Global prioritization for conservation

Global prioritization for conservation

Protected Area Planning and Management Mobile Seminar

Costa RicaJune 2008

Miguel A. MoralesConservación Internacional (CI)

0

1,000,000,000

2,000,000,000

3,000,000,000

4,000,000,000

5,000,000,000

6,000,000,000

7,000,000,000

0 500 1000 1500 2000 year

from 1.65 billon a 6 billon people in the 20th Century

poblacion

Global biodiversity statusGlobal biodiversity status

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)

Larger population = Greater demand for resources

Current species extinction rate 100 – 1000 higher than the “normal” rate

Since 1.500, about 800 species has gone extinct, according to the IUCN Species Red List

Source: The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (www.iucnredlist.org)

Currently, about 16.118 species of plants and animals are threatened

• One of 8 bird species• One of 4 mammal species• One of 3 amphibian species

Global BiodiversityGlobal Biodiversity

Amphibian richness

Global Amphibian Assessment, 2006

Species richness: mammals, amphibians and birds

Olson et. al. BioScience • November 2001 / Vol. 51 No. 11

Terrestrial ecoregions within 14 biomes and 8 biogeographic regions

Olson et. al. BioScience • November 2001 / Vol. 51 No. 11

867 distinctive ecoregions

WWF Global 200WWF Global 200

Mammal species richness

Olson et. al. BioScience • November 2001 / Vol. 51 No. 11

WWF Global 200WWF Global 200

Olson et. al. BioScience • November 2001 / Vol. 51 No. 11

Mammal species endemism

WWF Global 200WWF Global 200

WWF identified ecoregions with exceptional levels of species richness and high levels of endemism

• High endemism and high threat (>86% original cover is lost)

• 34 Hotspots representing 2.3% of earth’s land

• 50% of all plants and 42% of vertebrate species live in these Hotspots

• 75% of the most endangered species in the world (mammals, birds, and amphibians)

Mittermeier et al. (2004) Hotspots Revisited. CEMEX

CI Biodiversity HotspotsCI Biodiversity Hotspots

CI High-Biodiversity Wilderness AreasCI High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas

• High endemism (>1,500 species and plants are endemic)

• Low threat (<30% original cover lost)

• 5 HBWAs, covering 6.1% of earth’s surface

• 17% of plants, 8% of terrestrial mammals only found here

Mittermeier et al. (2004) Hotspots Revisited. CEMEX

WSC Human Footprint

Sanderson et al. - BioScience - October 2002 / Vol. 52 No. 10

WSC The Last of the Wild

Sanderson et al. - BioScience - October 2002 / Vol. 52 No. 10

UNEP/World Conservation Monitoring CentreMegadiverse countries

1. Australia2. Brasil3. China 4. Colombia5. Republica Democrática del Congo6. Ecuador7. India8. Indonesia9. Madagascar

10. Malasia11. México12. Papua New Guinea13. Perú14. Filipinas15. Sudáfrica16. USA17. Venezuela

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Smithsonian Institute (SI)Centers of plant diversity in the America

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/cpd/index.htm