The identification of sites of biodiversity conservation significance: progress with the application of a global standard

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Published: Aug 6, 2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3079.2733-44

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M.N. Foster
T.M. Brooks
A. Cuttelod
N. De Silva
L.D.C. Fishpool
E.A. Radford
S. Woodley

Abstract

As a global community, we have a responsibility to ensure the long-term future of our natural heritage. As part of this, it is incumbent upon us to do all that we can to reverse the current trend of biodiversity loss, using all available tools at our disposal. One effective mean is safeguarding of those sites that are highest global priority for the conservation of biodiversity, whether through formal protected areas, community managed reserves, multiple-use areas, or other means. This special issue of the Journal of Threatened Taxa examines the application of the Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) approach to identifying such sites. Given the global mandate expressed through policy instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the KBA approach can help countries meet obligations in an efficient and transparent manner. KBA methodology follows the well-established general principles of vulnerability and irreplaceability, and while it aims to be a globally standardized approach, it recognizes the fundamental need for the process to be led at local and national levels. In this series of papers the application of the KBA approach is explored in seven countries or regions: the Caribbean, Indo-Burma, Japan, Macedonia, Mediterranean Algeria, the Philippines and the Upper Guinea region of West Africa. This introductory article synthesizes some of the common main findings and provides a comparison of key summary statistics.

Article Details

Issue
Vol 4, No 8 (2012)
Section
Articles

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Author Biographies

M.N. Foster

Matthew N. Foster is the Monitoring and Biodiversity Officer at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where he provides mapping and analysis skills to institutional strategy development and monitoring implementation. Matt graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Illinois in 1995 and earned his Master’s at Boston University in Energy and Environmental Analysis (1999). Before joining the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Matt worked for ten years with Conservation International focusing on the identification of priorities for biodiversity conservation around the world.

T.M. Brooks

Thomas M. Brooks, from Brighton, U.K., holds a B.A. (Hons) in Geography from the University of Cambridge (1993) and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee (1998). He is the Vice President for Science and Chief Scientist at NatureServe. He is an ornithologist by training, with field experience in tropical forests of Asia, South America and Africa. His interests lie in threatened species conservation and in biodiversity hotspots. He has served on the IUCN Red List Committee since 2001, the Steering Committee of its Species Survival Commission since 2004, and as co-chair of its joint taskforce on ‘Biodiversity and Protected Areas’ since 2009.

A. Cuttelod

Annabelle Cuttelod is currently a Conservation Planning Programme Officer at IUCN Global Species Programme, working towards the consolidation of a global standard to identify sites of importance for biodiversity conservation. This is one of the objectives of the IUCN Joint Task Force, between the Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). Annabelle graduated in biology at Lausanne University and earned a Masters degree in Oceanography at Aix-en- Provence University. Her species conservation experience includes serving as Regional Red Lists Coordinator and as Mediterranean Species Coordinator, involvement with the Swiss Cetacean Society, and as a consultant working with the private sector.

N. De Silva

Naamal De Silva is Director, Conservation Priorities and Outreach at Conservation International. She joined CI in 2004, initially to work with the Marine Rapid Assessment Program. Her current role includes developing CI’s institutional framework for identifying geographic priorities, providing technical support to field programs on priority-setting, and helping to link science staff in CI headquarters with technical staff in the field. Naamal’s background includes work on identifying globally significant sites for biodiversity conservation, and she maintains links with IUCN, BirdLife International, and the Alliance for Zero Extinction in pursuing this work. She has a B.A. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Swarthmore College, a Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University, and recently began a doctoral program in Education at George Washington University. Her research interests include conservation biology, environmental education, and the cultural aspects of conservation; she has carried out fieldwork related to these topics in Sri Lanka, Ghana, Costa Rica, and New Caledonia.

L.D.C. Fishpool

Lincoln D.C. Fishpool is Global Important Bird Area Coordinator for BirdLife International, based in Cambridge, UK. His role includes oversight of technical aspects of the IBA programme, including application of the criteria and thresholds by which sites are identified. Lincoln has a Ph.D. from the University of London (1982) on the ecology and biogeography of West African grasshoppers and worked for 17 years as an entomologist with the British Government’s overseas aid programme in several countries in Africa. He joined BirdLife in 1993 where he initially coordinated the IBA programme for Africa.

E.A. Radford

Elizabeth A. Radford has worked for Plantlife International for 14 years - a non government organisation that works to protect wild plants and their habitats and to build an understanding of the vital role they play in everyone’s lives. She is currently International Programme Manager which includes managing the Important Plant Areas (IPAs) programme which aims to conserve the best places in the world for wild plants. Elizabeth has a BSc in Botany (Wales, 1993) and a MSc in the Biodiversity and Taxonomy and of Plants (Edinburgh, 1998).

S. Woodley

Stephen Woodley is the Senior Advisor on Biodiversity and Climate Change for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. He is on secondment to the IUCN from Parks Canada where he was Chief Ecosystem Scientist. He is Co-Chair of the Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas, joint between the World Commission on Protected Areas and the Species Survival Commission. This Task Force is looking at developing criteria for areas of global significance to the persistence of biodiversity. Stephen got his PhD from the University of Waterloo.

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