Connectivity of Protected Areas: Effect of Human Pressure and Subnational Contributions in the Ecoregions of Tropical Andean Countries

Luis Santiago Castillo, Camilo Andrés Correa Ayram, Clara L. Matallana Tobón, Germán Corzo, Alexandra Areiza, Roy González-M., Felipe Serrano, Luis Chalán Briceño, Felipe Sánchez Puertas, Alexander More, Oscar Franco, Henry Bloomfield, Victoria Lina Aguilera Orrury, Catalina Rivadeneira Canedo, Vilisa Morón-Zambrano, Edgard Yerena, Juan Papadakis, Juan José Cárdenas, Rachel E. Golden Kroner and Oscar Godínez-Gómez
Additional contact information
Luis Santiago Castillo: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia
Camilo Andrés Correa Ayram: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia
Clara L. Matallana Tobón: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia
Germán Corzo: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia
Alexandra Areiza: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia
Roy González-M.: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá 111311, Colombia
Felipe Serrano: Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Loja 1101332, Ecuador
Luis Chalán Briceño: Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Loja 1101332, Ecuador
Felipe Sánchez Puertas: Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Loja 1101332, Ecuador
Alexander More: Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Lima 15047, Peru
Oscar Franco: Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Lima 15047, Peru
Henry Bloomfield: Fundación Natura Bolivia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra 951, Bolivia
Victoria Lina Aguilera Orrury: Fundación Natura Bolivia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra 951, Bolivia
Catalina Rivadeneira Canedo: Fundación Natura Bolivia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra 951, Bolivia
Vilisa Morón-Zambrano: Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas 1086, Venezuela
Edgard Yerena: Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas 1086, Venezuela
Juan Papadakis: Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas 1086, Venezuela
Juan José Cárdenas: Interalianza Consultores, Caracas 1071, Venezuela
Rachel E. Golden Kroner: Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA 22202, USA
Oscar Godínez-Gómez: Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, Mexico City CDMX 14010, Mexico

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: Conservationists recognize the value of protected area (PA) systems, with adequate coverage, ecological representation, connection, and management to deliver conservation benefits. Yet, governments primarily focus on coverage, disregarding quantification of the other criteria. While recent studies have assessed global representation and connectivity, they present limitations due to: (1) limited accuracy of the World Database of Protected Areas used, as governments may report areas that do not meet the IUCN or CBD PA definitions or omit subnational PAs, and (2) failure to include human impacts on the landscape in connectivity assessments. We constructed a validated PA database for Tropical Andean Countries (TAC; Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and Venezuela) and used the existing Protected-Connected-Land ( ProtConn ) indicator—incorporating the Global Human Footprint as a spatial proxy for human pressure—to evaluate TAC ecoregions’ representation and connectivity. We found that just 27% of ecoregions in the TAC are both protected and connected on more than 17% of their lands. As we included human pressure, we conclude that previous global ProtConn studies overestimate PA connectivity. Subnational PAs are promising for strengthening the representation of PA systems. If nations seek to meet Aichi target 11, or an upcoming post-2020 30% target, further efforts are needed to implement and report subnational conservation areas and appropriately evaluate PA systems.

Keywords: system of protected areas; ecological representation; connectivity indicators; Global Human Footprint; subnational protected areas; Aichi target 11; post-2020 biodiversity targets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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