Institution
World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Other•Cambridge, United Kingdom•
About: World Conservation Monitoring Centre is a other organization based out in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Biodiversity & Ecosystem services. The organization has 217 authors who have published 348 publications receiving 33610 citations. The organization is also known as: UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre & UNEP-WCMC.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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University of Leeds1, University of Cambridge2, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds3, Macquarie University4, Durham University5, University of the Witwatersrand6, Conservation International7, Stellenbosch University8, World Conservation Monitoring Centre9, National Autonomous University of Mexico10, University of Kansas11, James Cook University12
TL;DR: Estimates of extinction risks for sample regions that cover some 20% of the Earth's terrestrial surface show the importance of rapid implementation of technologies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for carbon sequestration.
Abstract: Climate change over the past approximately 30 years has produced numerous shifts in the distributions and abundances of species and has been implicated in one species-level extinction. Using projections of species' distributions for future climate scenarios, we assess extinction risks for sample regions that cover some 20% of the Earth's terrestrial surface. Exploring three approaches in which the estimated probability of extinction shows a power-law relationship with geographical range size, we predict, on the basis of mid-range climate-warming scenarios for 2050, that 15-37% of species in our sample of regions and taxa will be 'committed to extinction'. When the average of the three methods and two dispersal scenarios is taken, minimal climate-warming scenarios produce lower projections of species committed to extinction ( approximately 18%) than mid-range ( approximately 24%) and maximum-change ( approximately 35%) scenarios. These estimates show the importance of rapid implementation of technologies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for carbon sequestration.
7,089 citations
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University of Cambridge1, Conservation International2, University of East Anglia3, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science4, University of Pittsburgh5, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds6, World Conservation Monitoring Centre7, University of British Columbia8, University of Washington9, Stanford University10
TL;DR: It is estimated that the overall benefit:cost ratio of an effective global program for the conservation of remaining wild nature is at least 100:1.
Abstract: On the eve of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, it is timely to assess progress over the 10 years since its predecessor in Rio de Janeiro. Loss and degradation of remaining natural habitats has continued largely unabated. However, evidence has been accumulating that such systems generate marked economic benefits, which the available data suggest exceed those obtained from continued habitat conversion. We estimate that the overall benefit:cost ratio of an effective global program for the conservation of remaining wild nature is at least 100:1.
1,467 citations
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TL;DR: A step change involving increased recognition, funding, planning and enforcement is urgently needed if protected areas are going to fulfil their potential.
Abstract: Originally conceived to conserve iconic landscapes and wildlife, protected areas are now expected to achieve an increasingly diverse set of conservation, social and economic objectives. The amount of land and sea designated as formally protected has markedly increased over the past century, but there is still a major shortfall in political commitments to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of protected areas. Financial support for protected areas is dwarfed by the benefits that they provide, but these returns depend on effective management. A step change involving increased recognition, funding, planning and enforcement is urgently needed if protected areas are going to fulfil their potential.
1,400 citations
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Michael R. Hoffmann1, Craig Hilton-Taylor2, Ariadne Angulo2, Monika Böhm3 +170 more•Institutions (81)
TL;DR: Though the threat of extinction is increasing, overall declines would have been worse in the absence of conservation, and current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups.
Abstract: Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species.
1,333 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, a new global distribution map of tropical dry forests derived from the recently developed MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) product was presented, which depicts percentage tree cover at a resolution of 500 m, combined with previously defined maps of biomes.
Abstract: Aim To analyse the conservation status of tropical dry forests at the global scale, by combining a newly developed global distribution map with spatial data describing different threats, and to identify the relative exposure of different forest areas to such threats. Location Global assessment. Methods We present a new global distribution map of tropical dry forest derived from the recently developed MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) product, which depicts percentage tree cover at a resolution of 500 m, combined with previously defined maps of biomes. This distribution map was overlaid with spatial data to estimate the exposure of tropical dry forests to a number of different threats: climate change, habitat fragmentation, fire, human population density and conversion to cropland. The extent of tropical dry forest currently protected was estimated by overlaying the forest map with a global data set of the distribution of protected areas. Results It is estimated that 1,048,700 km 2 of tropical dry forest remains, distributed throughout the three tropical regions. More than half of the forest area (54.2%) is located within South America, the remaining area being almost equally divided between North and Central America, Africa and Eurasia, with a relatively small proportion (3.8%) occurring within Australasia and Southeast Asia. Overall, c. 97% of the remaining area of tropical dry forest is at risk from one or more of the threats considered, with highest percentages recorded for Eurasia. The relative exposure to different threats differed between regions: while climate change is relatively significant in the Americas, habitat fragmentation and fire affect a higher proportion of African forests, whereas agricultural conversion and human population density are most influential in Eurasia. Evidence suggests that c. 300,000 km 2 of tropical dry forest now coincide with some form of protected area, with 71.8% of this total being located within South America. Main conclusions Virtually all of the tropical dry forests that remain are currently exposed to a variety of different threats, largely resulting from human activity. Taking their high biodiversity value into consideration, this indicates that tropical dry forests should be accorded high conservation priority. The results presented here could be used to identify which forest areas should be accorded highest priority for conservation action. In particular, the expansion of the global protected area network, particularly in Mesoamerica, should be given urgent consideration.
1,074 citations
Authors
Showing all 217 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Ken E. Giller | 92 | 555 | 36374 |
Rhys E. Green | 78 | 285 | 30428 |
Adrian C. Newton | 74 | 453 | 21814 |
Neil D. Burgess | 56 | 155 | 16237 |
Mark Spalding | 53 | 103 | 22357 |
Natalie C. Ban | 46 | 136 | 6027 |
Valerie Kapos | 44 | 108 | 13750 |
Matt Walpole | 42 | 80 | 13649 |
Jörn P. W. Scharlemann | 40 | 84 | 16393 |
Marc Hockings | 40 | 163 | 11172 |
Derek P. Tittensor | 39 | 94 | 8721 |
Piero Visconti | 39 | 95 | 6667 |
Tim Newbold | 35 | 82 | 7101 |
Joah R. Madden | 33 | 90 | 4649 |
Chris Sandbrook | 31 | 76 | 2759 |