Mapping the planet’s critical natural assets

Abstract

Sustaining the organisms, ecosystems and processes that underpin human wellbeing is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Here we define critical natural assets as the natural and semi-natural ecosystems that provide 90% of the total current magnitude of 14 types of nature’s contributions to people (NCP), and we map the global locations of these critical natural assets at 2 km resolution. Critical natural assets for maintaining local-scale NCP (12 of the 14 NCP) account for 30% of total global land area and 24% of national territorial waters, while 44% of land area is required to also maintain two global-scale NCP (carbon storage and moisture recycling). These areas overlap substantially with cultural diversity (areas containing 96% of global languages) and biodiversity (covering area requirements for 73% of birds and 66% of mammals). At least 87% of the world’s population live in the areas benefitting from critical natural assets for local-scale NCP, while only 16% live on the lands containing these assets. Many of the NCP mapped here are left out of international agreements focused on conserving species or mitigating climate change, yet this analysis shows that explicitly prioritizing critical natural assets and the NCP they provide could simultaneously advance development, climate and conservation goals.

The performance of protected-area expansions in representing tropical Andean species: past trends and climate change prospects

“…Lastly, we note that, besides enhancing species representation, there are other relevant criteria that guide the decision on what sites should be protected that do not necessarily provide the largest representation gains, such as securing the equitable access to natural assets 70 or protecting intact forest landscapes 71 . Thus, the performance of PA location might vary with the criteria assessed, and additional evaluations might focus on these complementary aspects to broaden our understanding of trends in PA outcomes.…”

“…Our analysis shows that indicators such as the change in representation of different groups of taxa and the performance of new protected areas in closing representation gaps are available to monitor this essential property of functioning conservation networks. Lastly, we note that, besides enhancing species representation, there are other relevant criteria that guide the decision on what sites should be protected that do not necessarily provide the largest representation gains, such as securing the equitable access to natural assets 70 or protecting intact forest landscapes 71 . Thus, the performance of PA location might vary with the criteria assessed, and additional evaluations might focus on these complementary aspects to broaden our understanding of trends in PA outcomes.…”

Priorities for protected area expansion so nations can meet their Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commitments

“…Those ecosystems that are identified as the most intact can then be targeted for protection (Venegas-Li et al, 2023). There is hydrographic information available in a consistent and comprehensive format that can be used for regional and landscape applications (Chaplin-Kramer et al, 2023;Mulligan et al, 2020). There are a variety of methods of integrating important water bodies into PCA planning (Jung et al, 2021;Shen et al, 2023).…”

Chilean bee diversity: Contrasting patterns of species and phylogenetic turnover along a large‐scale ecological gradient

“…The Chilean bee fauna is less rich when compared with similar habitats around the world, such as California, but has incomparable diversity in terms of endemism and specialization, especially in the arid and semiarid regions (Moldenke, 1976b). This reflects the valuable and distinctive fauna that characterizes Central Chile (Chaplin-Kramer et al, 2022;Morrone, 2006). Several authors express serious concerns about the threats faced by some of Chile's most iconic Apoidea species, such as the world's largest bumblebee Bombus dahlbomii Guérin-Méneville, 1835 (Apidae) (Morales et al, 2013).…”