Although Brazil is a megadiverse country and thus a conservation priority, no study has yet quantified conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas (PAs) using extensive empirical data. Here, we evaluate the degree of biodiversity protection and knowledge within all the Brazilian PAs through a gap analysis of vertebrate, arthropod and angiosperm occurrences and phylogenetic data. Our results show that the knowledge on biodiversity in most Brazilian PAs remain scant as 71% of PAs have less than 0.01 species records per km2. Almost 55% of Brazilian species and about 40% of evolutionary lineages are not found in PAs, while most species have less than 30% of their geographic distribution within PAs. Moreover, the current PA network fails to protect the majority of endemic species. Most importantly, these results are similar for all taxonomic groups analysed here. The methods and results of our countrywide assessment are suggested to help design further inventories in order to map and secure the key biodiversity of the Brazilian PAs. In addition, our study illustrates the most common biodiversity knowledge shortfalls in the tropics.

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Biodiversity conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas

Neotropical freshwater fishes are the most diverse on the planet (>5,500 species), although nations in Latin America have been negligent regarding their conservation National policies have historically encouraged unsustainable practices, and recent decades have witnessed a sharp increase in harmful activities Our aim with this review was to expose this situation and illustrate how national policies constitute the main threat to freshwater fish biodiversity We explain that the most devastating, pervasive and systemic threats are rooted in official policies, particularly unsustainable activities (eg hydropower, water diversion, mining, aquaculture, agriculture and fishing), poor management/conservation (eg fish stocking and passages) and harmful legislation (eg poor licensing, non-native species) We provide a broad portrait of the Neotropical scenario, where unsustainable policies have caused considerable damage to freshwater ecosystems, and focus on major examples from Brazil, where development projects have caused large-scale losses to fish biodiversity Such modus operandi of human development is incompatible with the persistence of biodiversity, and no simple solution is available to correct or minimize its effects The current situation demands a profound behavioural shift towards better practices and policies, or these multiple high-impact activities will continue eroding freshwater fish biodiversity and impairing essential ecosystem services

Neotropical freshwater fishes imperilled by unsustainable policies

Cerrado ecoregions: A spatial framework to assess and prioritize Brazilian savanna environmental diversity for conservation

Multiscale land use impacts on water quality: Assessment, planning, and future perspectives in Brazil.

Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change: concept, scalability and a role for conservation science

The executive and legislative branches of Brazilian government have either proposed or taken a variety of initiatives that threaten biodiversity and ecosystems. Opposition by the scientific community has largely been ignored by decision-makers. In this short essay, we present recent examples of harmful policies that have great potential to erode biodiversity, and we suggest ways to communicate scientific knowledge to decision- makers. If the current gap between conservation science and policies is not filled, the country will threaten the maintenance of its natural capital and, consequently, the sustainability of essential societal activities in the long term.

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Caroline S. Oliveira

Papers

Removing the abyss between conservation science and policy decisions in Brazil