparc</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/resisteretfleurir/">Parc-Nature Mercier Hochelaga Maisonneuve</a>, which are threatened by industrial expansion. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="community of birdwatchers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1378&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1378&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Technoparc attracts thousands of nature enthusiasts and bird watchers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Technoparc Oiseaux)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Technoparc, which comprises a mature forest, marshes and meadows and is a <a href="https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4886900">birding hotspot</a> in Montréal (216 birds including 14 species-at-risk), is attracting thousands of nature enthusiasts to document the ecological value of the site, to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/TechnoparcOiseaux/permalink/1218099725213025/">tag endangered Monarch butterflies</a> and to chart the cooling effects of the meadows and forests in the surrounding <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.6411883">industrial heat island</a>. </p>
<p>Despite numerous pressures exerted on the space, efforts like citizen-science documentation, gained notably through <a href="https://inaturalist.ca/projects/technoparc-oiseaux-les-milieux-humides-de-montreal-technoparc">iNaturalist observations</a> and <a href="https://inaturalist.ca/projects/c-n-c-defi-nature-urbaine-2022-montreal-quebec-canada">City Nature Challenge bioblitzes</a>, have succeeded in <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8507106/environmentalists-claim-victory-technoparc-development/">dissuading developers</a> from moving into the site so far. </p>
<p>Politicians at all levels of government — from the municipal to the provincial to the <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/environnement/774052/steven-guilbeault-promet-de-proteger-le-champ-des-monarques">federal</a> — have now started to <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zRgZmd3iXvTGLitf81cwdnqNSSlI8qd8/view">call for the site’s protection</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://fr.davidsuzuki.org/publication-scientifique/ceinture-verte-grandeur-nature-grand-projet-mobilisateur-montreal/">Researchers</a> here have also mapped remaining green spaces around the island of Montréal and calculated the ecosystem services they can provide to help communities better plan for the future.</p>
<h2>Community efforts can go a long way</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/main/stories/2022/07/18/concordia-biology-interns-make-a-difference-through-urbanature-education.html?c=/news">Researchers and students at Concordia University</a> have been working with community organizations to study and educate about biodiversity in these spaces. </p>
<p>We use citizen-science tools like <a href="https://inaturalist.ca/">iNaturalist.ca</a> to welcome people from all walks of life to the community of biodiversity scientists, help them identify the fauna and flora around them and share the collected data with scientists around the world. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People standing in a forest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Community members identify trees in an urban forest at an event organized by Concordia University in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Emma Despland)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Building a relationship with nature around us can help foster human engagement with the natural world and a desire to learn more and to protect, restore and steward the living ecosystems around us.</p>
<p>At the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WCXFoDsjcQ">all hands on deck</a>” to address the climate and biodiversity crises. He said, “<a href="https://unfccc.int/news/un-secretary-general-making-peace-with-nature-is-the-defining-task-of-the-21st-century">Making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century. It must be the top, top priority for everyone, everywhere</a>”. </p>
<p>What better place to start than in a park or green space near our homes?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Despland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We cannot think of nature as something set aside in wildernesses, far from human activity. We need to conserve some elements of nature everywhere, including in the cities we live in.Emma Despland, Professor, Biology Department, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1914952022-09-30T12:27:40Z2022-09-30T12:27:40ZWhat is a wetland? An ecologist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487368/original/file-20220929-14-3kve60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5375%2C3581&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A raccoon with a fish at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Fla.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/naples-florida-corkscrew-swamp-sanctuary-racoon-procyon-news-photo/1395191565">Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/wetlands">Wetlands</a> are areas of land that are covered by water, or have flooded or waterlogged soils. They can have water on them either permanently or for just part of the year. </p>
<p>Whether it’s year-round or seasonal, this period of water saturation produces <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/wetland-word-hydric-soil">hydric soils</a>, which contain little or no oxygen. But this doesn’t mean that they are lifeless: Wetlands are full of unique water-loving plants and wildlife that have adapted to wet environments.</p>
<p>Wetlands can take many different forms, depending on the local climate, water conditions and land forms and features. For example, <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/swamp">swamps</a> are dominated by woody trees or shrubs. <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/marsh">Marshes</a> often have more grasslike plants, such as cattails and bulrushes. <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/bog">Bogs and fens</a> are areas that accumulate <a href="https://peatlands.org/peat/peat/">peat</a> – deposits of dead and partly decomposed plant materials that form organic-rich soil. </p>
<h2>Trillions of dollars in ecological benefits</h2>
<p>Wetlands are important environments for many reasons. They provide ecological services whose value has been estimated to be worth <a href="https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/ramsar/worth-wetlands-understanding-monetary-value-global-wetlands">more than US$47 trillion per year</a>. </p>
<p>For example, wetlands support very high levels of biodiversity. Scientists estimate that <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/water/202001/call-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-world-wetlands-day-2020">40% of all species on Earth live or breed in wetlands</a>. </p>
<p>Wetlands are critical homes or stopovers for many species of migratory birds. In the central U.S. and Canada, for example, wetlands in the so-called <a href="https://www.ducks.org/conservation/where-ducks-unlimited-works/prairie-pothole-region">prairie pothole region</a> on the Great Plains support up to three-quarters of North America’s breeding ducks. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GJETHYaVJvs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The hunting and conservation group Ducks Unlimited works to conserve prairie pothole wetlands on North America’s Great Plains.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Along with providing important habitat for everything from microbes to frogs to waterfowl, wetlands also work to improve water quality. They can capture surface runoff from cities and farmlands and work as <a href="https://www.ducks.ca/stories/science/wetlands-are-a-natural-remedy-for-canadas-sick-lakes/">natural water filters</a>, trapping excess nutrients that otherwise might create <a href="https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-dead-zones-and-harmful-algal-blooms">dead zones</a> in lakes and bays. Wetlands can also help remove other pollutants and trap suspended sediments that cloud water bodies, which <a href="https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/acreage-of-underwater-grasses-in-the-chesapeake-bay-decline-for-second-stra">can kill aquatic plants and animals</a>. </p>
<p>Because wetlands are often in low-lying areas of the landscape, they can store and slowly release surface water. Wetlands can be extremely important for reducing the <a href="https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/wetlands-protecting-us-floods-and-saving-us-money">impacts of flooding</a>. In some places, water entering wetlands can also
recharge groundwater aquifers that are important for irrigation and drinking water.</p>
<p>Wetlands also act as important <a href="https://eos.org/editors-vox/managing-wetlands-to-improve-carbon-sequestration">carbon sinks</a>. As wetland plants grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They they die, sink to the bottom of the wetland and decompose very slowly. </p>
<p>Over time, the carbon they contain accumulates in wetland soils, where it can be stored for hundreds of years. Conserving and restoring wetlands is an important strategy for regulating greenhouse gases and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-world-needs-now-to-fight-climate-change-more-swamps-99198">mitigating the impacts of climate change</a>. </p>
<h2>Resources at risk</h2>
<p>Despite the many valuable services they provide, wetlands are constantly being destroyed by draining them or filling them in, mainly for farming and development. Since 1970, <a href="https://www.global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.org/">the planet has lost 35% of its wetlands</a>, a rate three times faster than the loss of forests. </p>
<p>Destruction and degradation of wetlands has led to the loss of many organisms that rely on wetland habitat, including birds, amphibians, fish, mammals and many insects. As one example, <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/202112/dragonflies-threatened-wetlands-around-world-disappear-iucn-red-list">many dragonfly and damselfly species are declining worldwide</a> as the freshwater wetlands where they breed are drained and filled in. A marsh or bog may not look like a productive place, but wetlands teem with life and are critically important parts of our environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Sweetman receives funding from the US EPA for work on wetland restoration. He is affiliated with the Society for Freshwater Science, the Ecological Society of America, and the Society of Wetland Scientists</span></em></p>The US Supreme Court opens its 2022-2023 term with a case that could greatly reduce federal protection for wetlands. Here is what makes these ecosystems valuable.Jon Sweetman, Assistant Research Professor of Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1851712022-08-29T12:40:26Z2022-08-29T12:40:26ZDo humans really need other species?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476534/original/file-20220728-1306-a2vwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C0%2C6679%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Science shows that humans are happier and healthier around other animal and plant species.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/hiker-with-yellow-coat-walking-in-the-deep-forest-royalty-free-image/1323397248?adppopup=true">Artur Debat/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p><strong>Can humans live without any other species of plants or animals? – Arunima S., age 14, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, India</strong></p>
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<p>People definitely cannot survive without other species.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0ePGCP8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As an ecologist</a> – a scientist who studies the interactions of plants, microorganisms, fungi and animals, including humans – I know there are at least three reasons we need other organisms.</p>
<h2>Humans need other species to produce food</h2>
<p>First, without other species people would have nothing to eat.</p>
<p>Humans and all organisms require food for energy and the materials to build their bodies and reproduce. Only some microorganisms and plants have a way to <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/terrestrial-primary-production-fuel-for-life-17567411/">use energy from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide</a> to make the basic molecules that provide that food. <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/photosynthesis">This process is called photosynthesis</a>. </p>
<p>Without these organisms, humans wouldn’t have food to eat. Almost everything we eat is either a plant or other photosynthetic organism, an animal that grazes on them, or an animal that feeds on animals that graze. </p>
<p>Processed foods may not look like they come from microbes, plants, fungi or animals, but nearly all do. Some vitamins and other food ingredients are manufactured, but they are only a very small component of the human diet. </p>
<p>Chemists have discovered ways to use various sources of energy to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2021.101726">make molecules that could be used for food</a>. Molecules produced this way are called “synthetic.” However, these processes are so difficult and expensive that it is currently impossible to feed people with these synthetic foods. </p>
<p>Production of synthetic food <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2021.100025">using genetically modified bacteria or cultured cell lines</a> is growing in importance. In the future, the human diet may become a little less dependent on consuming plants and animals. Still, living organisms will remain a core component of these foods. </p>
<p>It takes countless different organisms – big, small and microscopic – to <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/biology/?cid=nrcs142p2_053868">create healthy soil</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2018.03.004">breathable air</a>. To break down and recycle waste. To purify water and prevent erosion. To break down toxic chemicals into harmless forms, and convert other chemicals into sources of nourishment <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCH1Gre3Mg0">that other organisms need to grow and thrive</a>.</p>
<p>And many of our food plants – over 1,200 species – <a href="https://www.pollinator.org/pollinators">depend on pollinators to produce the fruit or seed</a> that humans and other animals eat. Pollination, the process that allows plants to reproduce, happens when animals carry pollen from one plant to another. Bees are the main pollinators, but many other insects, birds, bats and other animals also transport pollen between plants.</p>
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<img alt="Yellow, brown and green bird perching on a red flower." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476537/original/file-20220728-11927-udlpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Birds and other animals fertilize plants by transporting pollen between them – enabling them to produce fruits and seeds that humans eat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/little-spiderhunter-bird-royalty-free-image/858993576?adppopup=true">krisanapong detraphiphat/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Animals of all sizes, from tiny ants to enormous elephants, also <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-fewer-animals-to-spread-their-seeds-plants-could-have-trouble-adapting-to-climate-change-174516">move seeds, spreading plants</a> that make for healthy and productive ecosystems. Diverse species, from tiny microbes to huge vultures and sharks, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/natureworks-decomposers-and-scavengers/">break down dead organisms</a> into chemicals that can be used to grow more food.</p>
<p>The number of species that contribute to creating each bite of the average meal is mind-boggling.</p>
<h2>Human bodies need other species to stay healthy</h2>
<p>Many functions of the human body itself rely on a complex and highly diverse ecosystem of microbial species that live on the skin and in the respiratory, digestive and reproductive systems. These bacteria, fungi and other microbes are called a “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X8p0vhsWRE">microbiome</a>.”</p>
<p>Each person has a unique personal microbiome to protect against infection, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-human-microbiome-is-a-treasure-trove-waiting-to-be-unlocked-118757">digest and extract nutrients in food</a> and synthesize vitamins. </p>
<p>For example, the gut microbiome is important for breaking down food into usable energy and nutrients, and converting other indigestible or toxic substances into forms that can be excreted. </p>
<p>This microbiome changes over people’s lifetimes based on what they eat, what’s around them, where they live and how healthy they are. In fact, human bodies <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/how-many-bacteria-cells-outnumber-human-cells-microbiome-science">are made up of more bacterial cells than human cells</a>. </p>
<p>Diet and drugs strongly affect the 300 to 500 bacteria species <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983973/">that are the core of a healthy gut ecosystem</a>.</p>
<p>The microbiome also plays an important role in preventing infection. Many diseases are associated with microbial communities that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2179">dominated by just a few species</a>. Some physicians <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.519836">transplant poop from healthy to ill people</a> to establish a healthy community of microbes and hopefully cure the disease.</p>
<h2>Humans are happier around other species</h2>
<p>Finally, research shows that people are healthier and more content <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GqdShUJNSA">when they are around other species</a> of plants and animals. They need to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/biophilia#how-nature-improves-well-being">experience the sights, sounds, smells, feel and taste</a> of other organisms for mental and physical health. This drive is called “biophilia,” meaning love of living things.</p>
<p>For example, seeing and hearing birds creates positive feelings. Two recent studies in Canada and Germany found that <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/more-birds-bring-more-happiness-according-science">the more species of birds</a> in a neighborhood, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land10020153">the happier people are</a>. This may be due to experiencing the birds themselves, or due to a healthy environment, as indicated by the presence of birds.</p>
<p>In a different Canadian experiment, researchers played birdsong from hidden speakers along hiking trails. People reported that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1811">they felt more restored and were more satisfied</a> about the hike when they heard a diversity of birds species than when they heard few or none. </p>
<p>Today, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2014/07/472752-more-half-worlds-population-now-living-urban-areas-un-survey-finds">more than half the world’s population lives in cities</a> instead of the countryside. So urban planners and landscape architects are exploring <a href="https://eos.org/features/growing-equity-in-city-green-space">ways to include more green spaces and green infrastructure</a> in cities.</p>
<p>Research shows that when a city has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-021-00321-9">diverse wildlife, ample open green space and vegetation</a> along streets and on buildings, people are more active, less stressed, healthier and happier. These conditions provide opportunities for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-021-00027-9">people to experience and interact with other organisms</a>, as well as benefit from the other things that plants, animals and microbes do to make the environment healthy and pleasant.</p>
<p>Scientists now know that it takes thousands of species to support human life. Yet we are only just beginning to understand the <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/biodiversity-and-ecosystem-stability-17059965/">important roles different species play in ecosystems</a>, including urban ones. We still need to learn much more about why and how other species are necessary for human survival. And if people are to successfully travel for long periods in space or establish space colonies, we will have to understand what species we need to take along with us to survive and prosper. </p>
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<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Langen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People wouldn’t last long without the countless other species we depend on for survival.Tom Langen, Professor of Biology, Clarkson UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1803022022-06-02T12:12:50Z2022-06-02T12:12:50ZShould we protect nature for its own sake? For its economic value? Because it makes us happy? Yes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499033/original/file-20221205-16-8urtkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C15%2C5091%2C3394&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Marabou storks perch on a tree at sunrise in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/marabou-storks-leptoptilos-crumeniferus-perching-on-a-tree-news-photo/1371855944">Sergio Pitamitz /VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Extinction is part of life on Earth. Through much of our planet’s history, species have been <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/extinctions#are-we-heading-for-a-sixth-mass-extinction">forming, evolving and eventually disappearing</a>. Today, however, human activities have dramatically sped up the process. The Earth is losing animals, birds, reptiles and other living things so fast that some scientists believe the planet is entering the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1922686117">sixth mass extinction</a> in its history. </p>
<p>There’s broad agreement that there is a <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">biodiversity crisis</a>, but there are many different views about why protecting it is important.</p>
<p>Some people, cultures and nations believe biodiversity is worth conserving because ecosystems provide many services that support human prosperity, health and well-being. Others assert that all living things have a right to exist, regardless of their usefulness to humans. Today, there’s also growing understanding that nature enriches our lives by providing opportunities for us to connect with each other and the places we care about. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?user=uTEN8VIAAAAJ&hl=vi">conservation biologist</a>, I’ve been part of the effort to value biodiversity for years. Here’s how thinking in this field has evolved, and why I’ve come to believe that there are many equally valid reasons for protecting nature. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Biodiversity describes the amount of genetic diversity within species and the range of species that make up ecosystems.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Defending every species</h2>
<p>Conservation biology is a scientific field with a mission: <a href="https://conbio.org/professional-development/education-programs/conservation-biology-faq">protecting and restoring biodiversity around the world</a>. It came of age in the 1980s, as humans’ impact on the Earth was becoming alarmingly clear. </p>
<p>In a 1985 essay, <a href="https://news.ucsc.edu/2020/06/soule-obituary.html">Michael Soulé</a>, one of the field’s founders, described what he saw as the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1310054">core principles of conservation biology</a>. Soulé argued that biological diversity is inherently good and should be conserved because it has intrinsic value. He also proposed that conservation biologists should act to save biodiversity even if sound science isn’t available to inform decisions. </p>
<p>To critics, Soulé’s principles sounded <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.11.5">more like environmental activism than science</a>. What’s more, not everyone agreed then or now that biodiversity is inherently good. </p>
<p>After all, wild animals can <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/human-wildlife-conflict-one-greatest-threats-wildlife-species-wwf">destroy crops and endanger human lives</a>. Contact with nature can <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-epidemics-originate-in-asia-and-africa-and-why-we-can-expect-more-131657">lead to disease</a>. And some conservation initiatives have <a href="https://www.corneredbypas.com/">displaced people from their land</a> or prevented development that <a href="https://calmatters.org/economy/2019/05/weakling-or-bully-ceqa-environmental-law-california-development-battles/">might otherwise improve people’s lives</a>. </p>
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<h2>Valuing nature’s services</h2>
<p>Soulé’s essay spurred many researchers to push for a more science-driven approach to conservation. They sought to directly quantify the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.11.5">value of ecosystems and the roles species played in them</a>. Some scholars focused on calculating the value of ecosystems to humans. </p>
<p>They reached a preliminary conclusion that the total economic value of the world’s ecosystems was worth <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/387253a0">an average US$33 trillion per year</a> in 1997 dollars. At the time, this was nearly twice the global value of the entire world’s financial markets. </p>
<p>This estimate included services such as predators controlling pests that would otherwise ruin crops; pollinators helping to produce fruits and vegetables; wetlands, mangroves and other natural systems buffering coasts against storms and flooding; oceans providing fish for food; and forests providing lumber and other building materials. </p>
<p>Researchers have refined their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.04.002">estimates of what these benefits are worth</a>, but their central conclusion remains the same: Nature has shockingly high economic value that existing financial markets don’t account for.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Many experts say that conventional economic thinking fails to recognize the cost of damaging nature – but calculating values for biodiversity could change that.</span></figcaption>
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<p>A second group began to quantify the nonmonetary value of nature for human health, happiness and well-being. Studies typically had people <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10030913">take part in outdoor activities</a>, such as strolling through a green space, hiking in the woods or canoeing on a lake. Later, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1663">measured the subjects’ physical or emotional health</a>. </p>
<p>This research found that spending time in nature tended to reduce blood pressure, lower hormones related to stress and anxiety, decrease the probability of depression and improve cognitive function and certain immune functions. People exposed to nature fared better than others who took part in similar activities in nonnatural settings, such as walking through a city.</p>
<h2>Losing species weakens ecosystems</h2>
<p>A third line of research asked a different question: When ecosystems lose species, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083%5B1537:ECOBLT%5D2.0.CO;2">can they still function and provide services</a>? This work was driven mainly by experiments where researchers directly manipulated the diversity of different types of organisms in settings ranging from laboratory cultures to greenhouses, plots in fields, forests and coastal areas. </p>
<p>By 2010, scientists had published more than 600 experiments, manipulating over 500 groups of organisms in freshwater, marine and land ecosystems. In a 2012 review of these experiments, colleagues and I found unequivocal evidence that when ecosystems lose biodiversity, they become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11148">less efficient, less productive and less stable</a>. And they are less able to deliver many of the services that underlie human well-being. </p>
<p>For example, we found strong evidence that loss of genetic diversity reduced crop yields, and loss of tree diversity reduced the amount of wood that forests produced. We also found evidence that oceans with fewer fish species produced less-reliable catches, and that ecosystems with lower plant diversity were more prone to invasive pests and diseases. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two photos of lawns, one with one type of grass, the other with multiple grasses and clover." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499043/original/file-20221205-18-fjfgym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A standard lawn, at left, is a monoculture that supports very little life. A more mixed, diverse version, at right, offers food for pollinators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/6y8zH4">woodleywonderworks/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>We also showed that it was possible to develop robust mathematical models that could predict reasonably well how biodiversity loss would affect certain types of valuable services from ecosystems. </p>
<h2>Many motives for protecting nature</h2>
<p>For years, I believed that this work had established the value of ecosystems and quantified how biodiversity provided ecosystem services. But I’ve come to realize that other arguments for protecting nature are just as valid, and often more convincing for many people. </p>
<p>I have worked with many people who donate money or land to support conservation. But I’ve never heard anyone say they were doing it because of the economic value of biodiversity or its role in sustaining ecosystem services. </p>
<p>Instead, they’ve shared stories about how they grew up fishing with their father, held family gatherings at a cabin or canoed with someone who was important to them. They wanted to pass on those experiences to their children and grandchildren to preserve familial relationships. Researchers increasingly recognize that such <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1525002113">relational values</a> – connections to communities and to specific places – are one of the most common reasons why people choose to conserve nature.</p>
<p>I also know many people who hold deep religious beliefs and are rarely swayed by scientific arguments for conservation. But when Pope Francis published his 2015 encyclical <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html">Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home</a> and said God’s followers had a moral responsibility to care for his creation, my religious relatives, friends and colleagues suddenly wanted to know about biodiversity loss and what they might do about it. </p>
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<p>Surveys show that 85% of the world’s population <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/27/religion-why-is-faith-growing-and-what-happens-next">identifies with a major religion</a>. Leaders of every major religion have published declarations similar to Pope Francis’ encyclical, calling on their followers to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1890/120322">better stewards of Earth</a>. Undoubtedly, a large portion of humanity assigns moral value to nature. </p>
<p>Research clearly shows that nature provides humanity with enormous value. But some people simply believe that other species have a right to exist, or that their religion tells them to be good stewards of Earth. As I see it, embracing these diverse perspectives is the best way to get global buy-in for conserving Earth’s ecosystems and living creatures for the good of all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bradley J. Cardinale receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Ecological Society of America, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Society for Conservation Biology, the Society for Freshwater Science, and the Midwest's Environmental Law and Policy Center,</span></em></p>As a major conference on the global biodiversity crisis opens in Montreal, a conservation biologist explains how ideas about protecting nature have evolved over the past 40 years.Bradley J. Cardinale, Department Head, Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1830172022-05-26T15:04:00Z2022-05-26T15:04:00ZLarge trees are essential for healthy cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462899/original/file-20220512-22-pyh6gt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C986%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Although it is important to have a diversity of tree species in urban landscapes, planting and protecting taller species should be strongly encouraged.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Trees are important elements of our urban landscape. With <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS">more than 50 per cent of the world’s population living in cities</a>, it is impossible to imagine cities without the many services and benefits trees provide to residents and ecosystems.</p>
<p>We saw evidence of this when COVID-19 measures were the most restrictive: urban park use <a href="https://ccpr.parkpeople.ca/2021/overview/lessons">increased dramatically</a>. This is no coincidence. The presence of trees promotes both physical and mental health, which is one of the main reasons city dwellers felt the need to <a href="https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/regulating-services/en/">spend time in green spaces</a>.</p>
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À lire aussi :
<a href="https://theconversation.com/comment-prendre-soin-du-sol-et-de-la-terre-pour-favoriser-le-verdissement-en-ville-163873">Comment prendre soin du sol et de la terre pour favoriser le verdissement en ville</a>
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<p>The trees we encounter every day on private property, on streets or in parks also contribute many environmental and climate regulation benefits, including the mitigation of city noise, capturing carbon and slowing water infiltration rates into soils.</p>
<p>Although a city’s total tree stock plays a role in the quality and quantity of ecosystem services, not all trees have the same characteristics or the same capacity to provide ecosystem services. So it is important to ask which trees are the most effective in delivering these benefits, why and what practices would promote such services?</p>
<p>We are part of the <a href="https://www.craum.ffgg.ulaval.ca">Research Chair on Urban Trees and their Environment</a> at Laval University, which aims to find solutions to help the long-term survival of trees in urban environments.</p>
<h2>Which trees provide the most benefits?</h2>
<p>In general, large trees have a better capacity to capture carbon from the air and store it, reduce atmospheric pollution and <a href="https://treecanada.ca/resources/canadian-urban-forest-compendium/17-stormwater-management-and-urban-forests/">prevent stormwater runoff</a>. </p>
<p>Trees with a larger trunk diameter have a greater woody biomass (amount of wood), which allows them to store more carbon than smaller trees. Similarly, trees’ ability to intercept precipitation and air pollutants increases with greater canopy size (the tops of dominant trees) and total leaf area (the total area of all leaves), which are both associated with greater overall tree size. As a result, larger trees are generally more effective than smaller ones at providing essential regulating services for urban environments and, especially, in a changing climate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="large tree in front of a house" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/454552/original/file-20220327-19-cmgjy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Large elm tree in a residential neighbourhood in Québec City. The planting and protection of large species should be strongly encouraged.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alison Munson)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Planting large tree species also has significant economic benefits. One study reports that the annual net benefit of planting large tree species is <a href="https://www.brebookshop.com/samples/326911.pdf">44 per cent higher than that of a medium tree species and 92 per cent higher than that of a small tree species</a>. </p>
<p>The same study found it takes less than five years for the net benefits of these trees to outweigh the net costs. This can be explained in part by the fact that large trees increase real estate prices and land values, in addition to reducing energy costs for heating and cooling by regulating the microclimate.</p>
<p>However, the limited available overhead or underground space in urban areas means it is not always possible to plant large trees. In these conditions, smaller trees can also make an significant contribution.</p>
<p>Large trees play a critical role in the delivery of ecosystem services. But the ability to deliver these services is conditional on one thing: the trees must be in good condition. Those in poor condition have less capacity to deliver ecosystem services, since poor conditions impede growth, slow carbon sequestration and can also lead to <a href="https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/dead-branche-stop.shtml">canopy die-back</a>.</p>
<p>In urban settings, hostile environments can impede the growth and proper development of trees. Lack of space for the root system, soil compaction, limited soil moisture, <a href="https://www.bartlett.com/blog/2021/01/tree-advice/deicing-salts-and-trees-dont-mix">use of de-icing salts</a> and air pollution challenge the survival of young planted trees. In view of this, several management practices have been developed to encourage the growth and development of trees. Here are some examples:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Plant the right tree in the right place. For example, some tree species are better adapted to certain climates or more tolerant than others to limited amounts of space. There are guides available for planting choices that are based on environmental characteristics, including soil conditions.</p></li>
<li><p>Avoid frequent pruning of large trees, which significantly reduces the leaf area and woody biomass of individual trees. One of the keys to reducing the need for pruning is to choose a tree species that is adapted to a given location.</p></li>
<li><p>Formally recognize the value of ecosystem services provided by large trees in order to introduce policies that support their conservation.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>The importance of concrete actions</h2>
<p>Although large trees are generally more effective than small ones in providing certain ecosystem services, in the context of a changing climate, and where forest resilience is paramount, it is important not to put all our eggs in one basket and exclusively plant large tree species.</p>
<p>In fact, at the forest scale, some characteristics are positively correlated with the production of ecosystem services, including vertical heterogeneity (the amount of vegetation strata, ranging from flowering plants to dominant trees) and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07082-4">shrub diversity</a>, which is the number of different species present.</p>
<p>Finally, the key things to remember are that large trees are extremely important, and that we benefit from efforts to preserve them. Moreover, planting large tree species should be encouraged, since there’s a tendency to plant small species in cities. Concrete actions can be taken right away to get the most out of urban trees now and over the long term. </p>
<p>It is up to us to make them happen!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183017/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Munson is co-director of a research chair on urban forests and their environment, that is financed by the Ville de Québec. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anaïs Paré ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>There is a growing interest in planting small trees in urban areas. However, large trees have significant advantages.Alison Munson, Écologie forestière, écologie urbaine, sols urbains, Université LavalAnaïs Paré, Professionnelle de recherche pour la Chaire de recherche sur l'arbre urbain et son milieu (CRAUM), Université LavalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1807962022-04-21T09:50:32Z2022-04-21T09:50:32ZNigeria’s pristine freshwater ecosystems need protection before they are lost<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457952/original/file-20220413-24-hya8l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/arinta-waterfall-royalty-free-image/1327194505?adppopup=true">Fela Sanu via GettyImages </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As human populations grow, pure freshwater systems are becoming <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3778">rare</a> around the world. Urbanisation and infrastructure development have had <a href="https://www.fni.no/publications/the-anthropocene-is-functionally-and-stratigraphically-distinct-from-the-holocene">an impact</a> on the natural environment in African countries, as elsewhere. Many species have become <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147651319314848?via%3Dihub">extinct</a>.</p>
<p>In Nigeria, various environmental pressures have <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/wajae/article/view/108003">jeopardised</a> freshwater biodiversity in recent years. Undisturbed freshwater systems have become scarce, as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147651319314848?via%3Dihub">human activity</a> has destroyed many rivers, lakes and streams. </p>
<p>Cutting down trees, using water for domestic and industrial purposes, farming on river banks, dumping garbage and washing are some of the activities that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147651319314848?via%3Dihub">contribute</a> to reducing freshwater biodiversity. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3778?af=R">Studies</a> have found that the animals in Nigeria’s freshwater ecosystems are mostly species that indicate low or moderate water quality. In the waters studied, there are fewer species that indicate excellent water quality. Larvae of non-biting midges, soldier flies and hover flies are examples of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0043135483901884">species that indicate</a> poor water quality. But biological indicators of excellent water quality, such as mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies, are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3778">frequently underrepresented</a>. </p>
<p>My research group recently <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3778">conducted an ecological study</a> of the freshwater systems of three waterfalls in Nigeria’s remote regions. They are all far from human settlement and are situated in Nigeria’s different vegetation and geographical zones. Our findings revealed that the streams had exceptional biological water quality, which is unusual in Nigeria.</p>
<p>It’s important to protect these places because pristine freshwater ecosystems are becoming rarer globally.</p>
<h2>Freshwater systems in Nigeria</h2>
<p>Three insect orders are frequently employed as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X13000459">indicators</a> of high-quality freshwater habitats. </p>
<p>Ephemeroptera (commonly known as mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies) <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X13000459">make up</a> the indicator. In most cases globally, pristine freshwater systems have no fewer than <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/0118/fs20020118.pdf">10 species</a> of the three insect groups. The three insect groups are used as the benchmark for identifying top-quality sites. Such sites should support a wide range of species of the three insect orders. The higher the indicator value, the richer a freshwater system is in terms of biological diversity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-found-a-rare-insect-at-an-unspoilt-stream-in-nigeria-sign-of-a-need-to-explore-and-protect-171966">We found a rare insect at an unspoilt stream in Nigeria – sign of a need to explore and protect</a>
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<p>At Arinta Waterfalls in Ekiti State, southwest Nigeria, we discovered 19 species indicating excellent water quality. At Ekor Waterfalls in Cross River State, southern Nigeria we found 13. We discovered 29 indicator species at Oowu Waterfalls in Kwara State, north-central Nigeria. These records exceeded <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/0118/fs20020118.pdf">the benchmark</a> for freshwater systems with excellent ecological integrity. In Nigeria it’s rare to exceed this benchmark.</p>
<p>Our findings also revealed that the three sites had very high conservation value. An index value of not less than 20 is the standard. At all three locations, the index was greater than 20. The conservation index has been applied in Britain and Ireland for identifying freshwater systems of conservation importance. Its application has been <a href="https://vdoc.pub/documents/conservation-monitoring-in-freshwater-habitats-a-practical-guide-and-case-studies-30fnpn5nj8v0">recommended</a> for international use. This study is the first application of the index in tropical Africa. </p>
<p>Freshwater environments with high conservation value have great promise for both terrestrial and freshwater biological diversity. They also bode well for human survival. Many insects <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00027-022-00850-x">require clean water</a> to survive as larvae before maturing into adults and moving to forested areas near water. They become part of the food chain in these forests, passing their chemical energy to other animals. The larval insects are also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0377840115000802?via%3Dihub">essential food</a> for fishes. </p>
<p>When present in significant numbers, the indicator group is a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fwb.12211">clear signal</a> of natural freshwater with preserved riparian forests – little <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5584830/">altered</a> by human activity. Such freshwater systems <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X13000459?via%3Dihub">imply</a> a high level of naturalness and make an excellent ecotourism destination.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/destroying-nigerias-riverside-forests-is-bad-for-the-freshwater-ecosystem-132022">Destroying Nigeria's riverside forests is bad for the freshwater ecosystem</a>
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<h2>Potential for ecotourism</h2>
<p>Apart from their biodiversity value, the three locations we studied have the potential to become ecotourism destinations in Nigeria. At present, ecotourists under-appreciate the sites, and ecologists under-report them. Only the Arinta Waterfalls site is under the close supervision of Ekiti State Tourism Board. The Abia village community in Cross River State is responsible for managing the Ekor Waterfalls site. Though the Kwara State Government recognises the Oowu Waterfalls as an ecotourism site, poor management and a poor road network leading to the site indicate that it is neglected. </p>
<p>Among the three, Oowu Waterfalls is <a href="https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.1515/agta-2018-0002">remarkable</a> for being the steepest and one of the highest waterfalls in West Africa.</p>
<p>The absence of well-organised management at the locations foreshadows a serious threat to these exceptional freshwater systems. There are already symptoms of uncontrolled human activity such as deforestation and tourist garbage dumping, albeit on a small scale. </p>
<p>Concerned governments should devise ways to protect and conserve these excellent streams. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.1010">The goal</a> is to identify freshwater habitats of high ecological integrity for conservation before they are spoilt by human activities. Protecting biodiversity will also meet other human needs like tourism, agriculture and mining.</p>
<p>The authorities need plant and animal ecologists to take an inventory of the sites’ terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. This baseline data is critical to draw up conservation plans, monitor naturalness and protect sites during future infrastructure developments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel O. Akindele works for Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He receives funding from the British Ecological Society. </span></em></p>Nigeria should urgently protect three freshwater ecosystems as these undisturbed environments are becoming rare globally.Emmanuel O. Akindele, Senior Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1772642022-03-09T13:26:59Z2022-03-09T13:26:59ZMistletoes, locust bean trees and birds work together in Nigeria’s forest ecology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450617/original/file-20220308-15-4vk8lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mistletoes parasitising African locust bean trees in Amurum Forest Reserve.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abidemi Raji</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mistletoes are <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114024">found</a> in a wide range of forest ecosystems. As parasites, they are a fascinating group of plants. They get their nutrition from host plants and are ecosystem engineers, making an <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa8fff">impact</a> along food chains. </p>
<p>They affect population dynamics, diversity, and distributions of other plants as well as invertebrates, birds and mammals. Their broad geographic distributions, and their long and unique flowering and fruiting periods, make them an attractive <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114024">resource</a> for wildlife. The fruit and nectar are food for birds, which also nest and roost on the plant, providing pollination and seed dispersal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2005.01358.x">services</a> in the process. </p>
<p>In West Africa, mistletoes are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3794408/">found</a> on many indigenous trees and several tree crops of economic importance. These hosts include shea, neem, sweet orange, cocoa, rubber and the African locust bean tree. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340756116_PARKIA_BIGLOBOSA_AFRICAN_LOCUST_BEAN_TREE">African locust bean</a> (<em>Parkia biglobosa</em>) is regarded as an important tree crop, used for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/parkia-biglobosa#:%7E:text=Parkia%20biglobosa%2C%20popularly%20known%20as,diseases%20%5B83%E2%80%9385%5D.">medicine</a> and food. The trees also play a valuable role in nutrient cycling by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in soils. They are susceptible to mistletoe infection and agroforestry managers usually eradicate the parasitic plant.</p>
<p>But if mistletoes provide food and shelter for species that are particularly important in an ecosystem, then removing them might not be a good strategy. </p>
<p>We therefore <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01890-0">investigated</a> an aspect of mistletoe’s ecological benefits that was not well researched. We studied how birds use mistletoes that grow on <em>P. biglobosa</em> in Amurum Forest Reserve, Nigeria, across its mosaic of habitats. </p>
<p>We recorded all visits by birds to trees with mistletoe: when they visited, how long they spent in the trees and how they behaved. As predicted, <em>Tapinanthus dodoneifolius</em> mistletoes on <em>P. biglobosa</em> were an important provider of food and shelter for birds. In addition, the ecological role of this mistletoe on <em>P. biglobosa</em> in times of food scarcity, especially in the dry season, appears important. </p>
<p>This broader understanding of mistletoe significance and ecology could inform any action in the management of African locust bean forests, and in conservation.</p>
<h2>Our research</h2>
<p>We carried out <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-021-01890-0">our study</a> in <a href="https://www.qgis.org/en/site/about/case_studies/nigeria_jos.html">Amurum Forest Reserve</a> in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. The reserve has three major habitat types, differing in plant species. It has about 278 bird species, 31% of the total recorded in Nigeria. This makes it one of Nigeria’s <a href="https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/5638600">biodiversity hotspots</a>. </p>
<p>Some of the plant species, including <em>P. biglobosa</em>, in the reserve host mistletoes, attached to their stem as parasites. The locust bean trees in the study area are infected by three mistletoe species: <em>Tapinanthus dodoneifolius</em>, <em>T. bangwensis</em> and <em>T. sesselifolius</em>. </p>
<p>Only <em>T. dodoneifolius</em> was fruiting during our study, so we only observed birds visiting this species. </p>
<p>The Amurum Forest Reserve had a relatively high density of mistletoe-infected <em>P. biglobosa</em> trees. Of 663 trees, 398 (60%) were parasitised with <em>T. dodoneifolius</em> mistletoes and 265 (40%) were not. Ninety-four (14.2%) of the total number of trees were recorded in the rocky habitat, with 49 infected and 45 non-infected. Seventy-one (10.7%) of the total were in the gallery forest, with 59 infected and 12 non-infected. We recorded 498 (75.1%) of the total in the savanna, with 290 infected and 208 non-infected. </p>
<p>In 432 hours of observations, we recorded 725 individual birds, comprising 71 species, and belonging to 31 families and four orders, visiting both the locust bean trees and their associated <em>T. dodoneifolius</em> mistletoes. Fruit eaters, insect eaters, nectar feeders and omnivores all visited mistletoe flowers or fruits on the locust bean trees. A total of 352 individual bird visits (from 54 species) were recorded directly on the mistletoes. </p>
<p>The rate of mistletoe infection on the trees in our study did not differ significantly across habitat types. This suggests that the probability of infection does not depend on habitat type but might be related to host plant quality, host availability and bird behaviour. </p>
<h2>Bird use of mistletoes on locust bean trees</h2>
<p>Our findings corroborate the <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/B08-105">host quality hypothesis</a>: mistletoes favour nitrogen-fixing and leguminous plants as hosts. </p>
<p>Bird species in our study had similar chances of accessing all habitat types. Therefore, they could move seeds from one habitat to another to an available host. This supports larger numbers of birds and increases the chances that the mistletoe and the host plant’s fruits will be dispersed. </p>
<p>The number of mistletoes on the host plant also determines birds’ preferences for particular trees (measured as time spent by birds on plants in a tree), as found in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3599349?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">other studies</a>. Birds were attracted to a dense build-up of berries of <em>T. dodoneifolius</em> mistletoes on the host and tended to spend a lot of time feeding on them, thereby enhancing dispersal. Mistletoes do not all produce fruit or ripen at the same time. Fruit dispersers therefore find their fruit reward available all year round in some species or at times of general food scarcity. </p>
<p>We observed that the height of the host tree and the number of mistletoes on it influenced the bird activity. Aside from eating fruit, we also saw birds perching, pecking, and foraging on insects, seeds, leaves, and nectar on both the mistletoe and host. This benefits the bird, mistletoe and host. </p>
<h2>Implications of our findings</h2>
<p>Our study supported the idea we started with – that <em>T. dodoneifolius</em> mistletoes on locust bean trees are a keystone producer, based on the bird species use and visitation. Keystone producers are species that have a large impact or influence on the ecosystem. These mistletoes on the trees appear to have an important role in times of food scarcity, especially in the dry season. They are important resources for birds in the reserve.</p>
<p>Understanding relationships like these can help identify critical resources and potential keystone species to inform conservation planning. Reforestation programmes should consider the parasitic relationship between mistletoes and their hosts and their ecological benefits for bird diversity, fruit dispersal and pollination, and ultimately ecosystem stability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177264/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Islamiat Abidemi Raji receives funding and study permission from the A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Jos, Nigeria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colleen T. Downs receives funding from University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA) and the National Research Foundation (ZA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adams Chaskda and Shiiwua Manu do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Reforestation programmes should consider the parasitic relationship between mistletoes and their hosts and their ecological benefits for bird diversity.Islamiat Abidemi Raji, Researcher, University of KwaZulu-NatalAdams Chaskda, Lecturer/Researcher, University of JosColleen T. Downs, NRF SARChI Research Chair in Ecosystem health and biodiversity in KZN and the E. Cape, University of KwaZulu-NatalShiiwua Manu, Professor of Ornithology, University of JosLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1716242022-01-17T14:56:53Z2022-01-17T14:56:53ZLegal tools exist to protect South Africa’s city ecosystems: it’s up to councils to use them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440464/original/file-20220112-23-vp6rwp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Litter after recent looting in Durban, South Africa. The city recently introduced a scheme that looks to protect biodiversity and associated ecosystems.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world is experiencing an environmental crisis coupled with rapid urbanisation. This affects city ecosystems, which are a combination of the built environment, planned green spaces and natural biodiversity. They include streets, roofs, parks, trees, rivers and other urban features.</p>
<p>Ecosystems provide <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Understanding-Conservation/Ecosystem-Services">services</a> like regulating air, water and soil quality. In cities, their role in regulating the climate is particularly important. Cities are generally warmer <a href="https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/urban-heat-island-cities-warmer-suburbs-cooler">than surrounding rural areas</a>. Greenery and vegetation mitigate this by providing shade and filtering air. They also absorb greenhouse gases and other pollutants.</p>
<p>But ecosystem services are under threat everywhere <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/commission-ecosystem-management/202103/first-ever-global-catalogue-ecosystems-will-enable-coordinated-conservation-efforts#:%7E:text=Gland%2C%20Switzerland%2C%2001%20March%202021,both%20their%20functions%20and%20composition">in the world</a>. Urban development and expansion causes ecological degradation, pollution and an increase in greenhouse <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2015.00144/full">gas emissions</a>. This affects ecosystems’ ability to sustainably provide the services that people need for their <a href="https://www.witpress.com/Secure/elibrary/papers/SC20/SC20023FU1.pdf">physical and mental well-being</a>. </p>
<p>In South Africa, these ecosystem services – like wetlands, green spaces and street trees – are grossly under-protected. They are at risk of being damaged irreparably. Intervention is necessary. Regulation in terms of law is one form of intervention.</p>
<h2>South African law</h2>
<p>South Africa has many environmental laws. These draw on a constitutional <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf">right</a> to an environment that is not harmful to health and well-being. People have the right to protection of this environment through <a href="https://juta.co.za/catalogue/environmental-law-and-local-government-in-south-africa_28518">legislative and other measures</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAKZPHC/2013/6.html">High Court</a> has already found that local governments are “in the best position to know, understand, and deal with issues involving the environment at the local level”. But do these governments have the tools they need? To find out, we conducted a <a href="https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/municipal-planning-law-and-policy-for-sustainable-cities-in-south">study</a> to see whether South African law is suitable for protecting microclimate regulation in cities. </p>
<p>The main finding was that there are sufficient options in law to achieve this. But many of the legal instruments are underused; they also vary in their effectiveness. Innovative local governance is urgently needed. South African municipalities can and should experiment with a combination of instruments to achieve maximum results in protecting urban ecosystem services. </p>
<h2>Instruments in law</h2>
<p>The combination of national environmental law, local government law and spatial planning law in South Africa has many environmental governance instruments for municipalities to use. These include instruments for strategic and spatial planning and integrated environmental management. Some <a href="https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/municipal-planning-law-and-policy-for-sustainable-cities-in-south">examples</a> are municipal plans, land use schemes and environmental management plans. Others include environmental impact assessments and by-laws. </p>
<p>Cities can also use directives, compliance notices, incentives and agreements; one example is environmental management cooperation agreements between municipalities and the private sector. Then there are municipal advisory or ward committees. These instruments are all created in terms of local government and environmental laws promulgated by parliament since 1996. </p>
<p>But it’s the task of every municipality to adopt these instruments and to ensure they are suitable for local conditions. This is what the eThekwini Metro (Durban on South Africa’s east coast) did with its <a href="http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/development_planning_management/environmental_planning_climate_protection/Durban_Open_Space/Pages/-What-is-the-Durban-Metropolitan-Open-Space-System.aspx">revised town planning scheme</a>. The scheme looks to protect biodiversity and associated ecosystems.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://research.tilburguniversity.edu/en/publications/municipal-planning-law-and-policy-for-sustainable-cities-in-south">study</a> showed that environmental governance instruments vary in their ability to protect urban ecosystem services. Many are underexplored. We found that spatial planning and municipal by-laws are two potentially useful instruments.</p>
<p>Take the example of the Ekurhuleni Municipality in the east of Johannesburg. It used <a href="https://www.ekurhuleni.gov.za/council/by-laws-policies/by-laws/ekurhuleni-by-laws-1/45-planting-pruning-removal-and-treatment-of-street-trees-by-law/file.html">by-laws</a> to establish consequences and penalties for damage to or removal of trees. <a href="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Bylaws%20and%20policies/Bioregional%20Plan%20for%20City%20of%20Cape%20Town%20-%20(Policy%20number%2044854)%20noted%20on%2019%20August%202015.pdf">Cape Town</a> and <a href="https://www.tshwane.gov.za/sites/business/Bylaws/Draft%20ByLaws/City%20of%20Tshwane%20Bioregional%20Plan%20March%202016%20(EditedAll).pdf">Tshwane</a> municipalities have bioregional plans that provide specifically for climate adaptation measures and ecosystem services.</p>
<h2>Beyond the 2021 local government elections</h2>
<p>The manifestos of the political parties that participated in the 2021 local government elections focused on local economic development and basic services. Environmental conservation and ecosystem protection were mostly overlooked. That’s an oversight: the benefits of these are critical to most other municipal activities. </p>
<p>Ecosystem services protection may not be part of annual municipal audits, but the entire government is obliged to comply with the constitutional environmental right. Everyone has a duty (legal and otherwise) to help address the impact of urbanisation on ecosystem integrity. </p>
<p>The elections ushered in a new start for municipalities. Most cities’ by-laws do not adequately regulate behaviour that may have a negative impact on ecosystem services. Innovative local governance is urgently needed. Municipalities are not bound to use only the legally prescribed instruments or use only a single instrument such as the well-known “municipal integrated development plan”. They are encouraged to try combinations that take local needs, local knowledge and community involvement into account. Municipalities should also compare short-term costs with long-term environmental and societal benefits.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Urban ecosystem services sustain life, but aren’t well protected. Newly elected councils should use the available legal tools. The skills, acumen and commitment of municipal administrations are equally important. </p>
<p>It is also up to local communities, scientists and community-based organisations to keep their municipalities to account. They can all contribute to the design and implementation of urban ecosystem protection measures - by complying with the law, for a start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171624/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anél du Plessis receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant number 115581). All errors and viewpoints are the authors' own. The author is affiliated with the North-West University, Faculty of Law and is the Chairholder of the NRF SARChI Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela van der Berg has received funding from the National Research Foundation (Grant number 102352) and from the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (Strategic Grant for Early Career Researchers). All errors and viewpoints are the authors' own. The author is affiliated with the University of the Western Cape (UWC) Faculty of Law, and is the Acting Director of the Global Environmental Law Centre (UWC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maricélle Botes receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant number 115581), the NWU and the Faculty of Law. All errors and viewpoints are the authors' own. The author is affiliated with the North-West University, Faculty of Law and is a PhD Researcher at the NRF SARChI Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability. </span></em></p>Urban ecosystem services sustain life but aren’t well protected.Anél du Plessis, Professor of Law & NRF South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability, North-West UniversityAngela van der Berg, Acting Director of the Global Environmental Law Centre, University of the Western CapeMaricélle Botes, PhD Researcher at the South African Research Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES), North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708202021-12-13T14:19:16Z2021-12-13T14:19:16ZGDP ignores the environment: why it’s time for a more sustainable growth metric<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436964/original/file-20211210-149721-10wthgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5975%2C3950&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers have estimated the gross ecosystem product (GEP) of Qinghai province in China.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jiaye Liu / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For more than 70 years, Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, has been the key yardstick by which nations have measured economic progress. But GDP is designed to exclusively account for the monetary benefits accrued from economic activity. It is blind to the degradation of the natural environment, finite resources and human wellbeing. It’s time we came up with something better.</p>
<p>Without ever having to acknowledge how nature has contributed to economic growth, GDP has promoted unsustainable practices that have contributed to the climate and biodiversity emergencies. To put it another way, GDP is like a ledger that will not accept red ink. Like an accounting trick, it has allowed us to vent greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, destroy habitats and neglect human wellbeing without ever having to worry about the consequences.</p>
<p>Of course, the current environmental disaster was something that the economist Simon Kuznets did not have to consider when he <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/01/03/gdp-a-brief-history/">developed the concept</a> in the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s. But notwithstanding its limitations, something Kuznets was himself aware of, GDP has become the main economic indicator in use today. This puts policy makers who are trying to limit global warming in somewhat of a bind.</p>
<h2>Gross Ecosystem Product</h2>
<p>As such, we need to start looking at alternative metrics such as Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) so that we can account for nature’s contribution to economic activity and human wellbeing.</p>
<p>Although research into <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/25/14593">calculating GEP</a> is only in its infancy, it attempts to place a monetary value on things like clean water, soil quality, food security, healthcare and the culturally-significant landscapes that contribute to our happiness. In other words, GEP assigns a dollar value to the work of bees who act as nature’s pollinators, bogs that sequester carbon, and the stimulating effect nature has on our mental health.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two bees and a yellow flower" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437216/original/file-20211213-13-3f7s4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bees: good for GEP.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">RUKSUTAKARN studio / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While GDP looks exclusively at the value of production – or outputs – GEP instead places a value on nature’s input and incentivises policy makers to invest in nature. It would be naive to simply add both measures together and come up with an overall figure, since both metrics overlap in numerous areas. But the two measures can still provide decision makers with complementary information that could help allow for sustainable economic growth into the future.</p>
<h2>Exporting ecosystem services – and boosting GEP</h2>
<p>For example, the Chinese government has been experimenting with the implementation of GEP in Qinghai province – a remote region of the Tibetan plateau that contains the source of the Mekong, Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.</p>
<p>There, researchers found that GEP was far greater than GDP in the year 2000, 81.5 vs. 26 billion Yuan. At that point, there was considerably more useful ecosystem activity than human economic activity. </p>
<p>However by 2015 GEP had shrunk to three quarters the size of GDP, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/25/14593">185.4 vs. 242 billion Yuan</a>. This suggests greater investment had been made in traditional economic growth at the expense of the environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="River winds through large valley" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437218/original/file-20211213-13-4xfcmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Several huge rivers begin on the high plateaus of Qinghai province.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">DMHJ / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Intriguingly, as Qinghai is the source of three major rivers, the study also found that the province “exports” ecosystem services like drinking water and fertilising nutrients, which show up in the GEP accumulated by other Chinese provinces and neighbouring countries. </p>
<p>The ability to measure the value of Qinghai’s ecosystem “export” could set in train a process whereby financial compensation is paid to the province by neighbouring regions. Such a programme could create the economic incentive for communities to conserve and grow ecosystem assets. To put this in a global perspective, imagine if Brazilian farmers were paid by European countries to manage the rainforest based on the amount of carbon it sequesters.</p>
<p>Similarly, in Ireland where I live, GEP would allow bogs and woodlands to contribute to the economy. In such a scenario, Irish cities could be compelled to pay rural regions to store some of the carbon they produce or to maintain culturally significant landscapes that enhance mental health and wellbeing.</p>
<p>By placing a value on the benefits that we derive from our natural environment, GEP would also encourage us to think differently about how we manage, maintain and grow those regions that have been neglected in favour of centralised growth strategies.</p>
<p>However, for now at least, it would be impractical to implement a system like GEP or the UN’s <a href="https://seea.un.org/">System of Environmental-Economic Accounting</a>. Apart from being hugely complex and largely unproven, adopting it would require a global economic consensus on a scale not seen since the international financial order was devised <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/bretton-woods-11536">after the second world war</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, if we are to manage the complex trade-offs needed to mitigate the climate crisis, then radical new thinking is required.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Onakuse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Radical new thinking is required to fight climate change, and ‘gross ecosystem product’ might help.Stephen Onakuse, Senior Lecturer, Department of Food Business and Development, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Sustainable Livelihoods, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1711952021-11-22T19:07:51Z2021-11-22T19:07:51ZWhy it’s time to reconsider the ecological contribution of introduced species – even in New Zealand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433006/original/file-20211121-17-9hhzdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C69%2C5129%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/rfranca</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The loss of biodiversity is one of the most catastrophic developments of our time. The impacts will possibly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/461472a">outpace those of global warming</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A fantail" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433029/original/file-20211122-15-tb7265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Zealand’s pīwakawaka: conservation often focuses on saving native species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Imogen Warren</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Growing evidence that humans have triggered a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/24/13596">sixth global mass extinction</a> means the protection of remaining species is a <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">priority beyond dispute</a> to secure ecological services such carbon cycling, clean water and air, and healthy oceans.</p>
<p>The key drivers of species loss are climate change, habitat degradation, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11148?report=reader">pollution</a>, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-018-1595-x">exotic species that become invasive</a>. This has led conservation ecologists to follow the simple rule of “protect natives, fight exotics”. </p>
<p>If we had an unlimited budget, I would hardly challenge this view. But in a world where natural ecosystems face many other global changes apart from species loss, I argue we should reconsider the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2021.758413/full">ecological role exotic species play</a>.</p>
<h2>Ecosystem function over species mix</h2>
<p>One could argue ecosystems are inherently so complex that we can never appreciate the exact contribution of an individual species, and therefore native species need to be protected at all cost. </p>
<p>But this argument can be turned around. In many cases, exotic species are not detrimental to the resident species communities. It is not until an exotic species becomes invasive that <a href="https://rewilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IUCN-GISP.pdf">substantial harm happens</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eco-fusion-is-the-new-normal-as-native-and-non-native-species-mix-together-154454">Eco-fusion is the new normal, as native and non-native species mix together</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The deliberate spread of species has been an integral part of human evolution for thousands of years. Many economically important plant species are exotics in most places, but they make it possible to feed our growing population. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="New world cacti and succulents in Greece." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433030/original/file-20211122-25-khff1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New worlld cacti and succulents have become part of the Mediterranean landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Anna Holyph</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a physically highly connected world, unintentional relocation of both terrestrial and marine species has now also become unavoidable. </p>
<p>In some cases, introduced species can even complement native ecosystems. New world succulents are now very much part of the Mediterranean landscape, without <a href="https://www.presentica.com/doc/11177197/the-role-of-new-world-biodiversity-in-the-transformation-of-document">harming the local flora</a>. </p>
<p>Sometimes, introduced species perform ecological functions similar to those that are (or were) performed by natives. For instance, European gorse stabilises coastal slopes in New Zealand, providing a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19644109">nursery for local plants</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Gorse covering a hill in New Zealand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433003/original/file-20211121-27-ccesaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gorse can act as a nursery plant for New Zealand’s native plant species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Filip Fuxa</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In one particularly spectacular case, extinct tortoises were intentionally replaced with an exotic species through “assisted colonisation”. It seems to have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23773124/">worked</a>. </p>
<p>However, earlier and much less scientifically informed attempts of assisted colonisation, such as the deliberate introduction of cane toads in Australia’s tropical north-east, <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00319.x">went terribly wrong</a>.</p>
<h2>The bias of human perception</h2>
<p>There are many ecosystem services humanity depends on: clean water, carbon cycling, removal of pollutants and excessive nutrient loads, mitigation of global warming through land-based and marine carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, just to name a few. </p>
<p>The preservation of native species is one way of ensuring those services for future generations. An approach focused on ecological function weighs the cost of protecting natives and combating exotics against the role of new species assemblages shaped by human interference. </p>
<p>At approximately equal cost, should the addition of a breeding pair of a rare bird be prioritised over the reforestation of several hectares of land? Such decisions are often difficult and must be based on the available science.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/birds-we-studied-4-000-alien-introductions-to-find-out-why-some-were-successful-119034">Birds: we studied 4,000 'alien introductions' to find out why some were successful</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Clearly, there may be other reasons — cultural or aesthetic values for example — to protect native species, beyond the provisioning of ecosystem services. But people seem biased by what they are used to. </p>
<p>For example, Switzerland provides <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42731932">generous subsidies</a> to farmers for maintaining picturesque alpine meadows, even though the native vegetation before human intervention was a much less biologically diverse alpine forest. </p>
<p>In Central Europe, the recently introduced Tree of Heaven (<em>Ailanthus altissima</em>) triggered substantial efforts to eradicate it, while the European chestnut (<em>Castanea sativa</em>), introduced by the Greeks and Romans some 2000 years ago, is highly valued and enjoys <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00334-004-0038-7">protection and even reforestation programmes</a>.</p>
<p>The above examples illustrate why we may need a more sober approach centred on ecological function to effectively protect our remaining natural treasures and the ecosystem services they provide. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.711556/abstract">milestones in the evolution of life</a> did not depend on individual species or species assemblages, but on the emergence of new functional traits such as photosynthesis, predation or flight. Similarly, humankind ultimately relies on functioning ecosystems, regardless of which species provide them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastian Leuzinger receives funding from The Royal Society. </span></em></p>Introduced species that become invasive are clearly destructive, but many exotic species are not detrimental to the existing ecosystem – some become complementary or take on lost ecological roles.Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708852021-11-12T10:33:49Z2021-11-12T10:33:49ZSix areas where action must focus to rescue this planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431653/original/file-20211112-25-16gi94.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sandstorm approaching Merzouga Settlement in Erg Chebbi Desert, Morocco.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pavliha/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For some time, the Earth’s natural resources have been depleted faster than they can be replaced. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has set a 2030 <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/">deadline</a> to reduce heat-trapping emissions by half to avoid climate change that is both irreversible and destructive. </p>
<p>With colleagues, we coauthored a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/1/8/5610806">climate emergency warning paper</a> in 2019. It has now been co-signed by 14,594 scientists from 158 countries. We also produced <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/6/446/5828583?login=true">an extension</a> in 2020 and a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-climate-emergency-2020-in-review/">grim update</a> in 2021. Our warnings are supported by thousands of research studies, many referenced in the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> papers.</p>
<p>In our new <a href="https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/">paper</a>, we move beyond warnings and call for concrete actions. These must happen in six areas, at six levels – from household to community, city, state, nation and global – and on three timescales.</p>
<p>In the next three decades, the world must dramatically decrease greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to return to a more stable climate. To do this, we identify priority actions for energy, pollutants, nature, food, population and economy. </p>
<p>This takes place on three timescales – by 2026, 2030, and 2050. By 2050, carbon dioxide emissions must not exceed removals. After that, we must lower atmospheric concentrations by taking enough carbon out of the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Our paper, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00368504211056290">summarised here</a>, is intended to guide society, decision makers, planners, managers and financial investors with a framework for action. Yet humanity’s biggest challenges are not technical, but social, economic, political and behavioural. </p>
<h2>Energy: less, cleaner, more with less</h2>
<p>It is essential to reduce demand for energy by increasing energy productivity. That means getting more energy services – heating, cooling, lighting, transport, electricity and mechanical work – out of less primary energy. Fossil fuels are the largest sources of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane, and must be replaced. Our paper recommends the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Follow much more ambitious road-maps for energy transformation to halve carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.</p></li>
<li><p>Create economic incentives to provide <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629617300518">energy services</a> with less primary energy.</p></li>
<li><p>Replace primary energy from coal, oil, natural gas and wood with solar, wind, geothermal, tidal and hydro energy, wherever ecologically appropriate.</p></li>
<li><p>Account for all emissions and black carbon (soot) from burning bioenergy.</p></li>
<li><p>Levy high carbon prices on air travel, inefficient vehicles, appliances, buildings and carbon intensive goods.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Pollutants: reduce and remove</h2>
<p>Methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, black carbon and other atmospheric pollutants add directly to global heating. Our warming world is melting permafrost, releasing heat-trapping methane. Policies must:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Rapidly reduce methane emissions from agriculture, industry, and oil and gas production.</p></li>
<li><p>Develop effective atmospheric methane removal practices. </p></li>
<li><p>Require large methane producers to pay for atmospheric removal. </p></li>
<li><p>Reduce methane, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane hydrocarbons that produce heat-trapping pollutants. </p></li>
<li><p>Reduce emissions of hydrofluorocarbons from refrigerants, solvents and other sources. </p></li>
<li><p>Reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilisers, fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Natural climate solutions</h2>
<p>Biodiverse natural ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, grasslands, peatlands and oceans, are essential for our planet to function. This includes carbon management. They remove and store 56% of annual <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">carbon emissions</a>, preventing additional warming. </p>
<p>Society needs to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Protect carbon dense ecosystems to cover 30% of the Earth’s surface by 2030 and remove all emitted carbon dioxide by 2050.</p></li>
<li><p>Halt destruction of these essential systems. </p></li>
<li><p>Restore degraded ecosystems.</p></li>
<li><p>Greatly reduce land conversions by 2026 and halt them by 2030.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Food system reform</h2>
<p>Agricultural production is failing to sustain Earth’s nearly 8 billion people without unacceptable damage to climate, land and water. The global food system generates <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987">more than 25%</a> of greenhouse gas emissions and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/115/33/8252">consumes 70%</a> of freshwater. Expanding inefficient agriculture causes deforestation and nutrient runoff. It creates coastal low oxygen dead zones. To avoid widespread famines this century, leaders and farmers must:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Shift production to foods that use land and water more efficiently.</p></li>
<li><p>Use farming methods that regenerate the environment and store carbon in soils.</p></li>
<li><p>Support farmers in these transitions, especially small farmers.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Population stability</h2>
<p>Population growth undermines efforts to protect nature and people. Leaders and civil society should:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Embed population actions in economic, social and political agendas.</p></li>
<li><p>Invest more in family well-being through health, education and economic policies. </p></li>
<li><p>Support poorer families to advance economically and educationally.</p></li>
<li><p>Protect everyone’s right to life purposes other than parenting.</p></li>
<li><p>Increase aid for family planning.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Economic reform</h2>
<p>Economies must operate within <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1259855">planetary boundaries</a>. Leaders need to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Correct market failures through appropriate taxes, subsidies and regulations. </p></li>
<li><p>Create economic frameworks for profitable activities that protect and restore nature. </p></li>
<li><p>Introduce reforms to sustain farm and forest lands, oceans, rivers and wetlands. </p></li>
<li><p>Introduce land rights and urban planning models that encourage efficient land use. </p></li>
<li><p>Develop economic policies that halt loss of wild lands. </p></li>
<li><p>Introduce policies to reduce climate altering emissions and restore socially efficient local production.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We must accelerate these transformations, while maintaining social, economic and political stability. Effective and timely actions are still possible on many, but not all fronts. Avoiding each tenth of a degree increase in global temperature improves the lives of billions of people, thousands of species and ecosystems.</p>
<p>Humanity can choose cooperation, wisdom, innovation, and ethics – or not. People can learn from past mistakes and create better societies. Leaders’ main challenge in the next decade may be to hold the rudder steady as society transforms on an almost impossible timescale. Our actions, or inaction, will determine whether we meet the challenges of the coming decades, and persist as civilised societies. </p>
<p><em>Our paper is open <a href="https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk">here</a> for signature by anyone with a degree in natural, political, social, health, educational, behavioural or other science.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phoebe Barnard receives funding from Automated Visual Inspections and has received grants from the South African National Research Foundation, University of Cape Town, the Royal Society, and Leverhulme Trust. She is a board member of Scientists Warning Europe, Merz Institute, and Transition Fidalgo, and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Society for Conservation Biology and American Society of Adaptation Professionals. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Moomaw receives funding from Rockefeller Brothers' Fund. He is affiliated with Woodwell Climate Research Center, The Climate Group, The Nature Conservancy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Young Voices for the Planet</span></em></p>Humanity’s biggest challenges are not technical, but social, economic, political and behavioural. Effective actions are still possible to stabilise the climate and the planet, but must be taken now.Phoebe Barnard, CEO and Exec Director, Stable Planet Alliance; Affiliate Full Professor, University of Washington; Research Associate, African Climate and Development Initiative and FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape TownWilliam Moomaw, Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642272021-07-15T16:46:43Z2021-07-15T16:46:43ZExtreme heat waves are putting lakes and rivers in hot water this summer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411299/original/file-20210714-21-1bygcs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C80%2C4837%2C2917&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">River fish like trout swim close to the river surface as water temperatures rise.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Extreme heat waves have blanketed the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/06/30/climate-change-heat-politics/">Pacific Northwest, Siberia</a>, <a href="https://greekreporter.com/2021/06/30/heat-waves-greece-around-world-break-new-records/">Greece</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/1/interactive-mapping-hottest-temperatures-around-world">the Middle East</a>, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/hotter-human-body-can-handle-pakistan-city-broils-worlds-highest/">Southeast Asia</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/09/upshot/record-breaking-hot-weather-at-night-deaths.html">other regions</a> this summer, with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57788118">temperatures approaching</a> and exceeding 50 C.</p>
<p>As temperatures near outdoor survival thresholds, individuals who do not have easy access to air conditioning or cooling stations, or are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/07/global-heating-climate-crisis-heat-two-classes">unable to flee</a>, may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01058-x">succumb to heat waves</a>. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1101766108">climate extremes are becoming more frequent</a>. But as tragic as they are to human health, they are only part of a larger climate catastrophe story — the wide-scale damage to the ecosystems that people depend upon, including agriculture, fisheries and freshwater.</p>
<p>Most wildlife cannot seek refuge from extreme heat. An estimated <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/intertidal-animals-ubc-research-1.6090774">one billion marine animals may have perished</a> during the heatwave this past June in the Pacific Northwest alone.</p>
<h2>Fisheries in hot water</h2>
<p>Many people may perceive lakes and rivers to be refuges from unprecedented heat, but freshwater systems are no less sensitive. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/alaska-heatwave-salmon-rivers-july-temperatures-climate-change-a9063461.html">Heat waves have killed thousands of fish in Alaska</a> as temperatures exceeded the lethal limit for coldwater fishes.</p>
<p>This year’s hot and dry summer could <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/water-and-drought/article252650328.html">collapse the salmon fishery in the Sacramento River in California</a>. In British Columbia and Yukon, salmon numbers have declined by as much as 90 per cent and have led the federal government to shut down <a href="https://www.timescolonist.com/sports/add-an-event/ottawa-to-close-about-60-per-cent-of-commercial-salmon-fisheries-to-conserve-stocks-1.24336891">60 per cent of the commercial and First Nations communal salmon fishery</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-drought-affects-freshwater-fish-109781">How drought affects freshwater fish</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Coldwater fish, such as trout and salmon, are being squeezed out of their cool, well-oxygenated, deep-water habitat. As water contains less oxygen at higher water temperatures, this forces the fish to move into nearshore regions. While these shallower waters may be better oxygenated, they are even warmer and may exceed thermal tolerances of coldwater species. </p>
<p>By the same token, invasive fishes such as smallmouth bass are thriving in warmer temperatures and displacing native Canadian fishes like walleye and lake trout.</p>
<h2>Water is on the move — too little and too much</h2>
<p>The combination of a warming climate, drought and human activities, including irrigation for agriculture, can have drastic consequences for both the quality and quantity of our freshwater supply — ultimately leading to shortages of potable water.</p>
<p>By the end of the century, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0114-8">evaporation is projected to increase by 16 per cent globally</a>. Lakes closer to the equator, which are already experiencing the highest evaporation rates, are expected to experience the greatest increase. </p>
<p>In regions with seasonal ice cover, evaporation rates can increase with warmer air temperatures and when ice cover is shorter or lost completely. This essentially “lifts the lid” on a lake during winter and could potentially lead to year-round evaporation, accelerating the rate at which water is lost. Salts and nutrients are concentrated in the remaining water, leading to further decline in water quality. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The dry bed of an evaporated pond in Arctic Canada." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410843/original/file-20210712-23-jhxnd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beach Ridge Pond, from Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, now completely evaporates in the summer because of accelerated climate warming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(MSV Douglas)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Potable water in countries with limited freshwater are <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/drying-lakes-climate-change-global-warming-drought">seeing their supply dwindle even further</a>, including the <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/56732/10-lakes-are-disappearing-or-already-gone">Aral Sea in Kazakhstan and Lake Chad in central Africa</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/lake-poopo-why-bolivias-second-largest-lake-disappeared-and-how-to-bring-it-back-152776">Lake Poopó was once the second-largest lake in Bolivia with an area of 3,000 square kilometres, but dried up completely in 2015</a>. Even in water-rich areas like the Arctic, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702777104">shallow ponds</a>, including some <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.1108142">ponds formed when ice-rich permafrost thaws</a>, are already drying out. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-scientists-are-using-drones-to-lower-the-risk-of-catastrophic-flooding-from-large-glacial-lakes-158689">How scientists are using drones to lower the risk of catastrophic flooding from large glacial lakes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On the other hand, ice-dammed glacial lakes in both polar and alpine regions are sensitive to outburst floods as dams melt, potentially flooding downstream ecosystems and the communities that depend on them, including population-rich areas such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01028-3">in the Himalayas</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00686-4.epdf?sharing_token=dvnb89oERd0OajwLFZXscNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NpVdznzVXpU0m-Rai-gGLEEEq67k5aPfFB5nX1DG8RWzIQ8JaW1ei3lTOobV6C9kc-cdxEn0U_fZkPVphxffsgbZHEr8tm8Fu_rFSvw3ED98_HmklXtjMtETMSzzRoYyM%3D">Andes</a>. Climate change is a crisis multiplier and threatens to make water scarcity or flooding an impending reality for increasingly more people.</p>
<h2>Algal blooms on the rise</h2>
<p>Warmer summers, coupled with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0022">intense storms</a> that deliver large quantities of nutrients and pollutants in bursts, are creating the perfect conditions for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1648-7">earlier, more frequent and intense algal blooms</a>. Harmful toxin-producing cyanobacteria (blue-green algae that frequently form floating surface blooms) can lead to mass mortality of fish and birds, as well as pose a serious health threat for cattle, pets, wildlife and humans.</p>
<p>In 2014, over half a million people could not use their water supply in Toledo, Ohio, because of a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140804-harmful-algal-bloom-lake-erie-climate-change-science">toxic algal bloom in Lake Erie</a>. Lake Taihu, China, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-009-9393-6">supplies water to 40 million people</a> often has blooms so large that they can be <a href="https://apps.sentinel-hub.com/sentinel-playground/?source=S2&lat=31.23217880603803&lng=120.10940551757812&zoom%22%22">detected from space</a> and leave millions of people in a drinking water supply crisis. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A lake near Parry Sound, Ont., covered in algal bloom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410844/original/file-20210712-70646-12ggbkz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An algal bloom in a lake near Parry Sound, Ont., located on the Canadian Shield.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Andrew Paterson/Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Ontario, there are now <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-019-00074-4">reports of algal blooms</a> in formerly pristine northern lakes occurring as late as November. Study after study now links warmer conditions and the associated lake changes as important contributing factors to toxic blooms.</p>
<h2>Rapid change requires rapid responses</h2>
<p>Climatic extremes are now occurring more frequently and with greater intensity than were <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-how-hot-will-it-get-this-century-latest-climate-models-suggest-it-could-be-worse-than-we-thought-137281">predicted by even the most pessimistic climate models</a>. We are already crossing ecosystem thresholds and tipping points that were not even projected to occur until the end of this century. </p>
<p>Climatic extremes will not appear gradually, but impacts will be felt quickly and often without warning, leaving little time for adaptation. We need to immediately <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/lytton-fire-climate-emergency-preparedness-1.6096370">develop and implement evidence-based climate adaptation plans</a>, so that we are prepared for the inevitable emergencies already underway, including massive wildfires, coastal and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/thirty-missing-germany-house-collapses-heavy-rain-media-2021-07-15/">local flooding</a>, disruption of food supplies and freshwater shortages.</p>
<p>The apocalyptic future, once portrayed only in books and movies, is becoming our reality and the time for assessing our options is running out. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Human innovation and originality, coupled with a sense of urgency, are required to lessen future impacts.</p>
<p>Without mitigation efforts, we must prepare for the fallout of the developing climate catastrophe and protect our citizens and ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164227/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sapna Sharma receives funding from NSERC, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation, Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Genome Canada, and the York University Research Chair Program. She is affiliated with the Royal Canadian Institute for Science. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John P. Smol receives funding from NSERC and the Canada Research Chairs program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iestyn Woolway does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The growing frequency of climate extremes affected human health and caused wide-scale damages to the ecosystems that people depend upon, including agriculture, fisheries and freshwater.Sapna Sharma, Associate Professor and York University Research Chair in Global Change Biology, York University, CanadaIestyn Woolway, Research Fellow, Climate Office, European Space AgencyJohn P. Smol, Distinguished University Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1602402021-06-08T12:52:45Z2021-06-08T12:52:45ZRestoring land around abandoned oil and gas wells would free up millions of acres of forests, farmlands and grasslands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404601/original/file-20210604-21-1l8msdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7186%2C4797&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A drilling pad for oil and gas in Robinson Township, Penn.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/hydro-fracking-drilling-pad-for-oil-and-gas-operates-news-photo/874054778">Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404597/original/file-20210604-21-i82hzj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/">infrastructure plan</a> proposes to spend US$16 billion plugging old oil and gas wells and cleaning up abandoned mines. But there’s <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/07/09/why-orphan-oil-and-gas-wells-are-a-growing-problem-for-states">no authoritative measure</a> of how many of these sites exist across the nation.</p>
<p>In a recent study, my colleagues and I sought to account for every oil and gas well site in the lower 48 states that was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00689-4">eligible for restoration</a> – meaning that the well no longer was producing oil or gas, and there were no other active wells using that site. We found more than 430,000 old well sites, with associated infrastructure such as access roads, storage areas and fluid tanks. They covered more than 2 million acres – an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. </p>
<p>These sites are scattered across the country, concentrated mainly in forests, grassland and cropland. They could be put to good use. We estimated the value of crops that could be produced if these lands are restored at over $14 billion over the next 50 years. </p>
<p>We calculated that restoring these lands could remove millions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere as vegetation regrows on them, providing an estimated $7 billion in benefits from reduced greenhouse gas emissions. It also would provide habitat for wildlife and could produce timber for harvesting. And because healthy ecosystems filter <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2014.05.028">air</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wre.2018.06.002">water</a>, returning these lands to a natural state could reduce air pollution and improve drinking water quality.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iAf2k9b0drY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Retired oil and gas executive Curtis Shuck explains why his nonprofit is working to plug thousands of orphaned wells across the U.S.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent years, energy production has become the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162269">largest consumer of new land</a> in the U.S., outpacing urban and residential development. The oil and gas industry has a particularly large footprint, occupying millions of acres, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biu224">big impacts on the environment</a>. Energy development reduces biodiversity, increases carbon emissions, disrupts natural ecological processes and decreases <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.04.002">ecosystem services</a> – the numerous benefits that natural landscapes perform for humanity.</p>
<p>While active wells are producing oil and gas, they generate obvious economic benefits, along with direct and indirect <a href="https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12794/hidden-costs-of-energy-unpriced-consequences-of-energy-production-and">costs</a>. Eventually, however, all wells go dry. After that, their economic value is gone and only the costs remain. </p>
<p>Most states and the federal government require energy developers to <a href="https://www.fws.gov/arkansas-es/docs/ar_natural_gas_pipeline_bmps_v2_april_2007.pdf">plug old wells and reclaim the land</a>, and to <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/a300223.html">post bonds</a> to help ensure that they do so. Often, however, companies either <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/25/us-abandoned-oil-wells-leak-methane-climate-crisis">go bankrupt and abandon sites</a> or <a href="https://www.hh-law.com/articles/oil-and-gas-articles/non-producing-oil-and-gas-lease-deemed-abandoned-by-the-pennsylvania-superior-court/">assert that idled wells are still producing</a> and maintain their leases indefinitely. Furthermore, the bond amounts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b06609">are almost never enough</a> to cover the complete costs of plugging wells and restoring the land.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of Pennsylvania with abandoned oil and gas wells marked." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404882/original/file-20210607-120786-rcezg8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pennsylvania officials have identified thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells in the state (marked in blue) with no identifiable responsible party to complete plugging them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://gis.dep.pa.gov/PaOilAndGasMapping/OilGasWellsStrayGasMap.html">Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Abandoned wells can sit idle for many years. Many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067623">leak methane</a>, a potent greenhouse gas, or <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drilling-abandoned-specialreport/special-report-millions-of-abandoned-oil-wells-are-leaking-methane-a-climate-menace-idUSKBN23N1NL">other contaminants</a>, damaging surrounding <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/es2021796">landscapes</a> and threatening water supplies. </p>
<p>Restoring these sites starts with plugging the well to remove contamination hazards. Next, companies remove all infrastructure, such as well pads and roads. They replace topsoil, plant native plants – which may need extra care to become established over several years – and restore the site’s natural drainage patterns. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/wells/">Thousands more active oil and gas wells</a> will stop producing in the coming years. Energy companies installed over <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1492">150,000 wells on 500,000 acres of land</a> during the initial oil and gas “fracking” boom from 2004 to 2015. These wells and older ones cover millions more acres of land that may someday become rural brownfields scattered across the American landscape. </p>
<p><iframe id="B0FP9" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/B0FP9/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>How far would $16 billion go toward remediating inactive oil and gas sites? We estimated that the land around all currently nonproducing wells in the lower 48 states could be restored for about $7 billion, with additional costs for plugging wells. </p>
<p>We had only a few publicly available <a href="https://wyofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Economic-Issues-and-Policies-Affecting-Reclamation-in-Wyomings-Oil-and-Gas-Industry-Final-Revision-1.pdf">examples</a> of <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-10-245">actual</a> <a href="https://oerb.com/well-cleanup/">restoration costs</a> to develop our estimate, and costs <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-19-615.pdf">likely vary widely</a> across different types of ecosystems. But we carried out a detailed assessment and found that in every scenario we studied, the economic benefits from restored lands would be much greater than the costs. </p>
<p>In my view, this investment would produce returns that include crop production, better human health, cleaner air and water, and a more beautiful and ecologically sound landscape.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160240/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew D. Moran has received funding from the National Science Foundation, Arkansas Department of Heritage, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.. He is a volunteer and researcher with the Children's Eternal Rainforest in Costa Rica</span></em></p>Abandoned US oil and gas wells and their associated land cover more than 2 million acres, a recent study estimates – an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.Matthew D. Moran, Professor of Biology, Hendrix CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1539682021-05-11T12:49:01Z2021-05-11T12:49:01ZPutting a dollar value on nature will give governments and businesses more reasons to protect it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399816/original/file-20210510-5797-xqoxsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=42%2C7%2C4669%2C3129&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sunrise over Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/S43bMM">NPS/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Joe Biden calls climate change “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/22/us-emissions-climate-crisis-2030-biden">the existential crisis of our time</a>” and has taken steps to curb it that match those words. They include <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/19/969387323/u-s-officially-rejoins-paris-agreement-on-climate-change">returning the U.S. to the Paris Agreement</a>; <a href="https://www.usglc.org/positions/special-presidential-envoy-for-climate/">creating a new climate Cabinet position</a>; introducing a plan to <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/biden-tax-plan-targets-fossil-fuel-subsidies-worth-35-billion-1.1587445">slash fossil fuel subsidies</a>; and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-sets-2030-greenhouse-gas-pollution-reduction-target-aimed-at-creating-good-paying-union-jobs-and-securing-u-s-leadership-on-clean-energy-technologies/">announcing ambitious goals</a> to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>But climate change is not the only global environmental threat that demands attention. Scientists widely agree that <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">loss of wildlife and the natural environment</a> is an equally urgent crisis. Some argue that biodiversity loss threatens to become Earth’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1922686117">sixth mass extinction</a>. But unlike efforts to fight climate change – which center on clear, measurable goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – there is no globally accepted metric for saving biodiversity.</p>
<p>As an expert on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&pli=1&user=WFylm2wAAAAJ">budgeting and public finance</a>, I know that governments and private businesses alike pay much more attention to resources when they have a well-defined price tag. I believe that overhauling society’s concept of wealth to include “natural capital” – the value nature provides to humans – is a critical step for slowing and reversing the loss of precious ecosytems. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OlED6mn9yvs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Economist Dieter Helm offers strategies for establishing natural capital policy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is natural capital?</h2>
<p>Natural capital can be defined as the world’s stocks of natural assets – soil, air, water, grasslands, forests, wetlands, rocks and minerals – and all of its living things, from mammals and fish to plants and microbes. Conservation experts estimate that these resources contribute more than <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/this-is-why-putting-a-price-on-the-value-of-nature-could-help-the-environment/">US$125 trillion</a> to the global economy every year. </p>
<p>Humans depend on nature’s contributions for survival. For example, forests <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/forests-absorb-twice-much-carbon-they-emit-each-year">absorb carbon</a> and <a href="https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25599.html">filter the water we drink</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-world-needs-now-to-fight-climate-change-more-swamps-99198">Wetlands</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/coral-reefs-provide-flood-protection-worth-1-8-billion-every-year-its-time-to-protect-them-116636">coral reefs</a> mitigate flooding. Bees and other insects <a href="https://www.usda.gov/pollinators">pollinate crops</a>, enabling us to grow food. </p>
<p>But human societies don’t formally recognize the economic value of these services. This oversight encourages people to recklessly deplete the natural environment. </p>
<p>A recent review of the economics of biodiversity, commissioned by the U.K. government and led by Cambridge University economist Sir Parth Dasgupta, warns that human prosperity is growing at a “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review">devastating cost to nature</a>” and estimates that it would take 1.6 Earths to maintain the world’s current living standards. The report calls for the world to treat nature like an asset to be reported in financial statements and national accounts.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://capitalscoalition.org/the-coalition/">Capitals Coalition</a>, a global consortium of 380 initiatives and businesses, is trying to “change the math.” The organization seeks to persuade at least half of the world’s businesses, financial institutions and governments to incorporate natural capital into their decision-making by 2030. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing the need for more spending on conservation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399871/original/file-20210510-5797-1ahfi62.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Globally, researchers estimate that public and private spending that harms natural assets is significantly higher than spending to protect and enhance them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/962785/The_Economics_of_Biodiversity_The_Dasgupta_Review_Full_Report.pdf">Dasgupta Review</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Valuing ecosystems</h2>
<p>Current accounting methods used by corporations and governments largely ignore what ecosystems and their services contribute to the economy and to human social well-being, jobs and livelihoods. As a consequence, modern societies spend far more on investments that deplete or exploit natural assets than they do to preserve them. </p>
<p>Under the current model, short-term economic gains typically win out against longer-term ecological benefits. For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/restoring-californias-forests-to-reduce-wildfire-risks-will-take-time-billions-of-dollars-and-a-broad-commitment-146532">failing to maintain forests</a> can spark wildfires. And constructing homes on fragile coastal wetlands can erode soil and reduce fish stocks, destroying local communities. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.paulsoninstitute.org/key-initiatives/financing-nature-report/">recent study</a> by the Paulson Institute, a research institute founded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, estimated that global investments that degrade nature exceed conservation efforts by $600 billion to $824 billion per year. </p>
<p>Natural capital accounting would require businesses and governments to calculate how human activity affects nature, much as they assess depreciation of buildings or machinery. Analyzed in this way, nature is a financial asset, and damage to it becomes a liability. This approach creates incentives to conserve natural resources and restore others that have been degraded or depleted. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Heavily logged tropical forest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399872/original/file-20210510-15-162nvrg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Land cleared for a palm oil plantation in Indonesia in 2016. Experts say that valuing assets like tropical forests will spur greater protection of nature.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-recently-land-clearing-for-palm-oil-plantation-of-news-photo/623247542">Ulet Ilfasanti/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Global recognition of this issue is growing. In March 2021 the United Nations updated a statistical framework for <a href="https://seea.un.org/ecosystem-accounting">standardizing ecosystem accounting</a>, which was first published in 2012. These guidelines help countries track changes in ecosystems and their services and provide leaders with a baseline with which to compare their stocks and flows when making policy decisions. </p>
<p>Some 90 countries have <a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/52nd-session/documents/BG-3f-2020_GA_report_%20draft_%20ver7_nomap-E.pdf">adopted this System of Environmental Economic Accounting</a> and produced baseline “national capital accounts.” They include European Union members, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and more than 40 developing countries. The U.S. is planning to implement this approach but has not done so yet.</p>
<h2>Assessing nature’s value</h2>
<p>Placing values on natural assets is really no different from government assessments of the benefits of new roads, bridges and other infrastructure. People intuitively understand that natural resources are precious. And the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear how closely human health is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-deforestation-helps-deadly-viruses-jump-from-animals-to-humans-139645">intertwined with the health of the planet</a>. </p>
<p>In response to the biodiversity crisis, President Biden has <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/report-conserving-and-restoring-america-the-beautiful-2021.pdf">aligned the U.S.</a> with the global <a href="https://www.campaignfornature.org/why-30-1">30x30 campaign</a>, a plan to protect at least 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030. Multiple scientific studies have shown that achieving this goal would <a href="https://www.campaignfornature.org/science-page">conserve species, store carbon, prevent future pandemics and boost economic growth</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1390318525701570568"}"></div></p>
<p>The year 2021 marks the start of the <a href="https://www.decadeonrestoration.org">U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a>, which aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. Today, according to a recent study, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.626635">less than 3% of the world’s land remains ecologically intact</a> with healthy wildlife populations and undisturbed habitat. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The U.S has lost decades of potential progress since <a href="https://apps.bea.gov/scb/pdf/national/niparel/2000/0300are.pdf">Congress suspended</a> fledgling efforts by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to develop environmental accounting methods in 1995. Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey and other federal agencies are now urging the U.S. to <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70201736">adopt national capital accounts using the U.N. framework</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, the U.K. created public environmental accounts and set up a <a href="https://naturalcapitalcommittee.org/?reqp=1&reqr">Natural Capital Committee</a> in 2012, led by its finance ministry, to help <a href="http://www.naturalcapitalcommittee.org/corporate-natural-capital-accounting.html">corporations develop natural capital accounts</a>. Today, the U.K. maintains these accounts, which <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/bulletins/seminaturalhabitatnaturalcapitalaccountsuk/2021">capture data</a> on the size, condition, quantity and value of habitats and ecosystem services. President Biden could empower the U.S. Treasury Department to spearhead a similar initiative. </p>
<p>Adopting metrics to measure and track the benefits people receive from wildlife and ecosystems would clarify how human activities affect nature and show how much investment is needed to reverse humanity’s current destructive trajectory. Conservation advocates will be much better positioned to protect our planet’s resources with a strong balance sheet to back it up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153968/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Linda J. Bilmes has served as the United States member of United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration since 2017. She has previously received funding from the National Park Foundation for research related to the economics of National Park assets. </span></em></p>When something is free, people use a lot of it. Economists are urging governments to compute values for natural resources – wildlife, plants, air, water – to create motives for protecting them.Linda J. Bilmes, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Finance, Harvard Kennedy SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1599632021-05-09T18:09:36Z2021-05-09T18:09:36ZInterdisciplinary approaches to coastal vulnerability: the pathway to coastal sustainability<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397606/original/file-20210428-17-krn75i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1500%2C837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Coastal areas in West Africa are under intense pressure from demographic growth, economic expansion and ongoing climate change.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">IRD</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around the world, fragile coastal ecosystems are under intense pressure from unrelenting human activity, gradual yet relentless climate trends and extreme weather events. Understanding and managing their complex and sometimes catastrophic interactions requires an integrated and interdisciplinary approach. In this article, we articulate the plausible future reciprocal relationship between the natural and social subsystems within the coastal systems and how to manage these changes via adaptive and inclusive approaches.</p>
<p>Using a <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/100068">press-pulse dynamics conceptual framework</a>, we build in variables such as population growth, economic development, governance quality, technological change, and infrastructural development. The result is three future scenarios for coastal areas undergoing major ecosystem structures and functions alterations.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Anthropocentric: Under this human-centred scenario, current trends continue along the coast, with rising population, economic activities and infrastructural development, and weak governance and poor policy implementation.</p></li>
<li><p>Anthro-ecocentric: This scenario is characterised by increasing population, infrastructural and economic development, significant advancement in technology, but also a modest improvement in environmental quality as a result of good governance.</p></li>
<li><p>Ecocentric: This environment-centred scenario is characterised by government incentives for conservation, green energy, and land-use planning.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The three scenarios are all based on the worst-case climatic conditions for the future as predicted by the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-4-sea-level-rise-and-implications-for-low-lying-islands-coasts-and-communities/">IPCC report</a>, RCP 8.5.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397611/original/file-20210428-23-5j1zlt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saint Louis coast, Senegal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IRD</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>We applied our conceptual model to West Africa coastal areas. Currently, strong economic activities and urbanisation cluster along the coastline, generating multifaceted pressures on resources, acute tensions among users, ecosystems and marine resources degradation and the vulnerability of coastal areas. Coastal degradation manifests by way of fisheries depletion, pollution, flooding and coastal erosion.</p>
<p><em>1. “Anthropocentric” scenario</em></p>
<p>Here, current trends continue along the coast, with rising population, economic activities and infrastructural development, and weak governance and poor policy implementation. Major developments like new ports development and expansion, resource exploitation, unregulated groundwater extraction, urban expansion, upriver damming, and other projects, are implemented without environmental and social impact assessment.</p>
<p>Under this scenario, there would be a huge decline in the key ecological goods and services functions. Continuing exploitation of coastal resources leads to floods and aggravated coastal erosion, the greater vulnerability of floras and faunas, and the degradation and destruction of their habitats. Without adaptation, sea level rise (SLR) and more intense and frequent extreme sea-level events, combined with trends in coastal development amplify expected annual flood damages.</p>
<p>Coastal protection systems in urban cities and densely populated regions would reduce expected damages and be relatively cost-efficient, but would be unaffordable for rural and poorer areas, leaving them vulnerable. Coastal processes and associated land-use changes would be “business as usual”, creating a high risk of and vulnerability to flooding, erosion and pollution for poor and unprotected populations.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Langue de Barbarie in Senegal" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397612/original/file-20210428-15-qou1o2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Along the Langue de Barbarie in Senegal, more than 800 m of shoreline have been lost in 10 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IRD</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>2. “Anthro-ecocentric” scenario</em></p>
<p>The global context for this scenario would be the same as the previous one. Here, the general approach to ecosystem services is reactive rather than proactive. Coastal-protection structures like sea walls, surge barriers and embankments are widespread, providing safety in many West African coastal cities and deltas. While these structures protect economic development, they will have a negative impact on economic interests and human health and well-being that rely on ecological goods. These include ecotourism, recreation and fisheries, clean air and fresh water. Also negatively affected are ecological services such as air and water purification, biodiversity maintenance, waste decomposition, soil and vegetation generation and renewal, groundwater recharge, greenhouse gas mitigation, and aesthetically landscapes.</p>
<p>Under this scenario, coastal-protection structures are prioritised in areas with higher socioeconomic values. Poorer areas with lower socioeconomic values receive less protection, leading to inequality, and this could increase political and social tensions. As sea levels continue to rise, the height of coastal-protection structures is increased, yet this may ultimately prove to be unaffordable and ineffective. Even with well-designed structures, the risk of possibly catastrophic effects in the event of their failure cannot be ruled out.</p>
<p>While hard structures along the coast may serve to protect urban areas, they can result in a significantly larger proportion of the ecosystems being lost. This may in turn leave communities vulnerable to adverse events such as floods, ocean surges, pollution, coastal eutrophication and saline intrusion. In the context of ongoing climate change, some of these may surpass a crucial threshold, overwhelming social capacity, and, consequently, affect human well-being.</p>
<p><em>3. “Ecocentric” coastal scenario</em></p>
<p>Under this environmentally focused scenario, government efforts are focused on encouraging environmental conservation, green energy, and effective land-use planning. Ecosystem-based policies are strengthened, ecotourism principles are supported, and environmental laws and regulations are enacted and adhered to. More confidence is placed on the development of environmental engineering, climate and energy-friendly technology, and new ways of farming that incorporate provisioning with regulating and cultural ecosystem services. The pace of population growth and economic development is wholly determined by environmental quality.</p>
<p>As with the prior scenarios, there will be sea-level rise driven by climate change, with the storms and extreme wave events that can increase coastal hazards. However, because the natural coastal systems are not passive, there are numerous threshold effects – they respond by adapting to the new configurations. Further, restoration of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves or tidal marshes – coastal “blue carbon” ecosystems – provide climate-change mitigation through increased carbon uptake and storage of around 0.5% of current global emissions annually.</p>
<p>Under this scenario, improved technology enhances the development of marine (blue) renewable energy production, green shipping and the protection of carbon-rich coastal ecosystems.</p>
<p>In light of the co-benefits for marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods, the development of nature-based solutions in the coastal and marine environment can be seen as such no-regret option that should be given a high priority.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>What is the way forward for West African coastal areas? The upcoming IRD-UCC-World Bank policy brief couldn’t be clearer:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Good coastal risk management for the protection and development of the human, economic and natural stakes of the coastal zones should be decided and implemented in a concerted way between the actors of the territory and coherent with the objectives of the already existing territorial public policies. Besides, the use of local knowledge of the communities, interdisciplinary scientific studies and the operational know-how of technician will promote the acceptability, efficiency and sustainability of the management solutions envisaged. Finally, a global, systemic approach to coastal management should be employed.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This argues for a forward-looking, environmentally focused approach for managing our fragile coastal ecosystems. As indicated by our research, this approach has the greatest potential for achieving coastal sustainability.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uLc9ozH1hf8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Coastal erosion seen from space (IRD).</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frédéric Ménard has received funding from the ANR, the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the FRB, the EU, the FFEM, the Ciência Sem Fronteiras program of the CNPq and the CAPES of Brazil.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pierre Morand est membre de l'Association Francaise d'Halieutique (science/recherche) et de l'African Bird Club (Ornithologie)
.
Il a reçu des financements de Agence Française de Développement, U.E., ENABEL, UEMOA, Banque Mondiale (WACA)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olusegun Dada et Rafael Almar ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.</span></em></p>Around the world, fragile coastal ecosystems are under intense pressure, and understanding and managing their complex interactions requires an integrated and interdisciplinary approach.Olusegun Dada, Senior postdoctoral research fellow, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)Frédéric Ménard, Directeur de recherche, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)Pierre Morand, Biostatisticien, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)Rafael Almar, Chercheur en dynamique littorale, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1549872021-04-20T14:43:42Z2021-04-20T14:43:42ZHow to meet the ambitious target of conserving 30 per cent of Earth by 2030<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395814/original/file-20210419-13-do9ymw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=112%2C40%2C1733%2C1037&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Working landscapes, including farms, forest and rangelands, will be key to meeting conservation goals.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sworldguy/16961526672">(Jerry Meaden/flickr)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada has an extensive system of protected areas that, when added together, would cover an area slightly larger than Ontario. That’s larger than France and Spain combined, and more than three times the size of Germany. </p>
<p>But Canada also has a new conservation goal called <a href="https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2020/09/28/canada-calls-on-large-nations-to-conserve-30-of-their-territory-and-waters/">30 by 30</a>, which aims to conserve at least 30 per cent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. Meeting this ambitious goal would mean roughly doubling Canada’s protected area. Doing this right means that new protected areas must <a href="https://biodivcanada.chm-cbd.net/sites/biodivcanada/files/inline-files/3499%20-%202020%20Biodiversity%20Goals%20%26%20Targets%20for%20Canada%20-%20%20Final_ENG.pdf">conserve biodiversity and safeguard areas that store carbon, provide freshwater or are key areas for nature-based recreation</a>.</p>
<p>Yet many of the key areas that provide these benefits overlap with competing land uses like agriculture, forestry and natural resource extraction. My colleagues and I recently <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abc121">published research</a> that highlights this challenge in Canada. Our results indicate that traditional conservation approaches won’t likely be enough to meet Canada’s 30 by 30 goal, and that new and innovative conservation approaches will be required. </p>
<h2>30 per cent by 2030</h2>
<p>The 30 per cent by 2030 target comes from the <a href="https://www.hacfornatureandpeople.org">High Ambition Coalition for People and Nature</a>, a United Nations initiative that aims for aspirational action to address the global climate crisis. These targets are non-binding, but the hope is that they will spur new conservation actions around the world.</p>
<p>Fifty-five member nations, including Canada, the European Union, Japan and Mexico have pledged to meet the 30 by 30 target. Other countries like the United States, which is not a formal member of the coalition, have recently made <a href="https://www.wri.org/news/2021/01/statement-biden-administration-commits-protect-30-us-land-and-ocean-2030">similar pledges</a>.</p>
<p>The reasoning behind the 30 per cent goal is clear: we must ensure that the natural areas that provide essential benefits to humanity, such as food, clean water, clean air and a stable climate, are protected. These are called “ecosystem services” and are the collection of benefits that natural environments provide humans.</p>
<p>Humans have significantly altered around <a href="https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf">75 per cent of the Earth’s lands and have had strong negative effects on at least 40 per cent of the ocean, resulting in estimates that roughly a quarter of all species are threatened with extinction</a>. The scientific consensus is that these current rates of global biodiversity and natural area loss threaten the world’s natural life support system. Expanding protected land globally is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13947">key action</a> that will help reverse these trends, protect biodiversity — and benefit human well-being.</p>
<h2>Innovative conservation</h2>
<p>Canada’s protected areas cover <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/conserved-areas.html">12 per cent of the country</a>, an area that was expected to increase to <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/home">17 per cent</a> by the end of 2020 as new parks and conservation areas were finalized across the country. Expanding to 30 per cent from 12 per cent means adding an area roughly equivalent to Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba combined.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person with dogs in a forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395821/original/file-20210419-19-pdwx05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A dog walker next to a Grand Fir tree at Francis/King Regional Park in Saanich, B.C., in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our study found that about <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/canada-protected-areas-conservation-maps-2021/">two-thirds of the key areas</a> that provide freshwater and recreational opportunities to Canadians overlap with agriculture and resource tenures (oil and gas, minerals and timber). This highlights the need for innovative conservation approaches, especially those that focus on working landscapes. While natural areas are often prioritized for conservation, <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1126/science.aau6020">farms, forests and rangelands will also be key</a> to achieving the 30 per cent target.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smaller-farmers-fields-can-reduce-biodiversity-loss-and-increase-wild-plants-birds-beetles-and-bats-139015">Smaller farmer's fields can reduce biodiversity loss and increase wild plants, birds, beetles and bats</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Conservation in working landscapes requires new and versatile approaches. In agricultural landscapes it might include restoration and <a href="https://alus.ca">stewardship of land</a> by landowners, adding <a href="https://cwf-fcf.org/en/news/releases/2019/cwf-calls-for-national.html">pollinator wildflower strips to fields</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.2165">improving soil and water management to safeguard water quality</a>. In forests, it might involve <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/b-c-old-growth-data-misleading-public-ancient-forest-independent-report/">safeguarding old-growth trees and their carbon stores</a> by prioritizing <a href="https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/563/2020/09/STRATEGIC-REVIEW-20200430.pdf">forest ecosystem health and biodiversity over economic returns</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07082-4">maintaining complex forest structure</a> by preserving large trees or encouraging canopy gaps, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2328">planting diverse forest plantations</a> to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services.</p>
<p>Many of these techniques are not new, but including them in the same conservation toolbox as other conventional techniques would be novel. Conservation approaches in the past have largely focused on area-based approaches like protected areas. It would also be novel for governments to actively collaborate with <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/104/39/15188.short">communities, Indigenous peoples and conservation groups</a> to implement conservation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Peary caribou standing on the tundra" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395826/original/file-20210419-23-172mksi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Peary caribou on Ellesmere Island in 2015. The subspecies is the smallest of the North American caribou.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Morgan Anderson, Government of Nunavut)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Understanding how to combine these approaches effectively to reach the goals of 30 by 30 is critical. Luckily, we have some templates for how to do this.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.unesco.org/biosphere">Biosphere reserves</a> combine strictly protected and working lands and offer a key example of how to designate, manage and govern diverse types of conservation and human use. <a href="https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/about-ipcas">Indigenous protected and conserved areas</a> are another example that can enable First Nations to govern, use and protect traditional lands according to their knowledge systems, laws and cultures, and are <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/er-2018-0091">increasingly being implemented in Canada</a>. Finally, urban parks, like <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/rouge">Rouge National Urban Park</a> in Toronto, provide key benefits to urban residents and help connect people living in cities to nature.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-protected-areas-are-the-next-generation-of-conservation-105787">Indigenous protected areas are the next generation of conservation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Challenges & benefits</h2>
<p>Major obstacles exist for using these types of new conservation approaches to meet 30 by 30. First, meeting 30 by 30 requires strict evaluation of the area that a conservation action covers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/526195e">whether it is effective or not</a>. Many of the approaches mentioned above do not fit easily into this type of accounting.</p>
<p>Second, the primary goal of 30 by 30 is biodiversity conservation, while some of the approaches above focus on ecosystem services first and biodiversity second. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05984-3">How should we decide between these different approaches</a>? Where should the line be drawn as to what counts or not? There are no easy answers here.</p>
<p>Finally, these new approaches are complex, require greater political capital and co-operation between governments and the public, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2021.01.004">can be difficult to enforce or monitor once established</a>. This can lead to unexpected complications and delays, and push conservation towards easy rather then effective decisions, especially when a deadline like 30 by 30 is involved.</p>
<p>Despite these challenges, new conservation approaches have the real potential to conserve some of the most threatened species and ecosystem services in the places that they are most at risk. This will ensure that meeting 30 by 30 conserves nature and the essential benefits it provides people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Mitchell receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>New approaches are required for Canada to meet its current conservation goals.Matthew Mitchell, Research associate, Land and Food Systems, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1573582021-03-23T18:54:12Z2021-03-23T18:54:12ZBiosphere reserves and human well-being: lessons from UNESCO’s EVAMAB project<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390424/original/file-20210318-15-jdhzbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C3176%2C2201&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A flock of birds flies near Lake Manyara, Tanzania.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luc Janssens de Bisthoven</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The uneasy relationship between humans and nature is in constant evolution, but we are now witnessing major ecological and climatic changes that affect all of us. In the current context, we need to develop new concepts and solutions, curb ‘business as usual’ practices and move toward a world that is more respectful of our environment and ultimately of ourselves.</p>
<p>Global biodiversity policies should be implemented at all scales, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/mainstreaming-biodiversity-conservation-into-development-cooperationhighlights-from-an-alterneteklipse-workshop/DE1E3BF7B164C1EFF225EB2467CFF4FD">linking conservation and restoration of biodiversity to people</a>, and bringing it in an equilibrium of mutual respect and responsible stewardship.</p>
<p>Established in 1971, the UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme (MAB) has been contributing to this global effort. It is the custodian of more than 700 biosphere reserves around the world, each with its own national protection status and management type.</p>
<p>Biosphere reserves belong to the world’s most iconic natural areas and offer a multitude of opportunities to showcase that ‘sustainable development and conservation can work hand in hand’. Biosphere reserves are the living labs in which people and nature learn – again – how to live and thrive together.</p>
<h2>The EVAMAB project</h2>
<p>Following the recommendations of the <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/man-and-biosphere-programme/strategy-and-action-plan/new-mab-strategy-and-action-plan/documents/">Lima Action Plan</a>, UNESCO commissioned the Belgian Science Policy administration (<a href="https://www.belspo.be/belspo/fedra/proj.asp?l=nl&COD=BL%2F58%2FUN32">BELSPO</a>) to mobilise expertise to study the added value of the concept of ‘ecosystem services’. This concept, also dubbed ‘nature’s contribution to people’, is being increasingly used by international experts working on human-nature interactions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman walks along a road by Pendjari National Park." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390431/original/file-20210318-13-j781h4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woman walks along a road by Pendjari National Park. Research recommends to take into account that different villages are inhabited by distinct ethnic groups with different stakes in the park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luc Janssens de Bisthoven</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This concept is popular because it shows the possible benefits nature is providing to humans. Think about cultural services (e.g., income generated by tourism, spiritual sites, sacred groves), supporting services (good soils, plant growth), provisioning services (e.g., food, fish, timber, wood for fuel, medicinal plants) or regulating services (clean water and air, stable climate).</p>
<p>The <a href="http://cebios.naturalsciences.be/">CEBioS</a> programme, funded by the Belgian Development Cooperation and housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, took up that challenge and created the EVAMAB project. They assembled a consortium of Belgian scientists. Each brought his or her own expertise and track record and, most importantly, dedicated scientific African partners to tackle specific aspects. The three-year <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/man-and-biosphere-programme/networks/afrimab/evamab/">EVAMAB</a> project (2017-2019) was born.</p>
<p>The ideas behind the EVAMAB project are manifold, like introducing the concept of ‘ecosystem services’ through <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/conserving-african-biosphere-reserves-a-workshop-on-the-valuation-of-ecosystem-services-in-man-and-the-biosphere-reserves/9C0085475BE222ED007130FD2E017EE0">participative workshops</a> and engaging different stakeholders to understand and discuss these services or related issues, such as ‘payment for ecosystem services’ (<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/441647024/2019-Geussens-et-al">PES</a>). Of course, each of the biosphere reserves is different and requires a tailored approach.</p>
<p>EVAMAB focused on four pilot sites in Africa, spanning a range of ecosystems and associated social-economic systems. The project’s main aim was to scope the actual needs and concerns of African stakeholders in a participative way. The project aimed at mapping and understanding stakeholders’ perceptions of a selection of ecosystem services and their value(s). By doing so we did test a range of tools and methods in real-life conditions.</p>
<h2>The four African sites</h2>
<p>In Benin, the <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/africa/benin/pendjari/">Pendjari</a> National Park was investigated. It is one of the last important refuges for the West African megafauna such as lions and elephants, and its landscape is made up of savannas, wetlands and rivers at the edge of the Sahel, and part of a larger complex of protected areas (Arly in Burkina Faso and ‘W’ in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger). It is bordered by a number of villages.</p>
<p>In Tanzania, the <a href="https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/africa/lake-manyara">Lake Manyara</a> National Park was chosen for its extraordinary densities of wildlife, its soda lake and its importance for tourism and many different local communities. In Uganda, EVAMAB researchers worked on <a href="https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/africa/mount-elgon-uganda">Mount Elgon</a> National Park, a transboundary (with Kenya) Afromontane ecosystem, threatened by high human densities, forest degradation and devastating landslides.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Lake Tana in Ethiopia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390434/original/file-20210318-21-1k2d28c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lake Tana in Ethiopia. As part of the UNESCO project, researchers analysed farmers’ willingness to contribute labour and money to eradicate the invasive, nonnative water hyacinth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Luc Janssens de Bisthoven</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And finally, the project also focused on <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/africa/ethiopia/lake-tana/">Lake Tana</a>, on the high plateaus of Ethiopia, at the source of the Blue Nile. This large freshwater lake harbours fisheries and cultural highlights embodied by century-old Orthodox monasteries. Its waters are increasingly threatened by the <a href="https://www.glo-be.be/index.php/fr/articles/des-plantes-ornementales-envahissent-le-lac-tana">invasive water hyacinth</a>.</p>
<h2>Outcomes, guidance manual and dialogue</h2>
<p>One of the major outcomes of this project was the production of a guidance manual for the <a href="http://www.archives.biodiv.be/evamab/news/a-new-manual-on-the-assessment-of-ecosystem-services-in-african-biosphere">assessment of ecosystem services in African Biosphere reserves</a> (in press). It explains the concepts of ‘ecosystem services’ and ‘biosphere reserves’ and gives general guidance on how to select the most appropriate tools to assess ecosystem services. The manual also has a chapter about the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212041620300218">valuation of these services</a>, the concept of ‘payments for ecosystem services’ (<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/441647024/2019-Geussens-et-al">PES</a>), and finally, some recommendations on how this valuation can be used to generate actual change for a better management of biosphere reserves. The manual details case studies, scientific results from the EVAMAB project and scientific literature and is a remarkable example of co-production of knowledge.</p>
<p>Among the main findings of the project, we found that the key to successfully manage biosphere reserves in Africa is to actively engage with all concerned stakeholders. They can be local authorities, scientists, fishermen, pastoralists or farmers. We were impressed by their knowledge of their respective MAB sites and by their openness to find solutions to mitigate environmental conflicts.</p>
<p>The use of different <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479720305272?via%3Dihub">stakeholder engagement techniques</a> in Lake Manyara National Park and Pendjari National Park allowed us to better discern the <a href="http://www.archives.biodiv.be/cebios2/docs/publications/policy-briefs/policy-brief-ecosystem-services-pendjari-les-services-ecosystemiques-dans-la/download/en/1/PB-12-Pendjari.pdf">different perceptions and the priorities of local communities</a>.</p>
<h2>Different results for different regions</h2>
<p>In Pendjari National Park, it appeared that different villages are inhabited by distinct ethnic groups with different stakes in the park. This demands a differentiated approach as to the ranking of priority ecosystem services – for example, some stakeholders are more focused on agriculture, others focus more on guiding tourists, etc. A systematic mapping of stakeholders’ perceptions highlighted contrasting views of the limitations of agricultural activities in the park’s buffer zones. Building trust and achieving mutual understanding will be necessary to avoid an escalation of conservation conflicts in the area.</p>
<p>All stakeholders acknowledge the importance of the area, which is one of the last strongholds for charismatic and culturally important megafauna. This highlights the fact that, despite many disagreements, there is a shared appreciation of the Pendjari National Park’s heritage. A valuation exercise confirms the importance of the distance of villages from the buffer zone.</p>
<p>In Manyara National Park, through <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479720305272?via%3Dihub">participative community mapping</a> we realised how the perceptions of the Maasai pastoralists fundamentally differ from the local farmers. This understanding allows biosphere reserve managers, in cooperation with the communities, to ensure a more customised conservation. Winning the hearts of the communities is only possible by devising a smart approach to use the available ecosystem services in an inclusive and equitable way. For that you need to have an estimate of the value of ecosystem services, be it in a monetary or non-monetary sense.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Residents of a village near Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390436/original/file-20210318-15-3g5orw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Villages near Mount Elgon National Park in Uganda can have populations that are rapidly growing, leading to pressures on the natural environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bruno Verbist</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Uganda’s Mount Elgon National Park we analysed <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/441647024/2019-Geussens-et-al">farmers’ perspectives on payments for ecosystem services</a> and the effectiveness of existing certification systems of coffee farms and the link to biodiversity. It appeared that of the two locally prominent systems the fair-trade coffee, bundled with organic coffee had a higher tree and insect biodiversity and stored more carbon, but had a very negative impact on farmers’ income due to lower yields. The Utz certified coffee had higher yields, resulting in higher farmers’ income, largely because of the use of fertilisers and pesticides, but this reduced biodiversity where ants and spiders were used as indicators. Ecotrust, a local NGO that attracts funding mainly from the voluntary carbon market, was successful in its promotion of tree planting – not only to store carbon, but also to increase tree biodiversity.</p>
<p>In Lake Tana National Park, we analysed <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0380133020301313?via%3Dihub">local farmers’ willingness to contribute labour and money</a> to eradicate the invasive, non-native water hyacinth. Local farmers suffer from the infestation of irrigation canals, and the study showed that they are willing to contribute substantial amounts of time and money to address the problem. Here again, we realised how local solutions can benefit both biodiversity and the local residents. These data may help develop concepts of regular weed harvesting and creating an additional income and some new value chains. This case study also shows the importance of a <a href="http://www.archives.biodiv.be/cebios2/docs/publications/policy-briefs/policy-brief-lake-tana/download/en/1/PB%2013%20-%20The%20economic%20impact%20of%20water%20hyacinth%20infestation%20on%20farmers-%20Case%20of%20Lake%20Tana%20in%20Ethiopia.pdf">stakeholder-centred approach</a> to investigate and value ecosystem (dis)services.</p>
<p>In addition to the guidance manual, this three-year project generated <a href="http://www.archives.biodiv.be/evamab">eleven masters theses, more than ten peer-reviewed articles and two policy briefs</a>.</p>
<p>The UNESCO manual, as a complement to existing reviews and guides, should be useful to policy makers, communities and management entities to help them more sustainably harness the potential of ecosystem services for local stakeholders in biosphere reserves and beyond. That should contribute to making <a href="https://www.glo-be.be/fr/articles/la-biodiversite-dans-le-sud-plus-que-jamais-besoin-de-protection">conservation and sustainable development</a> two sides of the same coin, as it is the aim in biosphere reserves.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Associated researchers or co-authors in Belgium:</em> </p>
<p>• <em>Anne-Julie Rochette, CEBioS (coordinator of EVAMAB), responsible together with Luc Janssens de Bisthoven for general coordination and the parts in Benin and in Tanzania</em>.<br>
• <em>Bruno Verbist, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, responsible for the part in Uganda and Benin</em>.<br>
• <em>Koen Vanderhaegen, KU Leuven, responsible for the part in Uganda</em>.<br>
• <em>Steven Van Passel, UAntwerpen, Antwerp, responsible for the part in Ethiopia</em>.<br>
• <em>Hossein Azadi (UAntwerpen), responsible for the part in Ethiopia</em>.<br>
• <em>Jean Hugé, Open University of The Netherlands, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université Libre de Bruxelles, responsible for stakeholder engagement in Benin and Tanzania</em>.<br>
• <em>Luc Brendonck (KU Leuven) and Maarten Vanhove (UHasselt), responsible for parts in Tanzania.</em></p>
<p><em>Associated researchers or co-authors in Africa:</em></p>
<p>• <em>Benin: Romain Glèlè Kakaï and Jean-Didier Akpona, Pendjari National Parks, Université Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin.</em><br>
• <em>Ethiopia: D. Berihun and N.E. Tefera, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.</em><br>
• <em>Tanzania: Linus Munishi, Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania.</em><br>
• <em>Uganda: M. Isabirye, Busitema University, Uganda.</em></p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398230/original/file-20210502-19-2lk7b1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>For 50 years, the UNESCO <a href="https://en.unesco.org/mab">Man and the Biosphere Program</a> (MAB) has combined exact, natural and social sciences to find solutions implemented in the 714 exceptional sites (129 countries) of biosphere reserves.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luc Janssens de Bisthoven has received funding from Belspo (EVAMAB) and DGD (CEBioS, VLIR-UOS).</span></em></p>Biosphere reserves are the living labs in which people and nature learn how to live and thrive together. Four pilot sites in Africa show the programme’s promise.Luc Janssens de Bisthoven, Coordinator of the CEBioS programme at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1559472021-03-04T19:28:51Z2021-03-04T19:28:51ZDig this: a tiny echidna moves 8 trailer-loads of soil a year, helping tackle climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387648/original/file-20210304-23-9nklc4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C21%2C4874%2C3232&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After 200 years of European farming practices, Australian soils are in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jbi.13456">poor shape</a> – depleted of nutrients and organic matter, including carbon. This is bad news for both soil health and efforts to address global warming.</p>
<p>The native Australian echidna may hold part of the solution. Echidnas dig pits, furrows and depressions in the soil while foraging for ants. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0341816221000254">research</a> has revealed the significant extent to which this soil “engineering” could benefit the environment. </p>
<p>Echidnas’ digging traps leaves and seeds in soil. This helps improve soil health, promotes plant growth and keeps carbon in the soil, rather than the atmosphere. </p>
<p>The importance of this process cannot be underestimated. By improving echidna habitat, we can significantly improve soil health and boost climate action efforts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An echidna" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C20%2C4550%2C3033&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387645/original/file-20210304-17-1j43wld.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Echidnas can help improve soil health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Nature’s excavators</h2>
<p>Many animals improve soil health through extensive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.04259">digging</a>. These “<a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4612-4018-1_14">ecosystem engineers</a>” provide a <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/ecosystem-services-key-concepts-and-applications">service</a> that benefits not only soils, but plants and other organisms. </p>
<p>In Australia, most of our digging animals are either extinct, restricted or <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/112/15/4531">threatened</a>. But not so the echidna, which is still relatively <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41312A21964662.en">common</a> in most habitats across large areas of the continent.</p>
<p>Echidnas are prolific <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-life-of-echidnas-reveals-a-world-class-digger-vital-to-our-ecosystems-67298">diggers</a>. Our long-term <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169555X11003023">monitoring</a> at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s <a href="https://www.australianwildlife.org/where-we-work/scotia/">Scotia Sanctuary</a>, in southwest New South Wales, suggests one echidna moves about seven tonnes – about eight trailer loads – of soil every year.</p>
<p>Soil depressions left by echidnas can be up to 50cm wide and 15cm deep. When ants are scarce, such as at highly degraded sites, echidnas dig deeper to find <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1991.tb01061.x">termites</a>, making even larger pits. </p>
<p>This earth-moving capacity unwittingly provides another critically important function: matchmaking between seeds and water. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Echidna digging in soil" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387649/original/file-20210304-13-qrndb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Echidnas’ huge digging capacity brings many environmental benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Playing cupid</h2>
<p>For seeds to germinate they must come together with water and soil nutrients. Our experiment showed how echidna digging helps make that happen.</p>
<p>We tested whether seeds would be trapped in echidna pits after rain. We carefully marked various seeds with different coloured dyes, and placed them on the soil surface in a semi-arid woodland near Cobar, NSW, where we’d dug pits similar to those echidnas create. We then <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.145">simulated</a> a rain event.</p>
<p>Most seeds washed into the pits, and those that started in the pits stayed there. The experiment showed how echidna pits encourage seeds, water and nutrients to meet, giving seeds a better chance to germinate and survive in Australia’s poor soils.</p>
<p>The recovering pits then become plant and soil “hotspots” from which plants can spread across the landscape. </p>
<p>Our research has also found pits also harbour unique <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ismej201570">microbial communities</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038071706005219">soil invertebrates</a>. These probably play an important role in breaking down organic matter to produce soil carbon. </p>
<p>It’s no wonder many human efforts to restore soil imitate the natural structures constructed by animals such as echidnas. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-does-an-echidna-breathe-when-digging-through-solid-earth-96276">Curious Kids: How does an echidna breathe when digging through solid earth?</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386378/original/file-20210225-23-80x511.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plant growth in artificial pits used to regenerate degraded semi-arid soils – a method that imitates echidna pits.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Echidnas as carbon farmers</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0341816221000254">recent research</a> also shows how echidna digging helps boost carbon in depleted soils.</p>
<p>When organic matter lies on the soil surface, it’s broken down by intense <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05038">ultraviolet light</a> which releases carbon and nitrogen into the atmosphere. But when echidnas forage, the material is buried in the soil. There it is exposed to microbes, which break down the material and release carbon and nitrogen to the soil. </p>
<p>This does not happen immediately. Our research suggests it takes 16-18 months for carbon levels in the pits to exceed that in bare soils. </p>
<p>This entire process of echidna digging, capture and buildup creates a patchwork of litter, carbon, nutrients, and plant hotspots. These fertile islands drive healthy, functional ecosystems – and will become more important as the world becomes hotter and drier.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-life-of-echidnas-reveals-a-world-class-digger-vital-to-our-ecosystems-67298">The secret life of echidnas reveals a world-class digger vital to our ecosystems</a>
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</p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/386294/original/file-20210224-21-1ye15b9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An echidna foraging pit with litter, seed and soil.</span>
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<h2>Harness the power of echidnas</h2>
<p>Soil restoration can be expensive, and impractical across vast areas of land. Soil disturbance by echidnas offers a cost-effective restoration option, and this potential should be harnessed.</p>
<p>Australia’s echidna populations are currently <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41312/21964662">not threatened</a>. But landscape management is needed to ensure healthy echidna populations into the future.</p>
<p>Echidnas often shelter in hollow logs, so removing fallen timber reduces their habitat and feeding sites. Restrictions on practices such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/firewood-and-biodiversity-are-we-burning-their-homes-to-warm-ours-3235">firewood removal</a> are needed to prevent habitat loss. </p>
<p>And being slow-moving, echidnas are often killed on our roads. To address this, shrubs and ground plants should be planted between patches of native bush, creating <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjS0_-n34HvAhWryzgGHTp3DV8QFjABegQIAhAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.environment.nsw.gov.au%2Fresources%2Fnature%2FFactsheet3Echidnas.pdf&usg=AOvVaw11_6TfbmnDehz_TB6WyTkZ">vegetation corridors</a> so echidnas can move safely from one spot to the next.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Echidna crossing a road" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387652/original/file-20210304-17-s2ab3o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why did the echidna cross the road? Because there were no vegetation corridors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And while an echidna’s sharp spines give it some protection from natural predators, they’re less effective against introduced predators such as foxes and cats. So strategies to control these threats are also needed.</p>
<p>The health of Australia’s fragile environment is in <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-major-scorecard-gives-the-health-of-australias-environment-less-than-1-out-of-10-133444">serious decline</a>. Echidnas are already providing a valuable ecosystem service – and they should be protected and nurtured to ensure this continues.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-million-animals-are-hit-on-our-roads-each-year-heres-how-you-can-help-them-and-steer-clear-of-them-these-holidays-149733">10 million animals are hit on our roads each year. Here’s how you can help them (and steer clear of them) these holidays</a>
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</em>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155947/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David John Eldridge has received funding from the Australian Research Council, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and The Australian Wildlife Conservancy. He is a current editor of the Journal of Arid Environments and Restoration Ecology</span></em></p>Excavator, farmer, matchmaker: echidnas provide a host of benefits to nature. So let’s harness the potential.David John Eldridge, Professor of Dryland Ecology, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1547042021-02-05T17:10:56Z2021-02-05T17:10:56ZNature: how do you put a price on something that has infinite worth?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382744/original/file-20210205-17-ni9mev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The priceless view over Loch Lomond, Scotland.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gary_Ellis_Photography / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a new nature conservation strategy in town – and it means business. During the 1970s, 80s and 90s the main tactic to protect wildlife was to highlight the plight of charismatic “flagship” species (remember the WWF Save the Panda campaign?). Since the millennium, however, a new strategy backed by major conservation organisations such as The Nature Conservancy is to price the benefits that nature provides.</p>
<p>Not all conservationists agree, as borne out by <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05984-3">fierce debates</a> in a major international initiative assessing global biodiversity. Yet the idea is now mainstream, as evidenced by the high profile <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-the-economics-of-biodiversity-the-dasgupta-review">Economics of Biodiversity: Dasgupta Review</a> commissioned by the UK government and lead by the economist Partha Dasgupta. </p>
<p>Proponents of the economic approach argue that if we don’t give nature a price then we essentially treat it as having zero value. In contrast, if we articulate value in monetary terms then this can be factored into government and business decisions. Harmful costs to the natural world are no longer “externalised”, to use the economic jargon, and instead the value of “natural capital” is incorporated into balance sheets.</p>
<p>There is certainly some merit to this approach, as shown in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/578005/pes-pilot-review-key-findings-2016.pdf">pilot projects</a> where land owners are paid to improve water quality or reduce flooding. Although it’s worth noting that decisions can go the other way too, as occurred when a <a href="https://tradezone.dubetradeport.co.za/Pages/Home">major airport and trade zone</a> in Durban, South Africa, <a href="https://www.gov.za/s-ndebele-welcomes-dube-trade-port-environmental-impact-assessment-eia-approval">got the go-ahead</a> when forecasted <a href="https://www.dubetradeport.co.za/SiteFiles/424/finalreport-globalinsight.pdf">jobs and economic growth</a> were deemed to outweigh the <a href="https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/public-events/archiv/alter-net/programme/11.9.2011/schroeter-schlaack/presentation_schroeter-schlaack_2011.pdf">economic value of the environment</a> that would be destroyed. </p>
<p>Obviously, not all aspects of nature’s value can be captured in economic terms. Nature is also valued in ways that are spiritual, for example. This is fully recognised by advocates of the approach, who suggest their estimates simply convey minimum values.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Red green and yellow parrot on a branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382760/original/file-20210205-13-1p9tavf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The large city of Durban is found in an official ‘biodiversity hotspot’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Slow Walker / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the other side of the debate, concerns about monetary valuation relate to how it might undermine other aspects of nature protection. </p>
<p>To give an example, consider the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/life/life-environment-sub-programme">EU-funded</a> <a href="https://zoo-naturetrade.zoo.ox.ac.uk/">NatureTrade</a> project, in which computer algorithms are used to quantify benefits from nature (such as carbon storage, pollination, recreation) derived on someone’s land. Landowners are then helped to draw up a contract so they can be paid for these, in an auction the researchers behind the project describe as an “eBay for ecosystem services”. This may seem a great idea, but <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914003668">studies</a> have found that many landowners already protect nature simply because it’s the “right” thing to do, and paying them “crowds out” these social norms.</p>
<h2>A hierarchy of needs</h2>
<p>Despite the debate, both viewpoints can in fact be complementary. </p>
<p>As an analogy, take psychologist Abraham Maslow’s idea of the <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amle.2017.0351">hierarchy of needs</a> for human development. These are often illustrated as a pyramid, with quantifiable physiological needs and security at the bottom, and the less tangible values of belonging, esteem, and transcendence at the top. A <a href="https://scottbarrykaufman.com/books/transcend/">recent book</a> reveals that Maslow intended improvement of all these aspects simultaneously (after all, what use is security and safety if we do not have hope and meaning?). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The hierarchy of needs pyramid" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382746/original/file-20210205-14-1fc9if5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is some debate over whether Maslow himself ever represented his theory as a pyramid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs-1.png">nmilligan / wiki</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If we were to draw up a similar pyramid representing a healthy environment, at the bottom would be the bare essentials provided by nature, such as having clean air and water, and insects to pollinate crops. Higher up in the pyramid would be the benefits of nature for mental health, and the transcendental aspects which give purpose and spiritual meaning. Different types of people and academic disciplines focus on different layers of the pyramid, but we need them all.</p>
<p>Sometimes the language used by economists doesn’t help. The Dasgupta Review provocatively states: “Nature is an asset.” Yet the boundaries between our self and the natural world are more fuzzy than they may first seem, as I evidence in my book <a href="https://research.reading.ac.uk/social-and-applied-ecology/the-self-delusion/">The Self Delusion</a>. As Sigmund Freud realised <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jCnYDwAAQBAJ">in 1930</a>, when we feel kinship with – or to use the non-scientific term “love” – something, then we don’t objectify it. Instead, boundaries disappear and it merges with our sense of identity. It is antithetical to many people to refer to a dancing swift, an elegant swan or friendly-looking robin as an “asset”. </p>
<p>Words matter, and there is also danger that such <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Language-and-Neoliberalism/Holborow/p/book/9780415744560">language of commodification</a> can encourage <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SAMPJ-07-2018-0178/full/html">psychological distancing</a>. People who feel less connected to nature <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13381">do less to protect it</a>. This is why there is a growing movement involving organisations such as the <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/connection-to-nature/">RSPB</a> (the UK’s largest bird charity), to restore a sense of connection to nature, especially in children.</p>
<p>Given the worry that commodification of nature will pollute our worldviews, the big question is whether we can restrict such parlance to domains of policy and business accounting (where it can arguably do some good). I think we can. Consider how human life is valued: in monetary terms by insurance companies and for medicine procurement by health services, yet still in terms of infinite worth to most of us. Just because monetary valuation is used in some sectors doesn’t mean it will flood across to all.</p>
<p>A diversity of viewpoints and approaches is essential to protecting nature effectively. The “economics of nature” are likely here to stay, but that does not replace the tireless efforts of those who have worked for decades to convey the awe-inspiring and transcendental value of nature. As the naturalist <a href="http://www.literaturepage.com/read.php?titleid=walden&abspage=243&bookmark=1">Henry David Thoreau</a> put it: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Oliver has received research funding from BBSRC, NERC and Natural England for quantifying biodiversity change and impacts on humans. He is affiliated with Defra as a senior scientific fellow on their Systems Research Programme and is author of a book about human interconnectedness and global environmental change ('THE SELF DELUSION') published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson. </span></em></p>People both for and against pricing biodiversity need to work together to protect the natural world.Tom Oliver, Professor of Applied Ecology, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1534002021-01-18T18:19:30Z2021-01-18T18:19:30ZMountains, a fragile source of life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379026/original/file-20210115-21-90wsyw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4883%2C2665&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Col de Port, in the French Pyrenees.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mountains stand apart, literally – they’re islands rising high in a sea of lowlands. For many, they’re the place to reconnect to nature, to relax and to enjoy a clean environment and fresh air. The popularity of mountains during the current pandemic clearly showed the need of humans to enjoy nature. </p>
<p>Mountains also provide us with many important goods, including <a href="https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/what-are-ecosystem-services.html">wood, pastures for livestock, drinking water and clean air</a>. All are provided by mountain ecosystems, through complex processes, that are maintained by the community of different species and their interactions between them and with the abiotic environment. Those species are numerous. They comprise invisible microorganisms, tiny plankton species, small plants, trees, cryptic reptiles and amphibians, swift birds, and mammals. Those species produce organic matter, bind CO<sub>2</sub>, and produce oxygen. </p>
<p>Together, all these species shape, change and rebuild the environment in complex interactions that are difficult to describe. Even the most powerful information systems have not yet been able to simulate a real ecosystem with all of its interactions, functions and processes. Nature humbles our technological and intellectual capacities.</p>
<h2>Far and above</h2>
<p>Mountains are generally considered to be remote areas, as many are difficult to travel to, as roads are scarce and accessibility limited due to weather conditions. We imagine them little impacted by humans and free of pollution. Unfortunately, human activities like mining, livestock, energy production and tourism impact them. Here, I am referring to the exploitation to serve the civilized world, living in urbanized areas. Humans have exploited the timber, mining and pasturage resources of mountain environments for millennia. These activities and others have impacted mountain ecosystems to varying degrees. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mountaintop mine in northern British Colombia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379306/original/file-20210118-19-1t8wize.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Resource exploitation can highly destructive, as in this mine in northern British Columbia, Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, the rapid flux of people and resources into and out of mountains compounds the challenges they face. The activities pollute even remote mountain areas at high altitudes. Pollutants can be transported to mountains by orographic effects and may enrich in lake sediments, peat bogs, and generally in mountain wetlands, driven by patterns of rainfall, snowfall, length of growth season, and wind patterns. Temperature-dependent partitioning between air and atmospheric particles, snow surface, or water droplets determine dry and wet deposition rates that may lead to a fractionation and deposition of different pollution compounds at different altitudes. </p>
<p>The pollution of mountain freshwater with chemical compounds – a key challenge humanity is facing – is therefore closely linked to climate change and climate extremes. Climate extremes play a key role in the redistribution of chemical pollutants and are assumed to enhance release of pollutants stored in ice, soils or sediments through flood events. </p>
<h2>Humans’ heavy hand</h2>
<p>In addition to these direct impacts, humans have changed the world climate. Mountains are very fragile environments and are among the regions that are most sensitive to climate change and to the impacts of human activities. Climate change is a worldwide threat, but its impact on mountains is particularly strong and troubling. High elevation areas tend to experience intensified climate-change induced warming and weather extremes. </p>
<p>As with high latitudes (our poles), where ice melt is <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/02/antarctic-greenland-ice-melt-less-bad/">far more rapid than predicted</a>, the rate of warming is also amplified with elevation. That means that high mountains are experiencing more rapid changes in temperature and much higher variations in daily temperatures as compared to lowland regions. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/07/alaskan-glaciers-melting-faster-than-previously-thought/">Glaciers are melting more and more quickly</a>, snow cover is reduced and highly variable between years. Further, heavy rain events, creating torrents and floods, and periods of no rain, drying out mountain landscapes, have been observed to be more and more common frequent. All this has important implications for nature, for wildlife and for the human society.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Peak above the Lac de Lhurs, French Pyrenees." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379029/original/file-20210115-17-uinw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Peak above the Lac de Lhurs, French Pyrenees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>High-altitude areas around the world share many characteristic and common features. All of them have in common that, while being considered an extreme environment with short vegetation times, they harbor an important amount of different species, adapted to such a harsh environment. </p>
<p>Climate change puts enormous stress on them, leading to important changes in those biological communities due to changes in abundance of species, loss of species, and range changes of species. Interactions between the species and the environment drive the functioning of ecosystems. Mountains and their biodiversity are sentinels of change. Changes in the mountains will lead to the loss of essential ecosystem services, which poses risks for the well-being of all of us.</p>
<p>These human impacts on mountain ecosystems disturb biodiversity across all trophic levels, from microbes, plankton to higher animals with little understood consequences for the whole ecosystem. For example, microbial communities, comprising the community of fungi, yeasts, bacteria, viruses and protozoans, are all so tiny that we cannot see them with the naked eye are everywhere: in the air, on the surfaces, in the water, the soil, on our skin, in our very bodies. Despite their small size, these communities drive major processes in and on animals, plants as well as in the environment.</p>
<h2>Microbial web of life</h2>
<p>The community of microorganisms help plants and animals to adapt to the environment, by e.g. increasing temperature tolerance. They form biological barriers against pathogens and parasites by competing with them and by mitigating disease effects. They help their animal or plant host to synthesize vital nutrients, thereby increase energy uptake and growth and hence might have far reaching consequences by increasing reproductive success. Similarly, micro-organisms stabilize whole ecosystems by buffering against change through the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Estagnon panorama" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=230&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379028/original/file-20210115-13-1ufglom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Estagnon panorama.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In ecosystems, micro-organismic communities also represent a barrier against alien species and improve resistance, resilience and tolerance of ecosystems. Most importantly, micro-organismic communities hold important ecosystem functions, such as nutrient cycling, energy fluxes and carbon fixation. For example, the interactions between micro-organisms and plankton constitute the basis of aquatic food web and determine the functioning of biogeochemical cycles, accounting for more than <a href="https://www.onlinebiologynotes.com/microbial-ecology-and-role-of-microorganism-in-ecosystem/">half of the global carbon fixation</a>.</p>
<p>Any kind of disturbance of the community of micro-organisms can therefore have far reaching impacts on species and ecosystems. For example, the influx of pollutants together with other impacts of climate change will disturb biodiversity across all trophic levels, from micro-organism, plankton to higher animals with little understood consequences for the whole ecosystem. The natural equilibrium then is perturbed and can lead to the increase of pathogens, also critical to human well-being, as e.g. plankton would not be able to control the proliferation of zoonotic pathogens, such as the bacterium <em>Escherichia coli</em> and the protozoan genus <em>Giardia</em>, or toxic algae. And pathogens can be easily introduced to mountains through pastoralism, tourism or wind drift and hence the biological barrier the community of micro-organism represent is of high relevance to avoid proliferation of pathogenic micro-organisms.</p>
<p>Changes in mountain ecosystems will lead to eutrophication, loss of biodiversity and reduce availability of clean drinking water, but give also rise to wildlife and human pathogens, leading to increasing <a href="https://axa.foleon.com/axa-research-fund/confronting-a-global-crisis/welcome/">probabilities of zoonoses</a>. We are currently only at the beginning of understanding the functional ecology in mountain ecosystems, but international research already suggests that changing the communities will be detrimental to the environment, biodiversity and our life-support system.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BN5jc_CqYpY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The first episode of the video series ‘Mountains, a fragile source of life’.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=158&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=158&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=158&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/310261/original/file-20200115-134768-1tax26b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=198&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Created in 2007 to help accelerate and share scientific knowledge on key societal issues, the AXA Research Fund has been supporting nearly 650 projects around the world conducted by researchers from 55 countries. To learn more, visit the site of the <a href="https://www.axa-research.org">Axa Research Fund</a> or follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/axaresearchfund?lang=fr">@AXAResearchFund</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dirk Schmeller a reçu des financements de AXA Research Fund and Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft. </span></em></p>We think of mountains as remote and little affected by human activity. Unfortunately, the negative impacts of what we do has important implications for nature, wildlife and human society.Dirk S. Schmeller, Professor for Conservation Biology, Axa Chair for Functional Mountain Ecology at the École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse, Université de Toulouse III – Paul SabatierLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1477982020-10-20T12:19:26Z2020-10-20T12:19:26ZRestoring seagrasses can bring coastal bays back to life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364103/original/file-20201018-13-1fbnw6t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C35%2C3944%2C2934&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Eelgrasses covered with small snails, which keep the leaves clean by feeding on algae that live on them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Lefcheck</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A century ago Virginia’s coastal lagoons were a natural paradise. Fishing boats bobbed on the waves as geese flocked overhead. Beneath the surface, miles of seagrass gently swayed in the surf, making the seabed look like a vast underwater prairie. </p>
<p>More than <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds">70 species</a> of seagrasses grow in shallow waters around the world, on every continent except Antarctica. In Virginia, beds of <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/importance-eelgrass">eelgrass</a> (<em>Zostera marina</em>) provided habitat for bay scallops and food for birds, and kept barrier islands from washing away. Eelgrass was so common that people who lived near the shore packed and baled it to <a href="https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/insulation/a-history-of-eel-grass-insulation_o">use as insulation</a> for homes, schools and hospitals. </p>
<p>In the 1930s, however, pandemic plant disease and repeated hurricanes eliminated the eelgrass along Virginia’s eastern shore. The once-vibrant seafloor became barren mud, leading to a loss of “wildfowl, the cream of salt-water fishing, most of the clams and crabs, and all of the bay scallops,” sportsman and publisher <a href="https://cpl.org/the-derrydale-press/">Eugene V. Connett</a> <a href="https://www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/pages/books/239493/eugene-v-connett/duck-shooting-along-the-atlantic-tidewater-chapters-by-frederick-c-lincoln-lynn-bogue-hunt">wrote in 1947</a>. </p>
<p>We are marine scientists who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bVEVdsEAAAAJ&hl=en">seagrasses</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wTArpJgAAAAJ&hl=en">marine biodiversity</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=l6zTkPUAAAAJ&hl=en">coastal ecosystems</a>. In a newly published study, we describe the results of a 20-year mission to reintroduce eelgrass into Virginia coastal bays using a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.1126/sciadv.abc6434">novel seed-based approach</a>. </p>
<p>This project has now restored 9,600 acres of seagrasses across four bays – one of the most successful marine restoration efforts anywhere in the world. It has triggered large increases in fishes and invertebrates, made the water clearer and trapped large quantities of carbon in seafloor sediments, helping to slow climate change. We see this work as a blueprint for restoring and maintaining healthy ecosystems along coastlines around the world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic of seagrasses and other near-shore ecosystems." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364122/original/file-20201018-13-mda8ht.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seagrasses and other coastal habitats stabilize coastlines, store carbon and provide habitat for fish and shellfish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49983475236_35e2e8d974_o.png">Hisham Ashkar/GRID-Arendal</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why didn’t seagrasses recover naturally?</h2>
<p>Development, nutrient runoff and other human impacts have damaged marshes, mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses in many bays and estuaries worldwide. Loss or shrinkage of these key habitats has reduced commercial fisheries, increased erosion, made coastlines more vulnerable to floods and storms and harmed many types of aquatic life. Rapid climate change has compounded these effects through <a href="https://theconversation.com/ocean-warming-has-fisheries-on-the-move-helping-some-but-hurting-more-116248">rising global temperatures</a>, more <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-frequent-and-intense-tropical-storms-mean-less-recovery-time-for-the-worlds-coastlines-123335">frequent and severe storms</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-climate-change-alters-the-oceans-what-will-happen-to-dungeness-crabs-61501">ocean acidification</a>.</p>
<p>In the late 1990s, local residents told two of us who are longtime students of seagrasses (Robert “JJ” Orth and Karen McGlathery) that they had spotted small patches of eelgrass in shallow waters off Virginia’s eastern shore. For years the conventional view had been that seagrasses in this area had not recovered from the events of the 1930s because human activities had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2005.07.007">made the area inhospitable for them</a>.</p>
<p>But studies showed that water quality in these coastal bays was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02782971">comparatively good</a>. This led us to explore a different explanation: Seeds from healthy seagrass populations elsewhere along the Atlantic coast simply weren’t reaching these isolated bays. Seagrasses are underwater flowering plants, so seeds are among the main ways they reproduce and spread to new environments.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Satellite map showing project area in coastal Virginia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=674&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=674&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364352/original/file-20201019-17-1ed9xo2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=674&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eelgrass beds were restored in four bays at the southern tip of Virginia’s eastern shore on the Atlantic coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David J. Wilcox/VIMS</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sowing a new crop</h2>
<p>From our <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1941597">earlier research</a>, we knew that when eelgrass seeds fall from the parent plant, they sink to the sea bottom quickly and don’t move far from where they land. We also knew that these seeds don’t germinate until late fall or early winter. This meant that if we collected the seeds in spring, when eelgrass flowers, we could hold them until the fall, helping them survive over the months in between.</p>
<p>We decided to try reseeding eelgrass in the areas where they were missing. Starting in 1999, we collected seeds by hand from underwater meadows in nearby Chesapeake Bay – plucking the long reproductive shoots, bringing them back to our laboratory and holding them in large outdoor seawater tanks until they released their seeds naturally. After about 10 years we started gathering the grasses using a custom-built underwater “lawn mower” to collect many more of the reproductive shoots than we could by hand. </p>
<p>In 2001 we sowed our first round by simply tossing seeds from a boat. Our first test plots covered 28 acres of mud flats in waters 2 to 3 feet deep. Returning the following year, we saw new seedlings sprouting up. </p>
<p>Each year since then, the <a href="https://www.vims.edu">Virginia Institute of Marine Science</a> and the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/virginia/">Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve</a>, along with staff and students from the <a href="https://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu">University of Virginia</a>, have led a team of scientists and citizens to collect and seed a combined 536 acres of bare bottom in several coastal bays.</p>
<p>These initial plots took off and rapidly expanded. By 2020 they covered 9,600 acres across four bays. Several factors helped them flourish. These bays are naturally flushed with cool, clean water from the Atlantic Ocean. And they lie off the tip of Virginia’s eastern shore, where there is little coastal development. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K9NyfPLINtk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">To restore eelgrasses to Virginia coastal bays, scientists collected grasses in other areas, harvested their seeds and spread them by hand.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sheltering marine life and storing carbon</h2>
<p>Since eelgrass disappeared from these bays in the 1930s, human understanding of seagrass ecosystems has evolved. Today people don’t pack their walls full of seagrass insulation but instead value different services they provide, such as habitat for fish and shellfish – including many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12645">commercially and recreationally important species</a>.</p>
<p>Scientists and government agencies also have recognized the importance of coastal systems in capturing and storing so-called “<a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bluecarbon.html">blue carbon</a>.” In fact, we now know that seagrasses constitute a globally significant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1477">carbon sink</a>. They are a key tool for reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64094-1">slowing climate change</a></p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>We are working to understand the valuable services that our restored seagrass beds provide. To our surprise, fish and invertebrates returned within only a few years as the meadows expanded. These organisms have established extensive food webs that include species ranging from tiny seahorses to 6-foot-long sandbar sharks.</p>
<p>Other benefits were equally dramatic. Water in the bays become clearer as the seagrass canopy trapped floating particles and deposited them onto the bottom, burying significant stocks of carbon and nitrogen in sediments bound by the grasses’ roots. Our research is the first to verify the overall net carbon captured by seagrass, and is now being used to issue carbon offset credits that in turn <a href="https://vaseagrant.org/eelgrass-carbon-credits/">create more funds for restoration</a>. </p>
<p>One big question was whether restoring seagrasses could make it possible to bring back bay scallops, which once generated millions of dollars for the local economy. Since bay scallops no longer existed in Virginia, we obtained broodstock from North Carolina, which we have <a href="https://chesapeakebaymagazine.com/return-of-the-bay-scallop/">reared and released annually</a> since 2013. Regular surveys now reveal a growing population of bay scallops in the restored eelgrass, although there is still some way to go before they reach levels seen in the 1930s.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial photo of restored seagrass beds" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/364124/original/file-20201018-19-186i0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Restored seagrass beds (dark areas) along Virginia’s Atlantic coast, with sunlight reflecting from a small island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Lefcheck</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A model for coastal restoration</h2>
<p>Repairing damaged ecosystems is such an urgent mission worldwide that the United Nations has designated 2021-2030 as the <a href="https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/">U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a>. We see the success we have achieved with eelgrass restoration as a prime model for similar efforts in coastal areas around the world. </p>
<p>Our project focused not only on reviving this essential habitat, but also on charting how restoring seagrasses affected the ecosystem and on the co-restoration of bay scallops. It provides a road map for involving scholars, nonprofits organizations, citizens and government agencies in an ecological mission where they can see the results of their work.</p>
<p>Recent assessments show that the restored zone only covers about 30% of the total habitable bottom in our project area. With continued support, eelgrass – and the many benefits it provides – may continue to thrive and expand well into the 21st century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert J. Orth receives funding from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Coastal Zone Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Virginia Recreational Fishing License Fund, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Department of the Environment, Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, Virginia Sea Grant . He is an elected official on the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors as an independent. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Lefcheck is supported by the Michael E. Tennenbaum Secretarial Scholar gift to the Smithsonian Institution.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen McGlathery receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Sea Grant.</span></em></p>Healthy seagrasses form underwater meadows teeming with fish and shellfish. A successful large-scale restoration project in Virginia could become a model for reseeding damaged seagrass beds worldwide.Robert J. Orth, Professor of Marine Science, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceJonathan Lefcheck, Research Scientist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian InstitutionKaren McGlathery, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Director, Environmental Resilience Institute, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.