No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Border Fences and their Impacts on Large Carnivores, Large Herbivores and Biodiversity: An International Wildlife Law Perspective
Abstract
Fences, walls and other barriers are proliferating along international borders on a global scale. These border fences not only affect people, but can also have unintended but important consequences for wildlife, inter alia by curtailing migrations and other movements, by fragmenting populations and by causing direct mortality, for instance through entanglement. Large carnivores and large herbivores are especially vulnerable to these impacts. This article analyses the various impacts of border fences on wildlife around the world from a law and policy perspective, focusing on international wildlife law in particular. Relevant provisions from a range of global and regional legal instruments are identified and analysed, with special attention for the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species and the European Union Habitats Directive.
... Increasing public awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation and the impacts of human activities on the environment can promote bebehaviourhange and support sustainable development goals. (Trouwborst et al., 2016) ...
... Within species biodiversity, there is also taxonomic diversity, which refers to the number of unique groups of organisms or taxa within a region or ecosystem. (Rosin et al., 2020;Trouwborst et al., 2016)Within ecosystem biodiversity, there is also functional diversity, which refers to the range of ecological roles and functions of species. (Hussain & Bhatti, 2023)Understanding the various levels of biodiversity is crucial for conservation efforts because it allows us to decide which components of biodiversity are most fragile and should be preserved. ...
... (Santos Silva, 2022;Zeng et al., 2020)The Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997 governs environmental preservation and biodiversity conservation in Pakistan. (Trouwborst et al., 2016)This legislation allows the federal government to manage pollution and other environmental dangers and create biodiversity-protected zones. Pakistan has many biodiversity legislations in addition to the Environmental Protection Act. ...
This research examines the intricate relationship between globalenvironmental regulations, biodiversity conservation, and sustainabledevelopment objectives. This study explores the difficulties andpossibilities related to biodiversity protection and sustainabledevelopment, including the reasons for biodiversity loss, governmentalpolicies, and business tactics, via an extensive examination of theliterature and qualitative research technique. It also emphasizes howcrucial fresh scientific discoveries and technological advancements areto attaining these objectives and raising public and legislatorcognizance. In addition to the advantages of biodiversity management,the study suggests additional research trajectories for related studiesin the future. They include the contribution of biodiversity to socialrehabilitation. It also acts as a call to action for all parties involved toadopt better strategies and tactics for protecting biodiversity andpromoting sustainable growth. Consequently, this work contributescrucially and promptly to the contemporary international debate on theconservation of biodiversity and the need for more sustainabledevelopment approaches. A more sustainable and just world for futuregenerations demands governments, scholars, companies, civil societygroups, and people to read this manuscript. The issue is the core needfor time to accomplish social errands effectively. The researchersanticipate this work would be highly productive for the socialrehabilitation ensuring SDGs.
(PDF) Biodiversity Management and Sustainable Development Goals: An International Perspective on Environmental Laws and Challenges. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369582232_Biodiversity_Management_and_Sustainable_Development_Goals_An_International_Perspective_on_Environmental_Laws_and_Challenges [accessed Apr 30 2023].
... Environmental border harms are largely unexplored in scholarly literature, the sole exception being the impact of physical infrastructure such as border barriers and their interference with wildlife (Trouwborst et al. 2016;Roche et al. 2017;Garbus 2018). In Lampedusa, however, border control does not rely on man-made physical barriers; in fact, the island is famous for the uncontaminated wilderness of its natural environment (Surico 2020). ...
... As I mentioned earlier in this paper, environmental border harms are largely unexplored in scholarly literature, the only exception being the effects of physical infrastructure like border barriers (Trouwborst et al. 2016;Roche et al. 2017). As Trouwborst et al. note, border barriers are designed to disrupt mobility, so their interference with wildlife is irremediable without compromising their intended function (2016). ...
... As Trouwborst et al. note, border barriers are designed to disrupt mobility, so their interference with wildlife is irremediable without compromising their intended function (2016). Despite their intrinsic hazardousness to the environment, border barriers fall outside the reach of both national and international environmental protection mechanisms thanks to exception clauses linked to reasons of national security, public interest, or states of emergency (Trouwborst et al. 2016;Garbus 2018). Similarly, border control in Lampedusa, while not relying on man-made physical barriers, still benefited from a routinised state of emergency to circumvent environmental regulations; in fact, as shown in the findings, the disposal of migrant boats relied on regularly resorting to emergency powers, which allowed for customary environmental safeguards to be circumvented. ...
In this paper I examine authorities’ management of migrant boats on the island of Lampedusa, Italy, as an example of environmental border harm. A danger to trawlers, sunken wrecks are also hazardous to the environment, with pollutants such as oil and fuel seeping into the sea. Migrant boats that reach the island, whether independently or towed by rescuers, are left to accumulate in the harbour and eventually break up, scattering debris in bad weather. When boats are uplifted onto land, they are amassed in large dumps, leaking pollutants into the soil. Periodically, the resulting environmental crises trigger emergency tendering processes for the disposal of the boats, which allow for the environmental protections normally required in public bidding to be suspended for the sake of expediency. The disposal of migrant boats thus relies on a pattern of manufactured environmental emergencies, consistent with the intrinsically crisis-based management of the border itself.
... Additionally, erecting fences between areas with important resources, such as water, can limit the carrying capacity of an area, meaning that region can support fewer individuals and populations (Jakes et al., 2018;Pekor et al., 2019). Herbivores that require large areas to forage may over consume the food resources that are present which then causes cascading impacts on vegetation due to overgrazing (Woodroffe et al., 2014;Zhang and Zhao, 2015;Trouwborst, Fleurke and Dubrulle, 2016;Pirie et al., 2017). Migration can also be hindered by fences and animals may be excluded from accessing important seasonal resources (Pirie et al., 2017). ...
... This has limited the migration potential of large ungulates across the country. If an animal's migration is cut short by a fence this may lead to death through starvation or dehydration (Trouwborst et al., 2016) and can potentially cause population consequences (Jakes et al., 2018). ...
All eight pangolin species are threatened and are collectively considered the most trafficked mammal group in the world. Temminck's pangolin (Smutsia temminckii; hereafter "pangolin") are an elusive and low-density species that are undergoing population decline due to poaching for traditional medicine uses, spiritual purposes, and bushmeat consumption. They also experience road mortalities caused by vehicular collisions, as well as electrocutions on electric fences. There are significant knowledge gaps in pangolin ecology, including habitat use and how it relates to these anthropogenic threats. The current research utilised field studies, citizen science, and remote sensing in Kenya and South Africa to address these gaps. There has been limited ecological research on this species in East Africa to date. To investigate small-scale habitat use within home ranges, burrow choice of pangolins was monitored through camera trapping and radio-tracking in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Pangolins utilise burrows created by aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) rather than create their own. This means aardvark burrow presence is likely important for determining pangolin habitat use in Kenya. Five characteristics of aardvark burrows were evaluated for pangolin preference. Pangolins were generalists when it came to utilisation based on these characteristics, although burrows with large entrances were avoided due to presumed predator evasion. These results were the first in East Africa to evaluate pangolin burrow use and additionally provided aardvark distribution and burrow density data. In addition to burrow presence, there are likely other environmental factors that influence pangolin distribution and habitat use. To evaluate wider-scale pangolin habitat use, habitat suitability models were generated using remotely sensed environmental variables and citizen science reports. This was conducted for both Narok County and all of Kenya, and revealed that moderate rainfall, topography above 1500 m, and eight soil types were the main predictors of distribution. This is the first study to generate such models for pangolins outside of South Africa. Further, a risk model (the first created for pangolins) was generated using anthropogenic variables to predict areas of high threats, which indicated areas with close proximity to roads and human populations as the largest potential threats within Kenya. Fences were indicated as a lesser threat, whereas they are known to cause numerous mortalities in South Africa. This difference between Kenya and South Africa is likely due to a lower amount of electric fencing in East Africa. To assess fences as a threat to pangolins in South Africa, an online citizen science questionnaire was used to investigate electrocution frequency and which fence types are most prone to cause these mortalities. Mortalities of fourteen taxa were recorded, with pangolins being the second most frequently killed species, after tortoises. The most mortalities occurred on fences with low-level electric wires, indicating that mitigation to reduce deaths on these fences is needed. Collectively, these findings contribute to our understanding of pangolin ecology, including: habitat use, distribution factors, and anthropogenic threats. This information is vital for conservation planning, and will aid conservation practitioners and stakeholders in developing effective conservation strategies.
... These new fences accounted for 14% of the total causes of death and was the third largest threat to giraffes. Similarly, such fences have been rated as one of the major threats to large mammals specifically the giraffes (Trouwborst et al., 2016) despite reducing livestock production in some areas by at least 19% (Boone and Hobbs, 2004). ...
Over the last three decades, the giraffe population in Africa has experienced a significant decline of nearly 40%, attributed to various threats such as severe poaching for bushmeat, human-wildlife conflicts, diseases, habitat fragmentation, and loss due to the increase in human settlement and associated land use changes and linear infrastructure. To be able to institute and prioritize effective conservation measures for the giraffes, it is necessary to identify population distribution, threat hotspots, suitable habitats, and their connecting corridors especially in multiple use landscapes. This study aimed to characterize Masai giraffe habitat and distribution in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania in the transboundary Tsavo-Mkomazi Landscape: identifying threats, suitable habitats and their linkage zones and population structure distribution under different land uses. Road surveys, ranger patrols, aerial surveys and remotely sensed data were integrated into Google Earth Engine (GEE) to develop species distribution models. The Suitability index obtained from this analysis was used as resistance surface to model landscape connectivity using Circuitscape in Arc GIS 10.5. Threats and location of occurrence were mapped from ranger’s patrol data and road surveys. Group associations were analyzed using SPSS. The results showed that land uses did not influence mean giraffe herd sizes and herd types significantly (p>0.05). However, age composition and herd types were significantly different between conservancies and small-scale farms during the wet season respectively (p<0.05). Poaching was the main threat to Massai giraffes accounting for 49% of total deaths of the identified carcasses in the landscape. Although ranches and conservancies were the most affected by the threats, they remained the least cost paths and corridors of high importance with low resistance to giraffe movement connecting from Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania) to South Kitui National Reserve (Kenya). The potentially suitable giraffe habitat was 15,002 km2 within the landscape with 17% of it being outside protected areas. Capacity building of ranch owners is recommended to address giraffe poaching. Transboundary collaborations, participatory land use planning, spatial planning at County, ranches/conservancy level should be done to ensure corridors and dispersal areas are included in land use planning and integrated with other conservation compatible land use practices to safeguard giraffes in the Tsavo-Mkomazi Landscape. Additionally, equal security measures should be deployed in protected and non-protected areas to deter poaching and reclaim South Kitui National reserve. Since climate change mediates Masai giraffe movement and group organization, this study recommends deep understanding of climate impact on the Masai giraffe distribution and future use of the community dominated landscapes and designed underpasses with the major infrastructure in their entire range.
... In Kashmir, by contrast, fencing and conflict have pushed leopards into urban areas and in direct conflict with humans (Habib et al., 2015). Trouwborst et al. (2016) note that the type of barrier or militarized zone hugely impacts wildlife. Fences and walls, for instance, are designed to be impenetrable and thus directly curtail animals' mobility, fragment populations and cause direct mortality . ...
In March 1996, a jaguar (Panthera onca) named Border King was seen in Arizona’s Peloncillo Mountains, followed by a sighting of a second male, Macho B, in September. The cats had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and quickly came to symbolize a conservation success story in complicated geopolitical terrain. Two decades later, the Trump Administration’s increased militarization of the borderlands prompted concerns about the deleterious impacts of border wall expansion for jaguar movement and survival. This study examines the expansion of border barriers, and potential impact on jaguar habitat. Using geospatial technologies and public data, we measure border barrier expansion between 2005 and 2021. We found that of the suitable jaguar habitat that touched the border in the study area (155 km), 86% (or 133 km) had been cut off by border barrier by 2021. We distinguish “wall” from other barriers, including vehicle barriers, using aerial imagery. Our results show although barriers built from 2006 to 2015 were triple the length of those built under Trump, the majority consisted of vehicle barriers, which animals may be able to cross. Trump era construction shifted vehicle barriers to restrictive walls limiting animal movement. We argue examining the type of barrier is crucial in understanding the potential for border “security” disruption to jaguar movement and futures in the borderlands.
... Spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta, and lions are two dominant carnivores that occur in many fenced protected areas and coexistence strategies between these two species are often a complex balance between facilitation and competition (Périquet et al., 2015). Interactions between lions and spotted hyaenas are often negative and potentially fatal (Périquet et al., 2015;Trinkel & Kastberger, 2005). Kleptoparasitism of kills are frequent between the two species, making hunting a costly source of food compared to scavenging (Périquet et al., 2015). ...
Megaherbivore carcasses represent sporadic but energetically rewarding resources for carnivores, offering a unique opportunity to study coexistence dynamics between facultative scavengers. South African fenced protected areas, such as Madikwe Game Reserve (Madikwe hereafter), host viable populations of large carnivores and high densities of elephants, Loxodonta africana. However, high carnivore densities can lead to potentially fatal interspecific encounters and increased competition, particularly around high‐quality trophic resources. This study explores the temporal partitioning and co‐detection strategies of carnivores at six elephant carcasses in Madikwe, aiming to understand how the increased carrion biomass available at elephant carcasses influences coexistence dynamics. Camera traps were deployed to monitor carcasses during two periods (2019 and 2020), revealing occurrences of six carnivore species. Carnivores, particularly black‐backed jackals, Lupulella mesomelas, (hereafter jackal), lions, Panthera leo, and spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta, comprised 56.7% of carcass observations, highlighting their pivotal roles in scavenging dynamics. Pairwise co‐detection analysis demonstrated consistent association and shared peak activity periods between jackals and spotted hyaenas, indicating potential resource sharing. However, the minimal co‐detection rates between lions and other carnivores highlight their resource domination. There was some evidence of temporal partitioning between carnivores, with most species exhibiting earlier peaks in nocturnal activity to avoid temporal overlap with lions. This study emphasises the importance of elephant carcasses in the diet of multiple species and coexistence techniques utilised to exploit this ephemeral resource. As fenced protected areas become crucial for conserving intact carnivore guilds globally, further research into carnivore behavioural adaptations at carcasses is recommended to shed light on their coexistence strategies.
... Management and governance of shared transboundary ecosystems is often not holistic, but mismatched, and in some cases can be contradictory (Vasilijevicé t al., 2015;Thornton et al., 2018). Border infrastructure, such as fences, can also negatively impact biodiversity and connectivity (Trouwborst et al., 2016;Peters et al., 2018;Naidoo et al., 2022). As such, country borders can fragment species ranges, ecosystems and natural resources that span neighbouring countries and create barriers to ecological connectivity. ...
The conservation of natural and cultural resources shared between countries is a significant challenge that can be addressed through the establishment of transboundary conservation areas (TBCAs). TBCAs enable countries to harmonize cross-border governance and management, increase protected area (PA) coverage, and strengthen relationships between neighbouring countries and communities. In Africa, many ecosystems and species ranges span multiple countries, making TBCAs a crucial tool for biodiversity conservation. However, there is a lack of research on where TBCAs can be established or need to be established. To address this gap, we conducted a study to identify opportunities for establishing TBCAs in Africa. We first compiled an up-to-date list of existing TBCAs on the continent. Then, we identified potential TBCAs by identifying protected areas next to country borders that are adjacent to other protected areas in a neighbouring country. We also evaluated the functional connectivity between these PA pairs and prioritized potential TBCAs based on size, connectivity, and ease of establishment. We identified 27 existing TBCAs and 8,481 potential TBCAs in Africa composed of various possible combinations of 2,326 individual PAs. Our results provide a baseline of existing TBCAs and offer a better understanding of where transboundary conservation might be established or strengthened. We also highlight areas where future transboundary conservation efforts could safeguard PA connectivity. This information can guide policy and decision-making processes towards promoting conservation and sustainable use of natural and cultural resources shared between countries in Africa.
... In contrast to the numerous studies examining the pros and cons of the livestock exclusion fencing policy (Cao, Yeh, Holden, Yang, et al., 2013;Linnell, 2016;Sun et al., 2020;Trouwborst et al., 2016), only a few studies have documented the ecological and socio-economic consequences of the small burrowing mammal eradication program in the world (Davidson et al., 2012;Delibes-Mateos et al., 2011;Pech et al., 2007;Wu & Wang, 2017). ...
Over the last 40 years, a burrowing mammal eradication policy has been prevalent on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). This policy is based on similar burrowing mammal eradication programs in other areas and is justified on the assumptions that burrowing mammals compete with livestock for forage and contribute to grassland degradation. However, there is no clear theoretical or experimental evidence supporting these assumptions.
This paper synthesizes the ecological functioning of small burrowing mammals in natural grasslands and discusses the irrationality and consequences of burrowing mammal eradication for sustainable livestock grazing and grassland degradation.
Past burrowing mammal eradication efforts have failed because increased food availability for the remaining rodents and reduced predator populations led to rapid population rebounds. Herbivores differ in diet, and there is clear evidence that burrowing mammals, especially plateau zokors Myospalax baileyi, have a different diet than livestock. In QTP meadows, burrowing mammal eradication induces a shift towards plant communities with fewer species preferred by livestock and more species preferred by burrowing mammals. Thus, eradicating burrowing mammals has the opposite effect, a reduction in livestock preferred vegetation. We suggest that the policy of poisoning burrowing mammals needs to be reconsidered and revoked as soon as possible.
We argue that incorporating density‐dependent factors such as predation and food availability are essential for maintaining a low burrowing mammal density. For degraded grasslands, we suggest that the optimal sustainable approach is to decrease the intensity of livestock grazing. Lower grazing induces changes in vegetation structure and plant species composition that increases predation on burrowing mammals and decreases the abundance of plants preferred by burrowing mammals. Such a nature‐based grassland management system maintains the density of burrowing mammals at a low stable density while minimizing human management and interventions.
... It has been reported that the fences affected the activities of pronghorn antelope (Flesch et al., 2010), and some herdsmen have found that wild donkeys, argyle sheep, and other species are entangled in the fence and killed. As shown in previous studies, fencing restricts the activity range of Tibetan antelope and is detrimental to their migratory activities (Arie et al., 2016). Each year in early summer, Tibetan antelopes migrate in herds to the north to lamb. ...
Fencing is an essential measure for the rehabilitation and conservation of grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, its construction could change the distribution and migration of wildlife, thus affecting the integrity of the ecological networks for local wild animal movement. It is of great significance to quantify the potential impact of fencing on ecological network connectivity associated with land-use changes at regional scale. In this study, taking the northern Tibetan Plateau as the study area, we explored the ecological network change using circuit theory approach under different scenarios at county scale. Among them, this study set up four different scenarios according to the economic growth rate, population growth rate and the sustainable development of society and environment. The results showed that: 1) with increased grazing intensity and enhanced human activities from 1990 to 2015, the grasslands of the northern Tibetan Plateau were greatly degraded, most of which was converted into the barren land, and the conversion proportion was as high as 90.84%, which lead to a decreasing trend of the current density of ecological network in most counties and deterioration of ecological connectivity; 2) fencing construction has reduced regional current density, while fencing intensity is positively correlated with current density loss at county scale. Among them, the counties with serious current density loss were distributed in the northwest and southeast regions. The maximum loss ratio is 39.23%; 3) under four different future land use scenarios, coordinated economic, social and environmental development will have a positive effect on the ecological network. The results of the study have important ecological significance for developing reasonable conservation measures for grassland restoration, protecting wildlife, and maintaining regional ecological balance.
... Beyond this, there are studies investigating environmental effects of borders. For example, Trouwborst et al. (2016) or Linnell et al. (2016) document how borders cut up connected natural environments and affect habitats negatively. The cited studies investigated the impact of heavily fortified borders. ...
The cosmopolitan dream of a borderless world has little to do with reality. Today's borders bear witness to regulatory intervention in the circulation of goods, information, capital and people. These interventions, naturally, have an impact at border regions. For analyzing these impacts, we map, quantify and relate border typologies, development dynamics near borders, and economic and political indicators of neighboring nation-states. We do so on global scale for all current 315 land borders. We rely on data from a mix of border dossiers, in-depth literature review, censuses and multi-temporal mapping products from satellite imagery. Our analysis strategy is two-fold: First, in a descriptive analysis, we map the various border typologies. And, we also compute development dynamics over a 15-year period from 2000 to 2015. Since there are few consistent, appropriately spatially resolved, and globally available datasets, we measure development by the proxies ‘settlements’ and ‘population’ instead of the usual economic characteristics. We use an ensemble of metrics that show not only the developments in the border region but also the dynamics in the border region relative to the respective nation-state. By means of a global ranking, we show the variability of development dynamics at borders across the globe. Second, we relate these dynamics to the different border typologies, and to economic and political differences of neighboring nation-states. We find the following trends: higher political or economic differences of neighboring nation-states relate to stronger border fortification, greater economic or political disparities relate to stronger population or settlement accumulation at the poorer or less free side of the border, and stronger fortification hinders settlement and population development to a certain degree. These empirically measured trends, however, are only partially statistically significant and not as strong or unambiguous as assumed. In a critical discussion, we reflect on the capabilities and limitations of such an empirical global approach.
... Fences constitute absolute barriers for khulan, as the animals seem unwilling to jump and unable to crawl underneath them (Kaczensky et al., 2020). Fences alongside international borders, expressways, and railways are the most pervasive barrier that have unintended, but significant impacts on far ranging wildlife (Fahrig and Merriam, 1994;Ito et al., 2010;Trouwborst et al., 2016;CMS, 2019). The large population in the Mongolian Gobi is an important source of animals for the small and highly fragmented khulan populations in the border areas in Xinjiang, Gansu and Inner Mongolia, but the international border fence currently severely hinders khulan movements (Kaczensky et al., 2011b;Linnell et al., 2016). ...
Understanding the changes in population size, distribution and threats, is essential for assessing the status of threatened species. Northern China is believed to be an important stronghold for the Near Threatened Asiatic wild ass or khulan (Equus hemionus), but a recent assessment of the species has been lacking. To document change and updated the current status of khulan in China, we conducted a literature review targeting peer-reviewed and grey literature, newspaper articles, and summarized the results own field surveys and interviews from part of the species range. For a better understanding of the threats to khulan in China, we summarized the results of studies on environmental habitat factors and human disturbances for khulan, most of which are only available in Chinese language. Our results suggest that khulan in China have experienced a dramatic decline and fragmentation of their distribution range caused by excessive anthropogenic interferences. The remaining khulan range in China covers probably less than 40,000 km² and is scattered over several nature reserves and the border areas in northern Xinjiang, northwestern Gansu, and western Inner Mongolia. We estimate the remaining population at about 4000 individuals, with ~80% found in Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate National Nature Reserve in Xinjiang. The occurrences along the border with Mongolia are small and dependent on cross-border movements, which are currently severely hindered by border fences. Over the past 15 years, Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate National Nature Reserve was exposed to various human pressures and experienced dramatic population fluctuation in the khulan population size. Key factors which negatively influenced khulan were habitat loss, fragmentation, and disturbance due to mining exploration and infrastructure development. No systematic monitoring of khulan is done in the rest of the khulan range, but whereas illegal hunting seems no longer a serious threat, infrastructure development and land use changes (including increasing livestock numbers) are happening throughout the remaining range of khulan in China. Hence there is an urgent need to develop a national khulan conservation strategy and initiate cross-border cooperation with Mongolia to safeguard the long-term survival of the species in the Gobi region.
... Manyeleti NR western border acted as the domestic/wildlife interface and was designed to comply with the veterinary procedural notice concerning buffalo disease control and the Biodiversity Management plan in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), Act 10 of 2004 [34,35]. ...
South African protected areas account for 8% of the total landmass according to World Bank indicators. Effective conservation of biodiversity in protected areas requires the development of specific reserve management objectives addressing species and disease management. The primary objective of the current study was to identify predictors of carnivore detection in an effort to inform carnivore species management plans on Andover and Manyeleti nature reserves in South Africa. A limited number of camera traps were placed randomly using a grid system. Species detection data were analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression and Spearman’s correlation coefficients. Deterministic inverse distance weighted distribution maps were used to describe the spatial distribution of carnivore species. Camera traps identified similar species as traditional call-up surveys during the study and would be useful as an adjunct census method. Carnivore detection was associated with several variables, including the presence of specific prey species. The measured intra-and interspecies interactions suggested the risk of disease transmission among species, and vaccination for prevalent diseases should be considered to manage this risk.
... The non-economic costs of walls include isolation, broken cultural ties, mistrust that can breed terrorism, damaged farmlands, and a threat to wildlife (Trouwborst et al., 2016). Political scientist Brown (2010) writes the following about Israeli and US-Mexico walls in the book 'Walled States': "Both intensify the criminality and violence they purport to repel, and hence, both generate the need for more fortifications and policing. ...
Throughout history, border walls and fences have been built for defense, to claim land, to signal power, and to control migration. The costs of fortifications are large while the benefits are questionable. The recent trend of building walls and fences signals a paradox: In spite of the anti-immigration rhetoric of policymakers, there is little evidence that walls are effective in reducing terrorism, migration, and smuggling. Economic research suggests large benefits to open border policies in the face of increasing global migration pressures. Less restrictive migration policies should be accompanied by institutional changes aimed at increasing growth, improving security, and reducing income inequality in poorer countries.
... In addition to articles finessing the global evidence for the erosion and loss of biodiversity, we are actively seeking and commissioning articles that address the wicked problems (Game et al., 2014) of interacting drivers and solutions at broad scales. Such complicated topics will of course include the ongoing challenges of measuring and predicting the effects of and mitigating solutions for climate change (Bellard et al., 2012), but will also invariably involve research on the necessary transformation of the energy sector (Brook and Bradshaw, 2015;Gasparatos et al., 2017;Moreira, 2019;Rehbein et al., 2020), tackling both the legal and illegal global trade in wildlife (Harfoot et al., 2018;'t Sas-Rolfes et al., 2019), development of approaches that promote more sustainable agriculture (Foley et al., 2011;Dudley and Alexander, 2017;Green et al., 2019), aquaculture and fisheries (Blanchard et al., 2017), curtailing human population growth and consumption (Bradshaw and Brook, 2014;Crist et al., 2017), addressing the environmental effects of increasing human migration and trade (McNeely, 2003;Lenzen et al., 2012;Trouwborst et al., 2016), reducing the footprint of urbanization, investigating the nexus between environmental degradation and disease risk (Wall et al., 2015;Gibb et al., 2020;Nature Ecology Evolution, 2020;Rohr et al., 2020), and the biodiversity implications of technological advance in other realms of human endeavor (Sutherland et al., 2017). ...
Most conservation research and its applications tend to happen most frequently at reasonably fine spatial and temporal scales—for example, mesocosm experiments, single-species population viability analyses, recovery plans, patch-level restoration approaches, site-specific biodiversity surveys, et cetera. Yet, at the other end of the scale spectrum, there have been many overviews of biodiversity loss and degradation, accompanied by the development of multinational policy
recommendations to encourage more sustainable decision making at lower levels of sovereign governance (e.g., national, subnational). Yet truly global research in conservation science is fact comparatively rare ...
... This clustering is a major advantage to using protected areas to facilitate transboundary actions for species conservation, such as planning for large-scale connectivity across borders (Rabinowitz & Zeller, 2010;Atwood et al., 2011;Proctor et al., 2015). Although promoting more transboundary activities when funding for national-level priorities is sparse and border regions sometimes may be fronts of armed conflict and security development that challenge biodiversity conservation (Gaynor et al., 2016;Linnell et al., 2016;Trouwborst, Fleurke, & Dubrulle, 2016), increased awareness of the transboundary status of species and conflicting prioritization of species among countries is a foundational step towards greater cross-border coordination and ultimately climate change resilience. Furthermore, given that resources for conservation are limited throughout much of the Americas, crossborder sharing of expertise and joint funding of species initiatives may be an effective approach to meeting national, as well as international, goals for long-term species persistence in the face of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors (e.g., Paviolo et al., 2016). ...
Aim
Transboundary conservation is key to addressing poleward range shifts that will result from climate change. At a species level, transboundary coordination may be hindered by inter‐country differences in protection of species. We explored how commonly mammal ranges in the Americas were transboundary, identified transboundary mammals whose poleward versus equatorial range limits fell in different countries and examined asymmetries in listing status of mammals.
Location
The Americas.
Methods
We intersected mammal ranges with country boundaries to identify transboundary species. We then determined the conservation status of mammals at the national level by compiling a database of all national‐level listing status documents across the Americas and at the global level through use of the IUCN Red List database.
Results
Over 62% (1,114 species) of mammals were transboundary in any cardinal direction, and over 50% (850 species) had poleward and equatorial range limits in different countries. Of those 850, 26% experienced asymmetric listing, with one range limit designated at a higher listing status than the other at the national level. Mismatches between national and global listing also were apparent at equatorial and poleward range edges. These same general patterns held when our analyses were restricted to globally at‐risk mammals.
Main Conclusions
Although listing status of a species does not necessarily equate to actual level of protection, these results demonstrate that formal listings of species vary substantially across country boundaries, and in particular at the latitudinal range extremes. Asymmetries in listing could indicate that species are under less threat in one country compared to another or could reflect different levels of concern in the two countries although population status is similar. Regardless, asymmetries in listing could challenge cross‐border connectivity and climate change resilience in the face of species range shifts and indicate the need for greater transboundary coordination in species management.
... Recent studies demonstrated that fencing protected areas has unintended and ironic effects on the animals they are built to protect (Ferguson and Hanks 2012;Durant et al. 2015;Trouwborst et al. 2016). Fencing national parks could significantly and permanently alter entire processes and landscapes by keeping ecosystem engineers such as wildebeest and elephants from their regular migrations, while others are accidentally killed by the fence if they attempt to cross it. ...
Institutions play a significant role in stabilising large-scale cooperation in common pool resource management. Without restrictions to govern human behaviour, most natural resources are vulnerable to overexploitation. This study used a sample size of 336 households and community-level data from 30 communities around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, to analyse the relationship between institutions and biodiversity outcomes in community-based wildlife conservation. Our results suggest a much stronger effect of institutions on biodiversity outcomes via the intermediacy of cooperation. Overall, the performance of most communities was below the desired level of institutional attributes that matter for conservation. Good institutions are an important ingredient for cooperation in the respective communities. Disaggregating the metric measure of institutions into its components shows that governance, monitoring and enforcement are more important for increased cooperation, while fairness of institutions seems to work against cooperation. Cooperation increases with trust and group size, and is also higher in communities that have endogenised punishment as opposed to communities that still rely on external enforcement of rules and regulations. Cooperation declines as we move from communal areas into the resettlement schemes and with increasing size of the resource system. A very strong positive relationship exists between cooperation and biodiversity outcomes implying that communities with elevated levels of cooperation are associated with a healthy wildlife population. Biodiversity outcomes are more successful in communities that either received wildlife management training, share information or those that are located far away from urban areas and are not very close to the boundary of the game park. Erecting an electric fence, the household head’s age, the number of years in school and number of years living in the area negatively affect biodiversity outcomes. One policy implication of this study is to increase autonomy in CAMPFIRE communities so that they are able to invest in good institutions, which allows them to self-organise and to manage wildlife sustainably. © 2018, Igitur, Utrecht Publishing and Archiving Services. All rights reserved.
Reflecting upon the distressing situation of human-wildlife conflict (HWC), this study has identified numerous factors that exacerbate the HWC issue in Bangladesh, including a lack of awareness, a prevalent disregard for the law, inadequate punitive measures, institutional weaknesses, socioeconomic challenges, a burgeoning population, a refugee crisis, rampant deforestation, encroachment upon natural habitats, migratory challenges faced by wildlife, and the influence of national and global politics. It is evident that these multifaceted elements significantly contribute to the escalation of HWC. The regions of Chittagong-Hill Tracts (CHT), the Sundarbans, and central-northern Bangladesh are facing a pressing HWC issue that demands our immediate attention. Tragically, over the past two decades, more than 118 elephants have lost their lives, while these creatures claimed 13 human lives in 2017-2018. Furthermore, tigers, an emblem of strength and beauty, have been responsible for the demise of approximately 50 individuals between 2009 and 2010. Astonishingly, the year 2022 has already witnessed a count of 375 HWCs. Therefore, this study delves deeper into the root causes of HWC in Bangladesh and proposes effective preventive measures to safeguard the endangered species, specifically the Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), who bear the brunt of these conflicts.
We assessed changes in the population size, density, and diet composition of wolves inhabiting the Romincka Forest (RF), an area of 480 km² situated along the state border between Poland, Russian Federation (Kaliningrad), and Lithuania. We compared the results of our research in 2020–2021 with data from other projects conducted since 1999. We found that both packs living in RF had transboundary territories. The number of packs was stable over 21 years; the average pack size almost doubled (from 4–4.5 to 7.5–8 wolves per pack); the total wolf numbers increased 1.8 times, reaching 15–16 wolves; and the density increased 1.5 times up to 3.1–3.3 wolves/100 km² in winter 2020/2021. Our analyses of 165 scats revealed that beavers Castor fiber made up 45.6% of food biomass in the wolf diet in 2020, which was 3.4 times more than in 1999–2004 (n = 84 scats,13.4%). Wild ungulates constituted 44.8% of the wolf food biomass in 2020, 1.6 times less than before (71.1%). In our study, among wild ungulates, wolves primarily consumed roe deer Capreolus capreolus (22.6% of food biomass), then wild boars Sus scrofa (13.7%), and red deer Cervus elaphus (5.0%), while moose Alces alces was eaten rarely (0.4%). We also recorded domestic dogs (4.9% of food biomass) and cattle (3.1%). The food niche breadth was wider (B = 2.31) than in the earlier period (B = 1.84), and the Pianka index showed moderate similarity in food composition between both periods (α = 0.816). In November 2022, due to the migration crisis, a 199 km impermeable fence along the state border with Kaliningrad was erected, which blocked access to 48% of the RF area that was regularly used by the resident wolf packs. This may cause wolf numbers to decrease and isolation from the central part of the Baltic wolf population to which they belong, according to our DNA analyses.
This paper investigates the spatial strategies of fencing and the politics of biosecurity in a European borderland setting. It considers the way in which national spaces and borders are co-produced through spatial strategies of fencing, discourses of biosecurity, and notions of the intrusive other. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the Danish-German borderlands, the paper examines the physical and discursive creation of a (bio)security fence stretching the entire length of the border–constructed to prevent the migration of Eurasian wild boars and the spread of the highly contagious viral disease African Swine Fever. A disease that could potentially contaminate domestic farmed pigs and severely affect pork exports. Although government narratives justifying the border fence focus on external factors like African Swine Fever, the paper argues that this physical security barrier is not only a biosecurity defense against external threats, but to some also a reflection of symbolism, political imaginaries and ideas of belonging (for both humans and non-humans)
The fence provides two functions in wildlife management. First, it physically blocks, deters or impedes wild animals from access to protected areas or resources. Second, the fence signals impassability, danger, pain or irritation to animals through both of these pathways: the actual blockade and the signal of no access both communicates to wild animals that they should stay away, producing area effects which constrain animal mobility. The mere presence of a fence, while imperfect and potentially passable, can come to establish an area effect of avoidance. In this regard, fences are part of an interspecies communication on the basis of mutually understood signals in the landscape. In this paper, we consider how fences, both physical, such as walls, and virtual, such as ‘biofences' that use sensory deterrents, signal danger or no access to wildlife, and with what practical and conceptual limitations. Through a framework of ecosemiotics, the communication of signals between wildlife and humans, we discuss the communicative role fences play in human–wildlife interactions. First, we outline the way in which ecosemiotics may be leveraged to manage human–wildlife conflicts by utilizing fences as signals. Then we explain miscommunication, and how this impacts the success of fences. Finally, we discuss the normative problems of attempting to signal to wildlife how to behave and where to be, and raise the need for bidirectional communication across species, such that wild animals are also seen as participants in negotiating space and access around humans.
Border regions face challenges managing natural resources, which include forests, wildlife , air, and rivers. This study aims to provide an overview of research on various natural resource conflicts and cooperation in borderlands worldwide, considering the five spheres of the Earth system , namely the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere. The type, scope, and place of natural resource conflicts in the borderlands were examined and key findings for clarifying the conflicts, cooperation, and geographical characteristics were derived using a systematic review methodology. The results indicate that over the last two decades, the conflicts over the hydrosphere are the most dominant. In the following order, conflicts over the biosphere have been frequently dealt with in transboundary areas. In Africa, dams (the anthroposphere) related to the hydrosphere especially influence and cause conflicts as well as cooperation for benefit-sharing among riparian countries. In North America, governance along the transboundary areas has been developed. "In Asia, several neighboring countries are linked through various types of associations ranging from multilateral organizations to sub-national administrations in order to effectively manage the long and wide-ranging natural resources that exist beyond the borders of the countries". In Europe, numerous protected areas related to the biosphere have been designated. Therefore, this research helps better understand transboundary conflicts based on natural resources and could contribute to designing natural resource management strategies or models in borderlands.
Apex predators structure ecosystems by hunting mesopredators and herbivores. Their ecological influence is determined not only by the number of animals they kill, but also by how prey alter their behaviours to reduce risk. Predation risk is variable in space and time creating a landscape of fear. In Australia, dingoes hunt red foxes and suppress their populations. As both predators are commonly subjected to eradication programs, the question arises whether humans alter the risk dingoes pose to foxes and in turn alter the foxes' avoidance behaviours. We studied the spatio-temporal activity patterns and wariness behaviours of foxes and dingoes at sites where they were protected (predator friendly), where they were persecuted (predator persecuted), and at sites where foxes were persecuted, and dingoes had been eradicated (dingo eradicated). The landscape of fear hypothesis predicts that foxes will be the most spatiotemporally restricted and most fearful at predator friendly sites, and least restricted and fearful at dingo eradicated sites. We found that fox occupancy was highest at dingo eradicated sites; and that they avoided times of heightened dingo activity at predator friendly sites more than at predator persecuted sites. Contrary to predictions, foxes were the least fearful (lowest frequency of cautious and vigilant behaviour) and most social (highest frequency of social interactions) at predator friendly sites. Our findings suggest that in the absence of persecution, mesopredators living with socially-stable apex predators can anticipate and avoid risk, reducing the need for constant vigilance (i.e. fear). Where predators are protected, predator avoidance may be driven by knowledge rather than fear alone.
More-than-human approaches to borders unsettle the anthropocentric reading of borders and bordering practices. They call for radically different imaginings of shared vulnerabilities and co-existence on the border. What remains marginal in these discussions is the way in which more-than-human borders continue to neglect social differences and unequal power relations among different (human) individuals. The question is not simply about the hierarchy between human and non-human lives, but how the construction of such binaries continues to privilege the life of certain humans while exposing their pervasive violence on others. Using the case of the development of Trans Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) in southern Africa, we argue that limiting the voice of the human in our readings of the border to create space for non-humans could draw attention away from significant political analysis of mobility privileges and practices of ongoing colonisation in the construction of more-than-human spaces. By drawing on Henri Bergson’s political philosophy of becoming and of open and closed societies, we suggest that more-than-human borders can be re-thought in terms of Bergson’s reading of movement, qualitative multiplicity, and open societies – a language that resists any forms of closure and a linear understanding of progress and time. A close examination of TFCAs suggests that practices that seek to enable connectivity and mobility across time and space can turn borders into spatio-temporal chokepoints, which preserve the familiar logics of colonisation and exclusionary bordering.
In their Letter “Poland’s border wall threat-ens ancient forest” (25 November 2021, p. 1063), B. Jaroszewicz et al. discussed negative ecological impacts of a border wall that Poland has started to build for political reasons. As they explain, border walls are bad for biodiversity (1), and yet wall constructions are increasing globally (2). Although we agree that borderlands are in trouble, there is a positive sign: Global transboundary conservation is also on the rise.
Globally, more than 32,000 kilometers of barriers have been built at borders of over 70 countries, to stop human migration. Governments focus on securing their borders, often forgetting the impacts of such installations on nature and biodiversity. Studies of the effects of fencing policies are scarce, but evidence very high effectiveness of border fences in blocking wildlife migration and much lower effectiveness in preventing human passage. In many places, borders run through areas of high natural value. In response to recent migration crisis Polish government is planning to built a 5 m high impenetrable barrier on the Polish-Belarusian border, which crosses among others the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Białowieża Forest". We call on the European and international communities to respect ecosystem integrity and health when planning responses to human migration crises and appeal to authorities in Poland and Belarus to consider the shared heritage and outstanding universal value of the primeval Bialowieza Forest. Better policy is urgently needed that takes the value of nature into account.
Significance
Ecological communities are undergoing a major redistribution as species track their moving climatic niches on a warming planet. This has major repercussions for global biodiversity governance. By simulating the changing distributions of species under climate change, and comparing impacts between nations, we highlight the global inequities in climate impacts on nature. We then consider the global importance of transboundary conservation under climate change, as many species ranges are projected to move across political borders. By mapping transboundary range shifts globally, we highlight regions where international cooperation may be most useful for conservation and where border barriers may be most detrimental. Our findings underscore the need for cooperation across national boundaries to minimize biodiversity loss in the face of global change.
Land free of direct anthropogenic disturbance is considered essential for achieving biodiversity conservation outcomes but is rapidly eroding. In response, many nations are increasing their protected area (PA) estates, but little consideration is given to the context of the surrounding landscape. This is despite the fact that structural connectivity between PAs is critical in a changing climate and mandated by international conservation targets. Using a high-resolution assessment of human pressure, we show that while ~40% of the terrestrial planet is intact, only 9.7% of Earth’s terrestrial protected network can be considered structurally connected. On average, 11% of each country or territory’s PA estate can be considered connected. As the global community commits to bolder action on abating biodiversity loss, placement of future PAs will be critical, as will an increased focus on landscape-scale habitat retention and restoration efforts to ensure those important areas set aside for conservation outcomes will remain (or become) connected.
The world’s biomes and their associated ecosystems are artificially fractured by geopolitical boundaries that define countries. Yet ‘transboundary’ landscapes often overlap with biodiversity hotspots, contain surprisingly important ecosystems, and provide critical habitats for threatened species. Notwithstanding, biodiversity in these landscapes is increasingly imperiled by infrastructure, including walls and fences along borders and cross-border roads that drive landscape fragmentation and the loss of ecological connectivity. Associated problems due to reduced governance (e.g., illegal wildlife trade) also undermine conservation efforts in these important regions. In this review, we distinguish positive and negative effects of transboundary frontiers on biodiversity conservation, discuss lessons from existing frameworks, and identify scenarios that can maximize opportunities for biodiversity conservation in transboundary frontiers.
In the Madrean Sky Islands of western North America, a mixture of public and private land ownership and tenure creates a complex situation for collaborative efforts in conservation. In this case study, we describe the current ownership and management structures in the US-Mexico borderlands where social, political, and economic conditions create extreme pressures on the environment and challenges for conservation. On the US side of the border, sky island mountain ranges are almost entirely publicly owned and managed by federal, state and tribal organizations that manage and monitor species, habitats, and disturbances including fire. In contrast, public lands are scarce in the adjacent mountain ranges of Mexico, rather, a unique system of private parcels and communal lands make up most of Mexico's Natural Protected Areas. Several of the Protected Area reserves in Mexico form a matrix that serves to connect scattered habitats for jaguars dispersing northward toward public and private reserves in the U.S. from their northernmost breeding areas in Mexico. Despite administrative or jurisdictional boundaries superimposed upon the landscape, we identify two unifying management themes that encourage collaborative management of transboundary landscape processes and habitat connectivity: jaguar conservation and wildfire management. Our case study promotes understanding of conservation challenges as they are perceived and managed in a diversity of settings across the US-Mexico borderlands. Ultimately, recognizing the unique and important contributions of people living and working under different systems of land ownership and tenure will open doors for partnerships in achieving common goals.
The recolonization of wolves in European human-dominated landscapes poses a conservation challenge to protect this species and manage conflicts. The question of how humans can co-exist with large carnivores often triggers strong emotions. Here we provide an objective, science-based discussion on possible management approaches. Using existing knowledge on large carnivore management from Europe and other parts of the globe, we develop four potential wolf management scenarios; 1) population control, 2) protection and compensation, 3) fencing, 4) managing behaviour of wolf and man. For each scenario, we discuss its impact on wolf ecology, its prospects of reducing wolf-human conflicts and how it relates to current European legislation. Population control and fencing of local wolf populations are problematic because of their ecological impacts and conflicts with European legislation. In contrast, a no-interference approach does not have these problems but will likely increase human-wolf conflicts. Despite the large challenges in European, human-dominated landscapes, we argue that wolf management must focus on strengthening the separation between humans and wolves by influencing behaviour of wolves and humans on a fine spatio-temporal scale to prevent and reduce conflicts. As separation also demands a sufficiently large wild prey base, we urge restoring natural ungulate populations, to reduce human-wolf conflicts. Mutual avoidance provides the key to success, and is critical to avoid creating the conditions for reinstating wolf persecution as the default policy in Europe.
Pan-European legislation stimulates international cooperation to overarching challenges of large carnivore management across jurisdictions. We present an analysis for current transboundary brown bear (Ursus arctos) population management in Croatia and Slovenia. Slovenia's bear management attempts aimed to reduce human-bear conflicts, by limiting the size and distribution of the bear population, with a relatively frequent use of intervention shooting. In contrast, fewer conflicts occur in Croatia and bears have been traditionally managed as a valuable game species, with heavily male-biased trophy hunting. On average 9% of the estimated bear population was removed annually in Croatia and 18% in Slovenia for the years 2005–2010. In Croatia, a greater proportion of adult males were shot than in Slovenia (80% vs 47% of total hunted males, respectively). We model a scenario for the shared panmictic population and two scenarios assuming that Croatian and Slovenian bear populations were spatially closed. When isolated, each countries’ policies lead to potentially undesired management directions. The Slovenian bear population showed a stable or slightly decreasing trend that maintained its sex and age structure, while the Croatian bear population showed an increase in size but with a possible lack of older male bear. The panmictic scenario showed that different management policies buffered each other out with the overall combined population trend being slightly increasing with a sustained age/sex structure. The recent geopolitical refugee crisis has led to the partial erection of border security fencing between the two countries. Our data illustrate how the impacts of constructed fencing put in place to address border security issues may also impact the fate of Europe's bear populations and other wildlife species that use shared ecosystems.
The EU Habitats Directive is a key biodiversity conservation instrument. It contains legal obligations for the 28 EU member states in order to safeguard a ‘favourable conservation status’ (FCS) for selected species and habitat types. The crucial FCS concept itself, however, remains subject to considerable confusion regarding its proper interpretation and operationalization, impairing the Directive’s effective implementation. Diminishing this confusion is the purpose of this review. It focuses specifically on large carnivores—wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolverine (Gulo gulo). These pose particular challenges, given their low densities, transboundary populations, and human-wildlife conflict potential. Large carnivores are also the only species for which specific guidance has been adopted by the European Commission—and subsequently contested. Our methodology combines legal analysis with an understanding of the species’ ecology and associated social, economic and cultural dimensions. We analyze the methods and processes through which EU law is interpreted, implemented, and enforced, by member states, European Commission, and EU Court of Justice—which is the ultimate authority regarding EU law interpretation. On that basis, we engage three particularly complex interpretation questions which are also of great practical significance: (1) the appropriate scale to achieve FCS (national or transboundary population level); (2) the respective roles of demographic, genetic and ecological factors in determining FCS; and (3) the use of extinction versus carrying capacity as benchmark. Regarding these questions, we identify approaches that are workable and effective, as well as likely to be endorsed by the EU Court.
International cooperation, including through international legal instruments, appears important for the conservation of large carnivores worldwide. This is due to, inter alia, the worrying conservation status and population trends of many large carnivore species; the importance of large carnivores for biodiversity conservation at large; their occurrence at low densities, with many populations extending across various countries; and the international nature of particular threats. For the 31 heaviest species in the order Carnivora, this study (i) documents to what extent existing international legal instruments contribute to large carnivore conservation, and (ii) identifies ways of optimizing their contribution in this regard. From this dual perspective, it reviews all global wildlife conservation treaties—Ramsar Wetlands Convention, World Heritage Convention, Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)—and selected regional instruments, using standard international law research methodology. Results indicate that a substantial body of relevant international law already exists, whereas simultaneously there is clear potential for enhancing the contribution of international law to large carnivore conservation. Avenues for pursuing this include promotion of instruments’ effective implementation; clarification of their precise implications for large carnivore conservation; development of formal guidance; expansion of instruments’ scope in terms of species, sites and countries; and creation of new instruments. The CMS and CBD hold particular potential in some of these respects. The experiences being gained under European legal instruments constitute an interesting ‘laboratory’ regarding human coexistence with expanding large carnivore populations and transboundary cooperation at the (sub)population level.
European Union law to protect wild species of plants and animals is generally considered as ‘strict’. Opponents of nature conservation law often pick the species protection components of the EU Bird Directive and Habitat Directive as a prime example of an unnecessary strict regulatory scheme that results in limitations of economic developments. Based on case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, this paper explores to what extent EU species protection rules are indeed as rigid as its opponents often depict them. The article starts with a presentation of some general considerations regarding the motivations underpinning species protection law (Section II). Based on a brief discussion of the various “human-nature-attitudes” as distinguished in environmental philosophy, the authors show that at the level of international nature conservation law, an interesting shift in human-nature relationships from mastery towards stewardship and even to the ecocentric attitudes can be recognized; however, despite this shift, many of the nature conservation goals have not been met. One of the common weaknesses of many of the international conventions is that the wording of obligations and prohibitions leaves much leeway for balancing interests, prioritizing short term economic benefits and - consequently - for mastery behaviour. This helps to understand that in the EU, with 80% of the important natural values in an unfavourable conservation status, species protection law is meant to be more concrete and strict (Section III). The discussion of the case law of the EU Court of Justice in this article shows that in the last two decades many attempts have been made by Member States to find the weak components of the system in order to find space for prioritizing economic interests; however, the analysis also shows that in all these situations the Court has closed the backdoor for mastery by enforcing the strict character of the regime (Section IV). The article concludes with the observation that this strict character of the system appears to be an important fundament for developing new innovative approaches (Section V): Governments and businesses start to understand that a willingness to take nature conservation law seriously and by conducting active initiatives to restore species in a favourable conservation status, there is less need and space for legal procedures and more space for economic developments.
This article examines the effects of veterinary fences on wildlife populations in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Using data from secondary data sources, findings indicate that the existence of veterinary fences in the Okavango Delta contributes to the decline of wildlife species in Botswana. Veterinary fences are erected to control the spread of livestock diseases in order to protect the European Union beef market where Botswana's beef is largely exported. Migratory wildlife species such as wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, buffalo, and tsessebes have their migratory routes blocked by veterinary fences and hence die from dehy- dration and entanglements in the fence. Those that get trapped by the fence often become easy kill targets for poachers. Some of the animals have been observed walking along the fence trying to cross. The erec- tion of veterinary fences indicates that the expansion of livestock production into wildlife areas threaten the survival of wildlife in Botswana. To address the problem, an integration of wildlife production with other sectors such as agricultural development should be made a priority at national and local policy levels. This means that the principles of sustainability should be given priority in the erection of veterinary fences in wildlife areas.
We examined the genetic diversity and structure of wolf populations in northwestern Russia. Populations in Republic of Karelia and Arkhangelsk Oblast were sampled during 1995–2000, and 43 individuals were genotyped with 10 microsatellite markers. Moreover, 118 previously genotyped wolves from the neighbouring Finnish population were used as a reference population. A relatively large amount of genetic variation was found in the Russian populations, and the Karelian wolf population tended to be slightly more polymorphic than the Arkhangelsk population. We found significant inbreeding (F = 0.094) in the Karelian, but not in the Arkhangelsk population. The effective size estimates of the Karelian wolf population based on the approximate Bayesian computation and linkage disequilibrium methods were 39.9 and 46.7 individuals, respectively. AMOVA-analysis and exact test of population differentiation suggested clear differentiation between the Karelian, Arkhangelsk and Finnish wolf populations. Indirect estimates of gene flow based on the level of population differentiation (ϕST
= 0.152) and frequency of private alleles (0.029) both suggested a low level of gene flow between the populations (Nm = 1.4 and Nm = 3.7, respectively). Assignment analysis of Karelian and Finnish populations suggested an even lower number of recent migrants (less than 0.03) between populations, with a larger amount of migration from Finland to Karelia than vice versa. Our findings emphasise the role of physical obstacles and territorial behaviour in creating barriers to gene flow between populations in relatively limited geographical areas, even in large-bodied mammalian species with long-distance dispersal capabilities and an apparently continuous population structure.
One of the last areas in Europe, which supports populations of keystone species, such as European bison Bison bonasus, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and wolf Canis lupus, is the Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF), located on the Polish-Belarussian border. In this chapter, we discuss the costs
and benefits of physical and metaphorical barriers, and we demonstrate how these barriers are influencing the spatial organisation
and movements of large mammals, namely the European bison, the wolf and the Eurasian lynx, inhabiting the BPF. We found that
spatial organisation, movements and activity of the animals are affected by past (habitat fragmentation) or present (management,
traffic) human activity even in the area considered to be the best-preserved forest in Europe. These involve a real fence
occurring along the state border that is physically impassable for big ungulates as well as virtual barriers in a form of
habitat discontinuity that does not permit sufficient number of animals to traverse. Both types of barriers increase mortality
of animals on the one hand and decrease the exchange of individuals on the other hand. Therefore, we believe that fencing
may have a largely negative impact on large mammals’ population viability.
This article explains the provisions of the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and its subsidiary marine wildlife instruments as they relate to bycatch management. The CMS was primarily developed with the purpose of protecting and conserving migratory species and their habitats. The Convention was initially regarded as little more than a paper accord. Since its inception the CMS has undergone gradual significant changes not only in its scope but also in its geographical coverage. There are ten subsidiary instruments currently in force under the CMS which include regional accords on a wide range of marine species such as cetaceans, marine turtles and pinnipeds. These agreements have considerable potential for regulating the incidental capture of marine wildlife in fisheries. Issues of interest in regard to these agreements include the use of non-binding instruments, and mechanisms for coordination between accords. This article examines the CMS and its subsidiary instruments; it identifies challenges facing the Convention, and provides options for the development of more comprehensive approaches to the management of bycatch.
Fill text available at: 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2015.PAG.23.en
This volume was prepared by the Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group of IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and published within WCPA's Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series. It is based on current knowledge and best practice drawn from global experience. The publication offers definition of transboundary conservation, a revised typology of Transboundary Conservation Areas with definitions, elaboration of transboundary conservation governance models, advice on the process for initiating transboundary conservation through establishing, managing and monitoring a Transboundary Conservation Area, a review of the implications of transboundary initiatives for cooperative management, and 33 best practice examples drawn from different geographical regions and ecosystems around the world, and involving different protected area management categories, models of cooperation and transboundary arrangements.
Human‐mediated changes in habitat structure may disturb predator–prey relationships.
We investigated the influence of perimeter fences on the diet of a reintroduced population of African wild dogs L ycaon pictus T emminck 1820 in a 316 km ² , fenced reserve in S outh A frica, by tracking radio‐collared individuals during hunting periods to determine dietary composition from observed kills.
Nutritional status of impala A epyceros melampus and kudu T ragelaphus strepsiceros prey, as measured by the percentage of femur marrow fat, was significantly lower than that of unselectively culled individuals. This supports the hypothesis that wild dog predation is at least partially compensatory.
Fence‐impeded kills (those for which escape was deemed to be compromised by the fence) comprised 40·5% of kills ( n = 316), and 54·1% of all edible biomass consumed. Compared with fence‐unimpeded kills, fence‐impeded kills comprised larger species (32·9 vs. 25·0 kg, W = 25667·0, P ≪ 0·001), older age classes for one prey category (female kudu: Fisher's exact test, P = 0·02, n = 65) and animals in better condition for adult impala males (Mann–Whitney, W = 111·0, P = 0·012, n = 28).
Fence‐impeded kills also provided greater catch per unit hunting effort (27·3 vs. 12·2 kg km ⁻¹ ; χ ² = 7·89, P = 0·005), resulting in longer interkill intervals. Movement of the pack towards the fence at the start of each hunting period suggested a decision to exploit the advantage that fences conferred for capturing prey.
Synthesis and applications . By enabling coursing predators to capture prey that would otherwise have escaped, fences may reduce the compensatory nature of predation, causing shifts in predator–prey dynamics that could influence the ability of small reserves to support such predators. The establishment of larger conservation areas to reduce perimeter‐to‐area ratios should be encouraged to limit the undesired effects of fences on predator–prey dynamics.
- J Keating
37 J. Keating, 'Gerbils with Borders', Foreign Policy – Passport Blog
(20 November 2009).
Building Biological Realism into Wolf Management Policy: The Development of the Population Approach in Europe 80; A. Trouwborst, 'Global Large Carnivore Conservation and International LawLegal Efforts to Achieve Optimal Transboundary Population Level Management
- D C Linnell
- L Boitani
D.C. Linnell and L. Boitani, 'Building Biological Realism into Wolf
Management Policy: The Development of the Population Approach in
Europe', 23:1 Hystrix (2012), 80; A. Trouwborst, 'Global Large Carnivore Conservation and International Law', 24:7 Biodiversity and Conservation (2015), 1567, at 1582–1584; J.S.V. Dubrulle, 'Legal Efforts
to Achieve Optimal Transboundary Population Level Management',
Tilburg Law School Environmental Law Blog (8 September 2015),
found at: <http://blog.uvt.nl/environmentallaw /?p=118>.
66 See S.A.J. Selier et al., n. 54 above.
67
Guidelines for Population Level Management Plans for Large Carnivores in Europe (European Commission Bern Convention Standing Committee Recommendation No on Population Level Management of Large Carnivore Populations); see also SADC Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement
- D C Linnell
- V Salvatori
- L Boitani
D.C. Linnell, V. Salvatori and L. Boitani, Guidelines for Population
Level Management Plans for Large Carnivores in Europe (European
Commission, 2008); Bern Convention Standing Committee Recommendation No. 137 (2008) on Population Level Management of Large
Carnivore Populations (27 November 2008); see also SADC Protocol
on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement (Maputo, 18 August
1999; in force 30 November 2003), Article 3.2.
11 above, 235Admixture and Gene Flow from Russia in the Recovering Northern European Brown Bear (Ursus arctos
- N A Hayward
- Kopatz
Hayward, n. 11 above, 235; A. Kopatz et al., 'Admixture and Gene
Flow from Russia in the Recovering Northern European Brown Bear
(Ursus arctos)', 9:5 PLOS ONE (2014), e97558.
87 above, at 538–541; A. Trouwborst, 'Transboundary Wildlife Conservation in a Changing Climate: Adaptation of the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species and its Daughter Instruments to Climate Change
- See M Bowman
See M. Bowman et al., n. 87 above, at 538–541; A. Trouwborst,
'Transboundary Wildlife Conservation in a Changing Climate: Adaptation of the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species and its Daughter
Instruments to Climate Change', 4:3 Diversity (2012), 258, at 287–
Habitat Restoration Measures as Facilitator for Economic Development within the Context of the EU Habitats Directive: Beyond the Regulatory Deadlock or a Road to Nowhere
- Schoukens
Schoukens, 'Habitat Restoration Measures as Facilitator for Economic
Development within the Context of the EU Habitats Directive: Beyond
the Regulatory Deadlock or a Road to Nowhere?', 28 Journal of Environmental Law (2016, forthcoming).
n. 5 above. Incidentally , even without fences international borders can exert a considerable influence on biodiversity conservation: see, e.g
- J Wingard
J. Wingard et al., n. 9 above; and J.D.C. Linnell et al., n. 5 above. Incidentally, even without fences international borders can exert a considerable influence on biodiversity conservation: see, e.g., M. Dallimer
and N. Strange, 'Why Socio-political Borders and Boundaries Matter
in Conservation', 30:3 Trends in Ecology and Evolution (2015), 132.
21 See R. Woodroffe et al., n. 11 above, at 47. 22 This has been reported, for example, for saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) and argali sheep (Ovis ammon
Journal of Environmental Law (2009), 419, at 419–421 and 426–429.
21 See R. Woodroffe et al., n. 11 above, at 47.
22 This has been reported, for example, for saiga antelope (Saiga
tatarica) and argali sheep (Ovis ammon) in Central Asia: T. Rosen,
Analyzing Gaps and Options for Enhancing Argali Conservation in
Central Asia within the Context of the Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, 2012).
Review of the Literature on the Links between Biodiversity and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2009); A. Trouwborst, 'International Nature Conservation Law and the Adaptation of Biodiversity to Climate Change: A Mismatch
- J D See
See J.D.C. Linnell et al., n. 5 above.
19 See J. Wingard et al., n. 9 above.
20 See, e.g., A. Campbell et al., Review of the Literature on the Links
between Biodiversity and Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and
Mitigation (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,
2009); A. Trouwborst, 'International Nature Conservation Law and the
Adaptation of Biodiversity to Climate Change: A Mismatch?', 21:3
The Authors Review of European Comparative & International Environmental Law Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Related to Biodiversity Conservation in Transfrontier Conservation Areas
The Authors. Review of European Comparative & International Environmental Law Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Related to Biodiversity Conservation in Transfrontier Conservation
Areas', in: L.J. Kotz e and T. Marauhn (eds.), Transboundary Governance of Biodiversity (Brill/Nijhoff, 2014), 204.
Israeli Army Opens West Bank Barrier for Animals
- O ' Brien
O'Brien, 'Israeli Army Opens West Bank Barrier for Animals',
Deutsche Welle (2 November 2012).
65 above, at 1577. 95 Addax (Addax nasomaculatus); red-fronted gazelle (Eudorcas rufi- frons)
- A Trouwborst
A. Trouwborst, n. 65 above, at 1577.
95 Addax (Addax nasomaculatus); red-fronted gazelle (Eudorcas rufi-
frons);
129 Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for the West African Population of the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) (22
129 Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation
Measures for the West African Population of the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) (22 November 2005; in force 22 November 2005).