Until recently, the conservation of biodiversity has been undertaken based on the assumption that we live in a dynamic but slowly changing world. This must be reconsidered in light of the rapid rate of change to which our planet is being subjected. These changes are collectively referred to as global change.
This module focuses on the overarching issues of global change likely to affect the survival of many CWR.
The projected impacts of climate change on protected areas in many parts of the world will force us to rethink their role in biodiversity conservation. A fixed system of protected areas cannot effectively respond to global change and considerable rethinking in the design of such areas is necessary. Climate change will also force protected area manages to reassess management objectives, paying attention to the maintenance of ecosystem health and the conservation needs of target species. They will need to be prepared for more frequent and sometimes intensive management interventions1.
A strategy to mitigate risks associated with climate change should include2:
1 - Hagerman, S.M. and Chan, Kai M.A. (2009) ‘Climate change and biodiversity conservation: Impacts, adaptation strategies and future research directions’, F1000 Biology Reports 1:16, DOI 10.3410/B1-16.
2 - Ervin, J., Mulongoy, K.J., Lawrence, K., Game, E., Sheppard, D., Bridgewater, P., Bennett, G., Gidda, S.B. and Bos, P. (2010) Making Protected Areas Relevant: A guide to integrating protected areas into widerlandscapes, seascapes and sectoral plans and strategies, CBD Technical Series No. 44, Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada.
Current and predicted patterns of climate change are a major cause of concern. However, evidence as the extent to which climate change will impact the environment is still uncertain. While trends revealed by the use of general circulation models (GCMs) are apparent, they are accurate only to a resolution of one to three degrees in latitude and longitude, and details are far from clear at the regional and local scale. The uncertainties make planning adaptation or mitigation strategies difficult.
There is already good evidence of recent phenological change – time of bud burst, flowering, fruiting – attributable to climate change3. If such trends continue or increase, the impacts on biodiversity will be significant. Changes in both temperature and precipitation regimes over the coming decades are likely to affect many biological processes, including the distribution of species.
3 - Cleland, E.E., Chuine, I., Menzel, A., Mooney, H.A. and Schwartz, M.D. (2007) ‘Shifting plant phenology in response to global change’, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol 22, pp 357–365.
Main criteria:
Source - Gran Canaria Group (2006) The Gran Canaria Declaration II on Climate Change and Plant Conservation, Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Jardín Botánico “Viera yClavijo” and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).