Biodiversity, Threatened and Imperiled Species
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This digital collection includes presentations given at the 8th International Wildlife Ranching Symposium held in 2014 for the symposium theme: Biodiversity, Threatened and Imperiled Species.
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- ItemOpen AccessSupporting landscape-scale planning with decision support toolkits(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Crist, Patrick, speaker; Anderson, David, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerConservation decisions often come down to actions by individual private landowners, whether it be acquisition of easements, land or development rights; outreach and education, assistance with restoration, etc. To target the locations that will offer the most conservation benefit, it is useful to put decisions into a larger landscape context. A broader context can help identify areas that can conserve the most valuable areas with least conflicts and perhaps lower cost; in other words, a larger context provides more options. However, there is often a disconnect between conservation plans developed at broad scales of landscapes or ecoregions and implementation that must happen at the site scale. This disconnect can happen for many reasons, one being that broad-scale plans are often developed using coarser data or planning units that may not be informative to site-level decision making. This presentation will illustrate with real-world examples the application of decision support toolkits that are able to support both landscape-scale assessment and prioritization, and site-level decision making. This is accomplished through the use of a framework planning tool, NatureServe Vista that, unlike many conservation tools, retains data in its source resolution. Vista can facilitate cumulative effects assessment and landscape prioritization; then be used to explore, assess, and plan actions for individual sites. In this presentation we will illustrate the multi-scale application for both coastal and inland areas.
- ItemOpen AccessCritical ecosystem profile for the tropical Andes - engaging civil society to conserve a biodiversity hotspot(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Comer, Patrick, speaker; Anderson, David, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerThe Tropical Andes is among the top of the list of worldwide hotspots for endemic species. This region also supports exceptional cultural diversity and large populations of indigenous peoples. Home to some of the earliest recorded human civilizations, the Andes are also where numerous crops, including potatoes, beans, quinoa, amaranth, tobacco, and coca were first domesticated. Indigenous populations today play important roles in economic activities, politics, and land use and stewardship, and therefore can be important allies in biodiversity conservation. This biodiversity hotspot is identified as one of the most severely threatened areas in the tropics. The numerous threats to the tropical Andes' biodiversity have been compounded in recent years by the manifold impacts of climate change. A Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) aims to ensure that civil society is engaged in efforts to conserve biodiversity in the hotspots, and to this end, CEPF provides civil society with an agile and flexible funding mechanism complementing funding currently available to government agencies. In 2013, CEPF began exploring an investment program in the Tropical Andes Hotspot, extending from Venezuela to northern Argentina. NatureServe led a team to delineate Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) areas in most critical need of protection to limit species extinction. Regional threats analyses and workshops were conducted, documenting strategies for civil society to pursue around each KBA. CEPF promotes working alliances among community-based organizations (CBOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government, academic institutions and the private sector, combining unique capacities and eliminating duplicative efforts for a comprehensive approach to conservation.
- ItemOpen AccessLinking sustainable forest management with habitat conservation for the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Han, Xuemei, speaker; Anderson, David, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerThe critically endangered wild cat, Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), has experienced a serious shrinking of its range and a significant population decline during the past century in Northeastern China and Russian Far East. This study demonstrates a multi-disciplinary approach to conserve the Amur tiger habitat through sustainable forest management. The forests habitat was evaluated from a dynamic perspective. By applying multiple metrological silvicultural methods, innovative habitat mapping based on the remote sensed data, and the computer model, Landscape Management System, a design of sustainable forest management plan was suggested to keep a diversified stand structures is critical to conserve Amur tigers in Northeast China.
- ItemOpen AccessThe potential of wildlife to improve the standard of living and food security in rural Africa(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) van Hoven, Wouter, speaker; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerPoaching, unsustainable wildlife utilization practices and the bush meat trade has cleared wildlife out of many of their former natural habitats in Africa. Based on the success of reintroducing wildlife into the Quicama National Park in Angola in cooperation with the local community, all wildlife that have been settled in the wildlife sterile landscape has flourished, multiplied and not one was lost to poaching over the past 12 years. The community is benefitting now from the Park through amongst others employment and the tourist camp is permanently fully booked. Amongst others, the 34 elephants that were airlifted there in family groups have increased to 120. South Africa has experienced a forty fold increase in its wildlife numbers over a period of 50 years due to the private sector and communities taking custodianship of wildlife on private lands. Based on these experiences and successes in starting new nodes of wildlife in Angola, wildlife can be established in other parts of Africa where civil war and over-utilization like in the bush meat trade has wiped wildlife out. The clearest successes in promoting wildlife conservation outside of protected areas in Africa have been achieved where authority to manage and utilize wildlife has been devolved to the landholder level.
- ItemOpen AccessBiodiversity conservation on private and communal lands(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-09) Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, speaker; Anderson, David, moderator; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, producerHow are we doing in conserving Colorado's Biodiversity? How much of it is left? Are there landscapes in Colorado where we still have the basic fabric intact to conserve entire systems? Are there hotspots where actions are more urgent than others? Are there species and places that we've successfully conserved through our actions? What role might private lands play in the big picture for conserving Colorado's biodiversity, now and in the future? What strategies are most likely to be effective given what remains? These are some of the many big questions that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) have worked to answer collaboratively. Our efforts, which culminated in the publication of the State of Colorado's Biodiversity, began as a way to support TNC's Measures of Success Program, but we soon realized that answering these questions would benefit leaders, managers, decision makers, as well as the general public and the private landowners in whose hands so much of our sustainable future rests. With an emphasis on private lands, we will share the results of this work, examine how it is being implemented broadly to support conservation statewide, and how it is serving as a model for other such efforts.