conservation of nature through livelihood essay

Essay on Conservation of Nature for Students and Children

500+ words essay on conservation of nature.

Nature has provided us numerous gifts such as air , water, land, sunlight , minerals, plants, and animals. All these gifts of nature make our earth a place worth living. Existence on Earth would not be possible without any of these. Now, while these natural resources are present on Earth in plenty. Unfortunately, the necessity of most of these has increased extremely over the centuries due to growth in the human population.

What is Conservation of Nature?

Conservation of nature means the preservation of forests, land, water bodies, and minerals, fuels, natural gases, etc. And to make sure that all these continue to be available in abundance. Thus all these natural resources make life worth living on Earth. Life would not be imaginable without air, water, sunlight as well as other natural resources present on the earth.

Thus, it is essential to conserve these resources in order to retain the environment integral. Here is a look at the types of natural resources existing on Earth and the ways to conserve these:

Types of Natural Resources:

• Renewable Resources : These are resources such as air, water, and sunlight that refill naturally.
• Non-Renewable Resources: These are resources like fossil fuels and minerals that do not restock reform very slowly.
• Biotic: These originate from living beings and organic material like plants and animals.
• Abiotic: These come from non-living things and non-organic material. These comprise air, water, and land as well as metals like iron, copper, and silver.

Natural resources are also categories such as actual resources, reserve resources, stock resources and potential resources based on their development stage.

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How to Conserve Nature and Its Resources?

Many of the natural resources are being used at a faster rate as compared to their speed of production. There is so a necessity for conservation of nature and the natural resources it offers. Here are some of the ways in which these resources can be conserved:

Reduce Water Consumption

Water is available in abundance on Earth . This is one of the reasons people do not consider much before using it. However, if we keep using it at this speed. In the future, we may not be left with as much of it. Therefore, simple things such as turn off the tap while brushing or reuse the leftover water to water the plants can help in this direction.

Reduce Usage of Electricity

Use only as much energy as you require. It is thus advised to limit the usage of electricity. Simple habits such as turning off the lights before parting your room, turn off the electric appliances after use.  Switching to energy-saving fluorescent or LED bulbs can make a change.

Restrict Usage of Paper

Paper manufacturing depends only on trees. Increasing the use of paper means encouraging deforestation . This is one of the key reasons for concern is in today’s time Always ensure you use only as much paper as necessary. Stop taking print outs and use e-copies instead to do your bit.

Use Newer Agricultural Methods

The government must aware the methods such as mixed cropping, crop rotation. Also, the government should teach the minimum use of pesticides, insecticides. Appropriate use of manures , bio-fertilizers, and organic fertilizers to the farmers.

Spread Awareness

Spreading awareness about the conservation of nature is always a necessary step. It can be achieved only when more and more people understand its importance and the ways in which they can help. Besides this, it is essential to plant more and more tress. It is necessary to contribute towards lowering air pollution. We must use shared transport and employing rainwater harvesting systems to conserve nature.

Nature comprises of everything that surrounds us. The trees, forests, rivers, rivulets, soil, air all are the part of nature. Keeping nature and its resources integral. So, it is very important for the continuation of life on earth. It would be difficult to imagine life on earth, which has a spoiled natural environment.

Therefore, taking appropriate steps to conserve nature in its untouched form. It must be a priority for the human race. Only human beings with their power and ability can save nature in its purest forms.

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• Essay On Conservation Of Nature

Essay on Conservation of Nature

500+ words essay on conservation of nature.

Nature refers to living plants, air, water, minerals, sunlight, and animals. It makes this Earth a place worth living. We can exist on this planet because of mother nature. We get plenty of natural resources from our planet Earth. But unfortunately, most of the natural resources are getting depleted because of overpopulation and misuse of these resources. If we don’t work to conserve natural resources, all these resources will not exist one day. So, we should understand its value and importance.

Define the Conservation of Nature

Natural resources on Earth include minerals, air, water, soil and wildlife. It contains genes, ecosystems, diversity of species and functions of the environment. It is impossible to exist on this planet without these natural resources. Conservation of nature means taking care of and protecting these resources for future generations.

So, we should conserve these natural resources to maintain an equal balance in our environment. Now, we will discuss the types of resources and how they can be conserved.

Types of Natural Resources

Natural resources can be classified into four categories: Renewable resources, Non-Renewable resources, Biotic and Abiotic.

Renewable Resources: Renewable resources cannot be replenished through natural processes. For example, wind, water, forests, solar energy, etc. These resources can fill by themselves at the same speed they are used. But, we should manage these resources wisely to avoid the depletion of renewable resources.

Non-Renewable Resources: Non-renewable resources are exhaustible resources, which means once they are exhausted, they will take millions of years to form, for example, fossil fuels, minerals, etc.

Biotic: Biotic natural resources come from the ecosphere, including vegetation, animals, and other substances procured from them. It also includes oil, coal and petroleum because they are decayed organic matter.

Abiotic: Abiotic natural resources are generated from non-living and non-organic materials. Examples of abiotic natural resources are land, water, and heavy materials like gold, silver, etc.

Natural resources can also be categorised as stock resources, actual resources, potential resources and reserve resources based on their stage of development.

How to Conserve Nature and Its Resources?

It is necessary to conserve natural resources because many of them are used faster than their production speed. We have discussed a few ways of preserving these resources below:

Consumption of less water: Making a habit of taking shorter showers, closing the tap while brushing our teeth, etc., will help reduce the wastage of water. Also, try to use your dishwasher and washing machine when there is enough load and shift to energy-saving applicants if possible.

Switch off the lights: Make sure to turn off the lights once you leave the room. When there is no use of appliances like air conditioners, coffee-makers, etc., switch them off as they consume electricity in small amounts. LED lights use less amount of electricity compared to standard bulbs. So, try to switch to these alternative options of light.

Usage of renewable energy: Renewable resources have been in practice for centuries. But, in recent years, global warming and climate change forced researchers and scientists to look for other ways to incorporate greenery into our everyday life. The usage of wind energy and solar panels can reduce our dependence on natural gas and reduce the depletion of natural resources.

Recycle: Recycling means reusing materials that are already used. It reduces waste, helping in reducing groundwater and air pollution. Look for a place that recycles items like plastic bottles, aluminium, etc.

Composting means converting scrap food waste into valuable materials for gardening purposes. It enriches the soil and avoids water runoff, which reduces soil erosion. By composting, the need for pesticides can also be cut down, lessening the amount of wastage and pollution produced by food.

Nature comprises everything that surrounds us. The trees, forests, rivers, brooks, soil, and air are all part of nature. Keeping nature and its resources integral is crucial for continuing life on Earth. It would be difficult to imagine life on Earth with a spoiled natural environment.

Therefore, taking appropriate steps to conserve nature must be a priority for the human race. Only human beings can save nature in its purest forms with their power and ability.

From our BYJU’S website, students can also access CBSE Essays related to different topics. It will help students to get good marks in their exams.

Frequently Asked Questions on Conservation of Nature Essay

What are some simple ways to conserve nature.

Follow: 1. Reduce, reuse and recycle 2. Plant trees on special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries etc.) 3. Avoid shopping for unnecessary items 4. Volunteer for public clean-ups 5. Educate others about environmental protection

Why is the conservation of nature important?

Humans are dependent on nature and its various resources for their survival and sustenance. Preserving wildlife and nature is important as the constant depletion of nature will only lead to exhaustion of these.

What can schools do to conserve nature?

1. Avoid plastic items in canteens 2. Reuse paper, notebooks, etc. 3. Avoid wastage in all forms, especially water

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Essay on Conservation of Nature

Introduction

Conservation of nature is the collective effort to protect, manage, and restore Earth’s ecosystems and biodiversity. It includes a broad spectrum of initiatives aimed at preserving the delicate balance of life on our planet. One poignant example of conservation in action is the restoration of coral reefs. These vibrant marine ecosystems, essential for countless marine species and coastal communities, face threats from pollution , overfishing, and climate change. Through collaborative efforts involving scientists, governments, and local communities, initiatives like coral reef restoration projects offer hope for revitalizing these vital ecosystems and underline the urgency of conservation efforts worldwide.

Understanding Nature’s Value

• Ecosystem Services: Nature provides essential services that support life on Earth. These include pollination, water purification, soil fertility, and climate regulation.
• Biodiversity: Nature’s biodiversity is crucial for ecosystem resilience and adaptation to environmental changes. It guarantees that ecosystems can continue to offer services even in the presence of disruptions.
• Cultural and Spiritual Significance: Many cultures and communities worldwide have deep spiritual and cultural connections to nature. It provides inspiration, aesthetic value, and a sense of belonging.
• Economic Benefits: Nature contributes to economies through tourism, recreation, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals. For example, ecotourism relies on the preservation of natural habitats.
• Health and Well-being: Researchers have linked nature to human health benefits, including reduced stress, improved mental health, and physical well-being. Access to green spaces is essential for urban populations.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Natural ecosystems, like forests and wetlands, are critical in absorbing carbon dioxide and mitigating climate change.
• Food Security: Nature provides a variety of food sources, including crops, livestock, and fisheries. Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for ensuring resilient food systems.

Threats to Nature

Nature faces numerous threats that endanger its biodiversity, ecosystem services, and overall health. Human activities primarily drive these threats and include:

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• Habitat Loss: Human activities like deforestation, urbanization, and land conversion for agriculture and infrastructure development are causing the loss of natural habitats, one of the most significant threats to nature.
• Climate Change: The increasing temperatures, alterations in precipitation patterns, and occurrence of extreme weather events linked with climate change pose significant risks to ecosystems and various species across the globe. These include habitat disruption, altered migration patterns, and increased risk of extinction.
• Pollution: Pollution from multiple sources, such as industrial activities, agriculture, and urban runoff, contaminates air, water , and soil, leading to the degradation of ecosystems and harming wildlife and human health.
• Overexploitation: Unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, such as overfishing, illegal logging, and poaching, threatens the survival of numerous species and disrupts ecosystem dynamics.
• Invasive Species: Introducing non-native species into new environments, whether deliberate or unintentional, can adversely affect native ecosystems by outcompeting native species, spreading diseases, and altering habitat structure.
• Habitat Fragmentation: Fragmentation of natural habitats due to human infrastructure, such as roads and dams, disrupts ecological connectivity, reduces genetic diversity, and isolates populations, making them more vulnerable to extinction.
• Human Population Growth: The increasing human population exerts pressure on natural resources and habitats, leading to intensified exploitation, habitat destruction, and increased pollution.

The Case for Conservation

Conservation is essential for preserving the health and stability of our planet’s ecosystems, which are vital for human well-being and survival. Here are some compelling reasons why conservation is imperative:

• Preservation of Biodiversity: Conservation efforts are essential for preserving Earth’s rich biodiversity, which forms the foundation of ecosystems and sustains life on our planet. Every species has a distinct role in maintaining ecosystem health and resilience.
• Ecosystem Services: Natural ecosystems offer invaluable services, including clean air and water, crop pollination, climate regulation, and nutrient cycling. Conserving these ecosystems ensures the continued provision of these services, vital for human well-being and economic prosperity.
• Protection of Endangered Species: Numerous species are in danger of extinction because of human activities such as habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change . Conservation efforts strive to safeguard and restore habitats, enact species recovery programs, and combat illegal wildlife trade to prevent biodiversity loss.
• Sustainable Resource Management: Conservation involves managing natural resources to meet present needs while safeguarding future generations. This includes sustainable forestry, fisheries management, and land-use planning.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Forests, wetlands, and oceans are vital natural ecosystems that capture carbon dioxide and mitigate climate change. Conservation efforts that protect and restore these ecosystems contribute to global climate change mitigation efforts.
• Cultural and Recreational Value: Nature holds immense cultural, spiritual, and recreational value for communities worldwide. Conserving natural landscapes and wildlife preserves cultural heritage, provides opportunities for recreation and ecotourism, and fosters a deeper connection to the natural world.
• Resilience to Environmental Challenges: Healthy and biodiverse ecosystems are more resilient to environmental challenges such as disease outbreaks, invasive species, and extreme weather events. Conservation helps build ecological resilience, ensuring that ecosystems adapt and thrive in the face of change.

Strategies for Conservation

• Protected Areas Management: Establishing and effectively managing protected areas, such as wildlife reserves, national parks, and marine sanctuaries, to conserve biodiversity, protect habitats, and safeguard critical ecosystems from human disturbances and exploitation.
• Habitat Restoration and Rehabilitation: Implementing habitat restoration projects to revive degraded ecosystems, restore natural habitats, and enhance biodiversity . This includes reforestation, wetland restoration, and efforts to rehabilitate degraded lands.
• Sustainable Land Use Practices: Promoting sustainable land use practices, including sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries management, to minimize habitat destruction, soil erosion, and biodiversity loss while ensuring the long-term productivity of natural resources.
• Community-Based Conservation: By using participatory approaches to involve local communities in conservation efforts, they can be empowered to manage natural resources sustainably, promote traditional knowledge, and incentivize conservation through benefits-sharing mechanisms.
• Policy and Legal Instruments: Developing and enforcing laws, regulations, and policies at local, national, and international levels to protect wildlife, habitats, and ecosystems, combat illegal wildlife trade, regulate land use, and promote sustainable resource management.
• Education and Awareness: Raising public awareness and fostering environmental education initiatives to increase understanding of the value of nature, promote conservation behaviors, and empower individuals to contribute to conservation efforts in their daily lives.
• Science and Research: Conduct scientific research to inform conservation decision-making, monitor biodiversity, assess the effectiveness of conservation interventions, and develop innovative solutions to conservation challenges, including genetic conservation and assisted reproductive technologies.
• International Collaboration: Fostering collaboration and partnerships between governments, non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and local communities to address transboundary conservation challenges, share knowledge and best practices, and mobilize resources for conservation initiatives on a global scale.

Role of Individuals

• Education and Awareness: Individuals can educate themselves and others about conservation issues, raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity, sustainable living, and the impacts of human activities on the environment.
• Conservation Behaviors: Adopting environmentally friendly practices in daily life, such as reducing waste, recycling, using energy-efficient appliances, and supporting sustainable products, can help reduce the overall ecological footprint.
• Support for Conservation Organizations: Individuals can support conservation organizations financially or through volunteering, helping to fund conservation projects, research, and advocacy efforts.
• Advocacy and Policy Support: Individuals can advocate for stronger environmental policies and regulations at local, national, and international levels, supporting initiatives that promote conservation and sustainable development.
• Participation in Citizen Science: Citizen science projects allow individuals to contribute valuable data to conservation research, monitor wildlife populations, track biodiversity, and identify environmental changes.
• Community Engagement: Promoting conservation practices, supporting sustainable livelihoods, and enabling local communities to manage natural resources can positively impact conservation efforts.
• Responsible Tourism: When traveling, individuals can choose eco-friendly accommodations, support local conservation projects, and respect local wildlife and habitats to minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment.
• Lifestyle Choices: Adopting a more sustainable lifestyle, such as using public transportation, reducing meat consumption, and supporting sustainable agriculture, can help reduce resource consumption and mitigate environmental impacts.
• Personal Advocacy: Speaking out about conservation issues, sharing information on social media, and encouraging others to take action can help amplify the message of conservation and inspire others to get involved.
• Lifelong Learning: Continuously educating oneself about conservation issues, staying informed about new developments and solutions, and being open to changing behaviors based on new information is crucial for effective conservation action.

Conservation Initiatives

• Global Conservation Agreements: International agreements and treaties, like the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), are aimed at fostering worldwide collaboration towards conservation, establishing conservation objectives, and advancing sustainable development.
• Protected Area Networks: Establishing and expanding networks of protected areas, including marine sanctuaries, wildlife reserves, and national parks, to conserve biodiversity, protect critical habitats, and provide safe havens for endangered species.
• Species Recovery Programs: Implementing species recovery and reintroduction programs for endangered species, such as captive breeding, habitat restoration, and population monitoring, to prevent extinctions and restore populations to sustainable levels.
• Corporate Conservation Initiatives: These initiatives encourage corporate responsibility through programs such as CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs, sustainable supply chain management, and conservation partnerships, which minimize environmental impacts and promote sustainable practices.
• Conservation Finance: Mobilizing financial resources for conservation through mechanisms such as environmental funds, conservation easements, and payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes to incentivize conservation and sustainable land use practices.
• Technology and Innovation: Harnessing technology and innovation for conservation purposes, including remote sensing, GPS tracking, and DNA analysis to monitor wildlife, map habitats, and detect environmental changes.
• Education and Outreach: Conduct public awareness campaigns, educational programs, and community outreach activities to raise awareness about conservation issues, promote sustainable behaviors, and build public support for conservation efforts.
• Research and Monitoring: Conducting scientific research, monitoring biodiversity, and assessing the effectiveness of conservation interventions to inform decision-making, improve conservation strategies, and track progress toward conservation goals.

Success Stories

• Giant Panda Conservation (China): Conservation efforts, including habitat protection, captive breeding, and community engagement, have increased the giant panda population in China. The IUCN Red List reclassified the species from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable” in 2016.
• California Condor Recovery (USA): The California condor population, critically endangered with only 27 individuals in the 1980s, has now exceeded 400 individuals due to a captive breeding program and habitat protection efforts.
• Gorongosa National Park Restoration (Mozambique): Gorongosa National Park, once devastated by civil war, has recovered remarkably thanks to conservation efforts. The park’s wildlife populations have rebounded, and ecotourism has economically benefited local communities.
• Bald Eagle Recovery (USA): Once on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and DDT poisoning, the bald eagle has made a remarkable comeback. Conservation efforts, including habitat protection and banning DDT, have significantly increased the bald eagle population.
• Vaquita Conservation (Mexico): The vaquita, the world’s most endangered marine mammal, has been the focus of conservation efforts in Mexico. Despite challenges, including illegal fishing practices, conservation efforts have led to increased enforcement measures and international cooperation to protect the vaquita’s habitat.
• Turtle Conservation in Costa Rica: Conservation efforts in Costa Rica have protected nesting beaches and implemented sustainable fishing practices, resulting in increased turtle populations along the country’s coastlines.
• Coral Reef Conservation (Various Locations): Conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas, coral reef restoration projects, and community-based conservation efforts, have led to the recovery of coral reefs in some regions, demonstrating the potential for conservation to restore marine ecosystems.
• Wolf Recovery in Yellowstone National Park (USA): The reintroduction of wolves has positively impacted Yellowstone National Park’s ecosystem, helping to reduce elk overgrazing and establish a more balanced ecosystem.

Future Directions

• Incorporating Climate Resilience: Given the increasing impacts of climate change on ecosystems, future conservation efforts must prioritize strategies that enhance natural systems’ resilience to climate-related stressors, such as habitat restoration, assisted species migration, and creating climate-smart protected areas.
• Embracing Technology: Advancements in technology , such as remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and satellite monitoring, offer new opportunities for conservation monitoring, assessment, and decision-making. Future conservation efforts will increasingly rely on these tools to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and effectiveness.
• Promoting Nature-Based Solutions: Nature-based solutions, such as ecosystem restoration, green infrastructure, and natural climate solutions, offer cost-effective approaches to addressing biodiversity loss and climate change. Future conservation efforts should prioritize implementing these nature-based solutions to achieve multiple benefits for people and nature.
• Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Sectors: To address the root causes of biodiversity loss, future conservation efforts must work towards mainstreaming biodiversity considerations across sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, urban planning, and infrastructure development. This requires integrating biodiversity objectives into policies, plans, and decision-making processes at all levels.
• Enhancing Collaboration and Partnerships: To tackle intricate conservation issues, it is imperative to foster cooperation and alliances among various entities such as governmental and non-governmental organizations, indigenous groups, local communities, businesses , and other stakeholders. Future conservation efforts should build inclusive, multi-stakeholder partnerships to leverage resources, share knowledge, and implement coordinated action.
• Empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: To achieve successful conservation and sustainable development, it is crucial to acknowledge and honor the rights and traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Future conservation efforts should prioritize the empowerment of indigenous peoples and local communities as key stewards of biodiversity and natural resources .
• Investing in Conservation Finance: Securing adequate funding for conservation is essential for scaling up efforts and achieving conservation goals. To mobilize resources and incentivize conservation action, future conservation efforts should explore innovative financing mechanisms, such as impact investing, conservation finance bonds, and payments for ecosystem services.
• Promoting Equity and Social Justice: Conservation efforts should prioritize equity, social justice , and inclusivity to ensure that all social groups benefit equally from conservation and bear the burdens equitably. Future conservation efforts should address social inequalities, empower marginalized communities, and promote environmental justice.

The conservation of nature is an urgent imperative for safeguarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the well-being of present and future generations. By preserving habitats, protecting endangered species, promoting sustainable practices, and fostering global collaboration, we can mitigate the threats facing our natural world and build a more resilient and sustainable future. However, the task ahead requires collective action, innovation, and a commitment to equity and justice. With determination and concerted effort, we can ensure that our planet remains a thriving home for all life forms and that the beauty and diversity of nature endure for generations to come.

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Conserving Earth

Earth’s natural resources include air, water, soil, minerals, plants, and animals. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future.

Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geography, Geology, Conservation

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Earth ’s natural resources include air , water , soil , minerals , fuels , plants, and animals. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future. All the things we need to survive , such as food , water, air, and shelter , come from natural resources. Some of these resources, like small plants, can be replaced quickly after they are used. Others, like large trees, take a long time to replace. These are renewable resources . Other resources, such as fossil fuels , cannot be replaced at all. Once they are used up, they are gone f orever . These are nonrenewable resources . People often waste natural resources. Animals are overhunted . Forests are cleared, exposing land to wind and water damage. Fertile soil is exhausted and lost to erosion because of poor farming practices. Fuel supplies are depleted . Water and air are polluted . If resources are carelessly managed, many will be used up. If used wisely and efficiently , however, renewable resources will last much longer. Through conservation, people can reduce waste and manage natural resources wisely. The population of human beings has grown enormously in the past two centuries. Billions of people use up resources quickly as they eat food, build houses, produce goods, and burn fuel for transportation and electricity . The continuation of life as we know it depends on the careful use of natural resources. The need to conserve resources often conflicts with other needs. For some people, a wooded area may be a good place to put a farm. A timber company may want to harvest the area’s trees for construction materials. A business may want to build a factory or shopping mall on the land. All these needs are valid, but sometimes the plants and animals that live in the area are forgotten. The benefits of development need to be weighed against the harm to animals that may be forced to find new habitats , the depletion of resources we may want in the future (such as water or timber), or damage to resources we use today. Development and conservation can coexist in harmony. When we use the environment in ways that ensure we have resources for the future, it is called sustainable development . There are many different resources we need to conserve in order to live sustainably. Forests A forest is a large area covered with trees grouped so their foliage shades the ground. Every continent except Antarctica has forests, from the evergreen -filled boreal forests of the north to mangrove forests in tropical wetlands . Forests are home to more than two-thirds of all known land species . Tropical rainforests are especially rich in biodiversity . Forests provide habitats for animals and plants. They store carbon , helping reduce global warming . They protect soil by reducing runoff . They add nutrients to the soil through leaf litter . They provide people with lumber and firewood. Deforestation is the process of clearing away forests by cutting them down or burning them. People clear forests to use the wood, or to make way for farming or development. Each year, Earth loses about 14.6 million hectares (36 million acres) of forest to deforestation—an area about the size of the U.S. state of New York. Deforestation destroys wildlife habitats and increases soil erosion. It also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere , contributing to global warming. Deforestation accounts for 15 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation also harms the people who rely on forests for their survival, hunting and gathering, harvesting forest products, or using the timber for firewood. About half of all the forests on Earth are in the tropics —an area that circles the globe near the Equator . Although tropical forests cover fewer than 6 percent of the world’s land area, they are home to about 80 percent of the world’s documented species. For example, more than 500 different species of trees live in the forests on the small U.S. island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. Tropical forests give us many valuable products, including woods like mahogany and teak , rubber , fruits, nuts, and flowers. Many of the medicines we use today come from plants found only in tropical rainforests. These include quinine , a malaria drug; curare , an anesthetic used in surgery; and rosy periwinkle , which is used to treat certain types of cancer . Sustainable forestry practices are critical for ensuring we have these resources well into the future. One of these practices is leaving some trees to die and decay naturally in the forest. This “ deadwood ” builds up soil. Other sustainable forestry methods include using low-impact logging practices, harvesting with natural regeneration in mind, and avoiding certain logging techniques , such as removing all the high-value trees or all the largest trees from a forest. Trees can also be conserved if consumers recycle . People in China and Mexico, for example, reuse much of their wastepaper, including writing paper, wrapping paper, and cardboard. If half the world’s paper were recycled, much of the worldwide demand for new paper would be fulfilled, saving many of Earth’s trees. We can also replace some wood products with alternatives like bamboo , which is actually a type of grass. Soil Soil is vital to food production. We need high-quality soil to grow the crops that we eat and feed to livestock . Soil is also important to plants that grow in the wild. Many other types of conservation efforts, such as plant conservation and animal conservation, depend on soil conservation. Poor farming methods, such as repeatedly planting the same crop in the same place, called monoculture , deplete nutrients in the soil. Soil erosion by water and wind increases when farmers plow up and down hills. One soil conservation method is called contour strip cropping . Several crops, such as corn, wheat, and clover , are planted in alternating strips across a slope or across the path of the prevailing wind . Different crops, with different root systems and leaves, help slow erosion.

Harvesting all the trees from a large area, a practice called clearcutting , increases the chances of losing productive topsoil to wind and water erosion. Selective harvesting —the practice of removing individual trees or small groups of trees—leaves other trees standing to anchor the soil. Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variety of living things that populate Earth. The products and benefits we get from nature rely on biodiversity. We need a rich mixture of living things to provide foods, building materials, and medicines, as well as to maintain a clean and healthy landscape . When a species becomes extinct , it is lost to the world forever. Scientists estimate that the current rate of extinction is 1,000 times the natural rate. Through hunting, pollution , habitat destruction, and contribution to global warming, people are speeding up the loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate. It’s hard to know how many species are going extinct because the total number of species is unknown. Scientists discover thousands of new species every year. For example, after looking at just 19 trees in Panama, scientists found 1,200 different species of beetles—80 percent of them unknown to science at the time. Based on various estimates of the number of species on Earth, we could be losing anywhere from 200 to 100,000 species each year. We need to protect biodiversity to ensure we have plentiful and varied food sources. This is true even if we don’t eat a species threatened with extinction because something we do eat may depend on that species for survival. Some predators are useful for keeping the populations of other animals at manageable levels. The extinction of a major predator might mean there are more herbivores looking for food in people’s gardens and farms. Biodiversity is important for more than just food. For instance, we use between 50,000 to 70,000 plant species for medicines worldwide. The Great Barrier Reef , a coral reef off the coast of northeastern Australia, contributes about $6 billion to the nation’s economy through commercial fishing , tourism , and other recreational activities. If the coral reef dies, many of the fish, shellfish , marine mammals , and plants will die, too. Some governments have established parks and preserves to protect wildlife and their habitats. They are also working to abolish hunting and fishing practices that may cause the extinction of some species. Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels are fuels produced from the remains of ancient plants and animals. They include coal , petroleum (oil), and natural gas . People rely on fossil fuels to power vehicles like cars and airplanes, to produce electricity, and to cook and provide heat. In addition, many of the products we use today are made from petroleum. These include plastics , synthetic rubber, fabrics like nylon , medicines, cosmetics , waxes, cleaning products, medical devices, and even bubblegum.

Fossil fuels formed over millions of years. Once we use them up, we cannot replace them. Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource. We need to conserve fossil fuels so we don’t run out. However, there are other good reasons to limit our fossil fuel use. These fuels pollute the air when they are burned. Burning fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Global warming is changing ecosystems . The oceans are becoming warmer and more acidic , which threatens sea life. Sea levels are rising, posing risks to coastal communities. Many areas are experiencing more droughts , while others suffer from flooding . Scientists are exploring alternatives to fossil fuels. They are trying to produce renewable biofuels to power cars and trucks. They are looking to produce electricity using the sun, wind, water, and geothermal energy — Earth’s natural heat. Everyone can help conserve fossil fuels by using them carefully. Turn off lights and other electronics when you are not using them. Purchase energy-efficient appliances and weatherproof your home. Walk, ride a bike, carpool , and use public transportation whenever possible. Minerals Earth’s supply of raw mineral resources is in danger. Many mineral deposits that have been located and mapped have been depleted. As the ores for minerals like aluminum and iron become harder to find and extract , their prices skyrocket . This makes tools and machinery more expensive to purchase and operate. Many mining methods, such as mountaintop removal mining (MTR) , devastate the environment. They destroy soil, plants, and animal habitats. Many mining methods also pollute water and air, as toxic chemicals leak into the surrounding ecosystem. Conservation efforts in areas like Chile and the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States often promote more sustainable mining methods. Less wasteful mining methods and the recycling of materials will help conserve mineral resources. In Japan, for example, car manufacturers recycle many raw materials used in making automobiles. In the United States, nearly one-third of the iron produced comes from recycled automobiles. Electronic devices present a big problem for conservation because technology changes so quickly. For example, consumers typically replace their cell phones every 18 months. Computers, televisions, and mp3 players are other products contributing to “ e-waste .” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that Americans generated more than three million tons of e-waste in 2007. Electronic products contain minerals as well as petroleum-based plastics. Many of them also contain hazardous materials that can leach out of landfills into the soil and water supply. Many governments are passing laws requiring manufacturers to recycle used electronics. Recycling not only keeps materials out of landfills, but it also reduces the energy used to produce new products. For instance, recycling aluminum saves 90 percent of the energy that would be required to mine new aluminum.

Water Water is a renewable resource. We will not run out of water the way we might run out of fossil fuels. The amount of water on Earth always remains the same. However, most of the planet’s water is unavailable for human use. While more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is freshwater . Out of that freshwater, almost 70 percent is permanently frozen in the ice caps covering Antarctica and Greenland. Only about 1 percent of the freshwater on Earth is available for people to use for drinking, bathing, and irrigating crops. People in many regions of the world suffer water shortages . These are caused by depletion of underground water sources known as aquifers , a lack of rainfall due to drought, or pollution of water supplies. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.6 billion people lack adequate water sanitation . More than five million people die each year from diseases caused by using polluted water for drinking, cooking, or washing. About one-third of Earth’s population lives in areas that are experiencing water stress . Most of these areas are in developing countries. Polluted water hurts the environment as well as people. For instance, agricultural runoff—the water that runs off of farmland—can contain fertilizers and pesticides . When this water gets into streams , rivers , and oceans, it can harm the organisms that live in or drink from those water sources. People can conserve and protect water supplies in many ways. Individuals can limit water use by fixing leaky faucets, taking shorter showers, planting drought-resistant plants, and buying low-water-use appliances. Governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations can help developing countries build sanitation facilities. Farmers can change some of their practices to reduce polluted runoff. This includes limiting overgrazing , avoiding over-irrigation, and using alternatives to chemical pesticides whenever possible. Conservation Groups Businesses, international organizations , and some governments are involved in conservation efforts. The United Nations (UN) encourages the creation of national parks around the world. The UN also established World Water Day, an event to raise awareness and promote water conservation. Governments enact laws defining how land should be used and which areas should be set aside as parks and wildlife preserves. Governments also enforce laws designed to protect the environment from pollution, such as requiring factories to install pollution-control devices. Finally, governments often provide incentives for conserving resources, using clean technologies, and recycling used goods. Many international organizations are dedicated to conservation. Members support causes such as saving rain forests, protecting threatened animals, and cleaning up the air. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an alliance of governments and private groups founded in 1948. The IUCN works to protect wildlife and habitats. In 1980, the group proposed a world conservation strategy . Many governments have used the IUCN model to develop their own conservation plans. In addition, the IUCN monitors the status of endangered wildlife, threatened national parks and preserves, and other environments around the world. Zoos and botanical gardens also work to protect wildlife. Many zoos raise and breed endangered animals to increase their populations. They conduct research and help educate the public about endangered species . For instance, the San Diego Zoo in the U.S. state of California runs a variety of research programs on topics ranging from disease control in amphibians to heart-healthy diets for gorillas. Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, England, work to protect plant life around the world. Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank , for example, works with partners in 54 countries to protect biodiversity through seed collection. Kew researchers are also exploring how DNA technology can help restore damaged habitats. Individuals can do many things to help conserve resources. Turning off lights, repairing leaky faucets, and recycling paper, aluminum cans, glass, and plastic are just a few examples. Riding bikes, walking, carpooling, and using public transportation all help conserve fuel and reduce the amount of pollutants released into the environment. Individuals can plant trees to create homes for birds and squirrels. At grocery stores, people can bring their own reusable bags. And people can carry reusable water bottles and coffee mugs rather than using disposable containers. If each of us would conserve in small ways, the result would be a major conservation effort.

Tree Huggers The Chipko Movement, which is dedicated to saving trees, was started by villagers in Uttar Pradesh, India. Chipko means hold fast or embrace. The villagers flung their arms around trees to keep loggers from cutting them down. The villagers won, and Uttar Pradesh banned the felling of trees in the Himalayan foothills. The movement has since expanded to other parts of India.

Thirsty Food People require about 2 to 4 liters of drinking water each day. However, a day's worth of food requires 2,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce. It takes more water to produce meat than to produce plant-based foods.

Tiger, Tiger Tigers are dangerous animals, but they have more to fear from us than we have to fear from them. Today there are only about 3,200 tigers living in the wild. Three tiger subspecies the Bali, Caspian, and Javan tigers have gone extinct in the past century. Many organizations are working hard to protect the remaining tigers from illegal hunting and habitat loss.

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• Conservation of Nature Essay

Essay on Conservation of Nature

Conservation of Nature is one of the most important essays writing topics for students of all classes. The need for conservation of nature and various measures for conservation of natural resources are included in the academic syllabus for almost all classes. Our subject matter experts at Vedantu have prepared an informative essay on the topic of Conservation of Nature, which will act as a guideline for the practice purpose of kids and students. The essay is written in an easy-to-understand manner, so as to help the kids to learn and remember the important points for writing this essay. 

Essay 1: Nature is a blessing 

Nature is the source of energy, source of light, source of oxygen, and in turn, source of life. We are nothing without nature and its components. With an increase in human growth and science, we tend to focus on everything but nature. Building bridges, cities, buildings are not only development but also a setback for nature because all we end up doing is cutting off trees, erasing the environment, and creating a ruckus for nature.

Nature has been providing us with everything, be it water, rain, sunlight, oxygen, shelter, or whatnot. In short, nature is the solution to almost all problems. All we need to do is prevent the human race from obliterating to further obliterate nature. The process of doing this is generally known as conservation. We need to conserve nature, we need to conserve life.

Conserving nature is one way of storing something fruitful for our future self, or the future generation. It is like investing money in a bank, which in turn lets you have more than what you invested eventually. 

To conserve nature would be equal to conversing with the human race. We need to start thinking about it. It might seem like a small or negligent topic to talk about but honestly, nature is getting worse with every passing day and we have to start preserving it today.

There is not much needed to conserve nature. We don't have to give in our everything or leave other things to achieve this one goal, no. All we have to do is take small steps, every day. Small steps like trying to save even one ounce of water each day, or trying to plant at least one plant from your side, or trying to lessen air pollution from your side. Nature doesn't ask much from us.

To achieve this goal, we also need to know to have knowledge about a few other things such as our natural resources. Natural resources are classified into two groups, named, Renewable and Non-RenewableNon Renewable resources. 

Renewable resources are those resources that can be recharged, such as solar panels, geothermal, and so on. On the other hand, Non-renewable petrol renewable resources are the ones that cannot be recharged such as fuels, patrol, and so on. We need to let renewable resources overpower non-renewable resources.

The other thing is being aware of the 3Rs technique, i.e., Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. If we pledge to follow these small rules and live by them, we can achieve a lot more than just nature's conservation.  

With an increase in human growth and science, we tend to focus on everything but not nature. Nature is the source of energy, source of light, source of oxygen, and in turn, source of life. We are nothing without nature and its components. Humans are constantly Building bridges, cities, buildings are not only development but also a setback for nature because all we end up doing is cutting off trees, erasing the environment, and creating a ruckus for nature. When we do something to conserve and protect nature, nature will give tremendous benefits for the survival of human beings on Earth. 

Essay 2: Conservation of Nature

‘In every walk in nature, one receives far more than he seeks.’ Nature is the best surprise gift received from God. Nature has blessed us with a variety of things like water, food, shelter, rain, sunlight, oxygen, and countless other things. These things assist humans in the betterment of their lives. Life is unpredictable and it's very difficult to tackle adverse situations, in such times nature is the solution to all the problems. Conservation is having a straightforward meaning of preservation and protection. 

Conserving nature is just similar to adding or keeping cash in the pocket. Nature is the best friend of a human. Have you ever heard of naturotherapy techniques to cure the patient? Patients are advised to take or spend some time in the native place of animals. There they can keep themselves calm and comfortable so that they feel relaxed at the time of surgeries. Many of the medicines have their ingredients collected directly from the forest. 

Have you ever thought about the amount of water we waste in a day? A great amount of water is wasted in our daily chores which could be helpful at the time of droughts. Also, keeping the water clean by not throwing any garbage in it, is the best way to conserve nature. Things made up of plastic should not be thrown off into water bodies as it never decomposes. 

Natural resources can be classified into two categories which are renewable and nonrenewable. Renewable natural resources are those which can be replenished, like solar, wind, geothermal while on the other hand non-renewable are those which cannot be replenished easily over a short span of time. Non-renewable resources like fuels, petrol, and carbon are available in significant quantities. Renewable natural resources are available in good and significant quantities but their proper and effective use can vanish the utilization of non-renewable natural resources. Such as, electricity can be generated with the help of wind or water. Solar cars can reduce the use of petrol cars. This helps in keeping our earth an evergreen place to live. The conversion of one energy form into another is the best possible way to stop the consumption of non-renewable resources and to start making the best use of renewable energy. 

Urbanization increases the rate of the population on concrete homes and decreases the reserves of natural utilities. 

Nature has a lot to give, but there must be a proper way to store and reuse it. the 3R technique (Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse) proves the best method for conservation purposes. It states first try to reduce the use, or recycle the material or reuse it for other purposes. Many NGOs are spreading awareness among the people regarding this, but in the end, it's up to the self to take an initiative to make a change. As far as possible avoiding the use of non-renewable resources is the best possible way to maintain the reserves. Even keeping the water potable is a way of conservation. We have to start it someday, so why is that someday not today? Taking a step towards conserving nature is just like taking the step to success.

Final Thoughts

In your essay on Conservation of Nature, you should emphasize the need to conserve natural resources and the measures that can be taken for conservation. In the introduction paragraph, you may write about the gifts of nature and how nature actively supports the survival of living beings. For the body of your essay, you may write one or two paragraphs, stating the types of natural resources and how they are beneficial to humans. Also, write about the overuse of natural resources, leading to a faster rate of depletion than they can be replenished. In the concluding paragraph, write about the measures that can be taken to conserve natural resources. You can refer to the essay on this topic available on Vedantu to get a better idea.

FAQs on Conservation of Nature Essay

1. What are the main points to be written in an essay on the Conservation of Nature?

An essay on Conservation of Nature has to be informative and the points in it have to be relevant to most of the readers. The below-given questions will help you frame your essay on the Conservation of Nature.

What are the gifts of nature to living beings?

How does nature help us in rejuvenation?

What are the benefits drawn from natural resources, in our daily lives?

Is there any medicinal benefit that can be derived from nature?

How many types of natural resources are there? What are they?

How can we conserve renewable natural resources?

How can we save our nature from pollution?

What is the 3R technique?

2. How to write an essay on Conservation of Nature?

In your essay on Conservation of Nature you should emphasize the need to conserve natural resources and the measures that can be taken for conservation. In the introduction paragraph, you may write about the gifts of nature and how nature actively supports the survival of living beings. For the body of your essay, you may write one or two paragraphs, stating the types of natural resources and how they are beneficial to humans. Also, write about the overuse of natural resources, leading to a faster rate of depletion than they can be replenished. In the concluding paragraph, write about the measures that can be taken to conserve natural resources. You can refer to the essay on this topic available on Vedantu to get a better idea.

3. What is the 3R principle?

The 3R’s stand for ‘reduce’, ‘reuse’, and ‘recycle’, it is more often referred to as the three R’s of sustainability. The objective of these three R’s is conserving natural resources by cutting down their waste. Recycling and reusing manufacturing wastes and raw materials are meant to reduce the wastage of resources and the energy derived from these resources.

4. Is it important to write about the 3R principle in the essay on Conservation of Nature?

Yes, it is important to write about the 3R principle in your essay on the Conservation of Nature. It is one of the most effective measures to conserve natural resources and is being practiced all over the world. This will make your essay even more informative from the readers’ perspective.

5. Why is the conservation of nature necessary?

The conservation of nature is important because without nature there won’t be life possible on our planet. Nature gives us the necessary value to live our life. It provides us food to eat, eater to drink, and air to breathe. Nature has been providing us with everything, be it water, rain, sunlight, oxygen, shelter, or whatnot. In short, nature is the solution to almost all problems. Also, it provides us with a shelter to live in, and those valuable things that help us to live a good life. 

Conservation, Community, and Livelihoods: Sustaining, Renewing, and Adapting Cultural Connections to the Land

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• Fikret Berkes 5 ,
• Gary P. Kofinas 6 &
• F. Stuart Chapin III 7  

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Since most of the world’s biodiversity is not in protected areas but on lands used by people, conserving species and ecosystems depends on our understanding of social systems and their interactions with ecological systems. Involving people in conservation requires paying attention to livelihoods and creating a local stake for conservation. It also requires maintaining cultural connections to the land and at times restoring and cultivating new connections. This chapter addresses human-wildlife-land interactions across a range of hinterland ecosystems, from relatively undisturbed “wildlands" to more intensively manipulated rural agricultural areas where local communities are an integral component of the landscape. These regions commonly comprise unique ecosystems that are in many cases important hotspots of global biodiversity. Here we examine three case studies – Ojibwa and Cree use of boreal forest biodiversity, the community-based programs for elephant conservation in sub-Saharan Africa, and Gwich’in engagement in international management of the Porcupine Caribou Herd in Arctic North America. The three cases highlight the relationship between conservation and community livelihoods to illustrate strategies that communities have used and the challenges they face to sustain land, resources, and their own well-being.

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Additional readings.

Anderson, M.K. 2005. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources . University of California Press, Berkeley.

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Bawa, K.S., R. Seidler, and P.H. Raven 2004. Reconciling conservation paradigms. Conservation Biology 18:859–860.

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Berkes, F. 2008. Sacred Ecology . 2nd Edition. Routledge, New York.

Borgerhoff Mulder, M., and P. Coppolillo. 2005. Conservation: Linking Ecology, Economics, and Culture . Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Brechin, S.R., P.R. Wilshusen, C.L. Fortwangler and P.C. West (eds). 2003. Contested Nature: Promoting International Biodiversity with Social Justice in the Twenty-first Century . State University of New York Press, Albany.

Gomez-Pampa, A. and A. Kaus 1992. Taming the wilderness myth. BioScience 42:271–279.

Posey, D.A. (ed). 1999. Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity . UNEP and Intermediate Technology Publications, Nairobi.

Taylor, B.R. (ed). 2005. Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature . Thoemmes Continuum, London.

Turner, N.J. 2005. The Earth’s Blanket. Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living. Douglas & McIntyre , Vancouver; and University of Washington Press, Seattle.

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Fikret Berkes

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Berkes, F., Kofinas, G.P., Chapin, F.S. (2009). Conservation, Community, and Livelihoods: Sustaining, Renewing, and Adapting Cultural Connections to the Land. In: Folke, C., Kofinas, G., Chapin, F. (eds) Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73033-2_6

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Conservation Livelihood: A Concept of Integrating Nature Conservation and Livelihood

By Jayanta Kumar Sarma

“Conservation is a state of harmony between man and land”

– Aldo Leopold

Nature conservation on principle pleads for protecting and nurturing natural resources, associated ecosystems and biodiversity with its value of physical quantity and parameters. On the other hand livelihood means making a living, it covers fulfilment of basic necessities of life; which incorporates security of food, shelter and clothing along with health and education.  The growing pressure of population on natural resources, emerging environmental degradation, environmental and manmade externalities pose threats to the livelihood of the larger section of the ‘Eco-system People’ ( 1 ) of the globe.

Therefore, along with the thought of Sustainable Development, concept of Sustainable Livelihood appeared. To define the concept of sustainable livelihood Chambers and Conway (1992) stated  that “a livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.”  This framework proposed the state of the natural, physical, human, social and financial assets and its capabilities are the fundamentals of sustaining livelihood in present and future context.

However, livelihood security and economic wellbeing also directly affected forestland use practices and biodiversity conservation (Burner et al, 2001; Geist and Lambin, 2002). Particularly,  the situation of livelihood of people living in the fringe villages of the  Protected Areas  having different dimension of stress and shocks which always pose threat to sustain livelihood. Livelihood and food security of fringe villagers of protected area is a question of ponder (Siebert S.F., Belsky J.M., 2002). There is a growing debate on livelihood security and conservation of wildlife, question arises about environmental goals of protected areas (PA) compatible with poverty alleviation goals, particularly in the context of developing countries (Adams et al., 2004). On the other hand there is a widespread focuses on conservation policy to avoid destabilization of way of life of the people, other way, better to contribute for elevation of human means for living through poverty alleviation (CBD, 2008). Therefore alternative paradigm of integrated conservation and development projects was evolved with focuses on establishing linkage between conservation and livelihood objectives (Salafsky Nick and Wollengberg Eva, 2000; Clements Tom, SuonSeng, 2014). In this context a new approach of ‘ Conservation Livelihood ’ is developed, which is a synthesis of conservation and management of natural assets including wildlife with sustainable development ensuring means of leaving to the people.

2. Conservation Livelihood: Concept and Modalities

Conservation livelihood is an approach to integrate conservation and livelihood together, with a perspectives of ‘ growth within ’ ( 2 ) through the process of  circular economy ( 3 )   focusing  on  valuing the invisible ( 4 ) , connecting nature, culture and development  with an agenda of empowering community, skilling and enforcing eco-cultural ethos and ethics.

2.1. Approach

To achieve this perspectives, Conservation Livelihood strategies relies on three important approaches, viz. Conservation Education, Capacity Building and Courses of Livelihood Interventions .

2.1.1. Conservation Education  is primarily focuses on developing a new outlook among the community towards the natural assets in and around the area of their habitation to find out ways to mobilizing self-reliance without rescinding strength of the ecological processes through eco-cultural ethos and ethics. The foundation of this approach is based on exploring – i) ecological services available to the community from natural assets which are there within their area of habitation and neighbouring PA/forest ; ii) assessing people’s perception towards nature and wildlife, aspiration they have for livelihood and development; and iii)  identification and understanding about eco-ethics in the cultural milieu of the community. All these need to be transformed to logical framework for communication to the targeted community; specifically for working population, potential working population, women, youth and children through separate module and communication material in local languages. Cultural media can be used as one of the vehicle for communication in a holistic manner. Underlying objectives of this approach is to developing eco-literacy among the communities along with revival of culturally defined eco-ethics and motivating the community for alternative thinking, exploring ways to identify potential sources for sustaining their means of living based on sustainable production and consumption principles.

2.1.2. Capacity Building  emphasise on augmenting information, knowledge and skill for empowerment, economic self-reliance of the respective community/communities of the area within a framework of ecosystem approach. Here developing the capacity of the community for analysis of different situation and appropriate decision-making based on defined eco-ethics is one of the primary concerns. In relation to this, it is necessary to assess their desired eco-system based approaches for livelihood activities. Based on their choices, different livelihood based-capacity building programmes are designed and implemented. Here entire cycle is design with component of training, exposure and hands on trial. In this phase, apart from production processes, ecologically sensitive aspects of production systems are also focused.

2.1.3. Courses of livelihood interventions  is a processes started after formal capacity building programme; where primary focus is on technical guidance and facilitation to the respective target groups against a particular livelihood trade.

Entire approach is accentuate the strategies and action to facilitate the community to participate and contribute for a means of living through eco-system based methods of production, processing, distribution and consumption systems. Therefore, conservation livelihood is a process of learning and leading life, where cycle of process varies with spatial and temporal context. The role of facilitator to provide companion with the community to revival of their strength of collectiveness fostering eco-system based economic activities and developing a new structure of inclusiveness to achieve the target of growth within.

2.2. Core value and norms

Entire approach need to follow the principle of participation, inclusiveness and community ownership in planning, implementation and monitoring in an incessant process of learning, capacity-building and self-actualization. There is a focus on community participation in each phases of works. Therefore, following conditions are mandatory to follows.

Livelihood activity to be designed through participatory consultation processes with the community and incorporating their views, needs and choices. In the case of protected area, there is a need to follow the framework of access restriction as per legal provision of the country.

Incorporating livelihood activities which have parity with local ecological settings and cultural systems following eco-system approach of development.

Empowering community on alternative livelihood, based on the assets available with them and making an effort to change the outlook of the people about conservation.

Follow the principle of organic farming in case agricultural and allied production system.

Only to promote local seeds and endemic species in agriculture, agro-forestry and plantation practices.

Need to connect individual in the families to group and area base collectives.

Consider fair trade principles ( 6 ) in marketing of community product.

2.3. Transection processes

The techniques of transaction targeted to empowering and connecting individual in family to larger collectives, for better collective approaches for self-actualization. Therefore, it follows the path of ‘ family centric model ’ where primary focus is on  ‘empowering marginalised section of the community, who depends on sensitive natural assets’  like protected areas/forest for their means of living.  Here importance is given to involved working and potential working population of the respective families in to the process. Every individual working or potential working population will opt for a particular means of livelihood as per their own choice. After that, as per livelihood means decided by the individual, they were trained and skills are augmented, followed by extension of support and facilitation services to start their own initiatives. In due course of time when individuals gain confidence and perfection in their livelihood initiatives, individuals are encouraged to form their trade wise group at village level for their own strategic management, e.g., marketing of their product and assessing further scope for development in the trade, etc. Such groups of different livelihood trades are further federated as collectives at village and village cluster level in consequent phases. Such groups and collectives are trained and empowered in the process so that they can manage the initiatives and continue the process after withdrawal of facilitation process too.

In the process, the entire transection process needs to diminish the people’s dependency on material of protected area/forest for their livelihood; create self-reliance of the people with their own systems and increases generosity of the people to natural and wildlife in the protected area /forest to strengthen conservation practices. Such approach also need to develop the base of the natural assets within the village systems.

3.0. Additional consideration

As a part of holistic approach it requires to consider the following aspects in the processes of design and implementation of the initiatives under the umbrella of conservation livelihood.

3.1. Traditional Knowledge System (TKS)  of the local communities in natural resource management needs to be considered for designing the interventional target and approaches as procedure for reviving common knowledge of the people;

3.2. Eco-cultural ethos and ethics  of the community need to consider  for  designing  basic focuses of conservation approach and ethical framework to be followed in the intervention process.

3.3. Alternative appropriate technology  essentially need to consider as the one of the technological approach in the interventional initiatives. Instead of introducing market-driven technology, it is better to develop alternative appropriate technology at local context; based on the participatory approach of technology design, development and implementation.

3.4. Value addition chain  development is also important aspects of consideration in the process of livelihood initiatives, where priority is to go for semi processing and value addition of product gathered from agriculture, agro-forestry, handloom, and handicraft,etc., through proper market linkage.

3.5. Re-use-recycling principle  need to be considered in production system; means, waste produced in certain phase of production need to link to another production chain where it will be used as resource.

3.6. Fair trade of community product  is an important aspects need to be consider in the packages of practice. For this purpose ethical norms to be followed are eco-system approach-based organic production system in circular economic principles; where surplus will be strategically need to link to market channel to reach to responsible consumers, who not only consume the product and services but also pay to the community in terms of financial and intellectual contribution. Therefore, financial return from market not only process to establish but there is need to establish an appropriate feedback system so that consumer and producer can interact.

3.7. Knowledge partnership  is another asset to be considered in the initiatives of conservation livelihood; because entire approach is cross disciplinary in nature, so partnership between different institutions/groups/individuals with different subject of expertise helps in research, strategic planning and actual execution of the work.

4. Final annotation

Conservation livelihood is an evolving concept implored for developing strategic ways to integrate conservation of nature and livelihood from the stand point of eco-system approach ( 5 )   of development. Therefore, care to eco-system structure and functions its linkages to environmental, human and social processes are most essential in designing the process of interventions. It must incorporate the norms equality and equity into its fold of design and implementation. However, strategic planning and execution may change space to space with variation ecological and human-cultural context.

It is in the process of experimental learning by many development agencies, particularly with the initiatives of CSO, NGOs.  Aaranyak working in North Eastern part of India is also started experimental work in Manas Landscape under Manas Tiger Conservation Project and having a plan to start another trial in Kaziranga –Karbi Anglong Landscape. Learning of this trial will help in making broader strategies in North East India Context. 

People who fundamentally depends on ecosystem of their surroundings to meet their basic necessities of life and also for cultural practices.

Growth within represent state of economic situation where it gains capacity to produce more product and services in a said period of time based on the resources available within the spatial context with own initiatives in inclusive principle without disturbing the ecosystem functions .

Circular economic approach focuses on out placing concept of waste from the production system, focuses to incorporate waste in to resource inputs in a value chain. Major principle follows in the model are – design to out waste and pollution, keep product and material in use, regenerate natural system.

It is an approach to focus on minor and neglected one, and strategically incorporate them into the development process, production and service system; e.g. in case human resources marginal farmer, women, specially able persons,etc; in case of natural resources – weeds, insects, waste, etc.

The ecosystem approach, defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a strategy for integrating management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.  http://biodiversitya-z.org/content/ecosystem-approach ; retrieved on 06.01.2018

Fair trade is an approach to business and to development based on dialogue, transparency and respects that seeks to create greater equity in trading systems. It follows the principle of  a) providing opportunity for disadvantage producer, b) transparency and accountability, c) fair trade practices, d) fair payment, e) no child labour , no forced labour, f) no discrimination, gender equity, g) good working conditions, h) capacity building, i) promote fair trade, and  j) respect for environment.  https://wfto.com/fair-trade/10-principles-fair-trade ; retrieved on 18.12.17

References:

Adams, W. M., Aveling, R., Brockington, D., Dickson, B., Elliott, J., Hutton, J., et al. (2004). Biodiversity conservation and the eradication of poverty. Science, 306, 1146–1149.

Bruner A, Gullison R, Rice R, et al ( 2001) “ Effectiveness of Parks in protecting tropical biodiversity”, Science: 291, p. 125-128.

CBD. (2008). Ninth conference of the parties to the convention on biological diversity, decision IX/18, Bonn. Convention on Biological Diversity. ;  https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-09/full/cop-09-dec-en.pdf ;  https://www.cbd.int/decisions/cop/?m=cop-09 ; retrieved on 06.01.2018

CHAMBERS, Robert and CONWAY, Gordon R. (1992): Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century, Institute of Development Studies Discussion Papers, 296. Cambridge.

Clements Tom , SuonSeng , 2014, “Impacts of Protected Areas on Local Livelihoods in Cambodia” World Development Vol. 64, pp. S125–S134, 2014.

Geist H and Lambin E (2002), “Proximate causes and underlying driving forces of tropical deforestation” Bio-Science: 52, p. 143-150.

Salafsky Nick and Wollengberg Eva, 2000, “Linking Livelihoods and Conservation: A Conceptual Framework and Scale for Assessing the Integration of Human Needs and Biodiversity’ World Development Vol. 28, No. 8, pp. 1421±1438, 2000.

Siebert S.F., Belsky J.M. (2002) “Livelihood security and protected area management” International Journal of Wilderness, Vol. 8, No.3, p. 38-42.

* Article republished from Biolink August 2018 issue.

About the Author:

Jayanta Kumar Sarma

The author is a Freelance Consultant of Environment and Development and presently associated with Aaranyak in its Manas Tiger Conservation Project as a consultant.

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Wild Life, Wild Livelihoods: involving communities in sustainable wildlife management

• New research shows that involving local people is critical to successful conservation. There has long been good evidence of the effectiveness of well-implemented community-based approaches, but there has been a widespread failure to do this, often due to a lack of political will to adopt them.
• Current approaches to wildlife management often fail to take into account the needs and rights of local communities, which are fundamental to success.
• Top-down protectionist approaches (‘boots on the ground‘), which have emerged in response to the militarization of poaching, are ineffective, can result in human rights abuses and can backfire.

Nairobi, 27 February 2018 – UN Environment, in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Institute on Environment and Development (IIED), today launched a report proposing more action and stronger community voice on approaches to involve indigenous peoples and local communities in the fight against wildlife crime, including the illegal wildlife trade.

’Wildlife, Wild livelihoods’ outlines eight actions points to improve the community-based approach, ranging from better incentives and developing a better understanding of local customs and traditions, to involving local leaders in decision-making.

“Local communities are on the front line and have the most to lose from the illegal wildlife trade,” Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment said. “We have to engage local communities at every level to protect our most precious natural assets against people seeking to make a profit from wildlife crimes.”

It further outlines the opportunities and constraints for communities to participate in the various key international policy forums that influence wildlife management, and takes a critical look at the increasingly militarized and top-down approach to combat illegal wildlife trade.

“Relying on top-down approaches to wildlife management is not working,” said Rosie Cooney, Chair of IUCN SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. “We must listen to the voices of local people and avoid marginalizing local communities to ensure our conservation work is effective and sustainable. It is local communities that personally bear the costs of human wildlife conflict. Their engagement is key to protecting people and wildlife alike.”

Dilys Roe, Principal researcher and Head of Biodiversity at IIED and joint author, said: “For too long, those in the best position to preserve wildlife ― local people ― have been left out of key decision-making and missed out on crucial benefits. It is vital policies that foster and recognise communities’ rights and needs are adopted in partnership and implemented. Africa’s wildlife will have a more hopeful future when governments start supporting local people and listening to them. Then they can help protect the wildlife we all treasure.”

The recommendations outlined in the report, and hands-on ways of increasing opportunities for indigenous peoples and local communities to participate in promoting more effective and equitable wildlife conservation strategies will also be at the center of the first meeting of a Working Group of CITES on Rural Communities, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya this week.

The report comes on the eve of World Wildlife Day, observed annually on March 3 rd . This year, celebrated under the theme “Big cats: predators under threat”, will highlight the many and varied threats – mostly caused by human activity – for the world’s most magnificent predators.

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About the International Institute for Environment and Development ( IIED)

IIED is a policy and action research organisation. It promotes sustainable development to improve livelihoods and protect the environments on which these livelihoods are built. IIED specialises in linking local priorities to global challenges. Based in London, UK it works in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific, with some of the world’s most vulnerable people. We work with them to strengthen their voice in the decision-making arenas that affect them — from village councils to international conventions. For more information please see www.iied.org

About World Wildlife Day:

To celebrate the magnificent array of our world’s flora and fauna, and to raise awareness of the constant threat that our wildlife is under, the UN General Assembly proclaimed March 3 rd UN – the day of the adoption of CITES – World Wildlife Day. The day has been celebrated annually since 2014.

The theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day is “Big cats - predators under threat."

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Scaling up area-based conservation to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30x30 target: The role of Nature’s Strongholds

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America

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Affiliation 34 Kibo Lane, Karen, Kenya

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Affiliation Equilibrium Research, Bristol, United Kingdom

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Affiliation Andes-Amazon Initiative, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Palo Alto, California, United States of America

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Affiliation Wildlife Conservation Society Brasil, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

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Affiliations Center for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Affiliation World Wide Fund for Nature International, Gland, Switzerland

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Affiliations Wildlife Conservation Society Congo, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom

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Affiliation Global Environmental Facility, Washington, DC, United States of America

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Affiliations Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, World Commission on Protected Areas, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland

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• John G. Robinson, 
• Danielle LaBruna, 
• Tim O’Brien, 
• Peter J. Clyne, 
• Nigel Dudley, 
• Sandy J. Andelman, 
• Elizabeth L. Bennett, 
• Avecita Chicchon, 
• Carlos Durigan, 

Published: May 21, 2024

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613
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The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), signed in 2022 by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, recognized the importance of area-based conservation, and its goals and targets specify the characteristics of protected and conserved areas (PCAs) that disproportionately contribute to biodiversity conservation. To achieve the GBF’s target of conserving a global area of 30% by 2030, this Essay argues for recognizing these characteristics and scaling them up through the conservation of areas that are: extensive (typically larger than 5,000 km 2 ); have interconnected PCAs (either physically or as part of a jurisdictional network, and frequently embedded in larger conservation landscapes); have high ecological integrity; and are effectively managed and equitably governed. These areas are presented as “Nature’s Strongholds,” illustrated by examples from the Congo and Amazon basins. Conserving Nature’s Strongholds offers an approach to scale up initiatives to address global threats to biodiversity.

Citation: Robinson JG, LaBruna D, O’Brien T, Clyne PJ, Dudley N, Andelman SJ, et al. (2024) Scaling up area-based conservation to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30x30 target: The role of Nature’s Strongholds. PLoS Biol 22(5): e3002613. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613

Copyright: © 2024 Robinson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: Wildlife Conservation Society received support for this work from the Acacia Conservation Fund and the Arcadia Fund (Grant number #AE4195), private philanthropic organizations. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Abbreviations: CBD, Convention on Biological Diversity; CII, Contextual Intactness Index; EU, European Union; GBF, Global Biodiversity Framework; GBMF, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; ITT, indigenous and traditional territory; IUCN, International Union for the Conservation of Nature; JCU, jaguar conservation unit; KLC, Key Landscapes for Conservation; METT, Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool; NGO, non-governmental organization; OECM, other effective area-based conservation measure; PCA, protected and conserved area; WCS, Wildlife Conservation Society

Introduction

The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted at the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montreal [ 1 ], recognized the importance of area-based conservation to deliver on the overarching biodiversity goal of the GBF (Goal A): “The integrity, connectivity, and resilience of all ecosystems are maintained, enhanced, or restored, substantially increasing the area of natural ecosystems by 2050.” Area-based conservation refers collectively to the use of both “protected areas,” as recognized by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and CBD, and “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs) [ 2 ].

The goal of protecting at least 30% of global land and ocean by 2030 (the 30x30 target) emerged from scientific studies that argue that greater area-based ambition is a necessary component of conservation policies if the loss of biodiversity is to be halted [ 3 – 6 ], and has been promoted by advocacy campaigns [ 7 , 8 ]. GBF Target 3 ( Box 1 ) ambitiously builds upon and extends Aichi Target 11 [ 2 ], which specified a goal of protecting “at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas,” made up of “protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.” Under the Aichi targets, there was significant growth in the area under protection but more limited gains in biodiversity protection [ 9 ].

Box 1. Characteristics of protected and conserved areas identified in the Global Biodiversity Framework as important for biodiversity conservation

To deliver on its biodiversity goal, the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has explicit targets.

• GBF Target 1 addresses the need for effective planning and management and equitable governance. It seeks to “ensure that all areas are under participatory, integrated and biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land- and sea-use change, to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.” It also prioritizes the ecological integrity of conservation areas.
• GBF Target 2 seeks to “ensure that by 2030 at least 30% of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and coastal marine ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.” This target, among other considerations, notes that connectivity and ecological integrity are integral to area-based conservation.
• GBF Target 3 formally links a strategy for area-based conservation to the biodiversity outcomes of the numerical target of conserving 30% of the globe by 2030. Protected and conserved areas need to be effectively managed and equitably governed, interconnected, and embedded in larger conservation landscapes. Protected and conserved areas explicitly include both traditional protected areas and “other effective area-based conservation measures.” The target is to “ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures… and integrated into wider landscapes and seascapes…”.

A consensus around conserving 30% by 2030 gained political momentum leading up to the UN CBD Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in November 2022. On assuming office in 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order that committed the United States to the goal of conserving 30% of its lands and waters by 2030 [ 10 ]. In June 2021, the G7 members committed in their Nature Compact “to conserve or protect at least 30% of global land and at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030.” In the build up to COP15, over 100 countries joined the High Ambition Coalition to champion the 30x30 target [ 11 ], and over 70 countries joined the Global Ocean Alliance [ 12 ]. This enthusiasm has also translated into increased funding: In addition to commitments made at COP15, the “Protecting our Planet Challenge” was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow and represents a $5 billion commitment to support the protection of at least 30% of the planet in the most important areas for biodiversity by 2030 [ 13 ]; and in June 2023, the Council of the Global Environmental Facility approved plans to establish the Global Biodiversity Fund to support implementation of the GBF. The efficacy for biodiversity conservation of the 30x30 target depends on where protected areas are located, and how they are configured and managed [ 14 ].

The GBF has specified the characteristics of protected and conserved areas (PCAs) that are important for biodiversity conservation ( Box 1 ). In this Essay, we consider these characteristics and identify 4 criteria that we argue should be prioritized and scaled up in order to strengthen biodiversity outcomes: PCAs should be extensive; interconnected (either physically or as part of a jurisdictional network, and frequently embedded in larger landscapes); have high ecological integrity; and be effectively managed and equitably governed. We suggest that specific areas that incorporate all 4 criteria, areas that we call “Nature’s Strongholds,” are disproportionately important for the conservation of biodiversity and need to be prioritized for safeguarding if the mission of the GBF is to be achieved. Using these criteria, we look at how to identify such strongholds, providing examples in the river basins of Central Africa and the Amazon. These regions are both high-biodiversity tropical forest regions with a tradition of area-based conservation, but they exhibit variation in the size of single or mosaics of PCAs, the extent of the conservation landscape in which strongholds are embedded, the pattern of ecological integrity across the area, and PCA management and governance regimes.

Characteristics contributing to area-based conservation of biodiversity

Size of pcas.

The species-area curve, a fundamental ecological relationship, describes that as the size of an area increases, the extent of natural habitat and the number of species present also increase. Conversely, biodiversity can be lost simply as the area of natural habitat is diminished [ 15 ], or through the differential loss of ecosystems and their associated species and biological communities [ 5 , 16 ]. More generally, the loss of large, contiguous natural areas drives biodiversity loss [ 17 – 20 ].

Conservation areas retain natural habitat, but creating large PCAs does not by itself produce biodiversity outcomes: they need to be located in the right places [ 21 ]. Conservation areas should be located in geographic areas that contain abundant biodiversity and connected to similar areas. Nevertheless, increasing the size and compactness of single PCAs or mosaics of PCAs decreases the proportion of natural habitat located close to areas that are unprotected or have other land uses, making them less vulnerable to many anthropogenic stressors, including climate change [ 22 ]. Large PCAs can also contain many natural habitats and the ecological and evolutionary processes that sustain them.

Connectivity of areas

The terms “connectivity” and “well-connected systems,” as referenced in the GBF, we interpret as referring to both the physical or ecological connectivity of natural areas (such as PCAs that are physically contiguous or linked through corridors) and to management connectivity (such as multiple PCAs that might not be physically contiguous but are linked jurisdictionally and embedded in a larger natural landscape matrix, providing for ecological connectivity and management across jurisdictional boundaries). Connectivity, as a result of either condition, allows the movement of species across the landscape and seascape, increasing effective population sizes, and allows animals, especially those with behavioral flexibility, to have access to suitable environmental conditions in the context of climate change and sufficient resources even in times of ecological stress [ 23 – 25 ]. Conversely, the fragmentation of natural habitats and the loss of connectivity across a landscape is strongly associated with the loss of biodiversity [ 26 , 27 ]. Fragmentation changes ecological processes, and smaller habitat fragments have less biodiversity than would be expected from the loss of habitat alone [ 28 ].

Aggregations or mosaics of PCAs under multiple jurisdictions would allow the alignment of conservation goals across larger areas. Defining what categories of PCAs should be included in these mosaics so as to meet the GBF 30x30 target [ 29 ] remains a work in progress. There is a good consensus that all 6 IUCN categories of protected areas (Ia, strict nature reserve; Ib, wilderness area; II, national park; III, natural monument; IV, habitat or species management area; V, protected landscape or seascape; VI, protected areas with sustainable use of natural resources) should be included, although they are not simply interchangeable. Furthermore, they should demonstrably deliver on biodiversity outcomes [ 30 ]. Because effectiveness of protected areas is typically measured by their attaining management objectives rather than achieving biodiversity conservation [ 31 ], this is not always the case [ 32 – 35 ].

OECMs might also be included and contribute to the 30x30 target [ 14 , 36 ]. OECMs, in contrast to traditional protected areas, are governed by many different authorities, from national governments to private entities and civil society, to indigenous peoples and local communities, and might include indigenous and traditional territories (ITTs). Ongoing work by the IUCN, and specifically its World Commission on Protected Areas, seeks to establish a recognized method to define types of OECMs [ 37 ] and assess their possible contribution to reaching the 30x30 target.

Including the category of OECMs in the 30x30 target would enable countries to more easily attain biodiversity conservation goals. OECMs, by definition (CBD Decision COP XIV/8, 2018) explicitly contribute to biodiversity conservation [ 38 ]: An OECM is “a geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socioeconomic, and other locally relevant values.” In their delivery of biodiversity outcomes, OECMs can be favorably compared to formally protected areas. A series of detailed studies in Amazonia have compared deforestation and degradation rates among different categories of conserved and managed areas. ITTs compared favorably with areas under national jurisdiction and those supporting extractive activities [ 39 – 42 ]. A similar pattern is evident globally [ 43 , 44 ]. In addition, these areas have an extensive geographic distribution. ITTs, in particular, cover a large proportion of the planet and overlap with 40% of protected areas [ 45 ]. They overlap extensive areas of intact forest landscapes [ 46 ] and the ranges of many species, including those that are endangered [ 47 ].

While many existing areas under the jurisdiction of indigenous peoples and local communities have the potential to be recognized as OECMs, including such OECMs in the 30x30 tally will require that local customs are followed and/or will need to be approved by the relevant Indigenous peoples and local community actors through processes that respect human rights obligations [ 48 ], including free prior and informed consent and equitable benefit sharing and governance.

Degree of ecological integrity

The concept of ecological integrity became a part of ecology’s lexicon with Aldo Leopold’s comment: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise” [ 49 ]. While there are different approaches to defining ecological integrity, there is general agreement that it can be characterized by the structure, composition, and function of natural ecosystems [ 50 , 51 ]. Efforts to quantitatively describe and measure ecological integrity have depended on measuring some characteristic of ecosystems that can be used as a proxy for integrity, be it structural (such as forest extent, the degree of fragmentation, or the size and frequency distribution of live trees), compositional (such as species occurrence and community composition), or functional (such as net primary productivity or energy and nutrient cycling) [ 52 ]. An alternative approach is quantifying measures of human pressure or modification of natural systems that are considered to systematically influence integrity (e.g., population density, land-use change, roads, extractive industries, light pollution) [ 53 , 54 ]. The first approach has been most useful at local and regional scales, where such direct measurement is more feasible. The second has had utility at more global scales, where proxies for pressure are available [ 17 , 20 ].

In response to the needs of the GBF for measures of integrity to study, manage, and report on biodiversity change, a hybrid approach to generate integrity indicators has gained traction. It combines measures of human pressure or modification with modeled measures of ecosystem properties, often based on remote sensing and/or direct observations [ 55 ]. For example, the Forest Landscape Integrity Index was developed on the basis of observed human pressure at a landscape level and then used to model loss of forest connectivity [ 56 ]. Similarly, the Contextual Intactness Index (CII) used the Human Footprint to infer a biodiversity value based on geographically explicit species occurrence from museum collections [ 33 ]. Methods have also been developed that combine measures of human pressure with empirical measurements of biodiversity across multiple scales [ 57 ]. For the GBF, the most useful indicators of ecological integrity should have a global application and a temporal resolution that enables periodic monitoring [ 58 ].

Within a given ecosystem, ecological integrity is a good predictor of high biodiversity [ 59 ] and is clearly important for climate adaptation [ 60 , 61 ]. Conversely, loss of habitat and connectivity results in loss of ecological integrity, which erodes biodiversity [ 62 ]. The major driver of these patterns is that the loss of ecological integrity increases the probabilities of local extinction [ 19 ]. For example, high-integrity tropical rainforests, as measured by structural intactness, are associated with lower risks of species extinction for tropical mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians across all biogeographic realms [ 27 ], and ecological integrity of Southeast Asian tropical forests can be used to predict actual extirpations of megafauna during the Holocene and/or Anthropocene [ 63 ].

PCA management and governance

While the GBF does not define when an area is “effectively managed,” traditionally the term has been interpreted as reflecting the extent to which the goals and objectives for the area are achieved [ 64 ]. Many studies have examined the constraints of effective management for conservation areas (e.g., the need for adequate funding [ 65 ], capacity shortfalls [ 66 ], and adequate personnel [ 67 ]). A widely used self-reporting tool to monitor protected areas is the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) [ 68 ].

While many studies have demonstrated that protected areas are important for biodiversity conservation [ 69 ], few studies have directly measured the importance of management effectiveness per se. One such study reported that species populations in protected areas were positively associated with the area’s METT score [ 70 ]. The authors then went on to argue that “documenting the delivery of biodiversity outcomes must be an explicit part of any future assessment of effectiveness” [ 71 ].

The GBF also urges that areas be “equitably governed.” While scientific assessments of the extent to which and how protected areas meet this requirement are still largely lacking, CBD Decision COP XIV/8, Annex II (2018) provides guidance on how this might be measured: appropriate procedures should be in place to ensure that the diversity of “rights holders” and stakeholders are recognized, that rule making and decision-making are inclusive, and the costs and benefits are equitably shared. Effective governance requires that “duty bearers” provide timely and competent assistance to rights holders. Dudley and colleagues argue that conserved and managed areas should only be recognized as contributing to the 30x30 target when authorities or duty bearers recognize and respect rights holders and stakeholders, and provide the ecosystem services to meet human needs [ 30 ]. Tools are becoming available for measuring the effectiveness of governance and social outcomes in PCAs [ 72 – 75 ]. The expectation is that when this is the case, the “conserved and managed” areas of GBF Target 3 will have greater permanence through political and legal support, greater stakeholder buy-in, and access to more financial and other resources. There is some supporting data for this expectation [ 76 ].

Identifying Nature’s Strongholds

How these characteristics affect biodiversity conservation will vary geographically and ecologically. The identification of Nature’s Strongholds will be affected, in a specific region, by the size and distribution of PCAs, the continuity or fragmentation of the natural matrix, the spatial pattern of ecological integrity, and the existing governance and management regimes. In considering their application to the Central African and Amazonian river basins, our 2 case studies, we interpreted the characteristics as follows, and defined explicit criteria that were appropriate for these 2 regions.

• Large protected and conserved areas. Our assumption was that PCAs needed to be large enough to maintain biodiversity. There is no consensus around the desired size of PCAs, but a range of sizes have been proposed. To protect functioning ecosystems, the IUCN established a global Standard for Key Biodiversity Areas [ 77 ] and suggested a possible size threshold of 10,000 km 2 . More of a focus on tropical regions has defined the work of some other organizations: the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has structured its area-based work around areas with a minimum size of 5,000 km 2 [ 78 ]; the German Government’s “Legacy Landscapes” program [ 79 ] suggests a minimum of 2,000 km 2 ; and African Parks, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on park management, identified “core anchor areas” in Africa of disproportionate importance for biodiversity conservation, with a minimum size of 500 km 2 . For the case studies, we gave preference to larger areas, and arbitrarily identified PCAs (single or as aggregations) that were approximately 5,000 km 2 or larger.
• Interconnected areas. In addition to identifying strongholds where a PCA was sufficiently large, we looked for groups of PCAs that were physically or ecologically contiguous, thus creating a larger conservation area, and groups of PCAs that, although not physically contiguous, were embedded in the same conservation landscape, often with jurisdictional commonalities and management coordination across the landscape. In both Central Africa and Amazonia, the definition and identification of strongholds was aided by their being embedded within larger “Key Landscapes for Conservation” (KLCs), which had previously been identified in studies supported by the European Union (EU) [ 80 , 81 ]. In addition, to inform their philanthropy, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF) has identified a suite of conservation landscapes in Amazonia [ 82 ] that generally align with the EU analysis. The resulting landscapes that contained identified strongholds were large. In Central Africa, the average size was 62,257 km 2 ( n = 16) and in Amazonia, the average size was 217,488 km 2 ( n = 14).
• Effectively managed and equitably governed PCAs. Systems of governance and management vary in different parts of the world, and the criteria associated with PCAs will always be politically and culturally specific. In Central Africa, national government agencies typically retain authority over most PCAs (including national parks, nature reserves, faunal reserves, and wildlife reserves), although devolved authority characterizes community reserves, forest management units, and local community forest concessions. In addition, collaborative management partnerships through an agreement between government and international or national NGOs are increasingly common. In Amazonia, in addition to PCAs managed by national governments (e.g., national parks, wildlife reserves), PCAs managed by states and municipalities are common. Devolved authority to a local level characterizes extractive reserves, ITTs, and sustainable development reserves. Further management and governance criteria used to identify strongholds are described below separately for Central Africa and Amazonia.
• High ecological integrity. We used Mokany and colleagues’ [ 33 ] CII to measure ecological integrity. The index infers a biodiversity value and uses the Human Footprint [ 53 ] to assess human impact. We did not use ecological integrity in the initial identification of strongholds, as we had no a priori rationale for defining a minimum level of integrity for strongholds. Nevertheless, we expected that ecological integrity would covary with the other characteristics. Therefore, once strongholds were identified using the first 3 criteria, we compared their integrity to that of the conservation landscapes in which they were embedded and compared the integrity of the landscapes to the river basin as whole. A possible stronghold where its ecological integrity was lower than the landscape in which it was embedded was not included.

Case study 1: Nature’s Strongholds in Central Africa

Identification of Nature’s Strongholds in Central Africa initially depended on 3 of the criteria: large single or mosaics of PCAs of approximately 5,000 km 2 or larger, embedded within previously defined conservation landscapes, with demonstrably effective management and a commitment to equitable governance. The process was also informed by previous analyses of priority areas and management effectiveness [ 80 , 83 , 84 ], any international recognition (such as by a World Heritage Site designation), and expert opinion from managers of PCAs.

To delineate strongholds, we were helped by reference to the EU conservation strategy for Africa “Larger than Elephants” [ 80 ], which identified KLCs, including 20 in Central Africa. KLCs bounded individual strongholds, which could be single or multiple jurisdictional distinct PCAs within a single KLC (some large KLCs that crossed national boundaries were subdivided; see S1 Text ). Table 1 lists the KLCs which contained identified strongholds (see S1 Text ). Identified strongholds frequently included multiple PCAs.

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Within a KLC, PCAs were grouped into strongholds if their physical or jurisdictional configuration, management, funding, or institutional context were aligned. In some cases (e.g., Odzala Kakoua, CAF 03c in Fig 1 ), individual PCAs were sufficiently large to define a stronghold, in others (e.g., Gamba complex, CAF 04 in Fig 1 ), individual PCAs were contiguous forming a mosaic, and in still others (e.g., PCAs in CAF 03d in Fig 1 ), where PCAs were not contiguous, they occurred in a single conservation landscape with jurisdictional links and management across the landscape. One alignment, and an indication of more effective management, is if there is a significant management partnership between national governments and international NGOs (see Table 1 ), with the concomitant international donor funding that comes with these relationships. Africa has been in the forefront of defining collaborative management models [ 83 ]. Conservation management partnerships offer a range of governance mechanisms between governments, local communities, private entities, and NGOs, sometimes involving joint ventures and delegated management authority [ 85 , 86 ].

KLCs and Nature’s Strongholds in Central Africa (EU identified KLCs numbered, embedded protected and conserved areas constitute the identified strongholds) mapped onto ecological integrity of the region, as measured by the CII. Data layers used are listed in S1 Text . AOI, area of interest; CII, Contextual Intactness Index; EU, European Union; KLC, Key Landscapes for Conservation.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.g001

Comparisons of CII values of strongholds and their surrounding KLCs were used to confirm the identification of individual strongholds. In all cases, with 1 exception, the ecological integrity of identified strongholds was greater than the KLCs in which they were embedded. In the exception, the mean CII of Bouba Ndjida-Benoue KLC (CAF 17) was 0.73, while the mean CII values for the 2 PCAs in the stronghold, Bouba Ndjida in northern Cameroon and Sena Oura in Chad, were lower (0.68 and 0.42, respectively); this potential stronghold was therefore not included. In 2 other cases (Mt. Cameroon in CAF 01 and Mayumba in CAF 04), CII values of individual PCAs were lower than for the KLC, but the stronghold as a whole was higher, so the strongholds were retained.

In total, we identified 18 strongholds in Central Africa (average size = 15,003 km 2 ). Each was located within a KLC and included one or more PCAs, often not physically contiguous. Possible strongholds were excluded if: PCAs, either singly or as aggregations, were much smaller than 5,000 km 2 ; they fell outside of KLCs; there was little evidence of effective management or good governance; and the stronghold had a lower ecological integrity than the surrounding KLC. Identified strongholds and their surrounding KLCs were mapped onto the geographic distribution of ecological integrity across the basin, using the CII [ 33 , 87 ] ( Fig 1 ). Identifying strongholds is a work in progress, and currently excluded areas could meet the criteria in the future through ecological restoration, provision of adequate funding and staffing, and strengthening management and good governance.

To make the overall case that strongholds (or their constituent PCAs) are more ecologically intact than the KLCs in which they are embedded (excluding the area of the stronghold itself), we used principal component analysis to compare, for all 1 km grid cells, the CII, the standard deviation of CII, and the land area with values scaled to have a mean of 0 and a variance of 1 (see Fig 2 , S1 Text , and S1 Table ). The first component is most heavily weighted toward the CII itself (0.893), followed by decreasing standard deviation of CII (−0.654), and the size of KLCs and strongholds (0.406). This means that higher values of ecological integrity are associated with larger areas and lower variance of ecological integrity. The second component is primarily weighted by size of the area (0.846), followed by increasing standard deviation of CII (0.650), and least by the CII itself (0.091). This means that larger areas have a higher variance in ecological integrity, but are no more intact than smaller areas. Each axis accounts for similar levels of variance in the data: 46.3% for principal component 1 and 38.2% for principal component 2, for a total of 84.5% of the total variance. Ecological integrity is higher in larger KLCs than smaller, and less variable in larger KLCs ( Fig 2 ). By contrast, larger strongholds are not more ecologically intact than smaller ones. These observations were confirmed using paired t tests, which indicates that strongholds have both a higher average ecological integrity and a lower variance in ecological integrity than the KLCs in which they were embedded (see S1 Text ).

Principal component analysis for Strongholds (filled squares, dashed oval) and Central African KLCs (filled circles, solid oval). Principal component 1 (PC1), which is most heavily weighted towards the CII, is plotted against principal component 2 (PC2), which is most heavily weighted towards land area. The ovals highlight the distribution of points in the stronghold class and the KLC class. They serve to easily show the degree of separation and are not a statistical representation. CII, Contextual Intactness Index; KLC, Key Landscapes for Conservation.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.g002

We also looked at whether KLCs that contained identified strongholds were more ecologically intact than the Congo Basin as a whole (see S1 Text and S2 Table ), and concluded that strongholds were of higher ecological integrity than the KLCs in which they are embedded, and combined KLCs (including embedded strongholds) are of higher ecological integrity than the Congo Basin as a whole.

To demonstrate that the distribution of large-bodied mammals (another proxy for biodiversity) maps onto Nature’s Strongholds, we examined the geographic distribution of forest elephants and great apes in Central Africa ( S3 Table ). The forest elephant ( Loxodonta cyclotis ) population was last estimated [ 88 ] at 24,119 ± 2,865, with an additional 87,190 to 103,355 in areas not systematically surveyed. Nine of the 32 identified strongholds contained populations numbering in the thousands, and 8 more had populations numbering in the hundreds. Similarly, Great Ape populations are found in strongholds [ 89 ]. Over 95% of the world’s remaining Cross River gorillas are found in Cross River and Takamanda parks, which also contain a population of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes elliotii ). The Western Lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) and the Central chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes troglodytes ) are found in strongholds and KLCs in Gabon, Cameroon, and the Republic of Congo; the Grauer’s gorilla ( Gorilla beringei graueri ) and the Eastern chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ) are found especially in strongholds in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and the bonobo ( Pan paniscus) is largely restricted to the Democratic Republic of Congo protected areas of Lomami and Salonga.

Case study 2: Nature’s Strongholds in Amazonia

Nature’s Strongholds in Amazonia were identified using similar criteria to those for Central Africa. To delineate strongholds, we referred to the EU “Larger than Jaguars” conservation strategy for Latin America [ 81 ], which defined KLCs for Amazonia, and to the GBMF-identified conservation landscapes in the Amazon basin [ 82 ].

Within these larger landscapes, strongholds were identified if PCAs were large or could be grouped into larger aggregations, were interconnected, and were effectively managed and governed. In Amazonia, in contrast to Central Africa, in all cases, aggregations of individual PCAs were always physically contiguous. PCAs included protected areas, ITTs, sustainable development reserves, extractive reserves, and other conservation areas. Table 2 lists the KLCs and GBMF mosaics, which contain identified strongholds.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.t002

As a proxy for management effectiveness and good governance, strongholds were identified particularly if countries had dedicated funding for management support of PCAs in a stronghold. In Brazil, that funding was provided by the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program (ARPA), which is coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and is the recipient of funds from multilateral and bilateral donors, international NGOs, and private foundations. In Colombia, a similar arrangement pertains to Herencia Colombia (HECO), which is managed by Parques Nacionales Naturales. In Peru, it is Patrimonio Natural del Peru (PdP), which receives institutional support through the National Protected Areas Service and financial support from external donors.

In Brazil, PCAs are already often grouped into larger management units, or “mosaicos,” so we considered these as strongholds. The intent of mosaicos is to operate at a larger scale and coordinate the management of government protected areas, neighboring indigenous territories and protected area buffer zones. Within the Brazilian Amazon, 4 large mosaicos were included in the list of strongholds: 1 (Eastern Amazonia) included mosaico da Amazônia Oriental; 3 (Apui–Southern Amazon) included two mosaicos, Apui and the mosaico da Amazônia Meridional; and 6 (Mamiráua–Amanã–Jaú–Unini) included mosaico Baixo Rio Negro.

Fig 3 illustrates the 14 identified strongholds (average size = 69,808 km 2 ) mapped onto the geographic distribution of ecological integrity across the basin. However, unlike in Central Africa, we did not use the boundaries of the KLCs [ 81 ] to define the conservation landscape. As in Central Africa, our intent was to compare the ecological integrity of strongholds to the matrix in which they were embedded, but the KLCs defined in Amazonia were very large and together covered much of the Amazon basin. Accordingly, Fig 3 plots the boundaries of each conservation landscape as an arbitrarily defined 60 km buffer around that stronghold (see S2 Text ). In all cases, CII values of strongholds were greater than that of the surrounding landscape.

Nature’s Strongholds embedded within conservation landscapes in Amazonia, mapped onto ecological integrity of the region. Data layers used listed in S2 Text . AOI, area of interest.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.g003

To make the case that strongholds are more ecologically intact than the surrounding landscapes, we used principal component analysis to compare, for all 1 km grid cells, the CII, the standard deviation of the CII, and the land areas with values scaled to have a mean of 0 and a variance of 1 (see S2 Text and S4 Table ). As in the Central Africa case study, principal component 1 is a function of high intactness (CII = 0.956, SD (CII) = −0.953, land area = 0.08), and principal component 2 is almost completely dominated by the size of the land area (land area = 0.996, SD (CII) = 0.087, CII = 0.003). The ovals in Fig 4 highlight the distribution of points in the stronghold class and the surrounding landscape class. They illustrate the degree of separation (not a statistical representation), the tendency for strongholds to be more ecologically intact than the surrounding landscape, and for larger strongholds to be more ecologically intact than smaller strongholds. These observations were confirmed using paired t tests, which indicated that strongholds have both a higher average ecological integrity and a lower variance in ecological integrity than the surrounding matrix (see S2 Text ). We also confirmed that conservation landscapes that contained identified strongholds are more ecologically intact than the Amazon basin as a whole. The idea that Nature’s Strongholds and conservation landscapes are important for biodiversity conservation in the Amazon basin is suggested by strongholds having a higher ecological integrity, which infers a higher biodiversity value than the matrices in which they are embedded, and conservation landscapes (strongholds and surrounding matrices) have a higher ecological integrity than the Amazon basin as a whole (see S2 Text and S5 Table ).

Principal component analysis for Strongholds (filled squares, dashed oval) and surrounding conservation landscapes (filled circles, solid oval). Principal component 1 (PC1), which is most heavily weighted towards the CII, is plotted against principal component 2 (PC2), which is most heavily weighted towards land area. CII, Contextual Intactness Index.

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Another proxy for biodiversity and its distribution relative to strongholds and conservation landscapes is provided by Wallace and colleagues [ 82 ]. Although these authors did not focus on strongholds per se, they examined the geographic distribution of amphibian, mammal, and bird diversity in the GBMF conservation landscapes (termed “mosaics,” as distinct from Brazilian mosaicos). Documenting species occurrence in the Amazon remains incomplete, but the authors, based on the geo-referenced occurrences of species across the region, concluded that mosaics were disproportionately important for conserving biodiversity: “the 12 conservation mosaics cover 53.84% of the Amazon basin [but] are expected to hold 3,836 species, representing 66.64% of Amazon species.”

Planning at the scale of Nature’s Strongholds

NGOs are increasingly organizing their area-based conservation efforts at the scale and complexity of strongholds. For example, the WCS and the World Wide Fund for Nature have structured their terrestrial area-based work around the conservation of large landscapes, which typically extend beyond parks and protected areas, encompassing a diverse range of land use categories [ 78 ]. This approach emphasizes the ecological integrity of these areas, that their conservation has consequences for nature and people, and that these large areas serve to protect and maintain a number of values, including biodiversity, watersheds, carbon stocks and sinks, traditional cultures, and human livelihoods.

Another example of planning at the scale and complexity of strongholds is provided by the German “Legacy Landscapes Fund” [ 79 ]. Legacy Landscapes are terrestrial areas across the globe that are larger than 2,000 km 2 , are ecologically intact, and are home to globally important biodiversity. Selected Legacy Landscapes receive significant long-term financing (1 million dollars a year for a minimum of 15 to 30 years). The Legacy Landscapes program explicitly recognizes the need to provide this financing at large, spatial scales. Each Legacy Landscape comprises a core protected area that covers at least 1,000 km 2 (or at least 50% of the entire landscape), is IUCN Category I/II or equivalent, along with contiguous land categories such as community managed conservation areas, and/or other contiguous protected areas with a different IUCN status.

Range-wide priority setting for species-specific conservation efforts typically plan at this scale. A global conservation plan for jaguars identified 51 “jaguar conservation units” (JCUs), large, spatially defined areas with viable populations, often in and around protected areas. JCUs averaged over 25,000 km 2 in size [ 90 ]. In a different socioeconomic and ecological context, Walston and colleagues [ 91 ] identified 42 “source sites” across the present range of tigers. Source sites were largely protected areas and defined as having the potential to maintain >25 breeding females, with the area having a conservation infrastructure and the legal mandate for protection. Their average size was 2,100 km 2 . Source sites offered the potential for tigers to expand across the wider landscape.

Managing Nature’s Strongholds

Conservation management of potentially multiple categories of PCAs across large areas will require the integration of conservation planning systems and the administrative and participatory mechanisms to coordinate management. Some of the challenges to doing this are at least partly technical, such as ensuring that key indicators of management effectiveness are defined appropriately and measured at the appropriate scale [ 69 ]. Other challenges include the need to involve a wide range of stakeholders and secure approval for conservation action. To do so will require the engagement of carefully nested stakeholder groups, operating within individual jurisdictions and across the Nature’s Stronghold as a whole. Preventing takeover by a few powerful interest groups will require constant oversight and ensuring efficient and equitable engagement over a wide area will be challenging. Similarly, planning will need to take place at a wider level than hitherto, including with respect to current and future climate change. None of this is revolutionary, the tools and methods exist, but they have seldom been applied at this scale [ 92 ].

These are the challenges faced by the “Mosaicos de unidades de conservação” within the Brazilian national system of protected areas, which provide a pertinent example of how to approach the scaled-up management of multiple PCAs, often comprising different land categories. Mosaicos are spatially organized collections of different land use categories under different jurisdictions (see Case Study 2). When the Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação was established, Article 26 of the 2000 Law 9.985 stated: “when there is a set of conservation units of different categories or not, close, juxtaposed or overlapping, and other public or private protected areas, constituting a mosaico, the management of the group should be carried out in an integrated and participatory manner, considering its different conservation objectives, in order to make the presence of biodiversity, the enhancement of socio-diversity and sustainable development in the regional context compatible.” The intent was to enable management integration across much larger areas and create economies of scale. For example, one of the oldest and most consolidated mosaicos in the Brazilian Amazon is the Lower Rio Negro mosaico, which includes 11 PCAs (national parks, sustainable development reserves, environmental protection areas, state parks, and extractive reserves) in 6 Amazonas municipalities covering an area of 74,128 km 2 [ 93 ]. To date, conservation management has depended on strengthening systems within each PCA, but to improve management effectiveness across the whole mosaico, the governmental Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade has recently established councils and management units (Núcleos de Gestão Integrada) for each.

Extending the Nature’s Strongholds approach to other regions

Conserving at the scale of Nature’s Strongholds will support the efforts of governments and the conservation community to align and coordinate protection over the larger areas that are needed to address the global threats to biodiversity stemming from the loss and degradation of Nature. We have provided examples in Central Africa and Amazonia. Characteristics of strongholds will vary with the ecosystem, the size and spatial distribution of PCAs, the fragmentation or degree of continuity of natural habitats in the landscape, the spatial pattern of ecological integrity, and the existing governance and management regimes. The example of mosaicos in Brazil illustrates how the size of strongholds might vary. While the 4 mosaicos in the Brazilian Amazon are large (averaging 56,303 km 2 , with a median size of 50,876 km 2 ), the 22 terrestrial mosaicos from other regions and ecosystems in Brazil average 8,960 km 2 , with a median size of 3,785 km 2 .

Identifying Nature’s Strongholds remains a work in progress, and also depends on advances in land-use planning, restoration of degraded sites, and the establishment of equitable and effective conservation management. The approach is clearly most suited to areas that contain large, connected areas of natural habitat with existing areas under conservation management, and is least applicable in scattered, fragmented ecosystems with a variety of different land uses. There are, for example, areas of Europe and Central Asia where large semi-natural areas still exist, such as the Carpathian and Caucasus mountains, and large, sparsely populated areas of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan [ 94 , 95 ]. A combination of strategic land purchase and negotiated agreements with governments and other landowners could create conservation areas at scale. The expansion of deer, wolf, jackal, and lynx throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia shows the potential for large-scale wildlife conservation in these areas [ 96 ].

Conclusions

In this Essay, we argue that to meet the GBF’s 30x30 target, conservation areas need to be large enough to encompass functioning ecosystems and their associated biodiversity, and located in areas of high ecological integrity. Often, this will require well-connected aggregations of effectively managed and equitably governed PCAs, embedded in a larger conservation landscape. We have provided a framework to identify these areas, which we call Nature’s Strongholds, which have the characteristics of large size, interconnected PCAs, high ecological integrity, and effective management and good governance.

We interpret these characteristics in the context of Central Africa and Amazonia and identify strongholds within these 2 regions. Other strongholds might be included in the future if PCAs meet criteria of ecological integrity, adequate funding, management effectiveness, and good governance. When applying the approach to other regions, the specific characteristics used to identify strongholds will vary with the size and spatial distribution of PCAs, the matrix in which they are embedded (including patterns of ecological integrity), and management and governance regimes.

Governmental, non-governmental, and civil society organizations engaged with area-based conservation are increasingly planning and coordinating across large areas, multiple jurisdictions, and a diversity of management authorities. Management at this scale and degree of complexity, while challenging, will allow authorities to effectively contribute to biodiversity conservation and promote adaptation to climate change.

Supporting information

S1 table. size, mean, and standard deviation of contextual intactness index (cii) for key landscapes for conservation (klcs) (excluding pcas in identified strongholds) and pcas in central africa..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s001

S2 Table. Size, mean, and standard deviation of Contextual Intactness Index (CII) for Key Landscapes for Conservation (KLCs) (including all PCAs in identified strongholds) in Central Africa.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s002

S3 Table. Present distribution and abundances of forest elephants and great apes across Nature’s Strongholds in Central Africa.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s003

S4 Table. Size, mean, and standard deviation of Contextual Intactness Index (CII) for Amazonian strongholds and the surrounding landscapes (considered separately).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s004

S5 Table. Size, mean, and standard deviation of Contextual Intactness Index (CII) for Amazonian strongholds and the surrounding landscapes (considered together).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s005

S1 Text. Identifying Key Conservation Landscapes and Nature’s Strongholds in Central Africa.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s006

S2 Text. Identifying Conservation Landscapes and Nature’s Strongholds in Amazonia.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002613.s007

Acknowledgments

The authors thank a large number of field-based colleagues in Central Africa and Amazonia who helped classify conservation areas and thus define strongholds, David Wilkie for insights on how good governance is defined, Conrad Aveling for providing perspective on the criteria that the European Union used to define Key Landscapes for Conservation, and he and Mélanie Weynants for providing updated polygons for these landscapes.

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Stabilizing our climate by protecting and restoring nature

To prevent irreversible harm to the climate that supports us, humanity must emit less climate-warming greenhouse gases while also removing excess carbon from the atmosphere. But even if the world instantly stopped using fossil fuels, we would fail to avert a disastrous climate scenario if we did not also reverse the destruction of ecosystems that absorb and store carbon.

In other words: If we don’t protect and restore nature, we won’t save the climate.

Natural climate solutions are at the heart of Conservation International’s work. These are actions that conserve, restore or improve the use or management of ecosystems while maintaining their capacity to absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere. These solutions also provide a host of additional benefits — filtering fresh water, providing breathable air — that other approaches to climate change don’t offer.

Even better: Nature can do this today — cost-effectively, and at the massive scale required.

Planetary goals

Where humanity needs to be by 2030.

Scientists have identified the global need to avoid 5 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions per year by preventing the destruction of high-carbon ecosystems, and to remove 5 additional gigatons of CO 2 per year through the restoration and sustainable management of the landscapes that serve as Earth’s natural “carbon sinks” by 2030.

What we are doing about it

Our strategy focuses on ensuring that natural ecosystems are worth more alive than dead. Deforestation rates have climbed in recent years — with short-term economic interests outweighing the long-term value of forests. Conservation International’s work aims to replace an extractive economy with a regenerative one through innovation, collaboration and by partnering with Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Together, we are:

• Working with businesses and governments to minimize deforestation by addressing its largest drivers, particularly agricultural expansion.
• Identifying and mapping high-carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, tropical peatlands and old-growth tropical forests that, once lost, are extraordinarily difficult to replace.
• Guiding public and private investments to initiatives such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), a UN-backed approach to fight climate change by conserving forests.
• Developing methods to increase the return on investment in tropical reforestation, making it more attractive for governments and private investors.
• Supporting local and Indigenous communities to protect forests on their lands.
• Mainstreaming and maximizing nature’s role for achieving climate goals in national and international climate actions.

MORE THAN 30%

Protecting and restoring tropical forests can make up at least 30% of the solution to the climate crisis. But forest-protection efforts receive only 3% of global climate funding . Join the thousands of people who want to fix that.

Conservation International aims to:

Avoid 2+ gigatons of CO 2 emissions through the avoided loss and conservation of high-carbon ecosystems such as peat, mangroves and old-growth forests. This will require preventing the loss of 3.3 million hectares of forest and protecting a much larger area.

Remove another 1+ gigaton of CO 2 through restoration and sustainable management of natural ecosystems by 2025. That will require the restoration of 35 million hectares of land.

Secure 13 percent of the ecosystems that are storing the planet’s “irrecoverable carbon” — approximately 400 million hectares. These critical ecosystems contain carbon that if emitted, could not be recovered by nature in time.

Ensure all mangroves are included in countries’ climate action commitments and are protected and/or covered under a sustainable financing mechanism, with the aim of increasing mangrove forests worldwide by 20 percent by 2030 .

Help at least 30 countries enact policies that maximize natural climate solution potential.

Develop projects to capture 200 megatons of CO 2 and increase available financing for natural climate solutions by US$ 10 billion .

Directly support at least 3 million people from climate-vulnerable communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change through nature-based approaches that protect, manage and restore the nature that they and future generations depend on.

Principles for Investments in Natural Climate Solutions

Nature is one of the most effective ways to stop climate breakdown, yet natural climate solutions receive less than 3 percent of all global climate funding. Conservation International’s Principles for Investments in Natural Climate Solutions guide our engagement with companies that are helping to protect ecosystems that store climate-warming carbon from the atmosphere. Read our six principles »

Irrecoverable Carbon

To avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate breakdown, there are certain places that humanity simply cannot afford to destroy. These ecosystems contain more than 260 billion tons of “irrecoverable carbon,” most of which is stored in mangroves, peatlands, old-growth forests and marshes. If released, these vast stores of living carbon would be impossible to recover by the middle of the century, which is when the world needs to reach net-zero emissions to avoid a climate disaster.

Conservation International scientists are leading a team of globally renowned experts to determine where these carbon stocks are, whether they are threatened by human activities and how quickly the stocks could be recovered if lost — creating a global map of irrecoverable carbon in Earth’s ecosystems .

Informed by this pioneering research, Conservation International is undertaking an ambitious initiative to protect 120 million hectares (nearly 300 million acres) of ecosystems — an area larger than Colombia — containing high amounts of irrecoverable carbon by 2025. 

On the ground

Conservation International is hard at work

Related conservation news from the field

READ MORE ON OUR BLOG

Related peer-reviewed science

READ MORE RESEARCH

Our Priorities

How we do this work:

Innovations in science Innovations in finance Partnering with communities Working with governments Engaging with corporations

Principles that guide our work:

Diversity, equity and inclusion Respecting human rights Gender equality Science-based restoration

The dominant conservation narrative for centuries was fortress conservation, an approach that protects natural spaces by excluding human populations who are blamed for ecological degradation. This approach resulted in the displacement of local communities that have long had  a deep, cultural, economic and ecological connection to this land. These millennia-old connections with the land have fostered healthy stewardship of ecosystems. Restricting access to land that these communities depend on for their livelihoods and wellbeing is also harmful to ecosystem health. 

This exclusionary perspective is reflected in the land rights of many countries where protected areas that exclude people dominate the conservation landscape.  The dominant land rights system is statutory land rights, which is where the state determines who owns how much land. Instead of granting Indigenous and local communities the autonomy to decide how to interact with the land, national laws restrict this either by prioritizing protected areas or through the exploitation of land for economic gain. There must be a shift to promote the inclusion of local communities in determining how to conserve nature. Rather than just looking at protected areas as a place to conserve nature in its most pristine form, we must shift the perspective to recognize that local communities can also benefit through the creation of effective and inclusive conservation strategies.

This shift is realized as a conservation economy. What is this?  A Conservation Economy focuses equally on local community leadership, ecological wellbeing, and economic functionality. These “economies” — or systems — operate by linking the intrinsic value of nature to the understanding that sustainable management of resources can provide economic opportunity for Indigenous and rural communities through restorative, conservation-based revenue streams for stakeholders. At EcoCiv, we believe that a shift toward this conservation economy is one way to efficiently promote the wellbeing of both people and the planet. This perspective promotes an effective conservation strategy while ensuring that these communities continue to use their land as a vehicle for economic sustainability. The goal is to ensure that local communities are the leaders in the decision-making processes of their land, resources, and economic system, instead of an external entity. Thus, a conservation economy relies on these voices and their knowledge to provide the best ecological and economic outcomes in their local context. 

Local communities cannot lose their relationship with their land. Not only does it impact their way of life, but it reduces their ability to continue their cultural practices. This connection to nature held by these communities will forcibly decline over time if the conservation narrative does not change. Indigenous communities hold traditional ecological knowledge that is vital to conservation. These communities also recognize how human-nature relationships are integral to society. Reducing their ability to continue these relationships reduces the ability for future generations to continue these healthy, sustainable human-nature relationships. Granting these communities a voice to determine what conservation methods are the most effective is the only way to ensure that land is protected for the right reasons in the right way. This is what we try to accomplish at EcoCiv: to grant local communities the voice to feel heard on issues impacting their own land to ensure the long-term viability of their cultural, economic, and ecological relationships with nature. 

There is much to do and the work here at EcoCiv is only beginning. There must be a shift away from the paradigm of fortress conservation that has dominated the conservation ideology for centuries. The Conservation Economies project is an emerging project, created through the recognition that the current models in place will not result in long-term, sustainable growth for these local communities. Future projects  that ensure the inclusion and empowerment of these communities for the prosperity of both people and planet are projects that reflect the values of an ecological civilization.

Written by: Juliana Arnold EcoCiv’s Communications and Writing Assistant

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The Future of Conservation

Many elders often share that their biggest hope for the future lies in youth. 

As a young woman and dedicated environmentalist, I’ve learned to internalize that responsibility. My generation has inherited a planet that is suffering—one that faces pervasive pollution, exploitation of precious resources, and the devastating impacts of climate change. If we wish to sustain our home for generations to come, we have no choice but to embody hope for the future. 

While elders are placing their hope in youth, where do we find ours?

Finding hope in our roots

To answer this question for myself, I must look to my roots. I am a descendant of Filipinos, a people who embody great resilience and community care. Before colonizers touched down on our islands, our Indigenous culture thrived. With limited resources and whole communities to feed, my ancestors were creative, tenacious, natural-born environmentalists. I come from a long line of skilled farmers, fishers, and basket weavers, but my family no longer remembers their stories. 

Although centuries of colonization have erased much of our Indigenous culture, I’m committed to unearthing their ways of life and discovering my own indigeneity. My hope comes from my ancestors who instilled their strength in me, and guide my conservation efforts. 

I acknowledge that I live and work on stolen land, specifically Tongva land (Los Angeles, CA). As a good steward, my duty is to learn from the Indigenous peoples of the land I’m on who carry thousands of years of Intergenerational Knowledge.

No monopoly on knowledge

I earned my degree in Environmental Studies from a Western institution but found the education somewhat incomplete. I’ve always been fascinated by Indigenous Knowledge , in ways that Western science cannot explain. There’s a spiritual dimension to our connection with nature that is often overlooked in the classroom. In Native American culture and nature-based spirituality, I see my values reflected—and the deeper I dig into Indigenous cultures, the more I recognize the common threads that connect us all.

I recently had a conversation with a Tribal elder named John Banks who offered insight on my musings. John is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation in Maine and member of the newly formed Tribal Advisory Council for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). He demonstrates the perspective of Etuaptmumk , or “Two-Eyed Seeing”—having been raised in the values and culture of his Tribe and educated in Western forestry science at the University of Maine.

He told me a story about the time a Tribal elder, named Harry Francis, explained to him the five species of ash trees in Maine. John had freshly graduated from college at the time, and replied that there were, in fact, only three species of ash trees in Maine:

“I’ll never forget that he said, ‘John, what the heck are they teaching you over there at that University?’” 

For John, this interaction opened his eyes to the limitations of his own Western education:

“Harry didn’t have to learn anything by going to college and listening to a professor’s lecture or reading a textbook. His base of knowledge came from the direct interaction with the resources and learning from his elders and teachers.

That whole body of knowledge has been suppressed so much. Many universities and academies don’t recognize the value of thousands of years of direct knowledge.”

The lack of Traditional Knowledge in John’s forestry education was also a primary reason for two of his friends dropping out of college. The Western teachings simply did not resonate with them as Tribal youth. This and several other factors contribute to a trend of higher dropout rates among Native Americans than other ethnic groups in the United States. 

Western science is largely focused on empirical evidence, objectivity, and the scientific method. But implementing only one school of thought is detrimental to achieving shared conservation goals. Traditional Knowledge offers a holistic perspective rooted in lived experiences, cultural heritage, and long-term thinking. In the Indigenous worldview, everything is purposefully interconnected. Despite their differences, these perspectives can be complimentary when combined together.

Pathways to meaningful education

The relationship between Western science and Indigenous wisdom is at the heart of initiatives like the Wabanaki Youth in Science Program (WaYS) . Co-founded by John and others, the program empowers Native youth in Maine by merging these worldviews, creating an enriching educational experience. To explore this further, John introduced me to his former colleagues, Darren Ranco and tish carr, who now lead WaYS.

“My job is to create pathways for the educational success of our Native students who go on to have a positive effect on our communities, through healing and conservation work.” Darren Ranco, Chair of Native American Programs at University of Maine and a founding member and ex-officio member of the WaYS Board

WaYS is a grassroots, community-based program focused on building long-term relationships with Tribal youth in Maine and supporting their educational and career paths. WaYS offers hands-on educational and conservation opportunities through camps, internships, afterschool programs, 1:1 mentorship, and more.

They pair Cultural Knowledge Sharers with Western science professionals to co-teach students in the way of Two-Eyed Seeing. tish carr, the Executive Director of WaYS, proudly shared that many WaYS graduates have earned their degrees in higher education, attained their dream jobs, and often come back as role models for current participants.

Empowering the youth opens pathways to meaningful careers in conservation. It reminds me of the start to my own journey, when I found my calling at age 15 in an AP Environmental Sciences class (shoutout to Ms. Paniagua!). It’s humbling to remember that without good teachers and role models, we may never end up in the fields where we have the most to offer.

Someone who’s considered a role model among the Indigenous youth communities of Santa Fe, New Mexico is Andrew Black, Public Lands Field Director at NWF. Born and raised in Santa Fe, Andrew has a deep reverence for and connection to the local Pueblos and Native American cultures. He’s passionate about collaborating with Tribal youth and elders to advance traditional practices like fly tying, fly casting, and learning the language of the outdoors.

Over the years, he has developed strong bonds with Tribal youth, some of whom have gone to college and returned to teach the next generations. At the core of his work is a commitment to providing for his daughter and future generations.

“ The seeds that we’re sowing today, we may never see the fruits of. But we have to trust that the fruits will be there for the next generations to come. It’s our job to do that work as stewards of creation,” Andrew shared.

Andrew introduced me to his colleague, Rosemary Reano, who co-leads youth programs with him, such as the Kewa TRUTH (Teens Reaching Unity Through Harmony) Youth Council. As a young mother from the Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblos, she recognizes the utmost importance of empowering Tribal youth.

“ Indigenous youth are vital to preserving and advancing Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Their ability to blend traditional practices with innovative solutions position them as powerful agents of change,” said Rosemary Reano.

Transmitting conservation knowledge

The conversations I had over the past few weeks helped me understand the key elements of successful Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission. It comes down to the building blocks of humility, trust, and reciprocity.

Humility is the reminder that Western science is not the only way, and un-learning colonized beliefs is essential to understanding and accessing the true value of Indigenous wisdom. Contrary to some Western beliefs, humans are active agents of conservation, and intervention (in a good way) is often necessary.

Trust is built through authentic, long-term relationships. Meeting people where they’re at and connecting over shared values are key. A solid foundation of trust enables a diverse community to embrace and embody the change they wish to see.

Reciprocity is how the cycle of leadership continues. Reciprocity ensures that when the youth grow up, they return to their roots and offer new teachings to raise the next generation. This exchange is vital to sustaining cultural and environmental stewardship.

Through my conversations with John, Darren, tish, Andrew, and Rosemary, I’ve solidified a belief that my ancestors have always known: the past, present, and future of conservation is Indigenous.

As I advance in my career, I’m committed to honoring and advocating for Indigenous-led conservation. This work is about restoring harmony between people and the natural world, a harmony that Indigenous communities have upheld for millennia. Through this lens, I see my role as a conduit of the teachings that have always been there, ready to guide us toward a more hopeful future.

Continue learning about the modern application of Indigenous wisdom:

• Etuaptmumk: Two-Eyed Seeing | Rebecca Thomas (TEDx Talks) 
• Robin Kimmerer – Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass (Bioneers) 
• Can Indigenous knowledge and Western science work together? New center bets yes (Science Insider) 
• Indigenous Knowledge, western science braided into recommendations for land managers (Oregon State University) 
• Indigenous Knowledge (The White House)

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MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management

• Entry requirements
• Funding and costs

College preference

• How to apply

About the course

The MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management aims to provide a critical and conceptually sophisticated understanding of biodiversity science and the socio-economic, political, cultural and institutional contexts within which management and policy decisions are made. 

The course content is rooted in our established strengths in conservation biogeography, governance and planning, in global change and in research design. The course design also responds to the rise of market-based conservation including engagements with enterprise and the transformative potential of new technologies.

The specific course objectives are to develop your abilities to:

• critically engage with concepts and theory in biodiversity science and management from interdisciplinary perspectives;
• describe by whom and by what space and territory is designated and governed for conservation over time;
• critically assess the modes through which conservation builds and extends power and describe in detail the factors that explain the emergence and performance of different types of governance
• appreciate the role of ethics, values and societal norms in producing culturally attuned and effective conservation interventions;
• evaluate the implications of emergent technologies for the future of biodiversity science and management; and
• link hypothesis, theory, methods, data and field work to identify and develop advanced research questions and design.

The objectives are assessed through three themes; Biodiversity science, Conservation ethics and values, and Biodiversity policy and management, delivered through eight core modules: conservation landscapes, conservation biogeography, conservation governance, species responses to climate change, conservation and society, economics of the environment, global change and the biosphere and biodiversity technologies. Teaching for the core modules takes place through lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips and study days. There is also a skills-based module to develop research and professional skills.

Alongside the core modules in the first two terms, you will choose two elective modules. The elective modules offer a tutorial-style teaching environment with smaller groups, based on a suite of contemporary research themes that reflect the specific interests of core faculty and visiting research associates. The teaching aim is to foster discussion and debate between academic staff and students. In the final term of the course, you will undertake an independent and original research project.

Supervision

The course has an Academic Director and a Course Director who look after the day-to-day running of the course and who provide academic welfare support. During the first two terms, the MSc Course Director acts as study supervisor for students. In the third term, during which students commence their dissertation research, supervisors will usually be found within the School of Geography and the Environment.

For this course, the allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the School of Geography and the Environment and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the School of Geography and the Environment. During the dissertation project, students typically receive 8 hours of supervision.

The core modules are assessed by written examination, the two electives are each assessed through an essay and your research project will be written up as a dissertation for assessment at the end of the final term.

Graduate destinations

The aim of the course is to train future leaders in biodiversity, conservation and natural resource management. Thus the course teaches conservation as a dynamic discipline integral to all the major areas of human concern - social and environmental governance, political economy, spatial planning, agriculture, population growth, livelihoods, human and institutional capacity, investment and markets, in addition to the hard science of biodiversity.

Past graduates have gone on to obtain positions in a range of leading conservation and academic organisations and enterprises. Examples include policy positions in government departments, such as the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), management positions in global conservation NGOs, such as Conservation International and WWF, technical positions in sustainability consultancies, and expert roles in international bodies such as IUCN. A significant number of students also use the course as a gateway to start DPhil (PhD) research.

The department's Alumni Office helps alumni keep in touch with each other and organises alumni events.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2024-25

Proven and potential academic excellence.

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in any discipline.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

• Applicants should demonstrate an interest in interdisciplinary thinking and action in the area of conservation science and policy. In particular research and/or work experiences (including internships) in the areas of environmental governance, applied conservation, enterprise, management and/or activism.
• You are not required to submit publications.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's  higher level . If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) † Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides  further information about the English language test requirement .

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

Interviews are not normally held as part of the admissions process.  

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading.

References  and  supporting documents  submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.

An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide  more information about how applications are assessed . 

Shortlisting and selection

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:

• socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of  the University’s pilot selection procedure  and for  scholarships aimed at under-represented groups ;
• country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
• protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.

Processing your data for shortlisting and selection

Information about  processing special category data for the purposes of positive action  and  using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.

Admissions panels and assessors

All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.

Other factors governing whether places can be offered

The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the  About  section of this page;
• the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
• minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide more information about offers and conditions . 

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a  Financial Declaration  in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any  relevant, unspent criminal convictions  before you can take up a place at Oxford.

The School of Geography and the Environment undertakes world-class interdisciplinary research, addresses societal and environmental problems, and advances knowledge within an intellectually vibrant, interdisciplinary research environment that combines natural and social sciences and has geography at its core. The department has six research clusters, in biodiversity, ecosystems and conservation; climate systems and policy; landscape dynamics; technological life; economy and society and political worlds, which hold seminars throughout term-time. Graduate students are encouraged to attend these seminars.

The University of Oxford has an extensive library system and the Radcliffe Science Library is the main lending service within the University for the material required for the course. The Social Sciences Library also holds collections which are valuable for students pursuing geography programmes.

The department has a computer room available for all graduate students. There are dedicated IT times each day when you can seek help from IT staff. There is a dedicated social space for MSc students where they can meet and discuss your studies. Where appropriate, you are able to use the departmental laboratories for your dissertation research.

Research skills training is provided in preparation for the dissertation. As well as developing an understanding of the research process, these sessions will cover such things as surveys, interviews, data analysis and statistical techniques. Field trips and visits to external organisations support the lectures and seminars and deliver valuable skills training.

Geography and the Environment

With over 200 graduate students from a range of nationalities, professional and disciplinary backgrounds, the School of Geography and the Environment at Oxford is one of the largest, most diverse and vibrant in the world. 

The school offers a number of graduate courses, ensuring that a suitable opportunity exists at Oxford regardless of whether you are planning a career in research, teaching or an environment-related profession, preparing for a career change or to take a career break.

There are several one-year MSc courses combining taught course modules with a dissertation. These courses offer a framework of core lectures, field courses, electives, and workshops and symposia for learning. Individual classes reflect the research interests of individual faculty and often mix seminar style teaching with discussions or practical exercises.

The two-year MPhil courses combine a substantial research component with master’s-level study, and the DPhil is an advanced research degree which involves three to four years of full-time original, independent research or a part-time pathway which involves six to eight years of research.

Research is supported in key areas of environmental, human and physical geography, from studies on migration, geopolitics, biogeography, climate change, flood risk, desertification, biological and cultural diversity, and many other areas.

View all courses   View taught courses View research courses

The University expects to be able to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across the collegiate University in 2024-25. You will be automatically considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships , if you fulfil the eligibility criteria and submit your graduate application by the relevant December or January deadline. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential. 

For further details about searching for funding as a graduate student visit our dedicated Funding pages, which contain information about how to apply for Oxford scholarships requiring an additional application, details of external funding, loan schemes and other funding sources.

Please ensure that you visit individual college websites for details of any college-specific funding opportunities using the links provided on our college pages or below:

Please note that not all the colleges listed above may accept students on this course. For details of those which do, please refer to the College preference section of this page.

Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the school's website.

Annual fees for entry in 2024-25

IMPORTANT : Please note that while most of the content of these pages relates to the course starting in 2024-25, this information about course fees and the additional information section on this page relate to entry in 2025-26 . The remaining content will be updated for 2025-26 entry later in September.

Information about course fees

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding  section of this website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Additional information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees and living costs. However, as part of your course requirements, you may need to choose a dissertation, a project or a thesis topic. Please note that, depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Most costs associated with compulsory fieldwork are paid for by the department. This excludes the costs associated with obtaining the appropriate visa required to attend the non-UK based field trips. Non-EEA nationals might require a visa in order to travel to the country where the field trip is being held and any costs associated with obtaining the appropriate travel visa is the responsibility of the student. Students will also have to pay for some meals during the field course. Furthermore, as part of your course requirements you need to develop and research a dissertation topic. Depending on your choice of topic and the field work research required to complete it, you may incur additional costs (eg relating to travel, accommodation, field assistants, lab fees and/or research visas). You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants/bursaries from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the range of likely living costs for full-time study is between c. £1,345 and £1,955 for each month spent in Oxford. Full information, including a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs, is available on our living costs page. The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. When planning your finances for any future years of study in Oxford beyond 2024-25, it is suggested that you allow for potential increases in living expenses of around 5% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. UK inflationary increases will be kept under review and this page updated.

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief  introduction to the college system at Oxford  and our  advice about expressing a college preference . For some courses, the department may have provided some additional advice below to help you decide.

The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management:

• Blackfriars
• Brasenose College
• Campion Hall
• Christ Church
• Green Templeton College
• Hertford College
• Jesus College
• Kellogg College
• Lady Margaret Hall
• Linacre College
• Magdalen College
• Mansfield College
• Oriel College
• The Queen's College
• Regent's Park College
• Reuben College
• St Anne's College
• St Catherine's College
• St Cross College
• St Edmund Hall
• St Hilda's College
• St Peter's College
• Somerville College
• Wolfson College
• Worcester College
• Wycliffe Hall

Before you apply

Our  guide to getting started  provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

If it's important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under a December or January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance . Check the deadlines on this page and the  information about deadlines and when to apply  in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £75 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

• applicants from low-income countries;
• refugees and displaced persons; 
• UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
• applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to  check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver  before you apply.

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

You do not need to make contact with the department before you apply but you are encouraged to visit the relevant departmental webpages to read any further information about your chosen course.

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents .

For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application .

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Referees: Three overall, of which at least two must be academic

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

Your references will support your academic achievements, interests, and personal motivation. In order to assist assessors in their consideration of applications references should be from experienced scholars and teachers of graduate students. In view of this, it is recommended that at least two of the three references are from academics.

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

Personal statement: A maximum of 1,000 words

Your statement should be written in English and explain your motivation for applying for the course at Oxford, your relevant experience and education, and the specific areas that interest you and/or you intend to specialise in.

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

This will be assessed for:

• your reasons for applying
• evidence of your enthusiasm for the proposed area of study, over and above what would be expected from an undergraduate course of instruction
• the ability to present a reasoned case in English
• commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree course
• capacity for sustained and intense work
• reasoning ability
• ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.

Your statement should focus on the subject area rather than personal achievements, interests and aspirations. This might be demonstrated by, for example, having undertaken independent fieldwork or research, vacation employment in a relevant discipline, or having already made research publications or presentations.

If you have already graduated, at least some of the time since graduation should have been spent on activities related to the proposed course of study, or a sound reason why this is not the case should be given.

Written work: One essay of 2,000 words

The written work must be in English and can be an essay you have written, a chapter of  a thesis, a published scholarly paper or even academic work written specifically to support your application.

This work should demonstrate your ability to write a good academic document though it does not need to be related to the proposed area of study.

An extract of the requisite length from longer work is permissible. The word count does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes.

This will be assessed for evidence of good basic knowledge, understanding of problems, powers of analysis, ability to construct a coherent train of thought, and to shape an argument, and powers of expression. The quality of English expression and of presentation may also be part of the assessment. Students with disclosed disabilities will receive appropriate consideration according to their particular needs.

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please  refer to the requirements above  and  consult our Application Guide for advice .

Application Guide   Apply

*Three-year average (applications for entry in 2021-22 to 2023-24)

Further information and enquiries

This course is offered by the School of Geography and Environment

• Course page on the school's website
• Funding information from the school
• Academic and research staff
• Research in the school
• Social Sciences Division
• Residence requirements for full-time courses
• Postgraduate applicant privacy policy

Course-related enquiries

Advice about contacting the department can be found in the How to apply section of this page

✉  [email protected] ☎  +44 (0)1865 285070

Application-process enquiries

See the application guide

Other courses to consider

You may also wish to consider applying to other courses that are similar or related to this course:

Oxford 1+1 MBA

You can study this course in combination with our MBA, as part of our  1+1 MBA programme .

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Get Involved

New IUCN publication shows how protecting nature supports human development

Protected and conserved areas always contribute to the conservation of nature – but additionally, they are valuable for human livelihoods, health and well-being, through the services that healthy ecosystems provide. In many cases, the reason for their existence is precisely because they are so valuable to people. Well-governed and well-managed protected areas are among the most effective tools for maintaining ecosystems – such as forests, natural grasslands, coastal areas and freshwater wetlands – and their associated ecosystem services.

Locals - Matses Natural Reserve, Peru

Photo: Luis Miranda

Yaigojé Apaporis Indigenous Reserve and Natural National Park, Gaia Amazonas

Photo: Juan Gabriel Soler

The key finding of the report confirms that protected areas are already contributing to all of the SDGs, strengthening their relevance and providing additional arguments for further expansion of protected areas in national and global conservation and development strategies.

Understandably, Life on Land (SDG 15) and Life below Water (SDG 14) were among the SDGs to which the solutions contributed most frequently, given that the core objective of formal protected areas – such as national parks – is to conserve nature on land and in the oceans, while conserved areas – such as Indigenous Peoples’ territories – achieve conservation outcomes without formally being set up for that purpose.

SDG 13 on Climate Action also featured very strongly, underlining that well-managed ecosystems play a key role in helping people adapt to the impacts of climate change, while storing carbon.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the solutions also show the critical role that protected areas play in terms of achieving social and economic objectives: . SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 1(No Poverty) also featured amongst the frontrunners, in terms of the solutions contributing to their achievement.  A theme that emerges throughout this summary of PANORAMA solutions is that getting conservation right means first getting the contextual governance, social and economic issues right. The solutions also illustrate the importance of working closely with local communities to find mutually satisfactory options for management of protected areas if there is a reasonable chance of success, such as a “solution” outcome.

PANORAMA includes what is currently the world’s most extensive case-study portfolio of successful approaches for the conservation of biodiversity, in addition to human development outcomes. The report was launched during the recent IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France. It is the first major effort of synthesising key insights from across a large number of PANORAMA solutions.

• Executive Summary
• Full publication: 'Solutions for development challenges – Insights from protected and conserved areas'

The BIODEV2030 project, launched in early 2020 supports the country's development ambition, while…

IUCN welcomes with relief and gratitude the negotiated decisions on fishing subsidies made…

Addressing gender-based violence and environment linkages to deliver improved rights-based, gender-…