An ideal conservation strategy

An ideal conservation strategy

1. EIA - ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

   • Large part of conservation biology
   • An integral and compulsory part of all planning and development
     • today conservation is often about development
       • should be integration development and conservation
         • e.g. Florida Ecological Greenways Network
   • these aren't just local - on a global scale, used in government. e.g. building massive dam
   • also used by conservationists in the creation and adaptation of reserves
   • very diverse - the best are rigorous and structured. the worst a tick boxes that allow people to do terrible things
   • "environmental" also covers geology, archaeology, landscape, visual impact, noise, air and water quality, health, traditional lifestyles and cultures, etc. ecological is only a part of it.
   • WHAT DO WE DO WITH EIAs?
     • preconstruction and planning - what might happen before we begin the project?
     • construction phase - what are the likely consequences of the disruption from the construction phase
     • operational life - what will the effects be during its lifetime?
     • post- life - what will the consequences be once its stopped running - dismantling etc
   • WHAT SHOULD EIAs INCLUDE?
     • Firstly - is it definitely necessary to do one?
     • aims and objectives
     • what exactly the project involves
       • identify all possible conservation issues
       • collect baseline data for biodiversity. often the first thing to be dropped
       • consultation system - are we doing everything okay so far?
       • predict the impact and significance
       • mitigation - things we are doing to stop bad things from happening
       • monitoring program
       • environmental statement
       • All this happens until the project is complete and there should be post project analysis too

2. PLANNING SOLUTIONS - layout the conservation process - can cover species, families or genera

   • can cover habitats from small scale to large scale - work on lots of different levels
   • 1. statement of current position - how things are now. define boundaries
   • 2. legal status - very important. all based on law.
   • 3. priority statement - how urgent is the work that needs doing?
   • 4. Objectives - specific, achivable, measurable goals
   • 5. strategy - how will objectives be met
   • 6. actions - specific methods to meet objectives
   • 7. review - timeline for monitoring and reviewing the plan

3. SPECIES MANAGEMENT

   • Many say species management means we have failed - if we look after the habitat properly we shouldn't have to manage individual species
   • often very invasive
   • create breeding sites
     • lack of breeding sites is often a limiting factor for many species
     • saker falcon - middleeast - using empty oil drums to create nests for these birds
   • Control things - relieve population from pressure
     • control competitors - helps the animals and plants that are being surpressed. e.g. water hyacinth very invasive
     • disease carriers -signal crayfish carries diseases our crayfish aren't immune to. eliminate - predator and disease carrier
     • herbivores - e.g. feral goats on the galapagos
     • predators - e.g. cats - alien do terrible things
   • supplementary feeding
     • not a long term solution. vulchers dying because dead cattle are removed - trying to increase vulcher pops through supplementary feeding
   • captive breeding - under too much pressure, can't reproduce fast enough. very invasive
   • Plant species management
     • same system can be applied to plants
     • silversword species are each unique to one of the big volcanoes
       • hand pollination - planting them out on rock faces by absailing

4. HABITAT MANAGEMENT - wide continuum

   • Non-intervention - leaving it alone
     • very rare, maybe if fragments too small
     • would have opposition - people don't like idea of natural fires etc
       • fires actually necessary - mosaic
   • management
     • trying to stimulate a natural mosaic
       • done through grazing - variety good for diversity
         • also fertilises the ground
         • people making sure they get money from this too - high quality meat = lots of money
     • need to think about patch size
       • are the patches connected?
         • no point managing something that doesn't stand a chance
     • recreate natural disturbances
       • e.g. controlled burning
         • Australian Banksias rely on bushfires to release their seeds.
     • some places hard to manage - like old habitats
       • must think carefully and not just apply standard procedures
   • e.g. beaver - trying to eliminate in some areas and reintroduce in others - doesn't make sense - no point
     • beavers good at managing the landscape - dams, control vegetation etc
   • hydrology - very complex - hard to control but very important
   • restoration
     • different to creation, the habitat already exists
       • takes a long time to get it 100% back to what it was
         • by the time it is - how many species are even left?
       • looking into more natural flood management. wetland creation quite common
     • ideally you want to get to a point where management isn't needed - controversy over RSPB reserves - management heavy
     • much more expensive and time consuming than just looking after the area in the first place
   • regulate exploitation
     • inevitable - can't stop it. want to put it in a framework
     • hunting makes people want to preserve habitats - raise money to preserve them
     • trophy hunting in africa - controversial
       • if done properly it works. if money goes back to people that live there - makes them want to preserve the area
     • problems occur when regulation breaks down
     • catching food - big problem
       • sustainable yeilds
       • fishing - bycatch, big problem
         • FISH FIGHT - shouldnt be throwing bycatch away - successful petition
     • ecotourism - if done properly is good. need education too