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Tropical agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity loss, yet it can provide conservation opportunities, especially where protected areas are inadequate. To investigate the long-term biodiversity capacity of agricultural countryside, we quantified bird population trends in Costa Rica by mist netting 57,255 birds of 265 species between 1999 and 2010 in sun coffee plantations, riparian corridors, secondary forests, forest fragments, and primary forest reserves. More bird populations (69) were declining than were stable (39) or increasing (4). Declines were common in resident, insectivorous, and more specialized species. There was no relationship between the species richness of a habitat and its conservation value. High-value forest bird communities were characterized by their distinct species composition and habitat and dietary functional signatures. While 49% of bird species preferred forest to coffee, 39% preferred coffee to forest and 12% used both habitats, indicating that coffee plantations have some conservation value. Coffee plantations, although lacking most of the forest specialists, hosted 185 bird species, had the highest capture rates, and supported increasing numbers of some forest species. Coffee plantations with higher tree cover (7% vs. 13%) had more species with increasing capture rates, twice as many forest specialists, and half as many nonforest species. Costa Rican countryside habitats, especially those with greater tree cover, host many bird species and are critical for connecting bird populations in forest remnants. Diversified agricultural landscapes can enhance the biodiversity capacity of tropical countryside, but, for the long-term persistence of all forest bird species, large (>1,000 ha) protected areas are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inadequate funding from developed countries has hampered international efforts to conserve biodiversity in tropical forests. We present two complementary research approaches that reveal a significant increase in public demand for conservation within tropical developing countries as those countries reach upper-middle-income (UMI) status. We highlight UMI tropical countries because they contain nearly four-fifths of tropical primary forests, which are rich in biodiversity and stored carbon. The first approach is a set of statistical analyses of various cross-country conservation indicators, which suggests that protective government policies have lagged behind the increase in public demand in these countries. The second approach is a case study from Malaysia, which reveals in a more integrated fashion the linkages from rising household income to increased household willingness to pay for conservation, nongovernmental organization activity, and delayed government action. Our findings suggest that domestic funding in UMI tropical countries can play a larger role in (i) closing the funding gap for tropical forest conservation, and (ii) paying for supplementary conservation actions linked to international payments for reduced greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]