The continued loss of ecosystems and biodiversity is endangering the prosperity of current and future generations (Dasgupta, 2021). To make better informed decisions about the trade-offs involved in ecosystem management, land-use change, or any activity affecting ecosystems and biodiversity, we need better information about the full importance of ecosystems to our wellbeing.
Anthropogenic activities threaten global biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, area-based conservation efforts typically target biodiversity protection whilst minimising conflict with economic activities, failing to consider ecosystem services. Here we identify priority areas that maximise both the protection of mangrove biodiversity and their ecosystem services.
Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being addressing the global biodiversity crisis still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature’s diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understanding of how and why nature is (under)valued is more urgent than ever.
Tropical forests provide a variety of ecosystem services that are also of great global relevance, such as climate regulation and the provision of habitat for animals and plants. However, climate change can impair these services, which also has serious economic consequences.
How much are nature reserves shaped by influences beyond their boundaries? An international research team with the participation of Prof.
The future vulnerability of low-lying atoll nations is inextricably linked to the production of carbonate sediments by organisms living in their adjacent marine environments. Seagrass meadows are commonly found adjacent to reef islands, but their role as sources of reef island-building sediments has been overlooked. Here, we combine field, satellite and sedimentological data to quantify rates of sediment production by seagrass epibionts in a reef island sediment supply context.
The “Dasgupta Review” of the economics of biodiversity (Dasgupta 2021) identifies many factors that threaten the ecological sustainability of our economies. This article examines how two policy failures - the underpricing and underfunding of nature – influence global land use change and terrestrial biodiversity loss. If natural areas are priced too cheaply, then converting them to agriculture, forestry and other land uses is less costly than protecting or preserving habitats. Underfunding nature further reduces the incentives for conservation and restoration.
Summary Report. September 2014
Case study of Crab Bay (Malekula Is.) and Eratap (Efate Is.). Final report. October 2014.
MESCAL. Technical Report.
The mitigation hierarchy (MH) is a step-by-step tool used to limit the negative impacts of development projects. It can be used for many disciplines; this guidance note focuses on its use to manage risks and impacts to biodiversity. Very similar approaches can be used for ecosystem services and even social impacts.Available onlineCall Number: [EL]Physical Description: 5 p
