The importance of Indigenous Peoples' lands for the conservation of terrestrial mammals.

Indigenous Peoples' lands cover over one-quarter of Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial-level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples and their lands are crucial for the long-term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition on these lands globally remains largely unknown. We conducted the first comprehensive analysis of terrestrial mammal composition across mapped Indigenous lands based on data on area of habitat (AOH) for 4460 mammal species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We overlaid each species' AOH on a current map of Indigenous lands and found that 2695 species (60% of assessed mammals) had ≥10% of their ranges on Indigenous Peoples' lands and 1009 species (23%) had >50% of their ranges on these lands. For threatened species, 473 (47%) occurred on Indigenous lands with 26% having >50% of their habitat on these lands. We also found that 935 mammal species (131 categorized as threatened) had ≥ 10% of their range on Indigenous Peoples' lands that had low human pressure. Our results show how important Indigenous Peoples' lands are to the successful implementation of conservation and sustainable development agendas worldwide.

La Importancia de las Tierras de los Pueblos Indígenas para la Conservación de los Mamíferos Terrestres Resumen Las tierras pertenecientes a pueblos indígenas cubren más de un cuarto de la superficie del planeta, una proporción importante que se encuentra aún libre de impactos humanos a nivel industrial. Como resultado, los pueblos indígenas y sus tierras son cruciales para la persistencia a largo plazo de la biodiversidad en la Tierra y de los servicios ecosistemicos. Sin embargo, la información sobre la composición de especies en estas tierras a nivel mundial todavía permanece desconocida en su mayoría. Realizamos el primer análisis integral de la composición de mamíferos terrestres a lo largo de las tierras indígenas mapeadas con base en los datos sobre el área del hábitat (ADH) de 4,460 especies de mamíferos valorados por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. Sobrepusimos el ADH de cada especie en un mapa actual de tierras indígenas y encontramos que 2,695 especies (60% de los mamíferos valorados) tienen ≥10% de su distribución dentro de tierras de pueblos indígenas y que 1,009 especies (23%) tienen >50% de su distribución dentro de estas tierras. De las especies amenazadas, 473 (47%) ocurrieron en tierras indígenas.También descubrimos que 935 especies de mamíferos (131 categorizadas como amenazadas) tienen ≥ 10% de su distribución dentro de tierras de pueblos indígenas con baja presión humana. Nuestros resultados muestran cuán importantes son las tierras de los pueblos indígenas para la implementación exitosa de la conservación y las agendas globales de desarrollo sustentable.

Quantifying current and potential contributions of Australian indigenous peoples to threatened species management.

Formal engagement of indigenous peoples in conservation is increasing globally and leads to multiple benefits to communities while contributing to national and international biodiversity goals and obligations. This and ongoing declines in biodiversity have led to calls to increase opportunities for indigenous people to engage in managing their estates. However, there is no overarching understanding of indigenous peoples' involvement in conservation, which limits the identification of new opportunities. We amalgamated information across governments and large nongovernmental organizations in the megadiverse country of Australia to quantify the involvement of indigenous people in management of threatened species. We identified 153 Australian-based projects undertaken by different indigenous groups around the nation in 2015 and 2016 that included explicit funds for management of threatened species or threatened ecosystems. Most were in remote parts of western and northern Australia. Almost one-quarter of all threatened animals and 2% of threatened plants were the subject of some formal conservation action by indigenous people. Occurrence records for 1574 threatened species showed that 823 (89.2%) of 923 species recorded on indigenous peoples' lands were not listed in management projects. This gap may represent new opportunities for conservation initiatives. Because at least 59.5% of Australia's threatened species occur on indigenous peoples' lands, efforts to build appropriate and effective indigenous conservation alliances are vital. However, it is also important to recognize that threatened species are part of complex social, ecological, economic and cultural systems, and to achieve successful outcomes requires consideration of indigenous peoples' priorities, rights, and obligations and relationships with their traditionally owned land and sea.

Subspecies in the Sarus Crane Antigone antigone revisited; with particular reference to the Australian population.

Subspecies are often less well-defined than species but have become one of the basic units for legal protection. Evidence for the erection or synonymy of subspecies therefore needs to be founded on the best science available. Here we show that there is clear genetic disjunction in the Sarus Crane Antigone antigone, where previously the variation had appeared to be clinal. Based on a total sample of 76 individuals, analysis of 10 microsatellite loci from 67 samples and 49 sequences from the mitochondrial control region, this research establishes that the Australian Sarus Crane A. a. gillae differs significantly from both A. a. antigone (South Asia) and A. a. sharpii (Myanmar and Indochina). A single sample from the extinct Philippine subspecies A. a luzonica clustered with A. a. gillae, hinting at the potential for a more recent separation between them than from A. a. antigone and A. a. sharpii, even though A. a. sharpii is closer geographically. The results demonstrate that failure to detect subspecies through initial genetic profiling does not mean discontinuities are absent and has significance for other cases where subspecies are dismissed based on partial genetic evidence. It could also be potentially important for sourcing birds for reintroduction to the Philippines.

Mapping Indigenous land management for threatened species conservation: An Australian case-study.

Much biodiversity lives on lands to which Indigenous people retain strong legal and management rights. However this is rarely quantified. Here we provide the first quantitative overview of the importance of Indigenous land for a critical and vulnerable part of biodiversity, threatened species, using the continent of Australia as a case study. We find that three quarters of Australia's 272 terrestrial or freshwater vertebrate species listed as threatened under national legislation have projected ranges that overlap Indigenous lands. On average this overlap represents 45% of the range of each threatened species while Indigenous land is 52% of the country. Hotspots where multiple threatened species ranges overlap occur predominantly in coastal Northern Australia. Our analysis quantifies the vast potential of Indigenous land in Australia for contributing to national level conservation goals, and identifies the main land management arrangements available to Indigenous people which may enable them to deliver those goals should they choose to do so.