Protecting important sites for biodiversity contributes to meeting global conservation targets

Stuart H. M. Butchart; Jörn P.W. Scharlemann; Mike I. Evans; Suhel Quader; Salvatore Aricó; Julius Arinaitwe; Mark Balman; Leon A. Bennun; Bastian Bertzky; Charles Besancon; Timothy M. Boucher; Thomas M. Brooks; Ian J. Burfield; Neil David Burgess; Simba Chan; Rob P. Clay; Mike J. Crosby; Nicholas C. Davidson; Naamal De Silva; Christian Devenish; Guy C. L. Dutson; David F. Dia z Fernández; Lincoln D. C. Fishpool; Claire Fitzgerald; Matt Foster; Melanie F. Heath; Marc Hockings; Michael Hoffmann; David Knox; Frank W. Larsen; John F. Lamoreux; Colby Loucks; Ian May; James Millett; Dominic Molloy; Paul Morling; Mike Parr; Taylor H. Ricketts; Nathalie Seddon; Benjamin Skolnik; Simon N. Stuart; Amy Upgren; Stephen Woodley

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032529

Protecting important sites for biodiversity contributes to meeting global conservation targets

Stuart H. M. Butchart, Jörn P.W. Scharlemann, Mike I. Evans, Suhel Quader, Salvatore Aricó, Julius Arinaitwe, Mark Balman, Leon A. Bennun, Bastian Bertzky, Charles Besancon, Timothy M. Boucher, Thomas M. Brooks, Ian J. Burfield, Neil David Burgess, Simba Chan, Rob P. Clay, Mike J. Crosby, Nicholas C. Davidson, Naamal De Silva, Christian DevenishGuy C. L. Dutson, David F. Dia z Fernández, Lincoln D. C. Fishpool, Claire Fitzgerald, Matt Foster, Melanie F. Heath, Marc Hockings, Michael Hoffmann, David Knox, Frank W. Larsen, John F. Lamoreux, Colby Loucks, Ian May, James Millett, Dominic Molloy, Paul Morling, Mike Parr, Taylor H. Ricketts, Nathalie Seddon, Benjamin Skolnik, Simon N. Stuart, Amy Upgren, Stephen Woodley

Ecology and Evolution

161 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of conservation efforts and now cover nearly 13% of the world's land surface, with the world's governments committed to expand this to 17%. However, as biodiversity continues to decline, the effectiveness of PAs in reducing the extinction risk of species remains largely untested. We analyzed PA coverage and trends in species' extinction risk at globally significant sites for conserving birds (10,993 Important Bird Areas, IBAs) and highly threatened vertebrates and conifers (588 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, AZEs) (referred to collectively hereafter as 'important sites'). Species occurring in important sites with greater PA coverage experienced smaller increases in extinction risk over recent decades: the increase was half as large for bird species with&50% of the IBAs at which they occur completely covered by PAs, and a third lower for birds, mammals and amphibians restricted to protected AZEs (compared with unprotected or partially protected sites). Globally, half of the important sites for biodiversity conservation remain unprotected (49% of IBAs, 51% of AZEs). While PA coverage of important sites has increased over time, the proportion of PA area covering important sites, as opposed to less important land, has declined (by 0.45-1.14% annually since 1950 for IBAs and 0.79-1.49% annually for AZEs). Thus, while appropriately located PAs may slow the rate at which species are driven towards extinction, recent PA network expansion has under-represented important sites. We conclude that better targeted expansion of PA networks would help to improve biodiversity trends.

Original language	English
Journal	PLOS ONE
Volume	7
Issue number	3
Number of pages	8
ISSN	1932-6203
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032529
Publication status	Published - 26 Mar 2012

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Butchart, S. H. M., Scharlemann, J. P. W., Evans, M. I., Quader, S., Aricó, S., Arinaitwe, J., Balman, M., Bennun, L. A., Bertzky, B., Besancon, C., Boucher, T. M., Brooks, T. M., Burfield, I. J., Burgess, N. D., Chan, S., Clay, R. P., Crosby, M. J., Davidson, N. C., De Silva, N., ... Woodley, S. (2012). Protecting important sites for biodiversity contributes to meeting global conservation targets. PLOS ONE, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032529

Butchart, SHM, Scharlemann, JPW, Evans, MI, Quader, S, Aricó, S, Arinaitwe, J, Balman, M, Bennun, LA, Bertzky, B, Besancon, C, Boucher, TM, Brooks, TM, Burfield, IJ, Burgess, ND, Chan, S, Clay, RP, Crosby, MJ, Davidson, NC, De Silva, N, Devenish, C, Dutson, GCL, Fernández, DFDZ, Fishpool, LDC, Fitzgerald, C, Foster, M, Heath, MF, Hockings, M, Hoffmann, M, Knox, D, Larsen, FW, Lamoreux, JF, Loucks, C, May, I, Millett, J, Molloy, D, Morling, P, Parr, M, Ricketts, TH, Seddon, N, Skolnik, B, Stuart, SN, Upgren, A & Woodley, S 2012, 'Protecting important sites for biodiversity contributes to meeting global conservation targets', PLOS ONE, vol. 7, no. 3. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032529

@article{fd45297827a14a67af1d4b652dde273f,

title = "Protecting important sites for biodiversity contributes to meeting global conservation targets",

abstract = "Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of conservation efforts and now cover nearly 13% of the world's land surface, with the world's governments committed to expand this to 17%. However, as biodiversity continues to decline, the effectiveness of PAs in reducing the extinction risk of species remains largely untested. We analyzed PA coverage and trends in species' extinction risk at globally significant sites for conserving birds (10,993 Important Bird Areas, IBAs) and highly threatened vertebrates and conifers (588 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, AZEs) (referred to collectively hereafter as 'important sites'). Species occurring in important sites with greater PA coverage experienced smaller increases in extinction risk over recent decades: the increase was half as large for bird species with&50% of the IBAs at which they occur completely covered by PAs, and a third lower for birds, mammals and amphibians restricted to protected AZEs (compared with unprotected or partially protected sites). Globally, half of the important sites for biodiversity conservation remain unprotected (49% of IBAs, 51% of AZEs). While PA coverage of important sites has increased over time, the proportion of PA area covering important sites, as opposed to less important land, has declined (by 0.45-1.14% annually since 1950 for IBAs and 0.79-1.49% annually for AZEs). Thus, while appropriately located PAs may slow the rate at which species are driven towards extinction, recent PA network expansion has under-represented important sites. We conclude that better targeted expansion of PA networks would help to improve biodiversity trends.",

author = "Butchart, {Stuart H. M.} and Scharlemann, {J{\"o}rn P.W.} and Evans, {Mike I.} and Suhel Quader and Salvatore Aric{\'o} and Julius Arinaitwe and Mark Balman and Bennun, {Leon A.} and Bastian Bertzky and Charles Besancon and Boucher, {Timothy M.} and Brooks, {Thomas M.} and Burfield, {Ian J.} and Burgess, {Neil David} and Simba Chan and Clay, {Rob P.} and Crosby, {Mike J.} and Davidson, {Nicholas C.} and {De Silva}, Naamal and Christian Devenish and Dutson, {Guy C. L.} and Fern{\'a}ndez, {David F. Dia z} and Fishpool, {Lincoln D. C.} and Claire Fitzgerald and Matt Foster and Heath, {Melanie F.} and Marc Hockings and Michael Hoffmann and David Knox and Larsen, {Frank W.} and Lamoreux, {John F.} and Colby Loucks and Ian May and James Millett and Dominic Molloy and Paul Morling and Mike Parr and Ricketts, {Taylor H.} and Nathalie Seddon and Benjamin Skolnik and Stuart, {Simon N.} and Amy Upgren and Stephen Woodley",

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AU - Butchart, Stuart H. M.

AU - Scharlemann, Jörn P.W.

AU - Evans, Mike I.

AU - Quader, Suhel

AU - Aricó, Salvatore

AU - Arinaitwe, Julius

AU - Balman, Mark

AU - Bennun, Leon A.

AU - Bertzky, Bastian

AU - Besancon, Charles

AU - Boucher, Timothy M.

AU - Brooks, Thomas M.

AU - Burfield, Ian J.

AU - Burgess, Neil David

AU - Chan, Simba

AU - Clay, Rob P.

AU - Crosby, Mike J.

AU - Davidson, Nicholas C.

AU - De Silva, Naamal

AU - Devenish, Christian

AU - Dutson, Guy C. L.

AU - Fernández, David F. Dia z

AU - Fishpool, Lincoln D. C.

AU - Fitzgerald, Claire

AU - Foster, Matt

AU - Heath, Melanie F.

AU - Hockings, Marc

AU - Hoffmann, Michael

AU - Knox, David

AU - Larsen, Frank W.

AU - Lamoreux, John F.

AU - Loucks, Colby

AU - May, Ian

AU - Millett, James

AU - Molloy, Dominic

AU - Morling, Paul

AU - Parr, Mike

AU - Ricketts, Taylor H.

AU - Seddon, Nathalie

AU - Skolnik, Benjamin

AU - Stuart, Simon N.

AU - Upgren, Amy

AU - Woodley, Stephen

PY - 2012/3/26

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N2 - Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of conservation efforts and now cover nearly 13% of the world's land surface, with the world's governments committed to expand this to 17%. However, as biodiversity continues to decline, the effectiveness of PAs in reducing the extinction risk of species remains largely untested. We analyzed PA coverage and trends in species' extinction risk at globally significant sites for conserving birds (10,993 Important Bird Areas, IBAs) and highly threatened vertebrates and conifers (588 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, AZEs) (referred to collectively hereafter as 'important sites'). Species occurring in important sites with greater PA coverage experienced smaller increases in extinction risk over recent decades: the increase was half as large for bird species with&50% of the IBAs at which they occur completely covered by PAs, and a third lower for birds, mammals and amphibians restricted to protected AZEs (compared with unprotected or partially protected sites). Globally, half of the important sites for biodiversity conservation remain unprotected (49% of IBAs, 51% of AZEs). While PA coverage of important sites has increased over time, the proportion of PA area covering important sites, as opposed to less important land, has declined (by 0.45-1.14% annually since 1950 for IBAs and 0.79-1.49% annually for AZEs). Thus, while appropriately located PAs may slow the rate at which species are driven towards extinction, recent PA network expansion has under-represented important sites. We conclude that better targeted expansion of PA networks would help to improve biodiversity trends.

AB - Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of conservation efforts and now cover nearly 13% of the world's land surface, with the world's governments committed to expand this to 17%. However, as biodiversity continues to decline, the effectiveness of PAs in reducing the extinction risk of species remains largely untested. We analyzed PA coverage and trends in species' extinction risk at globally significant sites for conserving birds (10,993 Important Bird Areas, IBAs) and highly threatened vertebrates and conifers (588 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, AZEs) (referred to collectively hereafter as 'important sites'). Species occurring in important sites with greater PA coverage experienced smaller increases in extinction risk over recent decades: the increase was half as large for bird species with&50% of the IBAs at which they occur completely covered by PAs, and a third lower for birds, mammals and amphibians restricted to protected AZEs (compared with unprotected or partially protected sites). Globally, half of the important sites for biodiversity conservation remain unprotected (49% of IBAs, 51% of AZEs). While PA coverage of important sites has increased over time, the proportion of PA area covering important sites, as opposed to less important land, has declined (by 0.45-1.14% annually since 1950 for IBAs and 0.79-1.49% annually for AZEs). Thus, while appropriately located PAs may slow the rate at which species are driven towards extinction, recent PA network expansion has under-represented important sites. We conclude that better targeted expansion of PA networks would help to improve biodiversity trends.

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0032529

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0032529

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SN - 1932-6203

VL - 7

JO - PLoS Computational Biology

JF - PLoS Computational Biology

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ER -

Protecting important sites for biodiversity contributes to meeting global conservation targets

Abstract

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