Christine B. Schmitt

A Tough Choice: Approaches Towards the Setting of Global Conservation Priorities

Owing to limited funding and time, non-governmental organisations, research institutes and intergovernmental conventions developed different approaches to highlighting those regions on earth that most urgently require conservation efforts. The geographic location of these global conservation priorities is to some extent similar or overlapping, and partly contradictory depending on the underlying selection criteria, namely vulnerability, irreplaceability and representativeness; recently, carbon content of ecosystems has evolved as an additional criterion. It is crucial to understand the rationale behind area selection because the setting of priorities is per se a normative issue. This study, therefore, has the objective to compare the selection criteria of the present approaches as a basis for informed decision-making in the field of global nature conservation. While global analyses are important for guiding international conservation strategies, more detailed and specific conservation planning needs to take place at smaller spatial scales considering ecological as well as socio-economic and political factors.

Global tropical forest types as support for the consideration of biodiversity under REDD

For REDD+ to achieve synergies between climate and biodiversity objectives, the complex spatial pattern of forest biodiversity needs to be considered. Data on forest cover and species diversity in tropical and subtropical forest types could serve as biodiversity indicators for REDD+ on the global scale. The evaluation of existing global ecological classification systems, forest and land cover maps, and species data shows that diverging definitions of forest and forest types impede the comparison and collation of these datasets. The development of a common classification for (sub)tropical forests could facilitate the evaluation of global biodiversity carbon trade-offs and REDD+ management options, but requires enhanced collaboration between the international organizations involved in forest, carbon and biodiversity research and management.