Javier Benayas

Economic valuation of biodiversity conservation: the meaning of numbers.

Recognition of the need to include economic criteria in the conservation policy decision-making process has encouraged the use of economic-valuation techniques. Nevertheless, whether it is possible to accurately assign economic values to biodiversity and if so what these values really represent is being debated. We reviewed 60 recent papers on economic valuation of biodiversity and carried out a meta-analysis of these studies to determine what factors affect willingness to pay for biodiversity conservation. We analyzed the internal variables of the contingent-valuation method (measure of benefits, vehicle of payment, elicitation format, or timing of payment) and anthropomorphic, anthropocentric and scientific factors. Funding allocation mostly favored the conservation of species with anthropomorphic and anthropocentric characteristics instead of considering scientific factors. We recommend researchers and policy makers contemplate economic valuations of biodiversity carefully, considering the inherent biases of the contingent-valuation method and the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric factors resulting from the publics attitude toward species. Because of the increasing trend of including economic considerations in conservation practices, we suggest that in the future interdisciplinary teams of ecologists, economists, and social scientists collaborate and conduct comparative analyses, such as we have done here. Use of the contingent-valuation method in biodiversity conservation policies can provide useful information about alternative conservation strategies if questionnaires are carefully constructed, respondents are sufficiently informed, and the underlying factors that influence willingness to pay are identified.

Influence of user characteristics on valuation of ecosystem services in Doñana Natural Protected Area (south-west Spain)

SUMMARY Economic valuation of ecosystem services by stated preferences techniques is usually used by policymakers to develop environmental management practices. Critics of the contingent valuation (CV) method have argued that respondents are influenced by several factors, which mean that people do not applyeconomicmotivesinrespondingtoCVquestions. This study examines the influence of individuals’ environmental behaviour and knowledge about the good concerned on the CV results and the CV problem of benefit aggregation in order to determine the extent of the hypothetical market. Here a CV study in the Do˜ nana National and Natural Park (Spain) found that both individual environmental behaviour and knowledge influenced willingness to pay for sustaining specificecosystemservicesprovidedbythebiodiversity ofDo˜ nana.Adistance-decayfunctionwasfound,which determinedthesocialbenefitsoftheecosystemservices of Do˜ nana. The study illustrates the importance of understandingnon-economicmotivesbehindvaluesin order to obtain further information which can support decision-making in environmental management.

Unraveling the Relationships between Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing in Spain

National ecosystem assessments provide evidence on the status and trends of biodiversity, ecosystem conditions, and the delivery of ecosystem services to society. I this study, we analyze the complex relationships established between ecosystems and human systems in Spain through the combination of Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework and structural equation models. Firstly, to operationalize the framework, we selected 53 national scale indicators that provide accurate, long-term information on each of the components. Secondly, structural equation models were performed to understand the relationships among the components of the framework. Trend indicators have shown an overall progressive biodiversity loss, trade-offs between provisioning and cultural services associated with urban areas vs. regulating and cultural services associated with rural areas, a decoupling effect between material and non-material dimensions of human wellbeing, a rapid growing trend of conservation responses in recent years and a constant growing linear trend of direct or indirect drivers of change. Results also show that all the components analyzed in the model are strongly related. On one hand, the model shows that biodiversity erosion negatively affect the supply of regulating services, while it is positively related with the increase of provisioning service delivery. On the other hand, the most important relationship found in the model is the effect of pressures on biodiversity loss, indicating that response options for conserving nature cannot counteract the effect of the drivers of change. These results suggest that there is an insufficient institutional response to address the underlying causes (indirect drivers of change) of biodiversity loos in Spain. We conclude that more structural changes are required in the Spanish institutional framework to reach 2020 biodiversity conservation international targets.

Soil trampling in an Antarctic Specially Protected Area: tools to assess levels of human impact.

Abstract Research in extremely delicate environments must be sensitive to the need to minimize impacts caused simply through the presence of research personnel. This study investigates the effectiveness of current advice relating to travel on foot over Antarctic vegetation-free soils. These are based on the concentration of impacts through the creation of properly signed and identified paths. In order to address these impacts, we quantified three factors - resistance to compression, bulk density and free-living terrestrial arthropod abundance - in areas of human activity over five summer field seasons at the Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands). Studies included instances of both experimentally controlled use and natural non-controlled situations. The data demonstrate that a minimum human presence is sufficient to alter both physical and biological characteristics of Byers Peninsula soils, although at the lowest levels of human activity this difference was not significant in comparison with adjacent undisturbed control areas. On the other hand, a limited resilience of physical properties was observed in Antarctic soils, thus it is crucial not to exceed the soils natural recovery capability.

Pollution and physiological variability in gentoo penguins at two rookeries with different levels of human visitation.

Abstract Human activity and specifically tourism has been increasing in Antarctica over the last few years. Few studies have examined the indirect effects of human visits on Antarctic penguin rookeries. This work aims to study the differences between a highly visited (Hannah Point) and a rarely visited (Devils Point, Byers Peninsula) gentoo penguin rookery on Livingston Island. Our results suggest that potential indirect effects of human impact are observed in gentoo penguins at Hannah Point, a colony heavily visited by tourists. Penguins at Hannah Point showed a higher presence of heavy metals such as Pb and Ni and a higher number of erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities than penguins at Devils Point. Immunological parameters showed different results depending on whether we consider the cellular response - the number of lymphocytes being higher in penguins from Hannah Point - or the humoral response - the level of immunoglobulins being higher in penguins from Devils Point. Measurements of corticosterone levels in feathers and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio in blood showed lower levels in the heavily visited rookery than in the rarely visited rookery. Finally, we did not detect Campylobacter jejuni, a bacteria potentially transmitted by humans in either of the populations and we did not find any difference in the prevalence of Campylobacter lari between the populations.

Carbon dioxide emissions of Antarctic tourism

Abstract The increase of tourism to the Antarctic continent may entail not only local but also global environmental impacts. These latter impacts, which are mainly caused by transport, have been generally ignored. As a result, there is a lack of data on the global impacts of Antarctic tourism in terms of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This paper presents and applies a methodology for quantifying CO2 emissions, both for the Antarctic vessel fleet as a whole and per passenger (both per trip and per day). The results indicate that the average tourist trip to Antarctica results in 5.44 t of CO2 emissions per passenger, or 0.49 t per passenger and day. Approximately 70% of these emissions are attributable to cruising and 30% to flying, which highlights the global environmental relevance of local transport for this type of tourism.

A review of scientific research trends within ASPA No. 126 Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Abstract Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, was one of the first sites in Antarctica designated for environmental conservation and scientific protection. Research on Byers Peninsula has been predominantly international, with 88 indexed publications (93% of them published during last 20 years) from 209 authors affiliated to 110 institutions from 22 nations, all of which are signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. Palaeontological research represented 20% of the published articles. The variety of freshwater bodies within the area has made Byers Peninsula a reference site for limnological studies (24% of papers). The site also contains numerous outcrops and periglacial features relevant to geology, stratigraphy and geomorphology (29%). Terrestrial biodiversity is extraordinarily high for lichens, bryophytes and invertebrates (15% of articles). Only 5% of the publications concern research on human activities, including both archaeology and impact monitoring. Glaciology, meteorology and climatology studies represent only 7% of papers. This work highlights the international and multidisciplinary nature of science conducted on Byers Peninsula in order to promote international cooperation and to provide information relevant for environmental management and conservation.

Trampling on maritime Antarctica: can soil ecosystems be effectively protected through existing codes of conduct?

Soil trampling is one of the most obvious direct negative human impacts in Antarctica. Through a range of experiments and field studies based on quantitative physical (soil penetration resistance) and biological (collembolan abundance) indicators, we evaluate the current codes of conduct relating to the protection of Antarctic soils from the consequences of pedestrian impacts. These guidelines include using, where available, established paths that cross vegetation-free soils. However, the effectiveness of this strategy is highly dependent on context. Limited intensity use—below 100 foot passes per year—produces small changes at the soil surface that can recover relatively rapidly, suggesting that the dispersal of activity across wider corridors may be the most appropriate option. However, for paths with a higher use level and those located in steep-sloped sites, it is desirable to define a single track, following stony or bouldery surfaces wherever possible, to keep the disturbed area to a minimum. It is clear that both environmental conditions and expected use levels must be taken into account in determining when and where it is more appropriate to concentrate or disperse human activities. Even though they may have performed satisfactorily to date, the increasing pressure in terms of numbers of visits for certain sites may make it necessary to revise existing codes of conduct.

Rapid denudation processes in cryptogamic communities from Maritime Antarctica subjected to human trampling

Abstract This study explores the impact of human trampling on moss and lichen dominated communities of Maritime Antarctica. A simulation of trampling was performed on previously unaffected plots of different terricolous cryptogamic assemblages at Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island. The communities studied were: 1) a uniform moss carpet, 2) a heterogeneous moss assemblage composed of hummocks and turfs, and 3) a fellfield lichen community. All communities analysed were extremely sensitive but different denudation processes were observed. None of the plots maintained 50% of initial coverage after 200 pedestrian transits. Even very low trampling intensity resulted in disturbance at all plots. Sensitivities of the different communities were identified in order to formulate recommendations for minimizing the trampling impacts. In our study the lichen dominated community on dry exposed soils exhibited the lowest resistance to trampling. For moss communities, lower resistance was found in peat soils with higher water content and biomass. With the current trend of increasing human presence in Antarctica, we predict that the cumulative impacts of trampling over future decades will adversely affect all types of moss and lichen communities.

A Proposed Methodology to Assess the Quality of Public Use Management in Protected Areas

In recent years, the goal of nature preservation has faced, almost worldwide, an increase in the number of visitors who are interested in experiencing protected areas resources, landscapes and stories. Spain is a good example of this process. The rapidly increasing numbers of visitors have prompted administrations and managers to offer and develop a broad network of facilities and programs in order to provide these visitors with information, knowledge and recreation. But, are we doing it the best way? This research focuses on developing and applying a new instrument for evaluating the quality of visitor management in parks. Different areas are analyzed with this instrument (78 semi-quantitative indicators): planning and management capacity (planning, funding, human resources), monitoring, reception, information, interpretation, environmental education, training, participation and volunteer’s programs. Thus, we attempt to gain a general impression of the development of the existing management model, detecting strengths and weaknesses. Although Spain’s National Parks constituted the specific context within which to develop the evaluation instrument, the design thereof is intended to provide a valid, robust and flexible method for application to any system, network or set of protected areas in other countries. This paper presents the instrument developed, some results obtained following its application to Spanish National parks, along with a discussion on the limits and validity thereof.