International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

About: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is a nonprofit organization based out in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Biodiversity & Population. The organization has 1317 authors who have published 1870 publications receiving 97588 citations.

Geoheritage Conservation and Environmental Policies: Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract: Geoconservation has evolved from a focus primarily on the protection of geosites for science and education towards a broader discipline that, in addition, recognises the wider intrinsic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values of geodiversity and geoheritage. This more holistic approach, linking natural and cultural elements of the landscape, provides opportunities to achieve better integration of geoconservation in environmental policies and in the delivery of biodiversity targets and ecosystem functions. It also enables geoheritage conservation to be linked into the application and management of the IUCN Protected Area Management Categories. Significant challenges remain, however, to implement this holistic approach in practice and to set geoconservation on a comparable footing to biodiversity conservation in environmental policies and strategies. Four specific aspects are highlighted for development: mainstreaming geoconservation into civil society; improving the scientific basis of geoconservation; mainstreaming geoconservation into nature conservation, the ecosystem approach and sustainable development; and integrating geoconservation into protected area planning and management.

Global evidence of positive impacts of freshwater biodiversity on fishery yields.

Abstract: Aim An often-invoked benefit of high biodiversity is the provision of ecosystem services. However, evidence for this is largely based on data from small-scale experimental studies of relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function that may have little relevance to real-world systems. Here, large-scale biodiversity datasets are used to test the relationship between the yield of inland capture fisheries and species richness from 100 countries. Location Inland waters of Africa, Europe and parts of Asia. Methods A multimodel inference approach was used to assess inland fishery yields at the country level against species richness, waterside human population, area, elevation and various climatic variables, to determine the relative importance of species richness to fisheries yields compared with other major large-scale drivers. Secondly, the mean decadal variation in fishery yields at the country level for 1981–2010 was regressed against species richness to assess if greater diversity reduces the variability in yields over time. Results Despite a widespread reliance on targeting just a few species of fish, freshwater fish species richness is highly correlated with yield (R2 = 0.55) and remains an important and statistically significant predictor of yield once other macroecological drivers are controlled for. Freshwater richness also has a significant negative relationship with variability of yield over time in Africa (R2 = 0.16) but no effect in Europe. Main conclusions The management of inland waters should incorporate the protection of freshwater biodiversity, particularly in countries with the highest-yielding inland fisheries as these also tend to have high freshwater biodiversity. As these results suggest a link between biodiversity and stable, high-yielding fisheries, an important win–win outcome may be possible for food security and conservation of freshwater ecosystems. However, findings also highlight the urgent need for more data to fully understand and monitor the contribution of biodiversity to inland fisheries globally.

A decade to study deep-sea life

Abstract: The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development presents an exceptional opportunity to effect positive change in ocean use. We outline what is required of the deep-sea research community to achieve these ambitious objectives.

Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products to Cash and Non-Cash Income of Remote Forest Communities in Central Africa

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper evaluates the contribution of NTFPs to cash and non-cash income of local communities within the jointly managed Sangha Tri-National and Dja-Odzala-Minkebe Tri-National forest landscapes that lie between Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon and the Central African Republic in Central Africa. Data were collected from respectively 172 and 158 Bantu and IP households by applying the Poverty-Forests Linkages Toolkit method. Ten species of NTFPs that are important sources of cash and non-cash income for the study groups were recorded. More than 45% and 55% of Bantu and IP incomes are respectively derived from NTFPs. NTFPs contribute higher to non-cash income for the Bantu and IP in Cameroon and CAR but contribute more to cash income in Congo. Bantu communities get higher total incomes from NTFPs than IP. In all groups, Bushmeat is the most important income generating NTFP. These results could contribute to resource allocation for implementation of long-term development plans in Central Africa, ...