Grace Nangendo

Bio: Grace Nangendo is an academic researcher from Wildlife Conservation Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Land degradation & Ecosystem services. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 9 publications receiving 384 citations.

Efficiently targeting resources to deter illegal activities in protected areas

Abstract: Summary 1. In many countries, areas delineated for conservation purposes can only achieve their objectives if effective law enforcement occurs within them. However, there is no method currently available to allocate law enforcement effort in a way that protects species and habitats in a cost-effective manner. Law enforcement is expensive and effort is usually concentrated near the locations of patrol stations where rangers are based. This hampers effective conservation, particularly in large protected areas, or regions with limited enforcement capacity. 2. Using the spatial planning tool Marxan, we demonstrate a method for prioritizing law enforcement in a globally important conservation landscape (the Greater Virunga Landscape, GVL, in central Africa) using data on the spatial distribution of illegal activities and conservation features within the landscape. 3. Our analysis of current patrol data shows that law enforcement activity is inadequate with only 22% of the landscape being effectively patrolled and most of this activity occurring within 3 km of a patrol post. We show that the current patrol effort does not deter illegal activities beyond this distance. 4. We discover that when we account for the costs of effective patrolling and set targets for covering key species populations and habitats, we can reduce the costs of meeting all conservation targets in the landscape by 63%, to $22–30 million USD, relative to the cost of patrolling the entire landscape. This cost is well within the current expenditure of approximately $59 million USD for the GVL but would better target effort from both patrol posts and mobile patrol units in the landscape. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results demonstrate a method that can be used to plan enforcement patrolling, resulting in more cost-efficient prevention of illegal activities in a way that is targeted at halting declines in species of conservation concern.

Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) : status survey and conservation action plan 2010-2020

Abstract: The eastern chimpanzee is classified as “endangered” and of global conservation concern. This publication offers a 10-year plan which, if fully implemented, will go a long way to ensuring the maintenance of viable populations of the eastern chimpanzee across much of its existing range. Chimpanzees are excellent flagship and umbrella species for conservation; protecting their populations and habitat protects innumerable other species.

Mapping East African tropical forests and woodlands — A comparison of classifiers

Abstract: In mapping the forest–woodland–savannah mosaic of Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda, four classification methods were compared, i.e. Maximum Likelihood classifier (MLC), Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), Maximum Likelihood combined with an Expert System (MaxExpert) and Spectral Angle Mapper combined with an Expert System (SAMExpert). The combination of conventional classifiers with an Expert System proved to be an effective approach for forest mapping. This was also the first time that the SAMExpert had been used in the mapping of tropical forests. SAMExpert not only maps with high accuracy, but is also fast and easy to use, making it attractive for use in less developed countries. Another advantage is that it can be executed on a standard PC set up for image processing. Combining the conventional classifiers (MLC and SAM) with the Expert System significantly improved the classification accuracy. The highest overall accuracy (94.6%) was obtained with SAMExpert. The MaxExpert approach yielded a map with an accuracy of 85.2%, which was also significantly higher than that obtained using the conventional MLC approach. The SAMExpert classifier accurately mapped individual classes. Of the four classes of woodland mapped, the Open Woodland (with Terminalia) and Wooded Grassland classes were more accurately mapped using SAMExpert. The Open Woodland had been previously identified by ecologists, but had never been mapped.

How to halt the global decline of lands

Abstract: The assessment of land degradation and restoration by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services shows that land degradation across the globe is a wide and severe issue and is showing no signs of slowing down. This trend must be halted and reversed.

Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change

Abstract: The human impact on life on Earth has increased sharply since the 1970s, driven by the demands of a growing population with rising average per capita income. Nature is currently supplying more materials than ever before, but this has come at the high cost of unprecedented global declines in the extent and integrity of ecosystems, distinctness of local ecological communities, abundance and number of wild species, and the number of local domesticated varieties. Such changes reduce vital benefits that people receive from nature and threaten the quality of life of future generations. Both the benefits of an expanding economy and the costs of reducing nature's benefits are unequally distributed. The fabric of life on which we all depend-nature and its contributions to people-is unravelling rapidly. Despite the severity of the threats and lack of enough progress in tackling them to date, opportunities exist to change future trajectories through transformative action. Such action must begin immediately, however, and address the root economic, social, and technological causes of nature's deterioration.

Global shifts in mammalian population trends reveal key predictors of virus spillover risk.

Abstract: Emerging infectious diseases in humans are frequently caused by pathogens originating from animal hosts, and zoonotic disease outbreaks present a major challenge to global health. To investigate drivers of virus spillover, we evaluated the number of viruses mammalian species have shared with humans. We discovered that the number of zoonotic viruses detected in mammalian species scales positively with global species abundance, suggesting that virus transmission risk has been highest from animal species that have increased in abundance and even expanded their range by adapting to human-dominated landscapes. Domesticated species, primates and bats were identified as having more zoonotic viruses than other species. Among threatened wildlife species, those with population reductions owing to exploitation and loss of habitat shared more viruses with humans. Exploitation of wildlife through hunting and trade facilitates close contact between wildlife and humans, and our findings provide further evidence that exploitation, as well as anthropogenic activities that have caused losses in wildlife habitat quality, have increased opportunities for animal-human interactions and facilitated zoonotic disease transmission. Our study provides new evidence for assessing spillover risk from mammalian species and highlights convergent processes whereby the causes of wildlife population declines have facilitated the transmission of animal viruses to humans.

The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forest 2010

Abstract: The design of the 2010 State of the Forest report does not differ fundamentally from that of the 2008 report and relies on indicators decided on collectively by about sixty contributors Data collection was organized from 2009 to 2010 using national groups consisting of four to ten members, depending on the countries, all of whom worked for public administrations dealing with forest issues Data collected, covering for the most part 2008 and 2009, was validated during national workshops for public administration officials, environmental NGO representatives, the private sector and development projects The data served to support the inputs provided by contributors of chapters for the current report, under the supervision of internationally recognized scientific committees Furthermore, a State of the Forest 2010 sub-regional validation workshop was organized from 29 to 30 March 2011 for about 100 participants working in forest management, comprising representatives from the ten COMIFAC member countries, and several of its partners

Making the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration a Social-Ecological Endeavour.

Abstract: The United Nations (UN) recently declared 2021 to 2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Against this background, we review recent social-ecological systems research and summarize key themes that could help to improve ecosystem restoration in dynamic social contexts. The themes relate to resilience and adaptability, ecosystem stewardship and navigation of change, relational values, the coevolution of human and ecological systems, long-range social-ecological connections, and leverage points for transformation. We recommend two cross-cutting new research foci; namely: (i) post hoc cross-sectional assessments of social-ecological restoration projects; and (ii) transdisciplinary social-ecological 'living labs' that accompany new restoration projects as they unfold. With global agendas increasingly taking a social-ecological perspective, the recasting of ecosystem restoration as a social-ecological endeavor offers exciting new opportunities for both research and practice.

Modification of forests by people means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity

Abstract: Many global environmental agendas, including halting biodiversity loss, reversing land degradation, and limiting climate change, depend upon retaining forests with high ecological integrity, yet the scale and degree of forest modification remain poorly quantified and mapped. By integrating data on observed and inferred human pressures and an index of lost connectivity, we generate a globally consistent, continuous index of forest condition as determined by the degree of anthropogenic modification. Globally, only 17.4 million km2 of forest (40.5%) has high landscape-level integrity (mostly found in Canada, Russia, the Amazon, Central Africa, and New Guinea) and only 27% of this area is found in nationally designated protected areas. Of the forest inside protected areas, only 56% has high landscape-level integrity. Ambitious policies that prioritize the retention of forest integrity, especially in the most intact areas, are now urgently needed alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and restoring the integrity of forests globally.