The vegetation in many African national parks is undergoing notable changes due to disturbances at various spatial and temporal scales. Understanding the responses of species can help with predicting future impacts of human-induced disturbance-related drivers on the vegetation in Mole National Park. This study aimed to examine how woody species react to disturbance-related factors in five vegetation types (woodland, savannah forest, riparian forest, swamp forest, and boval vegetation) across the park. We tested the hypothesis that the effects of wildfires, herbivory activities, invasive alien plant species, erosion, and bare ground on the tree community structure differ among the five vegetation types, as individual species respond differently to these drivers. Our results showed that the impact of fire regimes, invasive alien plant species, herbivory, erosion, and bare ground accounted for 59% of the low abundance of the individuals observed in the riparian and swamp forest vegetation types. Similar disturbances, especially fire regimes and invasive alien plants, also contributed to the presence of rarer species such as Afraegle paniculata and Isoberlinia doka in the woodland and boval vegetation types. However, the dominance and wide distribution of Detarium microcarpum, Combretum adenogonium, Terminalia avicennioides, and Icacina senegalensis in these two vegetation types suggest their resistance to these disturbance-related factors, particularly fire regimes, through the use of adaptive fire-cued mechanisms. We conclude that increased disturbances may lead to the extinction of many rarer species, while the few resistant and resilient species are likely to experience a decline in their populations in such resource-limited environments.

Urbanization has become a key pressure on many of the world’s protected areas. This study investigates how local communities perceive landscape values and disvalues in and around Bannerghatta National Park (near Bengaluru, India), which is experiencing high rates of urban development at its peripheries. Using combined free-listing and Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) mapping, we surveyed 489 residents from 12 villages to elicit both landscape values and disvalues. Respondents mapped values such as biodiversity, fertile land and clean air, while disvalues focused on human–wildlife conflicts. Despite persistent conflicts and urbanization pressures, residents valued the National Park for its multiple landscape values. Both values and disvalues were concentrated around village areas. We find that socio-demographic factors – especially caste, land ownership and work in agriculture – significantly influenced perceptions. Specifically, marginalized caste members and landless individuals reported more disvalues, while landowners and farmers noted more values. Our study emphasizes the need to consider both landscape values and disvalues for balanced decision-making in protected areas. It also highlights the potential of free-listing to identify the well-being aspects that matter most for people, which points to the importance of agricultural uses in and around protected areas undergoing urbanization.

Given the ongoing global extinction crisis, preserving genetic diversity is critical for long-term ecosystem resilience. A large, openly available DNA barcoding database could support this goal by allowing the identification of ‘genetic hotspots’ for conservation planning. We studied 77 woody species in the Monte Desert, South America’s largest dryland, using ITS2 and rbcLa markers to identify haplotypes for each species. We modified a previously published genetic diversity criterion, which prioritizes uniqueness, to also consider species ubiquity. We then mapped this genetic diversity metric, calculated Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PD) index and overlaid our map with protected areas and permanent plantations. We identified five robust genetic hotspots, three of which coalesced into a central ‘mega-hotspot’. Alarmingly, most hotspots lay outside existing protected areas, and two overlapped with permanent plantations. As expected, high PD did not consistently align with high genetic diversity or species richness, suggesting that in the Monte Desert current protected areas overlook key genetic and PD. Our study highlights the importance of integrating DNA barcoding from understudied geographic regions into conservation plans.

Effective conservation management of threatened species with transboundary distributions is a challenge, requiring international coordination to ensure that country-specific actions align with regional imperatives. Many international conservation efforts overlook species needing attention and fail to incorporate the field expertise of local researchers in regional-level assessments. Here we focus on the taruka Hippocamelus antisensis, a threatened and little-studied deer of the Central Andes Ecoregion in South America. Since 2016, experts, managers and governmental authorities from all countries encompassing the species’ range have gathered to collate information about its presence and coordinate efforts to conserve it. We constructed taruka distribution models using historical records and more recent sightings reported during the last 50 years. Our findings revealed several critical insights: slope, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) during the dry season, and daily and seasonal temperature variability are primary predictors of taruka distribution, and the largest part of its range is in Peru (54%), followed by Bolivia (30%), Argentina (10%) and Chile (6%). The species’ core distribution is confined to the western and eastern limits of the Central Andes Ecoregion, bordered by the Sechura and Atacama Desert to the west and the Yungas Forest to the east. Protection is limited, with only 12 and 8% of the core and non-core areas, respectively, of the species’ range under formal protection. We recommend safeguarding connectivity of the core distribution by establishing transboundary protected areas, improving taruka coexistence with local communities, strengthening and formalizing international collaboration amongst taruka experts and raising the species’ appeal amongst policymakers and the public. In particular, we hope to encourage international collaboration between Southern Hemisphere specialists. This is important because these researchers have extensive field knowledge that could improve global conservation efforts, especially in regions that lack adequate conservation funding.

Obligate avian scavengers, such as the “Critically Endangered” California Condor Gymnogyps californianus, face significant threats from human activities and environmental changes. This study examines the home range and presence of reintroduced California Condors in a protected area in Baja California, Mexico, focusing on the influences of seasonality, biological factors, and food supplementation. Using spatial data collected over 12 months with telemetry equipment, we analysed condor movements within and beyond the boundaries of the Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Mártir. Our findings reveal that condors spend over half their time within the protected area, with an increased presence during winter months. Supplementary feeding programmes significantly increased condor presence within the park, particularly in spring and summer. Home range analyses showed that season significantly influenced home range sizes, with smaller ranges observed during winter compared with other seasons. Additionally, male condors had larger home ranges than females during spring, but no significant sex differences were observed in other seasons. Age did not have a significant effect on home range size. This study emphasises the importance of protected areas and supplementary feeding programmes in condor conservation, highlighting the necessity of continuous monitoring and management to help support this iconic species.

Jordan’s mammalian fauna has experienced significant declines due to intensified hunting since the early twentieth century, leading to the extinction of six species and threatening 39% of the remaining species. This research evaluates the evolution of Jordan’s hunting laws across three historical stages – the Ottoman period, the establishment of Jordan and the modern era – highlighting their impacts on mammalian diversity and identifying legislative gaps contributing to species declines. Using Arabic-based legal databases and historical archives, we found that inadequate legal frameworks, political instability, economic pressures and weak enforcement often accelerated species depletion. Notably, the 1957 Hunting Law permitted hunting of vulnerable species with a licence and of predators without a licence, worsening species decline. Although the 1962 Defense Law aimed to protect nature, its expiration hindered progress. The 1966 Hunting Law largely duplicated the 1957 law, perpetuating these problems, and then hunting regulations were absorbed into agricultural law, undermining conservation efforts. Despite these legal shortcomings, Jordan’s modernization vision provides hope for reform, including the potential restoration of the Hunting Law under the Ministry of Environment and incorporating the right to a healthy environment into Jordan’s constitution to help prevent a mass extinction of mammals.

Synthesising knowledge on the health of marine ecosystems and the human activities is crucial to informing holistic marine management. In many coastal states, however, research is conducted in an ad hoc manner and rarely compiled into accessible repositories making it challenging for marine managers to identify knowledge gaps when allocating resources. Here we conduct a structured review of existing literature to identify the current state of marine and coastal knowledge in the Isles of Scilly, an oceanic archipelago in the UK. The archipelago's marine flora and fauna are biogeographically unique in the Northeast Atlantic, with a distinct mosaic of warm and cold temperate habitats and species and are also considered a rare example of a near pristine marine environment in the otherwise highly degraded Northeast Atlantic Ocean. We found 150 sources relating to the marine biodiversity and relevant human activities in the Isles of Scilly with increasing diversification of research topics in recent years. Sources however remain dominated by specific taxa and habitats, suggesting the Isles of Scilly would particularly benefit from future research into: (1) anthropogenic impacts associated with warming waters and intense seasonal vessel activity; (2) development of repeatable survey protocols that can underpin long-term, ecosystem-based monitoring and management (notably for reef and sediment habitats and the European spiny lobster); and (3) data gaps associated with marine teleost fish and elasmobranch communities including identifying core habitat. This review can therefore act as a baseline biological synthesis for the region and importantly, can inform future research priorities.

Iguaçu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, faces threats from proposed legislation aimed at downgrading its protection to allow reopening of the Caminho-do-Colono road, which would fragment the National Park. This study assesses the National Park’s importance in preserving native vegetation and its economic significance via payments for environmental services. We evaluated different scenarios, demonstrating how these resources are vital for certain municipalities. By comparing economic performance before and after the road’s closure, our findings reveal that, contrary to local beliefs, the closure did not negatively impact the local economy. Additionally, these legislative bills are legally infeasible and fail to offer environmental or economic benefits, favouring small interest groups over the collective good. This research highlights that the Caminho-do-Colono road is not a viable approach to municipal development. Instead, maintaining the National Park’s integrity is crucial for both ecological preservation and economic stability in the region. Our analysis underscores the broader implications of environmental conservation efforts and the necessity of rejecting projects that compromise protected areas. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the National Park’s role, emphasizing the need for sustainable development that aligns with environmental and community well-being.

Terrestrial and marine protected areas have long been championed as an approach to biodiversity conservation. For protected areas to be effective, equitable and inclusive, the involvement of local residents in their management and governance is considered important. Globally, there are many approaches to involving local residents in protected area law enforcement. However, opportunities for comparing different approaches have been limited by the lack of a clear common framework for analysis. To support a more holistic understanding, we present a framework for analysing the contributions of local residents to protected area law enforcement. Informed by a review of the literature and discussions with conservation practitioners, the framework comprises five key dimensions: (1) the different points in the enforcement system at which local residents are involved, (2) the nature of local participation in decision-making, (3) the type of external support provided to local residents, (4) the different motivating forces for participation, and (5) the extent to which local participation is formalized. We apply the framework to three real-world case studies to demonstrate its use in analysing and comparing the characteristics of different approaches. We suggest this framework could be used to examine variation in local participation within the enforcement system, inform evaluation and frame constructive discussions between relevant stakeholders. With the global coverage of protected areas likely to increase, the framework provides a foundation for better understanding the contributions of local residents to protected area law enforcement.

Protected areas worldwide are strongholds for safeguarding biodiversity, natural habitats, ecosystem services and cultural values. Yet despite their importance, the effectiveness of protected area management varies greatly. Indonesia is a biodiversity hotspot, with 554 protected areas that cover 27 million ha across the archipelago. To assess and improve the management effectiveness of these protected areas, the Government of Indonesia applied an adapted version of the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) to assess 422 of the country's protected areas, of which 170 were repeatedly assessed in 2015, 2017 and 2019. We investigated the METT score changes across these protected areas and the factors explaining the varying scores. Over the study years, METT scores significantly improved (mean increase of 44.1%). National parks had the highest mean score, which was 13.4 points higher than other protected area types. After correcting for spatial autocorrelation using a generalized least-squares model, we found that METT score increase was positively influenced by year of assessment and having a well-resourced management authority, with no influence of protected area size or mean protected area budget allocation per ha. The assessments identified five main threats to protected areas: poaching, illegal logging, human settlements, tourism and non-timber cultivation. The widespread and repeated use of METT across the protected areas of Indonesia and the increasing METT scores indicate an overall improvement in management and professionalism. Building on the foundational work in our study, future studies should assess the association between METT scores and progress made towards achieving the conservation objectives of protected areas.

Guidelines for managers of protected areas are an important component of conservation policies, on a par with large-scale frameworks and vehicles for conservation funding. In line with the recent literature proposing evaluations of conservation actions or political strategies to improve them, here we use an innovative, hybrid methodology, based both on an interpretative approach anchored in social sciences and a quantitative literature review, to identify available frameworks for evaluating conservation guidelines. The main result of this analysis is that the relevant literature in conservation is sparse and heterogeneous, but a relevant encompassing framework is provided by the literature in decision sciences based on the policy analytics framework. This evaluation framework consists of three criteria: scientific credibility, operationality and legitimacy. We then implement a pilot application by evaluating guidelines currently used in France to support all of the actors involved in protected areas management. The study concludes that these guidelines are plagued by significant weaknesses that could be overcome by implementing relevant participatory processes.

The Endangered dhole Cuon alpinus is a medium-sized canid that was historically distributed widely across East, Central, South and Southeast Asia. In Nepal, following heavy persecution during the 1970s and 1980s, the species was locally extirpated across large parts of the country. After decades of near absence, the dhole is reportedly showing signs of recovery in various areas of Nepal. We carried out three surveys using camera traps (resulting in a total of 6,550 camera-trap days), reviewed literature and interviewed herders and conservation practitioners (40 interviews) to determine the historical and current distribution of dholes in the country, and the species’ current status. Our camera traps recorded five images of dholes, and the literature review and interview survey provided further insights into the historical and current presence of dholes in Nepal. The combined findings suggest dholes have recolonized many areas where they had been locally extirpated, such as the Annapurna Conservation Area in central Nepal and the Tinjure–Milke–Jaljale forests in the eastern part of the country. Although these returns are encouraging, challenges remain for dhole recolonization, including conflict with livestock herders, human hunting of wild ungulates affecting the species’ prey base, increasing infrastructure development in forested areas, and diseases.

Knowledge of the spatial distribution of reptiles is essential for decision-making in conservation under future climate change scenarios. We present a new compilation of reptile records for Odesa Oblast (i.e. province), south-west Ukraine. We compiled 662 records: 200 from our own research during 2012–2022, 362 from the published literature, 73 from public databases and 27 from museum collections. Fourteen native species of reptile (one species of Emydidae, four of Lacertidae, one of Anguidae, six of Colubridae and two of Viperidae) have been recorded in Odesa Oblast but the distribution of several are poorly known and/or records have rarely been published. We also report four introduced reptile species (one each of Emydidae, Gekkonidae, Lacertidae and Anguidae). We present the data in a grid of 462 10 × 10 km cells covering the oblast. In this compilation we did not record any new species, but our records include previously unreported localities for some species. Species richness was highest in the areas along the Black Sea, in protected areas. The main threats to the reptiles in Odesa Oblast are the alteration and degradation of habitats, military action, uncontrolled pressure from infrastructure projects and the presence of invasive species.

The Upper Guinea Forest (UGF; West Africa), a global biodiversity hotspot, has lost more than 90% of its original area since 1900, threatening endemic species such as the endangered pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). However, little is known about the proximate causes of this deforestation. We classified Sentinel-2 data using the random forest algorithm to differentiate between three main human processes (shifting agriculture, intensive agriculture or urban expansion) driving deforestation between 2000 and 2019 across the pygmy hippopotamus distribution area. Out of c. 89 600 km2 in the year 2000, 15 900 km2 (17%) of forest were lost, primarily to shifting agriculture (14 900 km2). Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia accounted for 14 900 km2 (94%) of the net area of forest lost, c. 15 times greater than deforestation in Sierra Leone and Guinea combined (953 km2). Forest loss inside protected areas is pervasive, and it is essential to prioritize conservation efforts in areas where deforestation is still low (e.g., Taï, Sapo and Gola Rainforest national parks). We suggest that the preservation of the UGF will face challenges associated with people’s demand for food and income. Continued landscape-scale planning and action to reduce deforestation are urgently needed to limit the impact of shifting agriculture on pygmy hippopotamus habitat.

Records of the Nubian Bustard Nubotis nuba range across the drier northern component of the Sahel zone in Africa from Mauritania through Mali, Niger, and Chad to Sudan. Reports of significant hunting pressure have caused it to be treated as IUCN “Near Threatened” for almost 40 years, but information relating to distribution and population trends remains scattered, anecdotal, and unevaluated. All accessible evidence bearing on its conservation is therefore assembled and reviewed here. The lack of records from Mauritania since 1984, Mali since 1974, and Sudan since 1988 suggests that populations there may now be very small and perhaps entirely extinguished. Records from Niger and Chad remain many, thanks largely to the assiduous reporting of observations on the West African Bird DataBase (WABDaB) by researchers involved in ungulate conservation. The national nature reserves of Aïr and Ténéré (RNNAT) and Termit and Tin-Toumma (RNNTT) in Niger and the Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve (RFOROA) in Chad emerge as vital to the long-term survival of the Nubian Bustard, given the accumulating evidence in both countries of (1) widespread habitat degradation and conversion, as human populations and their livestock expand in numbers and range in the Sahel, and (2) intensifying persecution, as highly mobile and well-armed local poachers plus Gulf state hunters gain increasing vehicular access to the remotest regions, depleting all huntable wildlife (a Sahel-wide bird study, 2011–2019, encountered just 16 bustards of four species – none Nubian – in 487 observation days). Populations of Nubian Bustard must now be greatly fragmented and depleted, with many entirely lost, so targeted programmes to minimise disturbance, persecution, and damage to habitat in the three key reserves (including the exclusion of powerlines) are urgently needed. Ultimately however the survival of this and other endemic Sahelian species can only be secured via a huge programme of ecologically and economically sustainable management practices.

Protected areas safeguard biodiversity of global ecological importance, even throughout armed conflicts. The International Law Commission's Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts propose that certain ecologically important areas could be designated as protected zones during armed conflicts. This article uses a geospatial analysis of armed conflicts and Key Biodiversity Areas and three case studies to inform recommendations on how the protection of ecologically important areas could be enhanced through visibility, local actors and international stakeholders as part of a broader interpretation of a protected zone.

Area-based conservation is a widely used approach for maintaining biodiversity, and there are ongoing discussions over what is an appropriate global conservation area coverage target. To inform such debates, it is necessary to know the extent and ecological representativeness of the current conservation area network, but this is hampered by gaps in existing global datasets. In particular, although data on privately and community-governed protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures are often available at the national level, it can take many years to incorporate these into official datasets. This suggests a complementary approach is needed based on selecting a sample of countries and using their national-scale datasets to produce more accurate metrics. However, every country added to the sample increases the costs of data collection, collation and analysis. To address this, here we present a data collection framework underpinned by a spatial prioritization algorithm, which identifies a minimum set of countries that are also representative of 10 factors that influence conservation area establishment and biodiversity patterns. We then illustrate this approach by identifying a representative set of sampling units that cover 10% of the terrestrial realm, which included areas in only 25 countries. In contrast, selecting 10% of the terrestrial realm at random included areas across a mean of 162 countries. These sampling units could be the focus of future data collation on different types of conservation area. Analysing these data could produce more rapid and accurate estimates of global conservation area coverage and ecological representativeness, complementing existing international reporting systems.

In the face of the triple planetary crisis, which includes climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, there is growing recognition that the environment needs to be re-evaluated and better protected. Recent developments, such as a values assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES),1 the concept of biocultural rights and the acknowledgment of granting rights to nature, emphasize the intrinsic value of the environment and endorse the understanding of the interconnectedness between humans and non-human entities. These developments are also increasingly evident in legal frameworks; for instance, several domestic legal systems now accept the rights of nature and grant legal standing to natural entities. This expansion in our understanding of the environment challenges the traditional anthropocentric focus of international law, which has primarily prioritized human rights and interests, perceiving humans as having dominance over nature and the liberty to harness its resources. Simultaneously, international environmental law is increasingly recognizing the interdependence of ecosystems and species. This acknowledgment drives the promotion of approaches to environmental management and conservation that centre around ecosystems and local communities. The present article looks at how to reconcile these heightened environmental values and the legal norms in armed conflict by examining two examples: the safeguarding of protected areas and the restoration of the environment post-conflict. By analyzing the changing values and legal developments in this area, the article offers legal and practical tools to support the protection of nature's intrinsic value in future warfare.