Kerstin Jantke

Gap analysis of European wetland species: priority regions for expanding the Natura 2000 network

Protected areas in the European Union under the Natura 2000 reserve system cover about 17 percent of the total land area. Systematic evaluations of the effectiveness of the current reserve system have been scarce and restricted to regional assessments. One reason for that may be the poor availability of comprehensive fine scale biodiversity data for the highly fragmented and densely human-populated European continent. We apply recently developed modeling tools for systematic conservation planning to conduct a detailed gap analysis using coarse scale species occurrence data. The employed mathematical model uses mixed integer programming to determine the cost-minimizing distribution of habitat locations subject to biophysical, economic, and policy restrictions. We include fine scale wetland habitat data as well as species-specific proxies for population density and viable population threshold. First, we evaluate the performance of the current Natura 2000 system in covering endangered wetland vertebrate species. Results show that five area-demanding vertebrates are not covered by the current reserve system. Second, we identify potentials for expanding the network to move toward complete coverage for the considered species mostly in countries of North-Eastern Europe. About 3 million hectares of additional reserve area at a cost of 107 million Euro per year would be required to achieve coverage of all considered species. Third, we present spatially explicit priority regions for a cost-effective expansion of the current reserve network.

Benefits of earth observation data for conservation planning in the case of European wetland biodiversity

To evaluate the status of biodiversity and to determine how current conservation efforts can be improved, biodiversity monitoring is crucial. An important aspect of data quality lies in its spatial resolution. It is unclear how finer scale land cover and land value information might further benefit biodiversity conservation. This paper aimed to assess the impacts of scale by modelling the conservation of endangered European wetland species and their corresponding habitats. Fine-scale datasets were derived by integrating existing geographical, biophysical and economic data. A habitat allocation model, based on principles from systematic conservation planning and economic theory, was developed to estimate area requirements and opportunity costs of habitat protection in Europe. Coarse-scale and fine-scale simulations were compared by inputting both resolutions into the model. Habitat locations were restricted either only by historical species occurrence data at UTM 50 resolution or additionally by explicit wetland data at 1-km 2 resolution. Coarse country-average land rents were contrasted with spatially detailed land rent estimates at a 5ʹ resolution. Costs of habitat protection and area requirements for reserves may be severely underestimated when conservation planning relies only on coarse-scale data, which may result in notable shortcomings in conservation target achievement. Improvements in conservation benefits far outweigh the additional costs of acquiring fine-scale data.

The Value of Global Earth Observations

Humankind has never been so populous, technically equipped, and economically and culturally integrated as it is today. In the twenty-first century, societies are confronted with a multitude of challenges in their efforts to manage the Earth system.

Sustainable Internationalization? Measuring the Diversity of Internationalization at Higher Education Institutions

Sustainability and internationalization are considered to be core values of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), but their relationship is rarely investigated. The current study develops a framework to create a sustainable internationalization policy for an HEI; it analyzes how to measure the sustainability of an internationalization policy in two steps. First, this study presents a theoretical framework for a cost-benefit analysis of HEIs’ sustainable internationalization policies using three sustainability pillars (economic, ecological, and social), each with examples for their own measurable indicators. Second, this research operationalizes the economic pillar of the framework to enable a specific measurement of the economic sustainability of internationalization. The empirical analysis identifies the distribution of funding for internationalization as a promising indicator. To demonstrate the implementation of this part of the framework, this study analyzes how German HEIs distribute their monetary investments in internationalization activities to countries worldwide. Using data from the German academic exchange service (DAAD), this research investigates the distribution using descriptive statistics. In a second step, the methodology of the Lorenz curve is empirically applied to the distribution of funding. Universitat Hamburg is used as a case study to visualize the different funding tendencies among German HEIs. The findings suggest that the distribution of resources for internationalization says more about the sustainable character of an HEI than the absolute amount of invested resources. To evaluate the sustainability of an HEI’s internationalization strategy, it is therefore necessary to look at the distribution of target countries in addition to the mere absolute level of funding.

Systematic conservation planning in Europe – the case of wetland biodiversity

Selection and establishment of reserves was often done unplanned and uncoordinated between regions. Systematic conservation planning provides tools to identify optimally located priority areas for conservation. Planning for multiple species promises adequate provision for the needs of a range of threatened species simultaneously. Several studies apply the set-covering problem by minimizing resources for given conservation targets of multiple species. We extend this method by also considering different degrees of coordination in multiple-species conservation planning and representing reserve sizes endogenously. A deterministic, spatially explicit programming model solved with mixed integer programming is used to represent minimum habitat area thresholds for all included biodiversity features. The empirical model application to European wetland species addresses five different scenarios of coordination in conservation planning, including taxonomic, political, and biogeographical coordination of planning. Our approach illustrates and quantifies the efficiency of multi-species conservation activities. We show that maximum coordination in conservation planning enhances area efficiency by 30% compared to no coordination. Furthermore, strong coordination in conservation planning does not only reduce the area requirement, but synergy effects even enable the conservation features to achieve higher conservation objectives. Spatial subdivision of planning, however, leads to highest area requirements and less conservation target achievement.