1. Terrestrial conservation opportunities and inequities revealed by global multi-scale prioritization
- Author
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Rinnan, D. Scott and Jetz, Walter
- Abstract
Area-based conservation through reserves or other measures is vital for preserving biodiversity and its functions for future generations 1–5 , but its effective implementation suffers from a lack of both management-level detail 6 and transparency around national responsibilities that might underpin cross-national support mechanisms 7 . Here we implement a conservation prioritization 2,8 framework that accounts for spatial data limitations yet offers actionable guidance at a 1km resolution. Our multi-scale linear optimization approach delineates globally the areas required to meet conservation targets for all ∼32,000 described terrestrial vertebrate species, while offering flexibility in decision management to meet different local conservation objectives. Roughly 48.5% of land is sufficient to meet conservation targets for all species, of which 60.2% is either already protected 9 or has minimal human modification 10 . However, human-modified areas need to be managed or restored in some form to ensure the long-term survival for over half of species. This burden of area-based conservation is distributed very unevenly among countries, and, without a process that explicitly addresses geopolitical inequity, requires disproportionately large commitments from poorer countries. Our analyses provide baseline information for a potential intergovernmental and stakeholder contribution mechanism in service of a globally shared goal of sustaining biodiversity. Future updates and extensions to this global priority map have the potential to guide local and national advocacy and actions with a data-driven approach to support global conservation outcomes.
- Published
- 2020
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