Land and Marine Conservation Lecture Slides PDF

Land and Marine Conservation Flurina Wartmann What comes to mind when you think of ‘conservation’? Panda bears? Rhinocerus? Landscapes? The teaching team  What do we mean by conservation? Land and marine conservation What does this course cover?  Oxford Diction...

Land and Marine Conservation Flurina Wartmann What comes to mind when you think of ‘conservation’? Panda bears? Rhinocerus? Landscapes? The teaching team  What do we mean by conservation? Land and marine conservation What does this course cover?  Oxford Dictionary definition: The conservation of wildlife, biodiversity, and natural ecosystems, by regulating the human use of ecosystems and natural resources and promoting sustainable development.  What The what of conservation – An understanding of the theoretical and conceptual dimensions underpinning conservation. are we The why (or the why not) of conservation – An understanding and appreciation of historic and contemporary developments covering The how of conservation – An understanding of the various approaches and strategies for land and marine conservation, particularly those of the state vs market-driven approaches in this The who of conservation – An understanding of the various actors and institutions (stakeholders) course? The where of conservation – An understanding of the significance of geographical space and its implications for conservation The efficacy of conservation – A critical appreciation of competing approaches to conservation.  Builds on: From Wilderness to World Heritage: the history and legacy of nature conservation and protected areas Marine protected areas: ecological and social perspectives/ introducing assignment 1 Stakeholders in Conservation Marine Spatial Planning and Conservation Ecosystem Services – can we put a price on nature? / Assignment 1 - Newspaper article surgery NGOs and marine conservation Rewilding: wild lands, wild animals – and what about people? Political ecology approaches to conservation Decolonising conservation: indigenous approaches to land and marine management and co-management Conservation in the city: social justice-centred urban biodiversity conservation Notes on assignments  Course assignments 40% weighting: assignment 1 to write a ‘Newspaper article’ learning how we communicate conservation issues using text and images (deadline tentatively 15th of November 2024 – pending checks for deadline clashes for Geography students) *new extension policy applies: see MyAberdeen → this builds on the assignment of ‘Representations of Nature’ in GG2509 where some of you experienced analysing texts and images about nature, now we ask you to create your own newspaper article 60% weighting: an in-person end-of-course exam (date to be announced by Timetabling) on all lecture content, including mandatory readings NO EXTENSION (apply for resit)  Course level: Understanding social science aspects of nature and landscape How does this conservation relate to you Study level: Understanding socially constructed concepts such as nature and and your how they shape conservation, species and natural resource management more studies? generally / lead to a dissertation topic Personal level: you might want to pursue a career in conservation, policy or government What are Is nature conservation (still) needed today? The biodiversity crisis and ways to address it we going to cover Why did nature conservation come into being? How did national parks originate? Why is this still important today? today? The history of nature conservation and its legacy  You can explain the biodiversity crisis and its drivers Intended You can describe the history of the conservation movement and related policies at the global level Learning Outcomes You can critically discuss the challenges and opportunities of national parks as a form of place-based conservation  Short for biological diversity What is Recognised at different levels – Genetic diversity biodiversity – Species diversity – Ecosystem diversity  Hotspots of land and marine biodiversity How many species do you think there are in Scotland?  Approximately 90,000 animal, plant Species and microbe species diversity in – Over 60 mammal species Scotland – Around 500 bird species – Around 2000 flowering plant species https://www.ipbes.net/global-assessment  “Overall there has been no reduction in the net loss of nature in Scotland.” https://www.nature.scot/state-nature-scotland-report-2019  “The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on Earth. Over 40% of UK species are in decline, more than 40 million birds have been lost from our skies over the past 50 years and a quarter of UK mammals are threatened with https://jncc.gov.uk/our-role/the-uk/nature-positive-2030/ extinction. Should we protect nature – what do you think? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/30/most-uk-adults-think-nature-is-in-urgent-need-of-protection-poll Benefits to people Connection to Nature Moral duty Resilience to climate change …?  Good indicator species for overall health of ecosystems Status of Easily observed, long tradition of birdwatching and bird count data birds People care more about birds than e.g. insects Scottish Breeding Bird Indicator https://www.bto.org/community/news/201911-scottish-breeding-bird-indicator-updated Does this look bad? Phenomenon of shifting baselines The ‘windshield phenomenon’ We are here → X https://jncc.gov.uk/our-role/the-uk/nature-positive-2030/ How did we get here? And what are we doing about it?  Changing land-use practices resulting in habitat loss Reasons for bird decline Use of pesticides affecting prey species Is it just bird species declining?  Habitat loss 75% of terrestrial environments and 66% of marine environments have been altered by human activities (IPBES, 2019) → the alteration itself is not the problem – many habitats have been carefully managed by groups of people for century or even millennia → The problem is HOW these habitats have been altered  Highly mechanised farming practices and use of pesticides https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/the-end-of-farming-rewilding-intensive-agriculture-food-safety Loss of small-scale landscape features and diversity of land-uses on farms  Overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the extinction of a species, as it might be unable to recover. → Many examples in the marine environment that are as much a biological and ecological problem as well as a social one  Urban green spaces and some private gardens are often little more than “green” – Aesthetic they are biodiversity deserts preferences Why? Because people maintain them to look and social ‘tidy’ to signal societal conventions of what a ‘good’ person’s garden should look like conventions Pollution Invasive species Climate change The 5 Mass extinctions  Hedgehog numbers have halved An example- since 2000 (Matthews et al. 2018) the decline of Number of factors: changing the hedgehog landscapes, farming practices and private garden design  Extinctions * background rate of 2 mammal extinctions per 10,000 species per 100 years https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1400253  Extinction rates Over the last 100 years we lost as many species as over 800 to 10,000 years with a conservative ‘background extinction rate’ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/18/losing-species-shocking-rates-why-conservation-failing  We take this as the entry point for this course and ask – how has conservation worked so far? How has it not worked? What are modern approaches? After the break – the start of the conservation movement Yellowstone – the birthplace of the Western conservation movement  John Muir (born in Dunbar, East Lothian 1838) Parents migrated to Wisconsin, US when he was a young boy John Avid walker (e.g. from Kentucky to Florida) and traveller, describing his adventures in nature Muir Witnessed environmental destruction first-hand, including during the Alaskan gold rush Lived in Yosemite and became an advocate for the preservation of the area Environmental destruction during gold rush  Muir wanted for the Yosemite area to be John preserved for its intrinsic values Muir Largely due to his efforts and lobbying the park has the current boundaries (in 1903 he camped with Theodore Roosevelt in Yosemite)  Yellowstone National Park was the first area Yosemite designated as a national park – and white settler aesthetics were among the main reasons, linked to a National Park perceived ethical duty to ‘care’ for what is ‘beautiful’ (Hargrove 1979) – even though indigenous groups had – created 1872 already been instrumental in making the landscapes what they were, they were displaced when the National Park was created  National parks Following the perceived success of Yellowstone, national parks were established in countries around the world (e.g., Banff National Park in Canada, Kruger National Park in South Africa). National parks were seen as spaces where human impact was minimized, preserving landscapes and species  IUCN The creation of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in 1948 led to the global classification and expansion of protected areas. 74 Starnes et al. 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01745 75  Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland ‘designated exceptional landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are precious enough to be safeguarded in the national interest’ (Landscapes for Life, 2023) 76  Purpose: identify areas of exceptional scenery and protect them from inappropriate development Scotland’s 40 National Scenic Areas cover 13% of the land National NSAs were first established in 1980, under planning legislation, Scenic by order of the Secretary of State. Areas in In 2010, NSAs were designated under new legislation. Part 10 of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2006 gave NSAs a statutory basis Scotland National Scenic Areas are broadly equivalent to the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty / National Landscapes found in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Areas considered ‘beautiful’ and ascribed high aesthetic value are not necessarily of high ecological importance or integrity (Example: Quaraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland) 78 Areas not considered ‘beautiful’ but ecologically important are argued to have been more likely to have remained unprotected (Carlson & Lintott 2008) 79 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/22/scottish-government-selects-galloway-as-preferred-site-for-new- national-park  The CBD was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It represents the first comprehensive international Convention agreement aimed at the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable on Biological sharing of the benefits arising from genetic resources. Diversity Key Objectives: (CBD) – 1992 Conservation of biodiversity. Sustainable use of resources. Fair and equitable benefit sharing.  The Nagoya Protocol - 2010 Background: Adopted as a supplementary agreement to the CBD at the CBD COP10 meeting in Nagoya, Japan, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) aims to ensure that genetic resources are accessed fairly and that the benefits arising from their use are shared equitably. Importance: The Nagoya Protocol emphasizes the fair use of biological resources, especially when it comes to the interests of indigenous communities and developing nations. It was also part of a broader package adopted in Nagoya, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets (that were not met). https://www.cbd.int/abs/default.shtml COP15 and Adoption of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework: The second part of COP15 (held in Montreal, December 2022), was critical in finalizing and adopting the Global the 2030 Biodiversity Framework for 2020–2030. The framework includes a set of 22 targets to be achieved by 2030. Biodiversity Key 2030 Targets: Targets o 30x30 target: Protect and conserve at least 30% of Earth’s land and marine areas by 2030. o Reduction of Pollution: Halve the excess nutrients released into the environment and reduce plastic pollution by 50%. o Restoration: Restore at least 30% of degraded ecosystems. o Sustainable Production and Consumption: Ensure that biodiversity considerations are integrated into agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors. o Financing for Biodiversity: Mobilize at least $200 billion per year from public and private sources for biodiversity-related projects. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/19/cop15-historic- deal-signed-to-halt-biodiversity-loss-by-2030-aoe https://www.cbd.int/gbf https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/28/exiles-human-cost-of-conservation-indigenous-peoples-eco-tourism https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/21/are-debt-for-nature-swaps-way-forward-for-conservation-aoe Mandatory West, P., Igoe, J., & Brockington, D. (2006). Parks and peoples: the social impact of protected areas. Annual reading Review of Anthropology, 35(1), 251–277. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.35.081705.123308