SEE-U 2000: Atlantic Forest - Module 16

Module 16 at:

• | Biosphere 2 Center (Arizona)
• | Black Rock Forest (New York)

Exercises for Module 16:

• | Currently not available online

Exercises for Module 16:
Module 16 at:

# Atlantic Forest ## Module 16: Conservation Biology
Printer format ### Conservation Biology #### By Dr. James A. Danoff-Burg, Columbia University Through the course, we've touched on a great diversity of ecological processes and issues. We've run through the ecological hierarchy starting with the individual and natural selection (Module 3), through populations (Module 4), communities (Module 5) and their constituent members (Modules 6, 7, 8) to ecosystems and biomes (Modules 1 and 2). We have also addressed how the abiotic processes (Modules 9, 10, 11, 12) impact upon and are influenced by each of these ecological levels. We have spent the last week addressing the impact of human activity on biodiversity and ecology (Modules 13, 14, 15). Today, we conclude the class with a discussion of how we can weave together these ideas, apply them, and address some current threats to biodiversity by understanding the local ecological processes. Today we discuss applied ecology in the form of Conservation Biology. ### Types of Conservation Biology . Underlying nearly all conservation biology efforts is the preservation of native species and ecosystems from the effects of human activity. The challenge facing conservation biologists is to undo the damage to the environment that has been already done and to prevent future depredations. Because of the high-profile efforts of conservation groups that have historically targeted the preservation of single animal species such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Marine Mammal Fund, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Wildlife Trust, much of the public believes that nature conservation focuses on a single species. Bumper sticker sentiments such as "Save the Whales", "Reintroduce the Wolf to Yellowstone", and related catch phrases are often used to summarize conservation biology by this portion of the public. This approach to conservation reached its greatest popularity in the 1970's and 1980's. Those who rightly point out that conserving a single species will be for naught if there is no habitat within which these conserved species can exist heavily criticize the single species viewpoint of conservation. These critics derisively say that this approach is only concerned for the charismatic megavertebrates on which it spends its money and not on habitat. An example of this approach is the hotly contested issue of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that has been devoted to the breeding of the California Condor for its re-release into the wild in the desert Southwestern US. Huge amounts of money were spent breeding a bird that may be driven to extinction in the wild again, as a result of the near exponential increase in population, road use, and car presence in that area. These are the same forces that wiped out the species in the wild in the past. As an alternative to a species-based conservation effort, these critics advocate instead for a habitat-based one under which the emphasis is the acquisition and protection of land. Under this approach to conservation, the species are preserved mostly as a byproduct of preserving the land. The most important organizations that serve as examples of this approach are the Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and the Rainforest Action Network. However, even those species-based conservation organizations listed above currently emphasize conservation of habitats at least as much as conservation of the "charismatic megavertebrates". Nearly all conservation groups have in their central guidelines an emphasis on habitat conservation. The three main types of conservation biology directions -preservation, economic conservation, and restoration - form a continuum of the ways that land can be restored. These are not usually mutually exclusive in that there are situations where some of each would be most appropriate. The most appropriate approach to conservation of a parcel of land is context dependent. To Top of Page ### Conservation Via Preservation . Preservation of land, usually through purchasing it and enforcing certain standards of land use or, when extreme, excluding people from the land is in some countries a very effective method of conserving species and natural places. In the United States, the Nature Conservancy has purchased large tracts of land and has done excellent work with preserving the species present locally. This approach works particularly well in countries with an efficient law enforcement infrastructure and a strong concept and respect for land ownership. This has been particularly successful in preserving a globally unique Pine Barrens ecosystem in the Albany, New York area called the Albany Pine Bush. This ecosystem is particularly imperiled because the land is very economically useful, as it is the only significant and unique nature preserve in the United States entirely within a city boundary. An extremely uncommon inland geological process formed the Pine Bush: a river delta during the post-Pleistocene glacial era deposited the sand. Therefore, it is home to several rare and federally endangered species including the Karner Blue Butterfly. The Pine Bush is owned by New York State, the city of Albany and a few other surrounding towns, and the Nature Conservancy. Had these institutions not intervened in 1988 to purchase and preserve this unique ecosystem, business parks and housing developments would surely have covered the Pine Bush by now. However, when this same strategy is applied in countries where the same concept of land ownership does not apply, land preservation policies by themselves are frequently ineffective. Local people need to survive and therefore frequently venture into the preserved land for hunting, wood gathering, water collection, or other uses of the local biota. When this happens, land preservation strategies will conserve only the land, whereas the normal ecological systems will be only an empty shell of what may have previously been a thriving environment. Unfortunately, this concept does not work well where biodiversity is at its greatest and most diverse, in the world's lush tropical regions. To Top of Page ### Conservation via Economics . A better method of preserving land in these areas may be to involve local economic needs and the local people in the preservation and maintenance of the local wild lands. Although it seems to be an oxymoron, economic arguments for the perpetuation of nature are frequently advanced. These approaches tend to be contentious, in that all involved are thwarted to some degree. Those who wish to capitalize financially on the land are able to use only a part of the land, whereas those who wish to preserve the land are forced to relinquish some or at least allow some to become ecologically degraded. Conservation biologists who argue for economic approaches tend to be pragmatists. They recognize that some habitat will be lost to development using these economically motivated conservation strategies. They nonetheless believe that the only way that any of the land will be preserved is by recognizing that someone will place an economic value on the land. They argue that if conservation biologists have a hand in the design of land-use strategies, then at least some of the impact of development would be mitigated. A primary goal of this approach is that ecologists would be able to maximize the biodiversity of any remaining wild lands and well-managed but ecologically compromised lands. Some is, after all, better than none. To Top of Page ### Conservation via Restoration and Remediation . This branch of conservation biology is concerned with assisting the recovery and management of ecological integrity from a previously despoiled environment. Theoretically, restoration ecology emphasizes the reclamation of previously degraded ecosystems. This would be accomplished by removing anything preventing the natural flow of water, removal of other barriers, by removing contaminants, by replanting key plant communities, or a number of other approaches. In fact, most projects that are called restoration ecology focus on the reintroduction of one or a few species. The projects that are most desired by this approach are those that are the most sustainable for critical and endangered ecosystems. Restoration ecologists recognize the need for long-term human management in these restored ecosystems and design that into which projects they decide to perform. There is an abundance of land that has been degraded by humans that could be restored, but not all of these potential projects are equally feasible. One of the most difficult tasks in restoration ecology is designing a project that is maximally useful and sustainable. The factors that go into choosing a restoration project include the following: whether the area is unique and possibly harboring rare or endangered species, whether the addition of that parcel would reunite previously fragmented land parcels, the long-term management costs for maintenance and continued restoration to a "natural" state, the costs necessary for implementing the plan, the utility of the land to the local people and whether they would support the land conversion, and lastly whether the habitat that would be created would significantly increase local endemic biodiversity. An example of a thus far successful restoration project is currently being performed in the Brazilian Mâta Atlantica by the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas (IPÊ). Until recently, the Atlantic forest stretched undisturbed along the entire southern coast of Brazil and housed many thousands of endemic species. However this forest is also greatly valued because of its value as farmland. As such, the Mâta Atlantica is among the most endangered ecosystems around the world, with less than 7% of its original forest remaining. In western São Paulo near the Morro do Diabo state park, where most of the forest was cleared for ranch lands in the middle 20th century, IPÊ is creating corridors that will connect the remaining fragments. These corridors, as we discussed during Module 13, are vital for species conservation in smaller fragments. To replant these corridors, IPÊ is using native plants that are useful for both the native animals as well as for the subsistence farmers living near the corridors. The hope is that these corridors will play a crucial part in preserving the intact forest that remains, to help feed the locals and thereby increase the value that they place on intact forests, as well as to create novel relatively representative habitat. This is an ambitious and well-designed project. All involved have their fingers crossed for its success. To Top of Page ### A Closing Question . A critique that has been levied against each of the above approaches is that ecosystems are dynamic and ever changing. This critique says that in their efforts to retain or restore the most recent ecological situation, conservation biologists are attempting to keep alive something that should be allowed to pass away naturally. This is particuarly important, as it will happen eventually, irrespective of what we do. Human intervention in nature will not lessen in the future. Because we are the reason why these lands were degraded in the first place, these critics argue that to ignore that fact will lead to a waste of much money and energy. Humans are part of ecology. We need to learn how to live with it better than we have. In addition, to human-caused depredations of nature, there are many natural environmental disruptions. Environmental catastrophes, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and others, happen periodically and dramatically alter the local ecology. Changes need to be accommodated and lived with, rather than fought. Ecosystems that we think of as being naturally present are not permanent. The argument that our efforts to conserve, preserve, or restore nature are merely our attempt to cling tenaciously to an outmoded or unnatural ecosystem and we are trying to retain something that is not worth preserving is an interesting one. It is also a value judgment. There may not be one right answer to that argument and perhaps maybe we shouldn't even try to answer it. What do you think? You are the future of conservation biology. Your opinion matters. Become actively involved in shaping some of the future of conservation biology. It has been an honor to be able to share and explore some of the most important ideas of ecology with you. To Top of Page ### Additional Relevant Online Resources The home pages of the most prominent professional conservation organizations are filled with many interesting and useful conservation stories and references. Audubon Society Defenders of Wildlife Nature Conservancy Rainforest Action Network Sierra Club Wildlife Conservation Society Wildlife Trust World Wildlife Fund The breeding of the California Condor for its re-release into the wild in the desert Southwestern US is well covered by the Peregrine Fund. The Society for Ecological Restoration Internet Resources Site has a great deal of information on Restoration Ecology. Save the Albany Pine Bush has some information on the unique pine barrens ecosystem in the Albany, New York area. A write up from the US Fish and Wildlife Service has a very informative, if text heavy, page describing the political, geological, and ecological status of the Albany Pine Bush in great detail. Beyond Fences: Seeking Social Sustainability in Conservation, Chapter 4.24 - Jobs in Conservation by Larry R. Kohler and Carmen Aalbers of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) discusses the importance of involving local people in conservation strategies. Environmental Policies of the Society for Ecological Restoration from the Society for Ecological Restoration is an excellent and brief primer on the main factors that determine an effective restoration ecology program. A brief description of the history of the Brazilian Mâta Atlantica is available from American Electric Power. The home page of the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas (IPÊ) has a great deal of information on all the restoration and conservation ecology projects on which they are currently working. Hunting & Biodiversity in Atlantic Forest Fragments in São Paulo, Brazil by Laury Cullen, Jr of IPÊ has a great deal of information about Morro do Diabo as well as of the title subject. IPÊ's project whereby they are creating corridors that will connect the remaining fragments is also availalable from Laury Cullen, Jr. Ecosystems, Biomes, and Watersheds: Definitions and Use by M. Lynne Corn of the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington D.C. has an interesting critque of conservation biology as well as a discussion of these definitions. To Top of Page ##### All Materials Copyright © 2000 by James Danoff-Burg ##### All Rights Reserved.