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Analysis of Existing Conservation Tools:
Parks and Forestry Policies
Recently, many observers have claimed that protection of pristine habitat through parks is neither possible nor appropriate in places where strong development pressure exists. On 5 January 2001, CABS researchers published an article in Science magazine presenting the findings of a tropics-wide study designed to address the issue of how effectively parks protect biodiversity. The project relied on data from on-the-ground practitioners in 93 parks. The central finding was that parks have been effective at an impressive level against threats including land clearing, logging, hunting, grazing, and fire, especially given often serious underfunding. At the same time, there is clear evidence of degradation in many parks, perhaps especially from hunting. Based on this finding, the study recommends both strong support for the creation of new parks and increased support for existing ones.
With respect to forestry, CEP is currently assessing the conservation status of big leaf mahogany in Central and South America. Logging of mahogany has contributed to the destruction of rainforest and critical wildlife habitat and threatens to push the species to commercial extinction. CEP is surveying foresters, biologists, and protected area managers in each country to compile information about the density of remaining mahogany populations, logging, and other land uses that affect these forests. CEP will use the results of this work to identify populations of high conservation value, develop conservation priorities and strategies for safeguarding the species' survival, and publish a consensus statement on mahogany's conservation status to inform the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Mahogany Working Group. | |
| |  | | Bioscience publishes four articles by CABS authors on defining strategies to create, maintain, and fund protected areas.
View/Download AbstractsThe latest issue of Species, newsletter of IUCN-SSC, is available. It details the state of over 100 species and includes contributions by CABS authors.
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