Strengthening area-based conservation to support biodiversity and people’s wellbeing : a perspective from tropical regions

Nations in tropical regions are responsible for preserving the most biodiverse places on Earth, managing them to ensure the delivery of Nature’s Contribution to People’s quality of life (NCPs). Area-based conservation measures, such as protected areas (PAs), are among the main instruments these nations have implemented to fulfil this responsibility. However, persisting shortcomings in the management and location diminish the contribution of area-based conservation to sustaining biodiversity and people’s wellbeing. This thesis explores the challenges and alternatives for tropical regions to strengthen three key aspects of area-based conservation: financial sustainability, ecological representativeness, and equitable management. In Chapter 1, I assess the hypothesis that adequate funding for management contributes to more effective forest protection in PAs of Ecuador and PA systems of Latin American countries. Results show that funding deficits reduce the PA’ impact in avoiding deforestation, while countries’ human development dimensions are the most relevant drivers of impact at the PA system level. Chapter 2 explores ways by which an expansion of PAs for the western Amazon can increase biodiversity coverage at the least possible management and agriculture opportunity costs. I find that prioritizations that incorporate spatial data on conservation costs, involve indigenous lands, and assume international collaboration allow maximizing species representation at more affordable budgets. In Chapter 3, I identify critical gaps in ecological representation and NCPs in the current PA system of the Andes. Based on a literature review and prioritization exercises, I find that conservation planning in the region needs three transformative actions to close such gaps: (1) optimizing the coverage of both biodiversity features and NCPs when planning for the expansion of PAs, (2) diversifying administration regimes and management objectives of PAs, and (3) increasing collaboration among Andean countries, engaging with private and international financial support. Finally, Chapter 4 examines the risks that human cultural diversity faces due to deforestation in tropical regions. By reviewing case studies, I detect three pathways by which forest loss can transform forest people cultures. Also, spatial analyses show that this century’s deforestation has rapidly expanded into the territories of ~ 1,400 ethnolinguistic groups, posing a threat to at least 20% of the world’s linguistic diversity. Although research suggests that PAs are an effective instrument to curb deforestation, the lack of social equity in their management also poses a threat to local cultures. This thesis shows that effective protection of tropical biodiversity requires a substantial expansion of areas-based conservation targeted at the right places, and a better allocation of funds for its management. Results also suggest that the establishment and management of successful area-based conservation and the wellbeing of local communities are strongly connected, which calls for a better understanding and consideration of these links when planning the expansion of conservation areas. Considering this requirement, I propose five areas of action to enhance the financial sustainability, ecological representation, and social equity of area-based conservation efforts, which together also seek to harmonize biodiversity protection with the concerns and aspirations of local actors. These and other perspectives from tropical regions on how to strengthen area-based conservation are also critical to inform global agreements on biodiversity protection.