scholarly journals Custodianship of wildlife on private land to support conservation – an Australian model

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 309
Author(s):  
George Wilson ◽  
Melanie Edwards ◽  
Neil Byron

A large proportion of the world’s extinctions have occurred in Australia, and threatened species lists continue to grow, notwithstanding government and philanthropic efforts. Most losses have been on private land, so relying on national parks and reserves is not enough to reverse trends and meet Australia’s responsibilities. This paper proposes a model that could increase abundance and distribution of Australia’s biodiversity, while providing financial incentives to private landholders to do so. It addresses the question, can landholder management of wildlife, and a form of private ownership, remedy shortfalls in government funding for biodiversity conservation and the resulting consequences of vast biodiversity losses? Landholders currently invest in propagating introduced livestock species, but they are prevented by current regulations from investing in a similar manner in threatened Australian native species. Market-based incentives could increase the distribution and abundance of species on private land and help protect the habitat of other biodiversity. The enabling changes would be contentious to some people but are consistent with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Sustainable Use policy. Different versions of wildlife privatisation have been successfully applied internationally: there is urgency for Australia to draw on these experiences and develop its own model to encourage and support wildlife on private freehold land. The model proposed in this paper focuses on: identifying locally overabundant populations or captive-bred populations as sources of supply; finding landholders and philanthropists who would like to have custodianship of species; enabling entrepreneurs to respond to demand; and bringing the two together where there is scope for a market-based sharing economy. Encouraging wildlife custodianship on private freehold land would be mutually beneficial, as it would not only result in an increase in biodiversity, but the economic value of wildlife could provide an income to landholders as well as enhancing Australia’s conservation system.

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Bissessur ◽  
C. Baider ◽  
N. Boodia ◽  
M.G.H. Badaloo ◽  
J.A. Bégué ◽  
...  

AbstractThe rising need for crop diversification to mitigate the impacts of climate change on food security urges the exploration of crop wild relatives (CWR) as potential genetic resources for crop improvement. This study aimed at assessing the diversity of CWR of the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues and proposing cost-effective conservation measures for their sustainable use. A comprehensive list of the native species was collated from The Mauritius Herbarium and published literature. Each species was assessed for the economic value of its related crop, utilization potential for crop improvement, relative distribution, occurrence status and Red List conservation status, using a standard scoring method for prioritization. The occurrence data of the priority species were collected, verified, geo-referenced and mapped. A total of 43 crop-related species were identified for both islands and 21 species were prioritized for active conservation. The CWR diversity hotspots in Mauritius included Mondrain, followed by Florin and Le Pouce Mountain. Although a wide diversity of CWR has been recorded on both islands, most do not relate to major economic crops in use, therefore only a few species may be gene donors to economic crops at the regional and global level. For example, coffee, a major global beverage crop, has three wild relatives on Mauritius, which could potentially be of interest for future predictive characterization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L. Brown ◽  
Donald V. Moser

ABSTRACT Shareholder litigation is an important part of the regulation of securities markets that can influence corporate managers' reporting behavior. Prior research shows that conventional economic factors affect investors' litigation decisions. We use experimental markets to examine whether investors engage in costly litigation even without a direct financial incentive to do so and whether this affects managers' reporting decisions and managers' and investors' welfare. We find that investors frequently litigate when they can impose a financial penalty on managers for misreporting even though they cannot recover their legal fees or receive restitution for their losses. Moreover, this deters managers' shirking and misreporting and improves managers' and investors' welfare almost as effectively as when investors can recover their legal fees and receive restitution for their losses. Overall, our results indicate that, in addition to financial incentives, investors' desire to punish misreporting plays an important role in their litigation decisions, and that may yield substantial welfare benefits.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Archabald ◽  
Lisa Naughton-Treves

Throughout much of the tropics, human-wildlife conflict impedes local support for national parks. By channelling tourism revenue to local residents, conservationists hope to offset wildlife costs and improve local attitudes toward conservation. To date tourism revenue-sharing (TRS) programmes have met mixed success. Local conditions and national policies that shape the success of TRS programmes were identified by comparing the experiences of both implementers and beneficiaries of pilot TRS programmes at three parks in western Uganda. Between 1995 and 1998, communities around these parks used a total of US $83 000 of tourism revenue to build 21 schools, four clinics, one bridge, and one road. In 1996, the Ugandan parliament passed legislation that changed both the amount of money available for TRS and the institutions responsible for sharing the money. The programme was suspended at all three parks while the implementing agency (Uganda Wildlife Authority) struggled to design a programme that complied with the new legislation. TRS funds collected before 1996 were shared through 1998, but since then no revenue has been shared. However, a revised TRS programme is expected to resume in 2001. In semi-structured interviews, both implementers and beneficiaries evaluated local TRS programmes and compared them to other benefit-sharing projects, particularly those promoting sustainable use of non-timber products within park boundaries (n = 44). Both groups of respondents listed revenue-sharing as the most important advantage of living next to a national park. Seventy-two per cent of respondents indicated that they thought TRS had improved attitudes towards the protected areas, and 53% thought TRS was more important then sustainable use of non-timber forest products. Although respondents were generally positive about TRS, in informal discussions respondents repeatedly mentioned four potential obstacles to TRS success, namely poorly defined TRS policies and unsteady implementing institutions, corruption, inadequate funds, and numerous stakeholders with differing priorities. From this survey and literature from experiences in other African countries, there are four key components of successful revenue-sharing programmes: long-term institutional support, appropriate identification of the target community and project type, transparency and accountability, and adequate funding. With firm institutional support and realistic expectations, TRS can play an important role in improving local attitudes towards conservation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Claudio Di Stasi

An integrated and interdisciplinary research programme with native medicinal plants from tropical forests has been performed in order to obtain new forest products for sustainable use in regional markets vis-à-vis ecosystem conservation. For the success of this programme ethnopharmacological studies are very important with respect to (i) identification of useful plants including medicinal and aromatic species; (ii) recuperation and preservation of traditional knowledge about native plants; and (iii) identification of potential plants with economic value. The plants are selected with a view to evaluate efficacy and safety (pharmacological and toxicological studies), and phytochemical profile and quality control (phytochemical and chromatographic characterization). These studies are very important to add value to plant products and also to mitigate unscrupulous exploitation of medicinal plants by local communities, since multiple use of plants represents an excellent strategy for sustaining the tropical ecosystem through ex situ and in situ conservation. Thus, conservation of tropical resources is possible in conjunction with improvements in the quality of life of the traditional communities and production of new products with therapeutic, cosmetic and ‘cosmeceutic’ value.


1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
J. Barker ◽  
D. Lunney ◽  
T. Bubela

Mammal surveys were carried out on the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range in north-east New South Wales between March 1988 and November 1989. The emphasis was placed on rainforest mammals, following the recognition by Adam ( 1987) that the species lists of mammals in the state's rainforests were incomplete and that more research was needed. The mammals were surveyed primarily by analysis of prey remains in Dog and Fox scats, collected from roads throughout the forests, and from bat trapping. The bat fauna at both the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range is rich (1 0 species and nine species respectively, including the rare Golden-tipped Bat, Kerivoula papuensis, in the Richmond Range). Scat analysis revealed the presence of 24 native species on the Carrai Plateau, and on the Richmond Range there were 17 species, including high numbers of two pademelon species. Feral prey species are almost completely absent, although the Fox is an established predator in both areas. A sharp division was identified between the mammal faunas of closed and open forests. Differences were found also between the mammal fauna composition of the two rainforest sites, and with those of nearby eucalypt forests. The mammal fauna of New South Wales rainforests is distinct from open forests and future mammal surveys are needed to ensure an adequate level of knowledge to identify and conserve these areas.


Koedoe ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
R.F. Terblanche ◽  
H. Van Hamburg

The relevance and integration of scientific knowledge to conservation management of the locally popular and highly endemic butterfly genus Chrysoritis are investigated within the research fields of taxonomy and biogeography. The butterfly genus Chrysoritis contains at least 41 species endemic to South Africa. The taxonomy of Chrysoritis has reached a state where revisions could easily result in a plethora of names between “lumping and splitting”. In practice, the state of the taxonomy of these butterflies on species level may alter their conservation priority. The two most species rich species groups in Chrysoritis have different centres of endemism, however, a butterfly atlas becomes a necessity to reveal more about their biogeography. There is an absence of butterfly species lists in many of our National Parks and Nature Reserves. Legislation should facilitate rather than limit the valuable role of the amateur lepidopterist to add distribution records. In turn, the amateur lepidopterists should adapt and make an effort to explore unknown localities, apart from monitoring butterflies at their well-known localities. The red listing of localised butterflies in South Africa, including a number of Chrysoritis species, is in need of an urgent review in the light of the most recent IUCN categories. A species such as Chrysoritis dicksoni should be protected by law - but at its known localities. The scenario that real conservation action is only needed if the last known locality of a butterfly is threatened, should be abolished. A paradigm shift to conserve the metapopulations of the highly endemic Chrysoritis genus and not merely a few of its species as items that appear on lists, seems necessary.


2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Augusto Leitão Drummond ◽  
José Luiz De Andrade Franco ◽  
Daniela De Oliveira

This is a second overview of the Brazilian conservation unit system for mid-2010. It updates author et al, 2009. It examines six dimensions of federal and state protected areas – age, numbers, types of units, absolute and average sizes, distribution by states and biomes, and degree of compliance with CBD-inspired goals. Major findings: (i) the system maintained a rapid growth rate; (ii) national parks and national forests are the most prominent units; (iii) distribution of units by region and biome remains unbalanced; (iv) state units grew remarkably over the last five years; (v) state units are biased towards sustainable use; (vi) sustainable use units grew more than fully protected units; (vii) Amazonia remains the most extensively protected biome; and (viii) quantitative goals of biome protection are closer to being reached. In 2010 Brazil held the fourth position globally in protected areas; it created the largest number of units between 2000 and 2010; it has the largest combined area of protected tropical formations. However, several regions and biomes remain under protected. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 940 (1) ◽  
pp. 012065
Author(s):  
N S Lestari ◽  
G K Sari ◽  
Kusmayanti ◽  
W V Ponekke ◽  
F Saputra ◽  
...  

Abstract As a conservation area, national parks play essential roles in environmental services provision and have the potential to support the REDD+ program. This study aims to estimate appropriate incentives for national parks based on carbon units by integrating the economic value of environmental services and carbon stock provided by the lowland dry forest ecosystem in Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park (BNWNP) consisted of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo areas. Carbon stock was estimated by establishing sample plots, including five carbon pools. While the economic valuation of environmental services includes biodiversity using the market approach, ecotourism using the zonal travel cost method, and water service using simulation water regulation services method and market approach. The total ecosystem carbon stock in BNWNP is estimated at 73.67 Mton. Meanwhile, the estimation of the economic value of environmental services is about IDR 70.57 trillion. Based on these results, the appropriate carbon values are IDR 683,308 and IDR 1,304,238 per ton carbon for the lowland dry forest ecosystem in Gorontalo and North Sulawesi areas. This result indicates that given its essential environmental services, the incentive for protecting national parks may exceed the carbon value used in result-based payment scheme in REDD+ initiatives that have been implemented.


Author(s):  
Joanne C. Burgess

Biological diversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, in all its forms and interactions. Biological diversity, or biodiversity for short, is being lost at an unprecedented rate. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species estimates that 25% of mammals, 41% of amphibians, 33% of reef building corals, and 13% of birds are threatened with extinction. These biodiversity benefits are being lost due to conversion of natural habitat, overharvesting, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. The loss of biodiversity is important because it provides many critical resources, services, and ecosystem functions, such as foods, medicines, clean air, and storm protection. Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse pose a major risk to human societies and economic welfare. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was established in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio “Earth Summit”) and enacted in 1993. The international treaty aims to conserve biodiversity and ensure the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. The CBD has near universal global participation with 196 parties signatory to the treaty. The non-legally binding commitments established in 2010 by the CBD are known as the Aichi Targets. They include the goal of conserving at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water habitats and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Biodiversity continues to decline at an unprecedented rate and the world faces “biological annihilation” and a sixth mass extinction event. There are several underlying causes of the continuing loss of biodiversity that need to be addressed. First, the CBD Aichi Targets are not ambitious enough and should be extended to protect as much as 50% of the terrestrial realm for biodiversity. Second, it is difficult to place an economic value on the range of direct, indirect, and nonuse values of biodiversity. The failure to take into account the full economic value of biodiversity in prices, projects, and policy decisions means that biodiversity is often misused and overused. Third, biodiversity is a global public good and displays nonrival and nonexcludable characteristics. Because of this, it is difficult to raise sufficient funds for conservation and to channel these funds to cover local conservation costs. In particular, much of the world’s biodiversity is located in (mainly tropical) developing countries, and they do not have the incentive or the funds to spend the money to “save” enough biodiversity on behalf of the rest of the world. The funding for global biodiversity conservation is $4–$10 billion annually, whereas around $100 billion a year is needed to protect the Earth’s broad range of animal and plant species. This funding gap undermines CBD’s conservation efforts. Governments and international organizations have been unable to raise the investments needed to reverse the decline in biological populations and habitats on land and in oceans. There is an important role for private-sector involvement in the CBD to endorse efforts for more sustainable use of biodiversity and to contribute funds to finance conservation and habitat protection efforts.


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