New indicator of habitat functionality reveals high risk of underestimating trade-offs among sustainable development goals: The case of wild reindeer and hydropower

Abstract

Although biodiversity is crucial for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), following the current trajectory, we risk failing SDG 15. Using a new indicator quantifying the loss of functional habitat (habitat that is simultaneously suitable and well-connected), we show that the real impact of renewable energy is far larger than previously assumed. Specifically, we estimate that the construction of hydropower reservoirs in south Norway caused a loss of ca. 222 km2 of functional habitat for wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)—which is far larger than assumed based on land inundation indices (110 km2). Fully mitigating these impacts is challenging: scenario analyses reveal that the measures proposed by societal actors would yield only a fraction of the habitat lost (2–12 km2) and could cause trade-off risks with other SDGs. Using indices of functional connectivity is crucial for environmental impact assessments, as entire ecological networks for several species can be affected far beyond the reservoirs.

Habitat functionality: Integrating environmental and geographic space in niche modeling for conservation planning

“…), the sustainability of entire land plans can be assessed. The habitat functionality framework is currently being tested to support sustainable land planning and the identification of the most efficient mitigation measures in Norwegian wild reindeer areas, focusing on issues such as hydropower development, transportation, and tourism (Dorber et al, 2023;Panzacchi et al, 2022Panzacchi et al, , 2023.…”

“…By integrating the effects of both habitat degradation and loss of connectivity or fragmentation into a quantitative metric (Rubio & Saura, 2012), the habitat functionality framework goes beyond simplistic dichotomies that might hinder conservation practice (whether to manage single large or several small habitat patches; Riva & Fahrig, 2023; Szangolies et al, 2022) and has great potential to guide sustainable land planning. This makes the framework ideally suitable for assessing the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic activities, including infrastructure development, land‐use changes and climatic changes (Dorber et al, 2023). The concept of a functionally connected niche is fundamental for better describing current species distributions, and it is essential for predicting how species' distribution could respond to climatic or landscape changes.…”

SDGs at the halfway point: How the 17 global goals address risks and wicked problems

“…Finally, Dorber et al (2023) use a new indicator to quantify the loss of 'functional habitat' and thereby show that the real impact of renewable energy is far larger than previously assumed. Construction of hydropower reservoirs in South Norway cause a loss of functional habitat for wild reindeer that is substantially larger than assumed.…”

“…As highlighted by the articles presented above, the success of SDG implementation is not so much to be identified from the actions aimed at implementing individual SDGs or targets, but more from integrative actions purposefully, or incidentally, directing attention to win-win solutions and avoidance of trade-offs between SDGs (see e.g. Dorber et al 2023;Lyytima ¨ki et al 2023).…”

“…Furthermore, there can be challenges in communicating the SDGs between national and local level (Armenteras et al 2023). This also underlines the importance of engaging a larger audience in the SDGs (Dorber et al 2023;Lyytima ¨ki et al 2023).…”