Studies of endangered animals on border of China and Vietnam stress need
for transboundary conservation
As climate change forces species to migrate across borders, scientists recommend coordinated approaches to prevent biodiversity loss
Date:
March 22, 2022
Source:
American Museum of Natural History
Summary:
A series of studies on endangered species that make their homes
on the border of Vietnam and China underscores the growing
importance of transboundary conservation efforts in the face of
climate change. As the world warms, many plant and animal species
migrate from their traditional habitats, increasing the likelihood
of local and global extinctions.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A series of studies on endangered species that make their homes on
the border of Vietnam and China underscores the growing importance of transboundary conservation efforts in the face of climate change. As the
world warms, many plant and animal species migrate from their traditional habitats, increasing the likelihood of local and global extinctions. A
special issue of the journal Frontiers of Biogeography co-edited by the American Museum of Natural History's Director of Biodiversity Informatics Research Mary Blair stresses that strategic, coordinated approaches
toward managing transboundary species and landscapes is essential to
preventing biodiversity loss.
========================================================================== "Biodiversity is undergoing dramatic loss on the global level, and
we know that it is essential to human health and wellbeing -- and
that one of the most complex and challenging threats to biodiversity
is climate change," said Blair, who works in the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and co- edited the special issue along with collaborators Minh Le from Vietnam National University and Ming Xu from
Henan University in China. "There's an urgent need for more information
about how climate change is already affecting the distributions of key endangered species and habitats to inform conservation action planning, especially in areas where there may be limited capacity or resources
for management, such as Southeast Asia." Globally, more than half of
all terrestrial birds, mammals, and amphibians have distributions that
cross national borders. In addition to threats such as deforestation
and hunting, these species may be harmed by the construction of border infrastructure and the lack of coordination of conservation activities
on either side of the border. These threats are likely to be exacerbated
by climate change. A previously conducted study predicts that most areas climatically suitable as habitat for about one-third of mammal and bird
species will have shifted to a different country by the 2070s.
To further investigate this issue, in 2018, with funding from the Prince
Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Blair, Le, and Xu began a project
focused on a suite of ecologically and culturally important species
that live near the China- Vietnam border and are at risk from climate
change. These include one of the most endangered animals in the world,
the Cao Vit gibbon, which is found in only one small forest patch; one
of the world's most threatened trees, Magnolia grandis, with a total
population of fewer than 120 adult trees; and the Francois' langur, a
monkey that thrives in a special type of forest that grows over limestone.
"Our analyses show that suitable habitat for species like the Cao Vit
gibbon and the Owston's civet will significantly shrink and become
highly fragmented, whereas habitat for the endangered crocodile lizard
will substantially shift under future climate scenarios. The results
of the study will play a crucial role in formulating appropriate
transboundary conservation measures," said Minh Le. "The special issue
is published almost concurrently with the approval of the new Vietnam
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which highlights the
importance of assessing impacts of climate change on biodiversity,
especially highly endangered species, in the country and designing transboundary conservation measures in collaboration with neighboring countries." "The project is also timely and important to China's national biodiversity conservation plan. China is reforming its protected areas
by establishing a more efficient conservation network to better protect
species and ecosystems in the country, including the 'new immigrants'
expected to arrive under future climate change," said Ming Xu. "Results
of the project have also been used to support China's National Spatial
Planning Initiative, which requires delimitation and implementation
along three control lines, namely the ecological protection boundaries, permanently protected farmlands, and urban development boundaries."
The special journal issue includes these detailed studies as well as
commentary from the three editors on best practices for using species distribution models (SDMs), which can identify how a species' range
might shift under climate change. They authors agree that, especially
in transboundary conservation contexts, SDMs should be collaboratively developed from the outset with all of the stakeholders.
"Borders often exemplify complex sociopolitical contexts and
histories between countries," Blair said. "So conservation scientists, practitioners, and managers have an obligation to understand those
contexts and know how they relate to our work and the goals of
conservation. As global changes, including climate change, continue,
we will have to increasingly work across borders to achieve biodiversity conservation goals and to do better science." This project benefitted
from the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Technical support was received from Cologne Zoo, Fauna and Flora International,
and the Center for Plan Conservation, among others.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
American_Museum_of_Natural_History. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Hai Ngoc Ngo, Huy Quoc Nguyen, Tien Quang Phan, Truong Quang Nguyen,
Laurenz R. Gewiss, Dennis Ro"dder, Thomas Ziegler. Modeling the
environmental refugia of the endangered Lichtenfelder's Tiger
Gecko (Goniurosaurus lichtenfelderi) towards implementation of
transboundary conservation. Frontiers of Biogeography, 2022; 14
(1) DOI: 10.21425/ F5FBG51167 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220322150915.htm
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