What is it about?

With the upcoming launch of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, identi- fication of conservation targets is essential. Ecological conservation redlines reconcile the challenge of different types of priority by considering biodiversity, ecosystem services, and ecological sensitivity. We evaluate the representativeness of protected areas in Mainland Southeast Asia (M-SEA) and provide a three-tier implementation plan to meet global and regional targets for area-based conservation and maximizing benefit provision. Our results show that the workload faced by M-SEA countries varies, and that some countries have very few priorities protected. Our proposed goals of 16% for priorities for all three facets, 33% for dual benefits, and 51% to protect all priorities, could thus provide targets for the 2030 mission and 2050 vision. M-SEA could implement ECR under China’s Belt and Road initiative, to enable transnational co-construction of ecological protection and green infrastructural development.

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Why is it important?

The BRI provides the potential to better integrate infrastructure planning and conservation between M-SEA and China, and provides a good basis for economic cooperation. Through BRI-EECP, China proposes to deepen environmental cooperation in policy communication, facility linkage, and financial integration, which can be an important solution to rebalance the economic burden disparity between different regions. China can share its experience in ecological governance with other BRI developing countries and can also form an integrated planning of land use covering ecological goals by promoting eco-friendly engineering projects, which is both politically appealing (as a complement to existing efforts) and feasible based on regional, national, and UN standards. In our approach, we adapt China’s ECRs to provide a flexible framework to best protect regional biodiversity and ecological services by targeting areas with the greatest chance of providing co-benefits. Such targeting means that other income streams may be available to support implementation both through financial institutes and through climate-funding initiatives. Furthermore, given that these services relate to agricultural productivity and other key services, there is a clear national interest in maintaining these systems and services. The promotion of ECR in the M-SEA area shares the goal and vision of the CBD. Yet, given the manifold pressures on land, using integrated targets and relying on approaches of effective area-based conservation measures to promote the realization of global ecological goals may be more efficient than traditional indicators. Thus, our recommendations, in addition to providing a pathway forward for one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots, also provides a framework to enable spatial priorities to be developed elsewhere, both to enable sustainable development and to meet the challenges set forth in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Perspectives

Our study extends the existing standards for the development of ecological PAs to ERAs, and provides an operational scientific framework for ecological hotspot analysis and reserve delineation. Over the past decade, we have continued to see rapid rates of biodiversity loss across M-SEA, and with major infrastructural initiatives, such as the BRI, this is set to increase unless using the ECR approach pioneered by China. We showcase that such an approach can be scaled across regions and enable the protection of key benefits. Identifying key areas that protect both biodiversity and maintain key services that humans rely upon provides a fundable approach to ensure that key regions for biodiversity are prioritized, and given that resources are finite we present an approach that scales prioritization to maximize benefits across diverse indicators of diversity, sensitivity, and service provision. Furthermore, priorities identified here provide a stepwise framework that matches the goals of the CBD’s early drafts of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to maximize benefits achieved through the 2030 agenda and the 2050 vision. The post-2020 biodiversity framework provides the opportunity to better utilize data-driven approaches to develop practical targets for conservation. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to identify areas that provide the greatest co-benefits, and by using these priorities in a stepwise manner to meet each stage of the present, 2030, and 2050 visions, we can achieve the greatest gains for conservation and service provision, which could then also be eligible to other sources of funds, such as climate change funding to implement both more effectively. Countries, such as Myanmar, have a particularly long way to go to protect key areas highlighted here, yet by maintaining these services through the implementation of ECRs such economies can develop sustainably and prevent the loss of key services derived through natural resources. While most remaining forests are key targets, we also highlight that some countries have a much greater task ahead of them if they are to secure and protect key areas, and consequently in allocating funding and effort such countries may require more support to maintain these areas and the vital services they provide.

Dr. Zhou Fang

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Ecological redlines provide a mechanism to maximize conservation gains in Mainland Southeast Asia, One Earth, October 2021, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.09.010.
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