Using spatial metrics and surveys for the assessment of trans-boundary deforestation in protected areas of the Maya Mountain Massif: Belize-Guatemala border

Chicas, Santos D.; Omine, Kiyoshi; Ford, J. B.; Sugimura, Ken; Yoshida, Kentaro

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.11.063

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This suggests that habitat loss may be better prevented in the most heavily protected sites more in the interior of countries, or that habitat loss in the interior protected areas occurred prior to our assessment of loss. Additional efforts to document patterns of habitat loss in border regions (e.g., Chicas et al 2017), and temporal trends in loss, could improve understanding of habitat loss dynamics in protected areas as a function of border distance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This latter question is driven by the fact that although protected areas in the Americas have been found to buffer against habitat loss fairly well compared to protected areas in many other parts of the world, protected areas in this region do experience landscape change (Heino et al 2015, Olsoy et al 2016. Habitat loss may be exacerbated or lessened within border regions because of factors such as colonization history, political stability, and land productivity (Vi na et al 2004, Chicas et al 2017), yet the relationship between habitat change and border distance remains relatively unexplored. Our research expands on the finding of Baldi et al (2017) that strict protected areas are common near country borders in Latin America by providing a more detailed view of the relationship of protected areas with border distance across the Americas, including analysis of different classes of protected areas and explicit assessment of connectivity and habitat loss within border-situated protected areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Thornton

Branch

Murray

2019

Ecological Applications

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Large‐scale anthropogenic changes to landscapes will cause species to move and shift their ranges against a backdrop of international political boundaries. Transboundary conservation efforts are therefore key to preserving intact and connected landscapes, particularly if such efforts can be implemented within the framework of protected area networks that provide for resiliency and persistence in the face of threats such as climate change. We studied the distribution, connectivity, and integrity of protected areas in regions near international borders within the Americas. We found that there is a greater proportion of land protected near vs. far from borders, with this effect extending approximately 125 km from the border. This trend was most pronounced when considering multiuse categories of protected areas in the analysis. We also found that there is greater connectivity of protected areas in border regions than more internally within countries, and relatively low rates of habitat loss within border‐situated and internal protected areas. Our results indicate that protected area networks are larger and more connected if considered in a transboundary context and that efforts to conserve species and mitigate effects of long‐term stressors like climate change will be most successful when planning includes neighboring countries. Despite a relative lack of attention to transboundary conservation in the Americas, our results suggest substantial opportunities for linking landscapes via a focus on international border regions and coordination across borders in protected areas management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Thornton

Branch

Murray

2019

Ecological Applications

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“…We found that illegal activities related to suppression and degradation of vegetation, illegal fishing and hunting activities were the most commonly recorded. These three activities have been highlighted in several assessments of biodiversity threats globally: hunting and the illegal wildlife trade ( Dudley, Stolton & Elliott, 2013 ; Nijman, 2015 ; Sharma et al, 2014 ; Tella & Hiraldo, 2014 ; Underwood, Burn & Milliken, 2013 ); fishing in prohibited locations, outside permitted periods and in excess of established quantities or sizes ( Free, Jensen & Mendsaikhan, 2015 ; Sethi & Hilborn, 2008 ; Thomas, Gavin & Milfont, 2015 ); and illegal logging, deforestation and degradation of vegetation ( Chicas et al, 2017 ; Curran et al, 2004 ; Funi & Paese, 2012 ; Yonariza & Webb, 2007 ). Although illegal activities related to the suppression and degradation of vegetation, illegal fishing, and poaching activities were those most frequently recorded in Amazonian PAs, it does not mean that other less prominent illegal activities are not of concern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illegal use of natural resources in federal protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon

Kauano

Silva

Michalski

2017

PeerJ

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BackgroundThe Brazilian Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest regions and plays a key role in biodiversity conservation as well as climate adaptation and mitigation. The government has created a network of protected areas (PAs) to ensure long-term conservation of the region. However, despite the importance of and positive advances in the establishment of PAs, natural resource depletion in the Brazilian Amazon is pervasive.MethodsWe evaluated a total of 4,243 official law enforcement records generated between 2010 and 2015 to understand the geographical distribution of the illegal use of resources in federal PAs in the Brazilian Amazon. We classified illegal activities into ten categories and used generalized additive models (GAMs) to evaluate the relationship between illegal use of natural resources inside PAs with management type, age of PAs, population density, and accessibility.ResultsWe found 27 types of illegal use of natural resources that were grouped into 10 categories of illegal activities. Most infractions were related to suppression and degradation of vegetation (37.40%), followed by illegal fishing (27.30%) and hunting activities (18.20%). The explanatory power of the GAMs was low for all categories of illegal activity, with a maximum explained variation of 41.2% for illegal activities as a whole, and a minimum of 14.6% for hunting activities.DiscussionThese findings demonstrate that even though PAs are fundamental for nature conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, the pressures and threats posed by human activities include a broad range of illegal uses of natural resources. Population density up to 50 km from a PA is a key variable, influencing illegal activities. These threats endanger long-term conservation and many efforts are still needed to maintain PAs that are large enough and sufficiently intact to maintain ecosystem functions and protect biodiversity.

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“…We found that illegal activities related to suppression and degradation of vegetation, illegal fishing and hunting activities were the most commonly recorded. These three activities have been highlighted in several assessments of biodiversity threats globally: hunting and the illegal wildlife trade (Dudley et al 2013;Nijman 2015;Sharma et al 2014;Tella & Hiraldo 2014;Underwood et al 2013); fishing in prohibited locations, outside permitted periods and in excess of established quantities or sizes (Free et al 2015;Sethi & Hilborn 2008;Thomas et al 2015); and illegal logging, deforestation and degradation of vegetation (Chicas et al 2017;Curran et al 2004;Funi & Paese 2012;Yonariza & Webb 2007). Although illegal activities related to the suppression and degradation of vegetation, illegal fishing, and poaching activities were those most frequently recorded in Amazonian PAs, it does not mean that other less prominent illegal activities are not of concern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #2 of "Illegal use of natural resources in federal protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon (v0.1)"

2017

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Background. The Brazilian Amazon is the world's largest rainforest regions and plays a key role in biodiversity conservation as well as climate adaptation and mitigation. The government has created a network of protected areas (PAs) to ensure long-term conservation of the region. However, despite the importance of and positive advances in the establishment of PAs, natural resource depletion in the Brazilian Amazon is pervasive. Methods.We evaluated a total of 4,243 official law enforcement records generated between 2010 and 2015 to understand the geographical distribution of the illegal use of resources in federal PAs in the Brazilian Amazon. We classified illegal activities into ten categories and used generalized additive models (GAMs) to evaluate the relationship between illegal use of natural resources inside PAs with management type, age of PAs, population density, and accessibility. Results. We found 27 types of illegal use of natural resources that were grouped into 10 categories of illegal activities. Most infractions were related to suppression and degradation of vegetation (37.40%), followed by illegal fishing (27.30%) and hunting activities (18.20%). The explanatory power of the GAMs was low for all categories of illegal activity, with a maximum explained variation of 41.2% for illegal activities as a whole, and a minimum of 14.6% for hunting activities. Discussion. These findings demonstrate that even though PAs are fundamental for nature conservation in the Brazilian Amazon, the pressures and threats posed by human activities include a broad range of illegal uses of natural resources. Population density up to 50 km from a PA is a key variable, influencing illegal activities. These threats endanger long-term conservation and many efforts are still needed to maintain PAs that are large enough and sufficiently intact to maintain ecosystem functions and protect biodiversity. AnstractBackground. The Brazilian Amazon is the world's largest rainforest regions and plays a key role in biodiversity conservation as well as climate adaptation and mitigation. The government has created a network of protected areas (PAs) to ensure long-term conservation of the region. However, despite the importance of and positive advances in the establishment of PAs, natural resource depletion in the Brazilian Amazon is pervasive. Methods. We evaluated a total of 4,243 official law enforcement records generated between 2010 and 2015 to understand the geographical distribution of the illegal use of resources in federal PAs in the Brazilian Amazon. We classified illegal activities into ten categories and used generalized additive models (GAMs) to evaluate the relationship between illegal use of natural resources inside PAs with management type, age of PAs, population density, and accessibility. Results. We found 27 types of illegal use of natural resources that were grouped into 10 categories of illegal activities. Most infractions were related to suppression and degradation of vegetation (37.40%), followed by illegal fishing (27....

show abstract

Using spatial metrics and surveys for the assessment of trans-boundary deforestation in protected areas of the Maya Mountain Massif: Belize-Guatemala border

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Distribution and connectivity of protected areas in the Americas facilitates transboundary conservation

Illegal use of natural resources in federal protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon

Peer Review #2 of "Illegal use of natural resources in federal protected areas of the Brazilian Amazon (v0.1)"

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