Le protected areas they do not always favor the biodiversity: management is essential. The wildlife impact of designating protected areas such as national parks is uneven, according to the largest global study of effects on waterfowl. The results show that the management of conservation areas to protect species and their habitats is essential - and without such management, these areas have more likely to be ineffective. Over the course of this year, world leaders will gather in China to set the agenda for global conservation efforts for the next decade.
The plans to formally protect the Present in several = 30% of the earth's surface by 2030 are gaining momentum, but the study authors say this alone will not ensure the conservation of biodiversity. They argue that goals must be set for the quality of protected areas, not just for the quantity. Our new study focused on waterfowl, including globally threatened species, looking at the impact of 1.500 protected areas (in 68 countries) on more than 27.000 waterfowl sites with counting information. Waterfowl are well studied and widespread, while their mobility means they can quickly colonize or leave a place according to the quality of the conditions. The findings may have wider relevance for the conservation of other taxa and the management of protected areas for non-aquatic birds.
The study was conducted by Universities of Exeter and Cambridge and is published in the journal Nature. The research team included Wetlands lnternational and the universities of Bangor, Queensland, Copenhagen and CorneiI. The research was based on the efforts of many thousands of volunteers around the world, through the international waterfowl census (coordinated by Wetlands International) and the Christmas Bird Count (National Audubon Society) to collect data on waterfowl populations. “We know that different groups of water birds require specific habitat conditions for feeding, resting and nesting.
If these requirements are not met, protected areas cannot serve to provide adequate safe and productive habitats to maintain these waterfowl populations, ”says Dr Taej Mundkur, coordinator of the international waterfowl census with Wetlands lnternational. "The study provided valuable information and reaffirms the importance of long-term series collection of bird census information in Europe, Africa, Asia, Neotropics and the Americas. and the role of committed networks of volunteers and local collaborators ”. "We know that protected areas can prevent habitat loss, especially in terms of stopping deforestation," said lead author Dr Hannah Wauchope, of the Center for Ecology and Conservation at Penryn Campus in Exeter in Cornwall. "However, we have far less understanding of how protected areas help wildlife."
This study shows that while many protected areas function well, many others fail to have a positive effect ”. “Rather than just focusing on the global protected area, we need to focus more on ensuring that the areas are well managed to benefit from biodiversity”Says Dr Szabolcs Nagy, Census Coordinator of Waterfowl in Africa and Eurasia with Wetlands International. The study used a "before and after-control-intervention" method - comparing trends in waterfowl populations before protected areas were established with later ones, and also comparing trends in waterfowl populations. waterfowl similar inside and outside protected areas.
This provided a much more accurate and detailed picture than previous studies. The results of this study will be important to the principals global conservation frameworks and migration routes, and for national governments, ”says Ward Hagemeijer, Senior Advisor and global head of waterfowl work at Wetlands International. This will provide important information to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the African-Eurasian Agreement on Water Birds (AEWA), the East Asian Agreement - Australasian Flyway Partnership, and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve. Network as well as national governments on the need not only of establish networks of sites of international importance for these migratory species, but also to ensure adequate conservative management in these areas.
Management and restoration with clear objectives to meet the specific and varied needs of the different waterfowl species that depend on these sites during their annual life cycles". The finding that larger protected areas tend to be more effective underlines the need for a broad, overall landscape-wide approach to the designation and management of these habitats (source: Hunting Federation).