Roles of the Red List of Ecosystems in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity set the agenda for global aspirations and action to reverse biodiversity loss. The GBF includes an explicit goal for maintaining and restoring biodiversity, encompassing ecosystems, species and genetic diversity (goal A), targets for ecosystem protection and restoration and headline indicators to track progress and guide action1. One of the headline indicators is the Red List of Ecosystems2, the global standard for ecosystem risk assessment. The Red List of Ecosystems provides a systematic framework for collating, analysing and synthesizing data on ecosystems, including their distribution, integrity and risk of collapse3. Here, we examine how it can contribute to implementing the GBF, as well as monitoring progress. We find that the Red List of Ecosystems provides common theory and practical data, while fostering collaboration, cross-sector cooperation and knowledge sharing, with important roles in 16 of the 23 targets. In particular, ecosystem maps, descriptions and risk categories are key to spatial planning for halting loss, restoration and protection (targets 1, 2 and 3). The Red List of Ecosystems is therefore well-placed to aid Parties to the GBF as they assess, plan and act to achieve the targets and goals. We outline future work to further strengthen this potential and improve biodiversity outcomes, including expanding spatial coverage of Red List of Ecosystems assessments and partnerships between practitioners, policy-makers and scientists.

Contributions of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems to risk-based design and management of protected and conserved areas in Africa.

Protected and conserved areas (PCAs) are key ecosystem management tools for conserving biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem services and social cobenefits. As countries adopt a 30% target for protection of land and sea under the Global Biodiversity Framework of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, a critical question emerging is, which 30%? A risk-based answer to this question is that the 30% that returns the greatest reductions in risks of species extinction and ecosystem collapse should be protected. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List protocols provide practical methods for assessing these risks. All species, including humans, depend on the integrity of ecosystems for their well-being and survival. Africa is strategically important for ecosystem management due to convergence of high ecosystem diversity, intense pressures, and high levels of human dependency on nature. We reviewed the outcomes (e.g., applications of ecosystem red-list assessments to protected-area design, conservation planning, and management) of a symposium at the inaugural African Protected Areas Congress convened to discuss roles of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems in the design and management of PCAs. Recent progress was made in ecosystem assessment, with 920 ecosystem types assessed against the IUCN Red List criteria across 21 countries. Although these ecosystems spanned a diversity of environments across the continent, the greatest thematic gaps were for freshwater, marine, and subterranean realms, and large geographic gaps existed in North Africa and parts of West and East Africa. Assessment projects were implemented by a diverse community of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and researchers. The assessments have influenced policy and management by informing extensions to and management of formal protected area networks supporting decision-making for sustainable development, and informing ecosystem conservation and threat abatement within boundaries of PCAs and in surrounding landscapes and seascapes. We recommend further integration of risk assessments in environmental policy and enhanced investment in ecosystem red-list assessment to fill current gaps.

Contribuciones de la Lista Roja de Ecosistemas de la UICN al diseño y manejo basados en riesgos de las áreas conservadas y protegidas en África Resumen Las áreas protegidas y conservadas (APC) son herramientas clave del manejo de ecosistemas para conservar la biodiversidad y mantener los servicios ambientales y los cobeneficios sociales. Conforme los países adoptan un objetivo de 30% para la protección del suelo y el mar bajo el Marco Mundial de Biodiversidad de la Convención sobre la Diversidad Biológica de las Naciones Unidas, surge una pregunta crítica: ¿cuál 30%? Una respuesta basada en riesgos a esta pregunta es que se debe proteger el 30% que rinda la mayor reducción del riesgo de extinción de especies y del colapso del ecosistema. Los protocolos de la Lista Roja de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) proporcionan métodos prácticos para evaluar estos riesgos. Todas las especies, incluidos los humanos, dependen de la integridad de los ecosistemas para su bienestar y supervivencia. África tiene una importancia estratégica para el manejo de ecosistemas debido a la convergencia de una gran diversidad de ecosistemas, presiones intensas y un nivel elevado de dependencia del humano hacia la naturaleza. Revisamos los resultados (p. ej.: aplicaciones de las valoraciones de las listas rojas de ecosistemas al diseño de áreas protegidas, planeación de la conservación y manejo) de un simposio en el primer Congreso de Áreas Protegidas Africanas convocado para discutir el papel de la Lista Roja de Ecosistemas de la UICN en el diseño y manejo de las APC. Existen avances recientes en la evaluación de los ecosistemas, con 920 tipos de ecosistemas evaluados bajo los criterios de la Lista Roja de la UICN en 21 países. Mientras estos ecosistemas comprenden una diversidad de ambientes en todo el continente, los principales vacíos temáticos los encontramos para los dominios subterráneos, de agua dulce y marina, además de que existe un gran vacío geográfico en el norte de África y en partes del este y oeste africano. Los proyectos de evaluación fueron implementados por una comunidad diversa de agencias gubernamentales, organizaciones no gubernamentales e investigadores. La influencia de las evaluaciones sobre las políticas y el manejo se da con la información que proveen a las extensiones y el manejo de las redes de áreas protegidas formales, el apoyo para la toma de decisiones de desarrollo sustentable y la guía para la conservación de ecosistemas y el abatimiento de amenazas dentro de los límites de las APC y en los paisajes terrestres y marinos adyacentes. Recomendamos una mayor integración de las evaluaciones de riesgo dentro de las políticas ambientales y más inversión para las evaluaciones de lista roja de los ecosistemas cubrir los vacíos existentes.

Feeling the heat: Elevated temperature affects male display activity of a lekking grassland bird.

Most species-climate models relate range margins to long-term mean climate but lack mechanistic understanding of the ecological or demographic processes underlying the climate response. We examined the case of a climatically limited edge-of-range population of a medium-sized grassland bird, for which climate responses may involve a behavioural trade-off between temperature stress and reproduction. We hypothesised that temperature will be a limiting factor for the conspicuous, male snort-call display behaviour, and high temperatures would reduce the display activity of male birds. Using remote tracking technology with tri-axial accelerometers we classified and studied the display behaviour of 17 free-ranging male little bustards, Tetrax tetrax, at 5 sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Display behaviour was related to temperature using two classes of Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) at different temporal resolutions. GAMMs showed that temperature, time of the day and Julian date explained variation in display behaviour within the day, with birds snort-calling significantly less during higher temperatures. We also showed that variation in daily snort-call activity was related to average daytime temperatures, with our model predicting an average decrease in daytime snort-call display activity of up to 10.4% for the temperature increases projected by 2100 in this region due to global warming. For lekking birds and mammals undertaking energetically-costly displays in a warming climate, reduced display behaviour could impact inter- and intra-sex mating behaviour interactions through sexual selection and mate choice mechanisms, with possible consequences on mating and reproductive success. The study provides a reproducible example for how accelerometer data can be used to answer research questions with important conservation inferences related to the impacts of climate change on a range of taxonomic groups.