CEC Research Seminar with Pablo Negret: Looking beyond Protected Areas to achieve biodiversity retention and socioeconomic development in the tropics

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) are a fundamental tool for the protection of tropical biodiversity. Now more than 15% of global land is under some type of protection regime including more than 23% of the tropical forest. Despite this, PAs are not always effective at preventing biodiversity loss and socioeconomic conflicts may arise where they are established, due to restrictions to land and access to natural resources for local communities. Because of this, calls have mounted for the identification of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) that can deliver biodiversity outcomes to complement those provided by PA. OECMs could be more equitable and socially acceptable than PAs, specially in productive landscapes, as they are managed by and for the benefit of a diverse set of actors. Moreover, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) refers to OECMs as a complementary tool to achieve the target of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. Despite of this, OECMs have been overlooked in most national biodiversity policies and strategies over the past decades in tropical countries. Some of the reasons for this are that for many countries their identification and the systematical tracking of their extent and distribution has not yet been done or is under way. Rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of potential OECMs and other alternative governance mechanisms in preventing biodiversity loss is also urgent to be able to understand the contribution that they have towards achieving optimal conservation outcomes and socioeconomic goals.