A Million Ponds by 2059

Yesterday evening, the BES Science Policy Team attended the launch of the Million Ponds Project. The ambitious project is a national initiative to reverse the long-term decline in ponds; from around a million 100 years ago, to 500,000 now. Of those that remain, only 8% are thought to be in good condition.

Launching the project last night, Alan Titchmarsh focused on the need for the conservation community to communicate with the public over not only the importance of ponds for wildlife, but also the joy to be had from engaging with nature. Well set-up and maintained ponds provide a fantastic habitat for freshwater organisms but also provide a unique area where children can learn about the natural environment.

Pond Conservation, a national charity dedicated to creating and protecting ponds, and other freshwaters, and the wildlife they support, is co-ordinating the project. Other organisations who are taking part, digging the ponds and providing advisors to assist those wishing to establish ponds on their land, are: Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England, Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission and many others. In total, 11 major partners are involved. The Ministry of Justice and Defence Estates are key partners, wishing to establish ponds in prison grounds and on firing ranges.

Over the first five-years of the project, which is to run for 50 years in total, Pond Conservation hope to facilitate the establishment of 5,000 ponds, at a cost of £3million. Establishing and maintaining ponds is key for the survival of freshwater species: the IUCN has warned that freshwater biodiversity is extremely threatened, and there are more threatened species in ponds in Britain than in lakes or rivers.

EASAC Launch Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) yesterday launched a report on 'Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity in Europe'. The EASAC working group behind the report was led by Professor Alastair Fitter, University of York, a past-President of the BES.

The report provides a review of the state of ecosystem services in Europe, and examines what is known regarding the contribution which biodiversity makes to maintaining ecosystem services.

As urbanisation and intensification of agriculture compromise the environment and lead to declines in biodiversity, so too will the ability of ecosystems to provide the essential services on which we depend be threatened. As an example, soil biodiversity provides a key role in nutrient cycling, essential to maintain high-levels of productivity in agriculture. As fertilisers are likely to become more costly in future, whilst food prices are set to increase, maintaining the integrity of soil ecosystems in Europe will be vital to deliver the produce needed by a growing population, increasingly unable to afford the high cost of imported food.

One of the key messages of the report is that although European ecosystems can deliver a range of services, managing land to primarily deliver one service will reduce its capacity to deliver others. EASAC recommends that European governments introduce a new Directive, encouraging the active management of land for a range of ecosystem services; putting in place legislation to ensure that management is systematic and to standards uniform across Europe.

A copy of the report can be accessed here: http://www.easac.org/document.asp?id=90&pageno=1&detail=1&parent=31.

IUCN Consider Successor to Biodiversity 2010 Target

The BES Policy Team yesterday attended an international conference in Brussels, to explore the successor to the target to 'halt biodiversity loss by 2010'. Organised by Countdown 2010, the meeting brought together representatives from the European Parliament, NGOs, learned societies, European agencies and academics to consider whether the 2010 target would be reached, including how to build on successes and mitigate potential failures in policy.

Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment, was frank in acknowledging that the target would not be met. However, speakers and participants recognised that the existence of a target has spurred on the development of policy, and led to actions which would not otherwise have occurred. Developing a successor to the target was therefore acknowledged as a vital next step.

The 2010 biodiversity target 'had teeth'; this was the prevailing view of the audience. The Birds and Habitats Directives had provided core, useful components to allow member states to take steps towards addressing biodiversity loss. The Natura 2000 network should also be recognised as taking steps towards success. However, there was general recognition that more needed to be done, and that a successor to the target should be far broader.

Gathered from discussion during the day, participants were broadly calling for the target to possess the following, post-2010:

• a broader focus, incorporating ecosystem services and encouraging an ecosystem-wide approach to biodiversity conservation.
• to include sub-targets to assess progress on the way to achieving the overall goal by 2020 or 2025.
• to take into account the unique conservation needs, incredible biodiversity, and incredible challenges, faced by the Overseas Territories.
• a recognition that EU-wide policy is important, but that implementation should be sensitive to local needs and conditions.

To make any target a success, broad societal change would be necessary, not least the shift to a 'Green New Deal'; a change to the economic and policy framework underlying society, a re-think of GDP and the development of an economic successor to this tool which measures natural capital. Integration of land-use for multiple needs will be absolutely vital. Education of the public, raising the profile of biodiversity to public consciousness in the same way as climate change over recent years, will also be integral to success. Perhaps to facilitate this there should be a change in terminology. Is 'biodiversity' too sterile, too devoid of any 'spiritual significance' - is it too 'scientific'. Do we need to shift to present the target as 'halting declines in life on earth'?

Ladislav Miko, Director of 'Protecting the Natural Environment' at DG Environment, stressed that although the European Commission had its own ideas about the successor to the 2010 target, the target would be developed through stakeholder engagement. He called on NGOs, individual ecologists, economists and others, to participate in the development of the target over the coming months. It was hoped that a successor to the target could be introduced in the first half of 2010.

The BES is working with the IEEM to deliver a reception in the UK parliament in October 2009, exploring the 2010 biodiversity target, and successor, from a UK perspective. If you would like more information, please contact Policy@BritishEcologicalSociety.org.

Biological Control of Plant Parasitic Nematodes

Plant parasitic nematodes are a leading biotic cause of yield loss in crops, costing world agriculture an estimated US $125 billion annually. These small (0.25-3mm), unsegmented worms can affect crops in a variety of ways: altering normal root cell division, modifying plant cells for nutrient transfer, transmitting viruses and creating wounds that permit the entrance of other plant pathogens. Yet despite their enormous impact on important crop plants through-out the world, there are no effective, environmentally safe management strategies to treat or prevent plants from nematode infection. However, recent results from the EU-funded EcoTrain Project indicate that natural forms of control could provide a long-term solution to the problem.

Current nematode management strategies are largely dependent upon highly toxic pesticides (nematicides), which are harmful to the physical environment and reduce soil biodiversity by eliminating a variety non-target species.

By investigating the regulation of plant parasitic nematodes in the wild, scientists found that naturally occurring soil-dwelling predators could effectively control various nematode species.

The scientists took various micro-organisms, non-parasitic nematodes and microarthropods (such as mites) from the soil in a coastal dune grass (Ammophila arenaria) system, and examined the effect of different combinations on eight different species of parasitic nematode. Their results indicated that the most effective and sustainable method of biological control could be to treat crops with nematode suppressing soils, which contain a variety of soil-dwelling organisms found in wild plant populations. Their results also suggest that ‘conserving soil biodiversity is crucial in order to enhance the reliability of biological crop protection against soil-borne pests and diseases’.

These findings will undoubtedly be followed up with further investigations and more extensive field experiments. Especially in light of the European Parliaments approval of the Plant Protection Products regulation, which aims to phase out many chemical pesticides in Europe and promote of safer alternatives.

However, as parasitologist Tom Powers pointed out in 1992, the difficulty with this method of control appears to be the ability to transform it ‘into management system that can be manipulated by the growers’. After over 50 years of research, there are still no biological controls that are routinely used against plant parasitic nematodes.

Original Article: Piskiewicz, A.M., Duyts, H., van der Putten, W.H. (2008). Multiple species-specific controls of root-feeding nematodes in natural soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 40: 2729-2735.

The EcoTrain Project is funded by the EU's Research Training Network (RTN) Program.

Additional information:
Tom Powers (1992) Biological control of plant parasitic nematodes: Progress, problems and prospects: by G.R. Stirling, CAB International, 1991. Parasitology Today. 8: 320

European Parliament Plant Protection Products Regulations

Efforts to Support Biodiversity Best Focused on Less Intensive Systems

The authors of a new EU-funded study into the biodiversity of intensive and extensively managed farmland systems have recommended that efforts to conserve biodiversity be focused on less intensively managed systems.

Researchers compared the richness of plant species with levels of Nitrogen input on 130 grasslands and 141 arable fields across six European countries, including the UK. Intensively and extensively managed sites were assessed and the number of different plant species in each plot counted. 'Rare' species were defined as those with less than 1% cover in a study area.

The study found a link between increased Nitrogen inputs and a decrease in species richness, along with a link between the richness of plant species and the richness of invertebrates in the fields. The rare species of plant were shown to be the most vulnerable to increasing land-use intensity and were the most likely to disappear following fertilisation of the fields with Nitrogen.

The researchers found that the decline in species richness with an increase in Nitrogen application was sharper on the extensively managed plots, suggesting that species in these areas are more sensitive to land-use change. This suggests both that efforts to manage such areas sensitively can reap rewards for biodiversity, and also that restoration of biodiversity to intensively managed land will require an enhanced level of effort: lower sensitivity to change will mean that greater change will be needed to get the desired result.

The rate of extinction of species in intensively farmed land is 100 - 1000 times greater than the base rate, and is predicted to increase further in the future. The researchers suggest that the difficulty of restoring biodiversity on intensively managed land following such losses, along with the sensitivity of extensively managed land, means that efforts to preserve biodiversity could best be focused on extensively managed systems.

Original article: EU Science for Environment Policy, 15 January 2009
Research Source: Evaluating Current European Agri-environment Schemes to Quantify and Improve Nature Conservation Efforts in Agricultural Landscapes (EASY) (supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme).

Better Habitat Networks in Europe Will Benefit People and Wildlife

Conservationists and policy makers are conscious that many species ranges' may shift because of climate change, in fact many species have already begun to do so, (although this wasn't detected convincingly in the recent Countryside Survey Report for the UK).

Recent research published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology investigated the extent to which the Natura 2000 network is capable of supporting European species in the face of climate change.

The investigators analysed how well connected forest, wetland and grassland ecosystems are across NW Europe now, and how they might become as a result of climate change. They also looked at the extent to which habitat networks will be able to facilitate species' movement under a specific climate change model.

The findings suggest that protected areas currently suitable for many species, will no longer be able to support these species in the future. The available habitat for different species in the future will vary, for example available habitat for the black woodpecker Dryocopus martius, marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris and meadow pipit Anthus pratensis is expected to be around 70%, whereas the agile frog Rana dalmatina and bittern Botaurus stellaris only 6-8%. Considerable range shifts were also predicted, for example the middle spotted woodpecker Dendrocopus medius is anticipated to become more abundant in Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark, as habitat becomes less suitable in France.

The authors emphasise the need to strengthen connectivity between ecosystem networks on a large spatial scale. Given the uncertainty surrounding the frequency of extreme weather events, how representative the study species are and the impact of curbing emissions on climate change, the precautionary principle should be applied.

Thus European policy should aim to broadly meet the needs of as many species as possible by increasing connectivity, whilst considering ecosystem services such as water regulation and carbon fixation. For example increasing wetlands across Europe will offer ecosystem services in terms of winter flood and summer drought alleviation, whilst providing increased connectivity for wetland species such as the bittern.

The research highlights the need to consider wildlife conservation in the context of future climate and habitat change. Presently BRANCH (Biodiversity Requires Adaptation in North Western Europe under a Changing Climate) are helping to fill the policy gaps, by pushing for the integration of planning with biodiversity needs.

The journal article is available for purchase from Wiley Interscience.

Read more about Natura 2000 here.

Source: Vos, C.C., Berry, P., Opdam, P. Baveco, H., Nijhof, B., O'Hanley, J., Bell, C., and Kuipers, H. (2008). Adapting landscapes to climate change: examples of climate-proof ecosystem networks and priority adaption zones. Journal of Applied Ecology. 45: 1722-1731.

Hilary Benn Launches Countryside Survey: Initial Results

Yesterday saw the launch of the initial results of the 2007 Countryside Survey, with a series of presentations and workshops in London. Opening the event, Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, praised the dedication of the ecologists and others behind the work and commented on the 'fundamental' importance of the report to Government. He also used the occasion as an opportunity to launch a new fund of over £1 million to improve the recording of wildlife in England. This money will be available from 2009 and will be channelled through the biological recording centres.

The results released yesterday signal just the start of the reporting period of the Survey, with further reports to be released in 2009 (reports for Wales, Scotland and England; raw data from the 500 study sites examined in the survey; land cover map; detailed analysis of soils and freshwater). 2010 will see the publication of an integrated assessment, bringing all these parameters together and examining the ecological impacts of different pressures on ecosystem services.

Some headline results from the Survey, in addition to those highlighted in yesterday's Blog post, include:

- Species richness in all random plots examined by the survey has declined since 1978.
- There has been a decline too in the species richness of areas adjacent to linear features, such as hedges, streams and roads, which provide refuges for species which cannot survive in intensively managed land.
- Areas targeted by the survey for their particular botanical interest have seen a worrying decline in species over the same period.
- There has been a 6% decrease in the total length of managed hedgerows since 1998. There has been a corresponding increase in the length of lines of trees and relict hedges, indicating a lack of hedge management.
- The number of ponds in Great Britain increased by 11% between 1998 and 2007, but over 80% of ponds in England and Wales were found to be in poor condition. Questions should be asked about the quality of the habitats provided by the new ponds.

Visit the website of the Countryside Survey at http://www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk/

Countryside Survey 2007: Results Available

The results of the 2007 Countryside Survey have been released this morning, with the report published electronically on the Survey website. The report will be launched formally later today with a series of presentations and discussions, begun with a keynote speech by the Secretary of State for the environment, Hilary Benn.

In commenting on the results of the survey to the Times, Dr Peter Carey, the report's lead author and a member of both the BES Council and Public and Policy Committee, said that; "The overriding message from the 2007 results is that previous intensive management of the countryside has relaxed over the past 30 years and particularly during the nine years since the last survey.”

A shift by farmers to less intensive management of their land, through set-aside schemes and the conversion of arable fields to grassland, has led to an increase in the abundance of brambles, nettles and hawthorn. This is good news for some bird and mammal species but less beneficial to low-lying plants which are crowded out by these weeds.

From 1998- 2007, the number of species of arable plant found on agricultural land increased by 30%, indicating farmers' increased tolerance for weeds on their land. Conservationists are concerned that the recent decision by the EU to scrap the set-aside scheme could remove the incentive for farmers to encourage the growth of such species.

The BES Science Policy Team will attend the launch of the Survey results and will post further information about this on the Blog in due course.

Pavan Sukhdev Gives Annual Darwin Initiative Lecture

Pavan Sukhdev, leader of the TEEB review (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity), yesterday delivered the 9th annual Darwin Initiative Lecture in London.

The central theme of Mr Sukhdev's presentation was the need for a 'new economics' to take into account measures of human progress traditionally excluded from nations' GDP figures. He gave the example of India, with newspaper headlines currently proclaiming 9% GDP growth, despite the global economic downturn. Mr Sukhdev challenged this figure: did this equate to a 9% increase in the quality of healthcare delivered for the population, for example? A quote from a leading economist, taken in 1968, stressed that "GDP is unfit for purpose"; Mr Sukhdev argued that nothing had changed in this respect.

The example of Yasuni National Park, Ecuador, ilustrated the possibilities offered by removing 'public goods' from the public domain and so avoiding the so-called 'Tragedy of the Commons'. Ecuador has pledged not to exploit the 20% of its proven oil field found within the national park, calculating a £1.6 billion opportunity cost for not doing so, and pricing the carbon it will have 'locked in' the oil field at £1.7 billion, based on the market rate for carbon. Ecuador is currently seeking investors under this REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) initiative. The investment will allow the country to spend on renewable technologies, shifting away from oil dependence, and be channelled into communities for an improvement in the population's quality of life.

Breakout groups followed the lecture, considering the next stages of the TEEB review. It was clear from discussion that, in order to mainstream valuation of ecosystem services and 'natural capital' into decision making, the results of the review must be considered not just by countries' environment ministries but by their treasuries, and by the World Bank. Over the next few months the TEEB team will be seeking input into their review, in the form of evidence, and further suggestions for influencing policy-makers.

For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/economics/

New Approach Needed to Conserving UK Biodiversity - EAC

The Environmental Audit Committee has today published its report into 'Halting UK Biodiversity Loss'. The Committee call for a new approach to address dramatic declines in biodiversity across England and in the UK's Overseas Territories (OTs).

The Committee find that the Government is on course to miss the key target to halt biodiversity loss by 2010, with many species and habitats facing severe declines and local extinctions across England. The Committee has particularly criticised the Government's policies with respect to the UK's OTs; it's failure to act in relation to previous recommendations of the Committee to protect the environment of the territories means that the biodiversity of these areas now faces its 'eleventh hour'.

The Committee call upon the Government to adopt an ecosystems approach to conservation, taking into account the implications of the policy of all Government Departments for the natural environment when making decisions and thinking beyond simply a 'protected area' approach to conservation. The Committee welcome the Government's decision to conduct an ecosystem assessment for England, but state that this should be just a first-step to a wider cross-departmental initiative.

Calling on the Government to take urgent action to protect the environment of the UK's Territories, Tim Yeo MP, Committee Chair, said: "One of the most important contributions the Government could make to slow the catastrophic global diversity loss currently occurring, would be to accept its environmental responsibility for our Overseas Territories." The Committee recommend that responsibility for the OTs is transferred from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to Defra.

See Full Report
Read the joint BES- Institute of Biology response to the consultation on 'Halting UK Biodiversity Loss'

Continuing Global Oil Demand Driving Biodiversity Loss in Western Amazonia

As existing oil supply reaches its peak and begins to dwindle, rather than investing in clean alternatives, oil companies are seeking to continue profiteering from remaining stocks that are locked up in remote, sensitive and fragile biomes such as the Amazon.

The western Amazon, (which includes Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and Columbia) is relatively untouched, yet plans have been hatched to open up the region to scout for and extract oil.

Close to 180 'blocks' that have been allocated by regional governments overlap with some of the most biologically diverse regions of Amazonia, not to mention some of the last few uncontacted tribes in the region. In Peru, 58 of the 64 blocks allocated to prospective oil companies have already been allocated to indigenous tribes.

As directly illustrated by the recent documentary led by Bruce Parry on the BBC, once roads have been carved through the forest, it can become cleared for at least 30km either side of the road. Spillover effects include increased levels of illegal bushmeat hunting, logging and human settlement.

However the human element cannot be taken out of the equation. Many involved in activities that lead to forest destruction directly or indirectly, do it out of financial necessity or survival. Positive engagement and incentivisation not to destroy and take at the local level is required, and this needs to begin at the government level. Research into the value of the ecosystem services provided by the forests suggests they are worth considerably more standing than cleared. However, without funds directed from the thriving 'carbon market' and invested in the forest, they will continue to be destroyed for local and commercial purposes.

The researchers in Finer et al's study outline the following policy initiatives to curb the social and ecological breakdown:

• roadless extraction methods to greatly reduce these impacts
• attention to be paid to the rights of indigenous peoples, especially those living in voluntary isolation who by definition cannot be consulted or give their consent
• clarification of who controls the land and its oil and gas resources as this would greatly influence the development of the region
• regional Strategic Environmental Assessments conducted by neutral parties to prevent habitat fragmentation and progressive damage across large areas of untouched forest
• support Ecuador's Yasuni-ITT proposal², which seeks compensation from the international community in exchange for leaving the country's largest oil fields, located beneath untouched rainforest, unexploited.

Sceptics believe that economising the forests could lead to rich countries being allocated funds for their remaining rainforest's as well. Priority really should be given to developing countries that house some of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. What is certain is unless real action is taken soon, there will be little left on the ground to conserve.

BES members and genuine blog readers are invited to comment



Source: Finer, M., Jenkins, C., Pimm, S., et al. (2008). Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon: Threats to Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples. PLoS One. 3(8): e2932 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002932.

At Least a Quarter of World's Mammals Face Extinction

This year's report by the IUCN suggests that in excess of 25% of the world's mammals could become extinct by the turn of the century. The number probably exceeds a quarter given that over 800 species status have not been assessed due to lack of data.

The findings were unveiled at this year's IUCN conference in Barcelona, attended by the British Ecological Society's executive director.

Jan Schipper, the director of the global mammals assessment said:

"We're looking at a 25% decline over the long term, yet for mammals there is no bail out plan. There is no long term conservation strategy that is going to prevent species extinction in the future. As human beings, we should be ensuring that we don't cause other species to go extinct."

Globally, the future is more bleak in some areas than others. The most biologically diverse regions in the world tend to be in the tropics, often where habitat destruction is rife. In south and south-east Asia 79 per cent of apes and monkeys face extinction.

Some of the most newly discovered species are among the most threatened, with 51 per cent of the 349 new species recorded in the last 16 years being classed as critically endangered.

Conservation effort has reversed the fortunes of some endangered species, through captive and in situ breeding and reintroduction programmes. Having suffered catastrophic population decline, the southern white rhino has recovered exceptionally well. With government will power and sufficient public interest and support, it is yet possible to halt many species declines and prevent extinctions occurring. It is imperative that efforts persist in combating climate change too, as this potentially is the biggest threat to species globally.

Urban Expansion Impedes Biodiversity Conservation

Often urban expansion occurs concomitantly with economic growth in developing countries, not to mention land use change including the conversion of forest to agricultural land. A new study in Landscape and Urban Planning suggests that expansion of Panama City and Colon, both of which are surrounded by richly biodiverse rainforests, could result in future biodiversity loss.

Increased urbanisation is anticipated in these cities after a planned expansion of the shipping canal, and it is likely that this will result in increased forest loss. This could be exacerbated by the rural population, 61 per cent of whom live below the poverty threshold, and presently have no alternative but to remove standing forest for agriculture and income purposes.

The researchers looked at potential socio-economic and biophysical correlates of biodiversity loss including population density and growth, road density and poverty levels, rainfall, forest age and land use. They found that population wealth was linked to conversion of land to urban areas, i.e. the more wealth the more conversion. The researchers also found that agriculture was expanding into mature forests.

The rainforests offer a wealth of ecosystem services including the provision of clean water, flood and landslide prevention through water capture not to mention the carbon storage and climate regulating influences. However if an ecosystem services approach is not applied to the forests appropriately, it is likely that, as affluence increases in the urban areas, the true value of the forests will be taken for granted. This could result in increased forest clearance for what is perceived as more valuable urban development projects.

The authors suggest that ecotourism and agroforestry could provide alternative less destructive economic opportunities. If alternatives are positively explored it could assist the rural population move above the poverty threshold without destroying the valuable forests which they, and we all depend upon.

Source: Rompré G, Robinson WD and Desrochers A (2008). Causes of habitat loss in a Neotropical landscape: The Panama Canal corridor. Landscape and Urban Planning. 87: 129-139.

Global Biodiversity Loss Estimated at 14 Trillion Euros

A new report commissioned by the European Commission - 'The Cost of Policy Inaction (COPI): The case of not meeting the 2010 biodiversity target' - indicates that biodiversity is set to continue declining. Key drivers of biodiversity loss include overexploitation, invasion of non-native species and conversion of natural habitat to agricultural landscapes.

It has long been known that ecosystems provide a wide range of goods and services to humankind, such as the provision of clean water, climate regulation, food and clothing, flood protection to mention but a few. Although these goods and services (Ecosystem Services (ES)) provided by biodiversity have been widely recognised, so far efforts to put a monetary value on these services has proved difficult at best.

The new report attempts to value ecosystem services in terms of the cost to the global economy of future biodiversity loss as a result of policy inaction. The study used a baseline valuation from 2000 to extrapolate ES loss to 2050, assuming predicted population growth takes place with the associated demand for energy and resources and that average global GDP increases 2.8% per annum with the highest growth in China and India.

The key findings of the study include:

• 50 billion Euros worth of biodiversity providing ecosystem services is being lost each year
• Land-based ecosystem loss is estimated at 545 billion Euros by 2010
• Annual loss in ecosystem services from biodiversity loss could exceed 14 trillion Euros by 2050

This study is part of a much larger research effort on a global scale: The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity. It is hoped this study will result in a much wider global awareness of the cost of losing biodiversity and associated ES to mankind in an economic context, and ultimately result in a 'valuation toolkit' that will provide environmental economists and policy-makers a standardised approach to ES valuation.


Download the report here:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/economics/pdf/copi.zip

Target agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. See: http://www.un.org/events/wssd/

BES members and blog readers are invited to comment on this article

Extinction Threat for Primates at Crisis Point

The IUCN has highlighted the plight of the world's primates in a comprehensive review of all 634 known species. The IUCN is the world's leading conservation body, funding, equipping and managing conservation scientists and projects, as well as leading on policy development internationally. The recent published review found that almost half of all primates face extinction unless urgent action is taken across the globe.

One of the greatest threats to primates is habitat loss, which is primarily caused by the burning and clearing of forests for global commercial gain. Habitat destruction is particularly a problem in South-East Asia, in part driven by the growing palm oil plantation industry. Hunting of primates for food is also a considerable threat, especially in Central Africa.

President of Conservation International and leading conservation scientist, Russell A. Mittermeier described the 'chilling indictment' of primates globally:

“We’ve raised concerns for years about primates being in peril, but now we have solid data to show the situation is far more severe than we imagined... ...tropical forest destruction has always been the main cause, but now it appears that hunting is just as serious a threat in some areas, even where the habitat is still quite intact. In many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction.”

Two of the 13 red colobus monkeys could already be extinct; Bouvier's red colobus and Miss Waldron's red colobus have not been seen by primatologists for 25 and 30 years respectively.

There is some good news however; increasing conservation efforts have had a positive effect on some primates. For example the black lion tamarin and the golden lion tamarin have been downlisted from critically endangered to endangered, after increased protection efforts and successful reintroduction programmes.

The BES would like to invite members and readers of the blog to comment on this topic.

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Seeks Written Evidence

Following an initial scoping study earlier this year, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) has now launched a formal call for evidence to its inquiry into 'Adapting the UK to Climate Change'.

The focus of the study is on whether the UK has the institutional capacity and arrangements necessary to adapt to changes in the natural environment brought about by climate change. The Commission is inviting evidence in response to a number of questions, accessible on the Commission's website, focused around:

• Biodiversity, nature conservation and protected area
• Sea-level and coastal zones
• Freshwater

Responses are required by 10 October 2008 at the latest.

For further information about the inquiry, contact Dr Jon Freeman at the RCEP.

To contribute to the BES's response to the inquiry, please contact the BES Science Policy Team as soon as possible.

POSTnote Published on Biodiversity Indicators: Assessing the 2010 Biodiversity Target

The UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has recently released its latest publication on the theme of Biodiversity Indicators. The article is published at a time when the European-led target of halting the loss of UK Biodiversity by 2010 is widely perceived to be failing. As confirmed by the BES's expert membership, in the BES Science Policy Team's official response to the environmental audit committee's enquiry.

The POSTnote examines the value of the biodiversity indicators identifying two key questions posed by an inquiry launched by the Environmental Audit Committee:

1. Are the indicators meaningful?
2. Are there enough data to assess progress and define targets?

1) The indicators have been good where knowledge has been available, in terms of their usefulness to policy-makers, whereas others have suffered as they more difficult to unravel in terms of biological meaningfulness.

2) For some groups, e.g. birds, there is more than enough biologically meaningful data to draw confident conclusions from about their status, whilst for other groups as found in the Red List Index, data are available for only a few species and even where found the resolution of the data is at too coarse a scale to make competent assessments. Many species are 'data deficient' making it almost impossible to assess their true status.

The BES offers the opportunity to third year PhD students to work in the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology on a relevant ecological topic. For further information go to: http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/articles/publicaffairs/POST/

Motorway Verges Benefit Biodiversity

New research published in Biological Conservation suggests that strips of land alongside motorways play an important role in maintaining plant and spider diversity within intensive agricultural landscapes.

The research was conducted along one 50km stretch of Motorway near Paris, collecting data from 25 individual sites. Where possible, sites with hedgerows were selected within 1.5km from sites without hedgerows.

The researchers found that hedgerows were positively associated with plant diversity - being twice as rich as the grass verges (without hedgerows). Spider diversity was closely associated with proximity to natural woodland, with little significant difference in diversity between hedgerows and grassland. Spider community structure differed between habitat types; hunting and ballooning spiders were found more often in open grassland, whereas web-building and 'non-ballooning' spiders were most common in hedges.

Future research may benefit from looking at strips on different motorways in comparable landscapes rather than replicating along the same stretch of motorway. However, this preliminary research is important in that it has shown that the means in which motorway verges are planted and managed can increase plant and insect diversity in different ways.

After construction of future motorways, some restoration can be achieved by creating a mosaic of hedges and grassland, providing spatial and temporal refugia for biodiversity as well as increased ecological connectivity.

Full reference: Le Viol, I., Julliard, R., Kerbiriou, C., et al. (2008). Plant and spider communities benefit differently from the presence of planted hedgerows in highway verges. Biological Conservation. 141(6): 1581-1590.

Biodiversity on Islands: IUCN Summit Begins

The IUCN, the world conservation union, has today produced a publication examining the challenges facing the 28 overseas entities of the European Union. The release of "Climate Change and Biodiversity in the EU Overseas Entities" coincides with the start of a five day conference on Reunion Island, where delegates will discuss strategies to counter climate change and biodiversity loss.

EU overseas entities (including the UK's overseas territories and crown dependencies) are, in the main, small tropical islands. Many depend on the integrity of their natural environment to provide employment in fishing, tourism or in the trade of natural products. Many are threatened by climate change and sea level rise, unsustainable development of infrastructure for recreation and leisure, unsustainable fishing practices and over exploitation of natural resources. These factors pose tremendous threats to the many endemic species which are found in these areas.

The BES is a member of the UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum (UKOTCF) which exists to promote the conservation of the species and habitats of the UK's Overseas Territories. It acts as a central point of liaison between NGOs and Government in the UK and in the Territories. The BES is present at the IUCN conference in Reunion as an observer.

View Live Webcast of IUCN Reunion Conference: 7 - 11 July 2008

Future Farming and its Impact on Biodiversity

Ths BES's Science Policy Team yesterday attended a fascinating conference at New Hall College, Cambridge, organised by the Cambridge Conservation Forum. "Future Farming in the UK: Global Implications for Society and Biodiversity" was an opportunity to discuss and debate the impacts which farming methods and models of the future could have on biodiversity, and how such models could be affected by climate change.

Presentations ranged from a discussion of the potential for miscanthus and short-rotation-coppice willow to meet our future bioenergy needs, to the future of the Common Agricultural Policy and the future impacts of UK agriculture to peoples internationally. We heard too from a farmer, Nicholas Watts of Vine House Farm, who discussed his shift to organic farming and measures on the farm to encourage biodiversity. A presentation from the BTO outlined the measures which farmers could adopt to encourage late-breeding in the turtle dove (leaving fields as whole or part stubble following the harvest) and skylarks (in-field undrilled patches to create suitable nest sites).

During the day, participants were given the opportunity to suggest possible solutions to problems of food security, climate change and consequent pressures on biodiversity. Delegates voted for the 'top' solution as; recognising that population growth is part of the problem. Increased investment in education for girls, along with greater access to birth control for women, must be part of the solution.

Professor Bill Sutherland (University of Cambridge), a co-organiser of the conference, concluded the meeting, stressing the importance of horizon-scanning to ensure that the science community is prepared, with the results of relevant scientific research, when challenges emerge. There are serious challenges ahead, and the science community has to think about how it will address these; conservationists should be part of the dialogue and part of the solution.

Access the 'top solutions' to the challenges, as voted for by delegates, plus presentations from the day, at the website of the Cambridge Conservation Forum.

Were you there? Share your thoughts on the conference with us by leaving a comment on the Blog