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Abstract
The conservation of plant species in situ is a complex and multifaceted procedure which involves both the maintenance and management of protected areas and actions targeted at the species and population level. Most effort has been aimed so far at the occurrence and persistence of species in protected areas as a measure of conservation. However, species-level actions such as conservation or recovery plans have been undertaken for only a small percentage of threatened plant species, mostly by a few countries. The reasons for this are complex and involve scientific, social and political considerations. The planning of targets for biodiversity conservation in situ by the Convention on Biological Diversity suffers from a failure to coordinate area-based and species-based actions leading to overlap and confusion. A set of recommendations is given to help remedy the neglect of targeted species conservation.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to two reviewers for helpful suggestions.
Notes
1. This notes that “progress is being made towards all the targets, but generally not at a sufficient rate to achieve the targets in full by 2020.” In fact, of the 16 targets, only one (Target 1: An online flora of all known plants) is considered on track to achieve its goal by 2020, although if one considers that at a halfway point the main progress reported is the establishment of the World Flora Online Consortium and that a final data model is yet to be determined, it is difficult to share such optimism.
2. Summary of listed species listed programmes and recovery plans … U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/Bixscore.do#recPlans
3. Usually termed incorrectly and ungrammatically “inter situ”.
4. Council of Europe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats – also known as the Bern Convention. Its aims are “to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats, especially those species and habitats whose conservation requires the co-operation of several States, and to promote such co-operation. Particular emphasis is given to endangered and vulnerable species, including endangered and vulnerable migratory species.”
5. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, also known as the Habitats Directive.
6. Bern Convention Appendix I lists strictly protected flora species; the Habitats Directive Annex IIb lists plant species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation.
7. It is also referred to as “circum situm” and incorrectly and ungrammatically as “circum situ” or “circa situ”.
8. Target 12 – Technical Rationale extended (provided in document COP/10/INF/12/Rev.1) http://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/rationale/target-12/
10. As such an approach neglects a proportion of species (those that slip through the course filter), a complementary fine filter assessment can then be applied to identify those species that are not adequately represented in the reserves (Noss Citation1987; Hunter Citation1991). It does not, however, necessarily address the conservation needs of target species, which have a specialized ecology that the coarse filter approach may well not capture and require a specific and tailored conservation strategy.
11. Many of the analyses are based on data from mammals, birds and amphibians not plants.
12. bd.eionet.europa.eu/activities/Reporting/Article_17/Reports_2007/chapter8.
14. http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/recovery-plans.html. See also Taylor (Citation2008).
17. 1,200,000 ha in 150 protected areas. This is made up of 61 private conservation areas, 44 conservation concessions, 40 ecotourism concessions and five ecological service areas (SPDA Citation2012).
18. As at September 2013, there were approximately 5000 terrestrial properties that could be considered private protected areas in Australia covering 8,913,000 ha.