̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - William J. Sutherland

̽��ֱ��crystal ball of conservation

lw355 — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:00:47 +0000

Humanity faces a breadth of environmental challenges that will continue to put pressure on policy makers, industry and civil society groups to develop solutions, and on researchers to provide evidence. What if we could look ahead to predict the emerging issues at an early stage, enabling knowledge to accumulate in advance of crucial decision making?

For the past four years, just such a ‘horizon-scanning’ process has been undertaken in Cambridge by a group of experts from academia, conservation organisations and government. Led by conservation scientist Professor Bill Sutherland, the Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology, the group aims to spot trends, novel technologies, new issues and even solutions that relate to biodiversity conservation. ̽��ֱ��idea is to identify serious potential conservation issues and opportunities before they turn into major challenges.

Take biofuel, for instance. Planting crops as a fuel source could help mitigate our dependency on fossil fuels. But when President George Bush announced the United States’ commitment to biofuels in 2006, and the European Union followed suit, many of the ecological, climate-change and social impacts of an expansion in biofuels were poorly known and, crucially, not prepared for. “What followed were some actions that arguably caused more damage than the burning of fossil fuels, such as the chopping down and draining of ancient peat-rich tropical swamp forests to make way for biofuel crops,” explained Sutherland. “Once the issues were identified, there was then some acrimonious debate and calls for back-peddling of policies that could have been avoided if society had identified the merits and problems of biofuels earlier.”

For the horizon-scanning exercise to be really useful, the group must identify emerging issues that are not well known but could have substantial impacts on the conservation of biological diversity. This year, over 250 individuals contributed to the identification of a starting list of 80 issues that were deemed under-considered yet potentially important either for maintaining species or ecosystems or regions of global environmental interest. A 22-strong international panel, including horizon-scanning experts from across a wide range of institutions and agencies, then independently scored each issue to derive a shortlist of over 40 emerging issues of importance. It was these issues that were reviewed at a workshop in Cambridge in September 2011, where another round of voting resulted in a final line-up of 15 issues that have just been published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

Global conservation issues

Several of the issues identified by the horizon-scanning exercise relate to the deep oceans, which are rarely observable by the public and yet are strongly affected by changes in human activity. Deep-sea temperatures, which have been low and stable for millions of years, are known to be increasing. ̽��ֱ��report highlights concerns related to the warming seas, including the potential release of plumes of methane previously trapped beneath the sea bed, and the spread of predators, such as red king crabs, which normally live only in the colder parts of the ocean.

Also affecting the oceans are rich deposits of rare earth elements, such as yttrium used for electronics and as a source of green energy, which have been discovered in the deep-sea mud of the Pacific Ocean. ̽��ֱ��report recognises that increased deep-sea mining could become more frequent in the event of a global shortage of these precious minerals.

̽��ֱ��horizon-scanning process also highlights areas that will grow in prominence over the coming years. For example, the experts have identified an increasing demand for two new technologies that may have as-yet-unknown environmental impacts – nuclear batteries and graphene. Nuclear batteries hold promise in providing a safe, cheap and almost endless supply of energy, particularly for remote communities that lack energy infrastructure. Graphene is the thinnest and strongest material ever detected and, given the magnitude of research in this area, could be seen in products in the home within the next few years.

Human behaviour also comes under scrutiny. As a result of an ageing population, there has been an increased release of pharmaceuticals into the environment through waste water and sewage discharge, prompting concerns relating to the spread of antibiotic resistance through the ecosystem.

̽��ֱ��full list of 15 issues is as follows:

Warming of the deep sea
Mining in the deep ocean
Methane venting from beneath the ocean floor
Climate-driven colonisations in Antarctic waters
Increases in pharmaceutical discharges as human populations age
Sterile farming to increase food safety
Transferring nitrogen-fixing ability to cereals
Increased cultivation of perennial grains
Rapid and low-cost genomic sequencing
Electrochemical seawater desalinisation
Rapid development and extensive application of graphene
Nuclear batteries
Effect of increased cement demand on karst forest and cave ecosystems
In-stream hydrokinetic turbines
Arctic tundra burning

Evidence-based conservation

Horizon scanning is a key priority for the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI), many of whose partner organisations are involved in the process that has created the latest report. Fitting with CCI’s philosophy, the exercise involves policy makers and practitioners at all stages of the discussion process.

Sutherland is a keen advocate of ‘evidence-based conservation’ and has created a free web resource (www.conservationevidence.com/) that helps busy practitioners base conservation decisions on hard evidence, without having to keep up with the research literature.

He believes that a forward-thinking shift in focus has an enormous role to play in conservation: “We can’t hope to spot all potential issues. But if some of the issues prove to be important, then identifying and publicising them early on will better prepare us for future environmental challenges. Our hope is that horizon scanning will foster research to examine the advantages and consequences of possible changes.”

An innovative horizon-scanning exercise, which has just delivered its latest report, highlights emerging topics of relevance to the world’s natural environment and the diversity of its species.

We can’t hope to spot all potential issues. But if some of the issues prove to be important, then identifying and publicising them early on will better prepare us for future environmental challenges.

Professor Bill Sutherland

©Evan Leeson

Droplet

CCI: collaboration and funding

CCI is a collaboration between the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and nine internationally renowned conservation organisations in the Cambridge area committed to the study and protection of global biodiversity. ̽��ֱ��founder members of CCI are:

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge: six Departments – Zoology, Geography, Plant Sciences, Land Economy, Judge Business School and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership – founded the Cambridge Conservation Initiative along with the partner organisations listed below. Each of these departments has a growing programme of research and teaching in conservation, and work closely together on interdisciplinary programmes as part of CCI.

United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre: a branch of the United Nations that undertakes synthesis, analysis and dissemination of global biodiversity knowledge for conventions, countries, organisations and companies.

Fauna and Flora International: acts to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, delivering global and regional programmes of conservation and community projects.

BirdLife International: is a strategic global partnership of conservation organisations in over 100 countries, working to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, and to promote sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Traffic International: is a global wildlife trade monitoring network that works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

International Union for Conservation of Nature: is the world’s largest professional global conservation network, and supports scientific research, manages field projects and unites conservationists to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice.

Tropical Biology Association: is dedicated to building the capacity and expertise of people and institutions to conserve and manage biodiversity in tropical regions.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): is the largest wildlife conservation organisation in Europe, and works to secure the conservation of biodiversity – especially wild birds and their habitats – through research, education, habitat management and advocacy.

British Trust for Ornithology: is an independent scientific research trust specialising in impartial evidence-based knowledge and advice about populations, movements and ecology of birds and other wildlife.

Cambridge Conservation Forum: is a network that links the diverse Cambridge-based community of conservation practitioners and researchers working at local, national and international levels.

To deliver its ambitious programme CCI works closely with like-minded funding partners. CCI is particularly grateful to Arcadia, who has provided core support for the leadership of CCI and grants for the CCI Collaborative Fund, the Miriam Rothschild Programme for Conservation Leadership, the Miriam Rothschild Travel Bursaries for the Student Conference in Conservation Science and the Miriam Rothschild PhD Studentships. CCI is also deeply grateful to the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature for their support to establishment a unique MPhil in Conservation Leadership.

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Translating science for conservation: bees benefit first

bjb42 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For the first time, scientific knowledge and experience about how to conserve wild bees around the world has been brought together by conservation scientists led by Professor William J. Sutherland and Dr Lynn Dicks at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

̽��ֱ��synopsis of evidence on bee conservation is meant to inform people taking action or spending money to help wild bees - anyone from farmers to international NGOs - about what works and what doesn't. It is part of a project called Conservation Evidence, which aims to make conservation practice more science-based.

Bees are the most important pollinators globally, and their decline has received much publicity. "There are more than 25,000 species of bee worldwide," says Dr Simon G. Potts, an expert on pollinator conservation from the ̽��ֱ�� of Reading who advised on the development of the bee synopsis. "In areas where good quality data are available, severe declines in many species have been documented." In response, governments and international organisations are now investing in pollinator conservation.

̽��ֱ��bee synopsis, developed in partnership with an international group of bee experts, lists 59 different actions you could take to benefit wild bees. They range from providing nest boxes or planting flowers to training beekeepers to keep native species. For each intervention, evidence is summarised in plain English.

In some cases, the evidence tells a clear story. Leaving strips at the edge of crop fields untreated with herbicides and pesticides does not help bumblebees, for example - two replicated trials in the UK have found no more bees on these strips than in ordinary crop fields. But there is evidence from many parts of the world that providing nest boxes on agricultural land can benefit solitary bees. Twenty-nine studies show that solitary bees, including endangered species, will use nest boxes and three studies show numbers of nesting bees can double over three years with repeated nest box provision.

Bees can be problematic in places where they are not native, and there is some evidence about how to reduce the impacts of invasive bee species. A concerted effort to eradicate European buff-tailed bumblebees from small patches of Japanese countryside, for example, increased numbers of native bumblebees, but did not remove the invaders altogether.

"This synopsis is a great step forward in providing a clear evidence base for anyone setting out to conserve wild bees, from conservation agencies to individuals," says Professor Andrew Bourke, a bumblebee expert from the ̽��ֱ�� of East Anglia, UK, and member of the Advisory Board for the bee synopsis. He was surprised by the often low success rate of artificial nest boxes for bumblebees. "This work highlights how much more there is to learn about bees," he says.

As well as helping to inform decisions about bee conservation, the synopsis shows where there are gaps in our knowledge. There is no direct evidence to show whether increasing the amount of natural habitat in farmed areas can help bees, for example, and very little evidence for the effects of restricting pesticide use on bees, although conservationists often advocate these actions. "Habitat preservation and the proper application and use of insecticides are the most important issues in bee conservation now," says Peter Kwapong, of the International Stingless Bee Centre in Ghana, a member of the Advisory Board. Clearly, these are areas where research should focus.

̽��ֱ��Conservation Evidence project also has an open access journal where conservationists can document their experience and an online database of evidence published elsewhere, relating to conservation interventions. ̽��ֱ��series of synopses, of which Bee Conservation is the first, will cover other major species groups, habitat types and issues. Synopses are already being prepared for birds, butterflies, grassland and farmland.

" ̽��ֱ��bee synopsis brings together, for the first time, a systematic overview of conservation practices that can really help protect bees," says Potts. " ̽��ֱ��challenge now is for policymakers to take up these actions."

A project to make conservation science accessible and relevant to conservationists and policymakers launches its first major synopsis of evidence, on bee conservation.

In areas where good quality data are available, severe declines in many species have been documented

Dr Simon G. Potts

rumpleteaser from Flickr

Bee in flight

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