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A Portfolio O F S T O R I E S
The ever-present threat ofbiodiversity loss challenges conservationiststo explore new approaches for action. Although
early conservation methods offered short-term
successes at a limited scale, they failed to set
long-term, visionary goals to safeguard the
planet’s diversity of life. Conservation organiza-
tions are now building on the lessons learned
from past successes as well as shortcomings to
develop innovative approaches that meet the
needs not only of biodiversity today, but also
over the next 50, 100, or even 500 years.
WWF’s approach—ecoregion conserva-
tion—is a new model for the conservation of
terrestrial, marine, and freshwater spaces.
Ecoregion conservation is grounded in sound
science and blended with innovative strategies
and bold ambition. Experience in the field and
advances in technology, such as geographic
information systems, are helping us to think
and act at broader scales focusing on the
conservation of larger spaces over longer
periods of time. Ecoregion Conservation: A
Portfolio of Stories offers an introduction to the
development and evolution of this living
conservation model. The stories provide an
insider’s look at some of the places where
ecoregion conservation is beginning to pay off
for people and for biodiversity.
WWF, in partnership with other like-minded
organizations, is exploring these fundamental
changes in scale, scope, analysis, and collabora-
tion. The following joint statement articulates
the common direction and principles from
which conservationists in the 21st century will
build their actions to achieve positive gains for
biodiversity conservation.
Contents2 Ecoregions Defined
4 Ecoregion Conservation Defined
5 Key Features of Ecoregion Conservation
7 Changing the Face of Conservation
8 Atlantic Forests
10 Bering Sea
12 Chihuahuan Desert and Springs
14 Congo Basin
16 Russian Far East
18 A Perspective on Challenges
20 The Global 200
21 Resources
Guiding Principles1. Conserving—and where necessary restoring—the full range of biodiversity
2. Planning conservation and development at landscape or regional scales
3. Investing in good science
4. National sovereignty and international cooperation
5. Long-term commitment
Our vision is of a world in which both the full diversity of life and
the richness and well-being of human cultures are secured for future generations.
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S
page1
Conservation IN THE
21st Century
Moving to larger scales will also help us to address more effectively the
broader social, economic, and policy factors that are critical to sustainable
livelihoods and ecosystems. This is important because some of the impacts
upon a particular region may originate in other parts of the world; for
example: through international demand for a particular commodity.
Achieving our vision will be challenging because the pressures on the
natural world generated by the sheer scale of human activities worldwide
are greater than ever. But the alternative is impoverishment—not only of
the natural world, but of our own children and of theirs. As we all know,
the conservation of nature and natural processes is not an optional extra
in achieving sustainable development, but the essential foundation of
human welfare.
In conclusion, the traditional focus of our organizations on species,
protected areas, environmental policy, and public information has gener-
ated significant conservation action. But the challenges are growing, and
it is clear that we need to work together with all the stakeholders at larger
geographical scales to address these challenges, learning and adapting as
we go, without reducing emphasis on the traditional conservation activi-
ties that remain critically important. The various terms that are being
applied to such approaches are far less important than their shared
principles, based on a long-term commitment to the welfare of species,
ecosystems, and human societies.
Joint Statement by
Conservation International, IUCN–The World Conservation Union,
The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, and WWF
September 19991
See last page for information on how to contact any of these organizations.
A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / J O I N T S TAT E M E N T
ver the past several years, our organizations have dramatically
changed the way we think about, and seek to implement, conserva-
tion. Several terms have been developed for these new approaches,
including the ecosystem approach (Convention on Biological Diversity),
ecosystem-based management (IUCN), ecosystem conservation (CI), biore-
gional planning (WRI, IUCN), and ecoregion-based conservation (TNC,
WWF). Although there are differences in methodology and application
reflecting the distinctions in our organizational missions and strategies, the
overall guiding principles are in each case the same. These principles repre-
sent a shared vision and goals that we believe should point the way forward
for conservation in the 21st century, and they are set out below.
Our vision is of a world in which both the full diversity of life and the
richness and well-being of human cultures are secured for future genera-
tions. This will involve a balance between built and cultivated areas, a strong
emphasis on networks of fully implemented protected areas, and corridors
linking these core areas and buffer zones for restricted use—balance that
will secure the future both for humans, and for the millions of other species
with which we share the planet. The size and interrelationships of these
areas will depend on the dynamics of the species, ecosystems, and human
populations in the regions concerned. But the result will be the same wher-
ever our vision is achieved: regions and communities in which people can
realize their potential and live with dignity while ensuring that the full
range of species and ecosystem diversity is maintained, both for their own
sakes and for the vital ecosystem services they provide.
The intrinsic value of biodiversity and its critical importance to human
welfare mean that the aim must be zero loss of species due to human inter-
vention. In practice, this means planning and implementing integrated
conservation and development programmes on a larger scale than has been
attempted so far. We are broadening our focus to encompass landscape,
seascape, and regional scales, working closely with the key stakeholders, and
using the best scientific information to help ensure that we conserve the
most important and representative terrestrial, freshwater, and marine
ecosystems, both within and between countries.
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E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / E C O R E G I O N S D E F I N E D
What is an ecoregion?WWF defines an ecoregion as a large unit of land or
water containing a geographically distinct
assemblage of species, natural communities, and
environmental conditions. Ecoregion boundaries
are porous and encompass an area within which
important ecological and evolutionary processes
most strongly interact. Three ecoregions that
represent freshwater, terrestrial, and marine
habitats, respectively, are featured here:
Southeastern Rivers and Streams, Southwestern
Amazonian Moist Forests, and Sulu-Sulawesi Seas.
All of the world’s ecoregions may be categorized into a total of 26
terrestrial, freshwater, or marine major habitat types. Using this
analysis, WWF has prioritized 238 ecoregions—the Global 200
ecoregions—that together represent outstanding examples of
biodiversity from every continent and ocean basin.2
Why is the ecoregion a unit for conservation action?Ecoregions are defined in biological terms and, as such, are logical
units for conserving biodiversity. By moving from geographically or
politically defined units to biologically delineated ecoregions, we
can better assess what is necessary to maintain the full array of
biodiversity—species, communities, and ecosystems. Using nature’s
boundaries to define the units that need conservation action better
reflects the ecological and evolutionary processes that create and
sustain biodiversity.3
EC OR EG ION S
Defined
Global 200 EC OR EG ION
Descriptions
freshwater
terrestrial
marine
Freshwater Ecoregion: Southeastern Rivers and Streams
As one of the most species-rich temperate freshwater areas in the world,
the Southeastern Rivers and Streams ecoregion runs from southern
Virginia west to Tennessee and south to Alabama and Florida. The water-
sheds of these rivers and streams cover about 250,000 square miles
(650,000 square kilometres)—roughly the size of the state of Texas.
From the ecoregion’s clear, cool streams in the Appalachian Mountains
to its brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, a diverse
community of aquatic animals has evolved, thanks to its habitat variety, age,
favourable climate, geologic stability, and escape from glaciation
during the last Ice Age. This region is a hot spot for mussels, crayfish, and
freshwater fish. For instance, of all the crayfish found in the United States,
70 per cent (250 species) are found here, as are more than 300 species of
mussels and more than half the country’s freshwater fish species.
Terrestrial Ecoregion: Southwestern Amazonian Moist Forests
As one of the few large, intact rainforests in the world, the Southwestern
Amazonian Moist Forests ecoregion is truly a natural wonder; 94 per cent
of its original habitats still remain, including lowland tropical moist
forests, unique flooded savannas dotted with palm trees, and bamboo-
dominated forests blanketing an area the size of England. Unusual oxbow
lakes and meandering river systems create a mosaic of different habitats
within the region. High rainfall, relatively complex topography, and
varied soils contribute to the variety and abundance of life within these
forests, which hold the last refuge for jaguars, harpy eagles, and giant
river otters.
Marine Ecoregion: Sulu-Sulawesi Seas
The Sulu-Sulawesi Seas ecoregion supports one of the world’s most
diverse concentrations of reef fish, reef corals, and other invertebrates.
Fish diversity reaches its highest level worldwide in these seas, where there
are more than 450 species of stony corals, compared to 50 in the
Caribbean and 200 in the western Indian Ocean. The Tubbataha Reef,
with corals covering more than 81,000 acres (32,800 hectares), is the
heart of coral diversity for the region. In addition to the rainbow of
colourful and endemic fish, six of the world’s eight species of sea turtles
can be found here, as well as eight species of cetaceans.
90W
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Thailand
Cambodia
Vietnam
Brunei
Malaysia
Australia
Papua New Guinea
Palau
Philippines
Japan
China
Laos
Myanmar
Indonesia
20S
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60W
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Equator
Brazil
Venezuela
Colombia
Guyana
Suriname
French Guiana
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Paraguay
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
pages2/3A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / E C O R E G I O N S D E F I N E D
Terrestrial Ecoregionswith Southwestern Amazonian Moist Forests ecoregion highlighted
Freshwater Ecoregionswith Southeastern Rivers and Streams ecoregion highlighted
Marine Ecoregionswith Sulu-Sulawesi Seas ecoregion highlighted 4
C O R A L R E E F C O M M U N I T Y ,
S U L A W E S I S E A
L A K E C O C H A O T O R O N G O , M A N U
N A T I O N A L P A R K , N O R T H O F C U Z C O , P E R U
G R E A T S M O K Y M O U N T A I N S N A T I O N A L P A R K ,
U N I T E D S T A T E S
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E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N D E F I N E D
coregion conservation is an ambitious, broadscale, integrated
approach that aims to conserve and, where necessary, restore the full
range of biological diversity of an entire ecoregion. This means that our
strategies and actions should work toward achieving the broad goals of
(1) Representation—species, communities, and habitats must berepresented and maintained within the ecoregions;
(2) Resilience—areas maintained must be large enough or connectedenough that they are resilient to disturbances and change;
(3) Viable Populations—populations of key species are large enoughto ensure long-term survival;
(4) Healthy Processes—key ecological processes are also maintained.
One of the major innovations in the approach of ecoregion conservation isthe articulation of biodiversity targets for ecoregion programmes usingthese four goals adapted from the major principles of conservationbiology.5 These targets are expressed as a part of a biodiversity vision thatidentifies priority areas and specifies ways to capture these goals.
Achieving biodiversity goals of
this scope and nature will not be
possible without specific regard for
achieving an economically sustain-
able and socially equitable future.
Economics and social justice issues
often are at the root of biodiversity
loss; thus it behooves us to explore,
understand, and address these
issues within the framework of
ecoregion conservation.
EcoregionConservation
D E F I N E D
E
Ecoregion conservation provides
a geographic context at a scale that
requires a strategic and integrated
assessment of the threats to a partic-
ular region, and a framework for
making decisions about mitigating
those threats. It also provides a
meaningful scale for determining
how both economic development
and biodiversity conservation can,
and should, proceed with mutually
beneficial and sustainable results.
Within this framework governments,
businesses, and consumers can
come to understand what they can
do in their own communities and
regions to ensure that economic
development and sociocultural
needs go hand-in-hand with
biodiversity conservation.
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Chihuahua
Ciudad Victoria
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100W
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Vision Maps
United States
Russia
ChukchiSea
Gulf ofAlaska
BeringSea
BeaufortSea
170E
180
170W
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60N
50N
160W
150W
WrangelIsland
St. LawrenceIsland
St. MatthewIsland
AnadyrBay
Karaginsky Bay
Norton Sound
Cape Navarin
NunivakIsland
PribilofIslands
CommanderIslands
Aleutian Islands
Chihuahuan Priority SitesTerrestrial Priority Sites
Freshwater Priority Sites
Ecoregion Complex
H A R V E S T I N G M E S Q U I T E F O R F I R E W O O D ,
C H I H U A H U A N D E S E R T
Chihuahuan Desertwith Priority Areas highlighted
Bering Seawith Priority Areas highlighted
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Key FeaturesofEcoregion C O N S E R VAT I O N
Conserving the full range of biodiversity is thefundamental goal of ecoregion conservation. Genes, species, commu-
nities, ecosystems, and ecological phenomena must be conserved on a scale
that ensures their integrity and long-term survival. To begin developing a
vision for the biodiversity of the ecoregion, we must think ahead 50–100
years and visualize the desired state of nature and ecological processes.
Rigorous methods for developing this biological vision are being tested
and adapted in ecoregions throughout the world. The result is an unprece-
dented integration of biological information into conservation plans that
promote ambitious visions. These are already catalysing action across land-
scapes and waterways. Investing in good science as the basis for an ambi-
tious biodiversity vision provides a credible foundation for the future.
When matched with commitment across different interests, these shared
visions can create powerful forces for action.
From Vision to Action: Restoring Wild Rivers in the Klamath-Siskiyou Negotiating Land Use:
Weaving a Fabric of Conservation in the Terai Arc“I consider myself a voice for the voiceless
ones.” These are the words of Agnes “Tao-
why-wee” Pilgrim, the elder spokesperson
of the Rogue Band Takelma Indians that
once lived along the salmon-rich rivers and
in the old-growth forests of the Klamath-
Siskiyou ecoregion in the U.S. Agnes shares
a dream with conservationists: to restore
and protect biodiversity for future genera-
tions when “my many grandchildren
will live on these lands long after I move
on to the other world.” Each year this self-
proclaimed “gray-headed grandmother”
leads a ritual during salmon spawning
that has inspired growing community
support for restoration and protection
of undammed rivers of the Siskiyou
Mountains. This shared dream has catal-
ysed momentum to establish the Siskiyou
Wild Rivers National Monument.
It is a tangible step towards conservation
that is both scientifically driven, and a
“monument to help preserve and restore
the beauty of the Siskiyous and homelands
of my people.”
Planning conservation and development atecoregional scales is essential. Though it is obvious that
human development agendas need to be reconciled with biodiversity
conservation, the ecoregion conservation approach provides the context
in which to make this reconciliation a reality. Ecoregions provide a larger
palette from which to make land use and resource use plans, policies,
and legislation compatible with conservation. Understanding this context
begins with an information gathering exercise, and continues on to more
in-depth analyses of stakeholders and the threats against, as well as
opportunities for, achieving biodiversity targets. In this way, ecoregion
conservation provides a platform from which to negotiate multiple
agendas from the diversity of stakeholders, including local people living
off the land, governments, multilateral donors and development agen-
cies, private sector interests, and society at large.
Stretching along the foothills of the
Himalayas and bordering India and
Nepal, the Terai Arc is a landscape known
for its unique biological wealth and
extremely high population of people.
Across this rich, complex tapestry of life,
the key to long-term conservation success
is to look beyond parks to a mosaic of
restored, managed, and protected land
and to connect protected areas over the
entire landscape. Conservation in the
Terai Arc landscape, a part of the Eastern
Himalayas ecoregion, calls for the restora-
tion of degraded forest corridors linking
all 11 protected areas. This design relies
on the early successes of communities
such as Annapurna that managed their
land to benefit from tourism income
while protecting biodiversity. Because
efforts such as these work for both
people and nature, national governments
are supporting policies to use this as a
model for other communities. Royal
Chitwan National Park and Royal Bardia
National Park are now benefiting from poli-
cies that enable people living around
protected areas to share 40 per cent of the
park revenues. On their own, these isolated
policies would represent the frayed edges
of an incomplete plan. But when combined
with supportive national and transnational
strategies, these become the powerful
threads to negotiate conservation and
development across the landscape.© V
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iski
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Ecoregion conservation requires a constant and careful balance of analysis,
planning, and action. To succeed at this scale means building on the strengths and lessons of historical
conservation approaches and tools, and adapting or creating new ways of operating to meet new
challenges. We must think differently—explore and understand the linkages between social and biological
factors in a way that will help direct and sustain our actions at a variety of scales. Based on the need to
think and act differently (broader visions, larger scales, longer time horizons, and greater impact), WWF
has defined a set of key features of ecoregion conservation: conserving the full range of biodiversity based
on the best available science; planning conservation and development at ecoregional scales; national
sovereignty and international cooperation; and long-term commitment. These were developed and
refined by ecoregion conservation practitioners over the last few years, based on experience in the field.
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / K E Y F E AT U R E S
Reaching for New Heights Across the Carpathian Mountains
National sovereignty and international cooperation are the essential backdrop for collaborativepartnerships. If ecoregion conservation is to be effective, actions need
to be coordinated at many levels. Partnerships and cooperation among
institutions and individuals are vital for getting the best input and
broadest commitment to programme design and implementation, and
to ensure that scarce resources are efficiently applied. Institutions can
play many different roles throughout—from catalysts to implementers—
but they must be open about their needs and desires, so that true part-
nerships and fruitful collaboration can result. In particular, WWF will
sometimes lead an ecoregion conservation programme, and sometimes
not. In the latter case, acting as a catalyst might be enough to sway deci-
sion making and provide the impetus for change.
Long-term commitment relies on adaptation throughlearning. New information and innovative tools for large-scale conser-
vation echo what WWF and others have gleaned from decades of expe-
rience. Long-term success requires a continuous reshaping of actions
and strategies; thus, research and monitoring must be integral compo-
nents of ecoregion conservation programmes. Information and indica-
tors of progress are only useful if institutions can respond and adapt to
them, so frameworks that provide feedback to stakeholders and deci-
sion makers are critical to making a difference both in the short term
and in the future. Flexibility and responsiveness are also crucial if
actions are to be dynamic, attuned to the latest challenges, and
powerful in their impact.
Partnerships for ConservationIn the Madagascar Spiny Forests
With these four features guiding the process, ecoregion conservation relies on the
strengths of multidisciplinary teams: biologists work side-by-side with sociologists and economists; field
staff and policy staff; key stakeholders and partners. The inquiry must be wide-ranging because, while
biodiversity priorities are set at the ecoregional scale, many ecological processes and socioeconomic
forces extend beyond the boundaries of the ecoregion. Long-term commitment and innovative
financing mechanisms also present new horizons as we seek to sustain a full panoply of biodiversity
in each ecoregion long into the future.
In the heart of Europe—a region marked
by profound political changes in the last
decade—the Carpathian Mountains are a
unifying force that represents the natural
harmony of nature and peoples’ way of
life. To reinforce this, the Carpathian
Ecoregion Initiative is working with seven
countries to strengthen ongoing efforts
and catalyse new strategies for conserva-
tion. The sheer scale means that WWF
cannot work alone. In practice, this means
working with over 40 key decision-making
organizations within and outside the
region, from high level international part-
nerships down to small-scale crossborder
projects. The initiative is
helping to put the spotlight on
already existing models for the
region that have sprung up to
promote the benefits of
sustainable development for
biodiversity, local people, and the
Carpathian economy. Linking this to
broader support, the initiative is ensuring
that crossborder cooperation takes place
at the government level. The president and
government of Romania, in partnership
with WWF and HRH Prince Philip, hosted a
summit for ministries from each country in
the region. An agreement on the conserva-
tion, restoration, and sustainable develop-
ment of the Carpathian region was signed.
This kind of cooperation across political
borders is the passport for uniting people
across the different national and ethnic
divides that characterize these landscapes.
In the Spiny Forests of Madagascar,
WWF has worked with health organiza-
tions, government bodies, community
groups, scientists, religious institutions,
and academics, to outline a 25 year
vision for the ecoregion. This vision
aims to conserve sites representative of
the ecoregion’s sub-arid habitat, while
supporting the long-term social,
economic, and cultural development of
the region’s people. Involvement of
community groups at the national,
regional, and local levels early on has
encouraged many stakeholders to
direct their actions toward the common
goals set forth in the biodiversity
vision. Health care groups have been
introduced to local communities as a
result of WWF partnerships, delivering
primary and women’s health care, family
planning education, and related services.
Indigenous leaders have incorporated
traditional ecological knowledge into the
science-based biodiversity assessments
and monitoring programmes associated
with creation and implementation of the
vision. And under the umbrella of the
Malagasy Environment Programme, part-
nerships between local communities and
regional decision-making bodies have
worked to design frameworks for commu-
nity-based natural resource management
programmes. Throughout all of these
activities, WWF supports processes that
systematically review objectives, monitor
impacts from actions, and make adaptive
changes in activities where needed. The
art of mediation among varied interest
groups, the promotion of biodiversity
conservation in a context of extreme
poverty, and active participation from a
variety of social sectors is part of a day-
to-day adaptive learning process in the
Spiny Forest ecoregion.
Key FeaturesofEcoregion C O N S E R VAT I O N
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P I A T R A C R A I U L U I N A T I O N A L P A R K , R O M A N I A
Though the approach has been implemented for less than a
decade, already there are some clear benefits for biodiversity
conservation and sustainable development. Rather than treating
the symptoms of threats, ecoregion conservation relies on identi-
fying the far-reaching causes and driving forces of degradation.
Tracing these pathways gives insight into where best to target
actions and invest efforts. Taking analytical steps back to under-
stand threats allows us to take practical steps forward to ensure
we are working in the right place at the right time.
Ecoregion conservation also explicitly opens the door to
engaging many other partners and to understanding and tack-
ling the often complex influences and dynamics that affect
conservation solutions. With its expanded geographic scope and
lengthened time span, ecoregion conservation provides a
panoramic view of biodiversity—its function, its health, and its
importance—to a broad body of stakeholders.
The time scale on which the conservation field operates is
often too short. Ecoregion conservation provides a horizon to see
beyond what is happening today to what will be important
tomorrow. It means asking what are the trends of global change
not just for a few years, but for the next few decades? Only
through this broader view can we see how and when to effect
positive change for biodiversity conservation.
Ecoregion conservation is changing the way we conduct our
business in creating a sustainable world. In places as diverse as
the Carpathian Mountains of Europe or the forests of the Congo
Basin of Africa, far-reaching biodiversity visions act as catalysts for
action. The following stories show how large-scale efforts are
evolving and making a difference throughout the world.
pages6/7A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / C H A N G I N G T H E F A C E O F C O N S E R VAT I O N
Changing the faceof C O N S E R VAT I O N
Ecoregion conservation provides a horizonto see beyond what is happening today to
what will be important tomorrow.
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he realities of conservation programmes struggling in the face of broader influences are spurring a dynamic evolution in conservation thinking. Ecoregion conservation is at
the heart of this evolution. It offers an approach with a more complete, holistic mindset forstrategic action. Using ecoregions as the lens through which we set science-based conservationtargets means using a scale that better reflects how nature operates.
T
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / AT L A N T I C F O R E S T S
The Context
ention “tropical rainforest” and “South America” in the same
sentence and thoughts automatically turn to the Amazon.
Understandably so: the Amazon is by far the largest expanse of tropical
forest in the world, stretching across nine countries and encompassing a
region larger than Western Europe. But it is by no means the only rainforest
region in the New World; indeed, some forest areas, while nowhere near as
vast, challenge the Amazon’s levels of species richness, diversity, and
endemism. The Atlantic Forests ecoregion, extending along the coast of
Brazil into Argentina and Paraguay, is one of these.
Isolated geographically from other forest types, the Atlantic Forests boast
an extraordinary level of endemism. More than 52 per cent of the tree
species and 92 per cent of the amphibians found there are found nowhere
else. Of Brazil’s 77 primate species (more than any other country in the
world), 18 occur only in the Atlantic Forests. A 1993 survey identified 450
different tree species in less than one hectare. At least 199 endemic species
of birds live in the forests, as well as many palms, bromeliads, and orchids
known only to this ecoregion.
However, whereas the Amazon remains relatively intact, the Atlantic
Forests have been decimated. Before the arrival of Europeans, they covered
more than 386,000 square miles (1 million square kilometres) along Brazil’s
coast, but this part of Brazil was the first to be colonized and has developed
into the agricultural, industrial, and population centre of the country.
Inhabited by 75 per cent of Brazil’s population, the region generates 80 per
cent of Brazil’s gross national product and includes two of South America’s
largest cities: Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Of this, the largest forest blocks
are in areas of Argentina and Paraguay, which are isolated from dense
population centres. Such growth and expansion has, predictably, come at
the expense of the rainforest, so that now only 7 per cent of the original
forest cover remains.
Atlantic Forests:Beyond Borderson NATURE’S TERMS
W
S
20 S
30 S
60 W
MAtlantic Forestswith focal areas of the Tri-national
Green Corridor Initiative highlighted
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Atlantic Forests EcoregionTerrestrial Ecoregion
Remaining Forest within Ecoregion
pages8/9A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / AT L A N T I C F O R E S T S
Making matters worse, much of
the surviving forests have been
further fragmented into isolated
“islands” by centuries of clearing for
agriculture and urban development.
As a result, populations of species
that exist only in the Atlantic Forests
are subdivided and reduced to
precariously low numbers.
Nearly all of the forests’ endemic
species can be considered endan-
gered. Several are already on the
verge of extinction, and the proba-
bility of survival for many of the
others is regarded as low.
The Face of Conservation
Since 1972, WWF has focused its
work in the Atlantic Forests on
saving as many as possible of these
remnants. This includes support for
establishing the 7,200 acre (2,920
hectare) União Reserve near Rio
de Janeiro, home to many of the
approximately 800 golden lion
tamarins still surviving in the wild.
Organizations such as the
Associação Mico-leão Dourado
(AMLD) have successfully pushed
the establishment of reserves on
private farms, and have planted
corridors to link many of them as
part of a long-term goal of sufficient
habitat protection to guarantee the
tamarins’ survival. The Brazilian
Ministry of Environment supported
a coalition of non-governmental
organizations, coordinated by
Conservation International, to orga-
nize a national priority-setting work-
shop for the Atlantic Forests. It
became clear that, wherever
possible, the creation of corridors
across the ecoregion is crucial to
increasing the viability of otherwise
isolated patches of forest, and to
improving the chances of survival
for the species that live in them.
Sometimes, however, corridor estab-
lishment requires cooperation
across national boundaries, and it is
just such cooperation that has led to
the development of the Tri-national
Green Corridor Initiative.
One of the sparks for this initia-
tive was generated when researchers
using radio collars to track jaguars
in Brazil noticed their territories
extended into forest across the
border in Argentina. In fact, says
WWF’s Lou Ann Dietz, “although it
had seemed that jaguars in the
Atlantic Forests in Brazil were
restricted to two isolated patches, it
turned out that those areas were
connected by a corridor—except
that that corridor was in Argentina.”
Beginning in 1995, and then
again in 1997, representatives from
various agencies in Argentina,
Brazil, and Paraguay met to discuss
a number of issues surrounding
their common boundary areas.
These were the first occasions in
recent history where such a
dialogue had been opened; the
trust that they generated provided a
window of opportunity for environ-
mentalists and researchers to act.
Non-governmental organizations, in
cooperation with a wide range of
government agencies, established a
forum for discussion and coordina-
tion of conservation and sustainable
development actions across the
entire landscape of the Atlantic
Forests. It was an almost immediate
success that mobilized people to
protect the forests, especially in
Argentina, and motivated the
different countries to work with
each other on forest conservation.
In December 1999, the Misiones
Provincial legislature in Argentina
passed a law creating a “green
corridor” of nearly 2.5 million acres
(1 million hectares) of protected
90%O F I T S A M P H I B I A N S E X I S T N O W H E R E E L S E
199S P E C I E S O F E N D E M I C B I R D S E X I S T
C O N T I N E N T
G L O B A L 2 0 0 E C O R E G I O N
M A J O R H A B I T A T T Y P E
South America
Atlantic Forests
Tropical and SubtropicalMoist Broadleaf Forests
B R O M E L I A F L O W E R S
G O L D F R O G
G O L D E N L I O N T A M A R I N
forest connecting the Iguazú
National Park and other existing
Brazilian and Argentine reserves.
Collaboration among non-govern-
mental organizations persuaded
Brazil to close a road which bisects
the Iguaçu National Park, a World
Heritage Site in peril; protection for
the site was implemented and
UNESCO has since removed the
park from imperiled status. Other
efforts are continuing, such as infra-
structure development for
protecting the 8,200 acre (3,320
hectare) Reserva de Vida Silvestre
Urugua-í, located within the green
corridor; and work with Paraguayan
environmentalists, scientists, and
officials to complete a national
action plan for their portion of the
Atlantic Forests, as part of the tri-
national initiative.
The Result
In his classic book, An Introduction to
Tropical Rain Forests, T.C. Whitmore
is wistful in his description of the
demise of the Atlantic Forests. He
writes that they merge “southwards
into subtropical rain forest of
simpler structure and different
flora, but in a way we shall never
now be able to define.” The devasta-
tion of the Atlantic Forests has been
almost complete but, amazingly,
every species that has ever been
recorded there still exists.
Conservation measures still have a
chance of success, and efforts such
as the Tri-national Green Corridor
Initiative, linking the fragmented
patches that remain across the
ecoregion, present the best hope of
preserving the world’s most endan-
gered rainforest.
In the Atlantic Forests:
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Only7percent of the original forest cover remains.
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / B E R I N G S E A
The Context
he Arctic conjures up visions of
a bright blue sky over a green
tundra, or white polar bears on pack
ice in the cold winter. Whatever the
image, our thoughts are of a pristine
wilderness with occasional human
footprints. People have shared the
land and waters of the Arctic and
sub-Arctic regions for thousands of
years. Native peoples have hunted,
foraged, and dwelled in these lands,
living as one with their environ-
ment. However, this land is
changing. Not by machines or cities,
but by a wave of chemical contami-
nants wafting in the air and flowing
in the waters. Environmental conta-
minants that are produced and
released thousands of miles away in
the United States, southern Canada,
Asia, and Europe are moving to the
Arctic regions and accumulating in
the animals and plants. They are
appearing in the people of the
North as well.
Scientists give many names for
the process by which chemicals
move to the Arctic: “Cold
Distillation,” the “Grasshopper
Effect,” or “Global Fractionation
and Cold Condensation.” The
cumulative effect is seen each year
as “Arctic Haze”—a chemical cloud
that appears over the polar cap each
winter as contaminants from the
lower latitudes paint the sky a
yellowish brown colour. Each spring,
as the sun begins to warm this North
Country, the chemicals rain out
across the land and water, a term
hauntingly called the “Arctic Sunrise
Effect.” Pesticides used on lawns,
components of plastics production
and incineration, and residues of
chemicals long since banned,
continue to rain down and enter the
delicate food web of life in the
Arctic. As chemical usage increases
in our lives, these contaminants add
to next year’s Arctic Haze.
One of the areas experiencing
the most change is the Bering Sea,
the northernmost extent of the
North Pacific Ocean. Covering
T
Toxicsin the Bering Sea:
Mobilizing Action Across Multiple Scales
roughly 885,000 square miles (2.3
million square kilometres), the sea
is one of the richest and most
diverse of the world’s northern
marine ecosystems. It connects to
the Arctic Ocean through the 53-
mile (85-kilometre)-wide Bering
Strait, which separates Alaska and
Siberia. Hundreds of thousands of
marine mammals, including the
endangered bowhead and northern
For native communities,95 per cent of their food comes from the area’s land and sea.
Steller sea lion population decline A T U G A M A K I S L A N D
1 9 6 9 1 9 7 9 1 9 8 6
B E L U G A W H A L E
Stel
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© WWF-Canon / Kevin
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right whales, migrate through the
Bering Strait annually. The Bering
Sea supports tens of millions of
seabirds, and over 450 species of
fish, shellfish, crustaceans, and
molluscs, and supplies more than
half of the annual U.S. fish catch.
But in recent decades, coastal
residents, fishermen, and biologists
have documented precipitous
declines in Steller sea lions,
United States
Russia
ChukchiSea
Gulf ofAlaska
BeringSea
BeaufortSea
170E
180
170W
70N
60N
50N
160W
150W
WrangelIsland
St. LawrenceIsland
St. MatthewIsland
AnadyrBay
Karaginsky Bay
Norton Sound
Cape Navarin
NunivakIsland
PribilofIslands
CommanderIslands
Aleutian Islands
pages10/11A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / B E R I N G S E A
northern fur seals, and seabirds such as red-legged kittiwakes and specta-
cled eiders. Although scientists remain uncertain about the cause of these
declines, evidence increasingly points to myriad contributing factors,
ranging from overfishing to changing climatic conditions, and even past
overhunting of whales.
Meanwhile, native residents along the Bering Sea coast of Alaska’s
Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta have noticed other changes. “People are very
concerned about increasing tumors in fish, about fish that are showing up
with parasites and deformities,” says Mike Smolen of WWF. Although here,
too, a wide variety of causes may be responsible, a great deal of suspicion is
falling on the role that pollution might play. Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs)—including industrial chemicals such as PCBs and pesticides like
DDT—are associated with a wide range of human ailments and are also
linked to reproductive and other problems in wildlife in the Arctic and else-
where.
It may seem strange that such contaminants should exist at high levels in
the Arctic, but the pattern of wind and ocean currents is such that much of
the pollution from the industrialized world is ultimately deposited in the
northern polar regions. In addition, there are local sources. For example, a
U.S. Air Force base near Hooper Bay (on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta) has
had numerous documented fuel spills, and is shown to have concentrations
of PCBs in the soil. The concern for nearby residents is whether these
chemicals have reached the waters of the bay, where they could ultimately
have found their way into the fish and marine mammals that they rely on
for food.
For native communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, such a scenario is
of more than passing concern. Most people remain highly isolated and, as
Smolen points out, “most of their food comes from the area’s land and sea.”
However, gathering information about ecosystem contamination is not
an easy task. Taking samples of fish and shellfish suspected of being contam-
inated is a first step, of course, but by itself does not tell the whole story. For
example, the fact that fish in a certain place show high levels of contami-
nants does not necessarily mean that the particular area is highly polluted.
Rather, because many fish are highly migratory, they may have become cont-
aminated far away. For that reason among others it is important not just to
sample for pollutants but also to address issues of pollutant distribution
among wildlife populations.
The Face of Conservation
In an attempt to answer some of these questions researchers have been
visiting the region, collecting samples, and acquiring a better biological
overview of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Of crucial importance, the effort
does not involve only outside experts; instead, those experts have been
working with local communities, relying on their indigenous knowledge
and, in turn, training them in sampling techniques. After the first trainings,
the idea has evolved into a grassroots enterprise. Eventually, when commu-
nities express concerns about possible contamination of their food and
water supply, what Smolen calls “SWAT teams” of trained residents from
nearby villages will be able to respond to the call, take the necessary
samples, and, working with scientists, get answers to their questions. The
native-run health corporation is also involved in gathering and distributing
samples and maintaining a database on findings. In this way, a web of
informed grassroots knowledge is created across the ecoregion. This adds to
the understanding of man-made contaminants in marine systems, and
empowers and links communities across the ecoregion as the advocates for
change and the long-term stewards of the Bering Sea.
The Result
This kind of bottom-up effort also joins international policy initiatives to go
after the source of pollutants. Throughout the Arctic, and around the
world, voices are rising against the impacts of POPs on ecosystems and
human health. The Stockholm POPs Convention eliminated or severely
restricted the production and the use of 12 of the most dangerous POPs.
Although many POPs will continue to be produced, this is at least a first
step toward a time when the people of the Bering Sea no longer have to
monitor their environment for pollutants that originate thousands of miles
away. This will be a triumph for these communities as well as for the entire
web of life of the Bering Sea.
The Bering Sea provides:
56%O F A N N U A L U. S. F I S H C AT C H
450SPECIES OF FISH, CRUSTACEANS, AND MOLLUSCS
C O N T I N E N T S
G L O B A L 2 0 0 E C O R E G I O N S
M A J O R H A B I T A T T Y P E
North America,Asia
Bering-Beaufort-Chukchi Seas
Polar
S T . M A T T H E W I S L A N D , A L A S K A
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Bering Seawith Priority Areas highlighted as developed jointly with The Nature Conservancy
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / C H I H U A H U A N D E S E R T
The Context
he Chihuahuan Desert is one of the most biologically diverse regions
of its kind in the world. Among desert ecosystems, only the Great
Sandy Desert in Australia and the Namib-Karoo in southern Africa can chal-
lenge its variety and abundance of animals and plants. In fact, although
deserts are widely dismissed as barren and lifeless, the Chihuahuan has
more plant species than North America’s Pacific Northwest and more bird
species than the Florida Everglades.
Of the world’s 1,500 known cacti species, 350 are found here, as are 250
species of butterfly, including the giant swallowtail, the largest butterfly in
North America. Birds such as the zone-tailed hawk and Aplomado falcon
circle the skies, while the greater roadrunner dashes along the ground.
Majestic predators like the mountain lion and the jaguar prowl the desert
lands in search of prey, from the pronghorn antelope to the blacktailed
prairie dog.
The desert is a region of dramatic extremes. Forested mountain ranges
thrust skyward like islands in a desert sea, vast grasslands stretch across the
region’s northern expanse, and dunescapes of white sands ripple through
much of New Mexico and Coahuila. But the central component of the whole
ecoregion is, perhaps surprisingly, water: specifically, the watershed of the Río
Grande/Río Bravo river system, one of the largest in North America.
Among North American rivers, the Río Grande/Río Bravo is, at 1,825
miles (2,940 kilometres) in length, shorter only than the Mississippi-
Missouri-Red Rock system and the Yukon. Its extensive watershed, including
major tributaries such as the Pecos River in Texas and the Río Conchos in
Chihuahua, encompasses 335,000 square miles (867,600 square kilometres),
11 per cent of the area of the continental United States.
However, the rich tapestry of habitats—salt marshes, mudflats, wetlands—
has dwindled and disappeared, choked off as the water flow has been altered
to suit the demands of increasing human habitation. More and more water is
diverted to irrigate fields and supply towns; today, over 90 per cent of the Río
Grande is regularly diverted for irrigation. In some places, the scale of such
diversion is so great that the river is completely bereft of water.
Structures such as the Elephant Butte, a massive reservoir in New Mexico,
have drastically altered the hydrology of the basin, reducing stream flows and
interrupting the historical cycles of flood and drought that shaped and
replenished the river’s habitats. Incessant pumping of groundwater has dried
up springs, lowered water tables, and prevented the recharge of surface
waters. The Laguna de Mayrán, once northern Mexico’s largest lagoon and
home to many species, including the endangered whooping crane, is
completely dry; the Río Nazas, which formerly fed it, is tamed by dams and
has lost 99 per cent of its water to irrigation, with drought claiming the rest.
The scale of these and other threats, such as excessive grazing and introduc-
tion of non-native species to the Río Grande basin, has often been too
daunting for any one organization to address.
The Face of Conservation
Fortunately, the plight of the Chihuahuan Desert has not gone unnoticed.
Environmental groups, local organizations, government agencies, and citi-
zens of both countries are working to stop and reverse the ecoregion’s
ecological decline. “In the near term,” says WWF’s Jennifer Atchley, “we
need to get more of the Chihuahuan Desert’s important habitat areas under
some form of protection.” Scarcely 2 per cent of the ecoregion is under
protected status, but groups throughout the area are working to change
that. In December 2000, a collaborative effort by the Huichol Indians, the
Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, Conservación Humana, and WWF resulted
T
pages12/13
in a doubling of the size of the Huiricuta protected area in Mexico. In part-
nership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, WWF raised
US$1.5 million to support local stakeholders in planning protected areas in
the upper San Pedro River vicinity, and efforts by the local conservation
group Biodesert are focused on protecting a critical reach of the Río Nazas.
“In addition,” says Atchley, “we are working with private landowners to
improve resource management, to develop education and public awareness
programmes, and to build the capacity of local conservation groups.”
All of these steps are essential. In the long term, however, they will come
to naught, Atchley argues, without a “serious examination of how water is
allocated and used across the ecoregion.” Today, the vast majority of
Chihuahuan Desert water is devoted to agriculture, where much of it is lost
to evaporation and inefficient distribution. Urban centres, which also lose
tremendous amounts of water to inefficiency and waste, are growing explo-
sively, putting ever greater pressure on the scarce and vital resource. In the
face of burgeoning demand, says Atchley, “we need to somehow secure
enough water to conserve and, where necessary, restore the ecoregion’s
globally outstanding freshwater and riparian habitats.”
The Result
In 2002, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Julia Carabias,
head of Mexico’s Secretaria de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y
Pesca, jointly chaired a meeting of federal and state water managers, acade-
mics, and non-governmental organizations to discuss the impact of water
use on biodiversity in the middle Río Grande/Río Bravo. The meeting
resulted in the formation of an international task force to explore, among
other things, the feasibility of restoring instream flows to portions of the
river. Work is progressing to develop legal and policy options to secure
instream flows, while also facilitating actions with communities and the agri-
cultural sector to collaboratively reform practices. WWF is working with
other Texas-based organizations to create a water trust for the region, and is
fostering collaboration between U.S. and Mexican protected areas to imple-
ment a saltcedar eradication project for the river system. The effort aims to
reduce the use of precious water by this aggressive invasive species. Efforts
like these need to continue across the ecoregion to ensure that water, the
lifeline of the desert, continues to flow.
Chihuahuan Desertwith Río Grande/Río Bravo highlighted
The Chihuahuan Desert encompasses:
350S P E C I E S O F C A C T I
250S P E C I E S O F B U T T E R F L I E S
C O N T I N E N T
G L O B A L 2 0 0 E C O R E G I O N S
M A J O R H A B I T A T T Y P E S
North America
Chihuahuan-Tehuacán Deserts,Chihuahuan Freshwater
Deserts & XericShrublands,Xeric Basins
H I K E R S O N T O P O F A L A R G E D U N E
A G A V A C E A E P L A N T I N G Y P S U M D U N E S
P R O C E S S I N G C A N D E L I L L A P L A N T F O R W A X
A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / C H I H U A H U A N D E S E R T
All p
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United States
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100W
110W
30N
Rio
Gra
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Rio
Brav
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Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregions
Freshwater Boundary
Terrestrial Ecoregion
Human populations are growing rapidly throughout the region and as they use more space and
natural resources, wild animals and plants face increasing pressure.
© C
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E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / C O N G O B A S I N
Until recently, the 300,000 square-
mile (777,000 square-kilometre)
Congo Basin was sparsely populated
and relatively intact. However, an
expanding population, economic
growth, and political instability are all
combining to bring about change.
Shifts in how the inhabitants of the
Congo Basin make their livelihood,
accompanied by magnifying scales of
land conversion due to a population
increase of 1.7 million people per year,
are creating increased demand for
food, fuel, and shelter at a great cost to
biodiversity.
There are other pressures. Political
unrest has prompted an influx of
rebels, refugees, and army factions,
who have decimated the area’s plants
and animals. Illegal trade in ivory
threatens forest elephants. National
parks have become refuges for illegal
miners and woodcutters. Trade in bush
meat, traditionally a source of local
meat consumption but now increas-
ingly being directed toward sale to
urban centres and export abroad, is
devastating wildlife: a 1999 study esti-
mated that the total annual consump-
tion in Central Africa equaled about
one million metric tons, the equivalent
of about four million cattle. In addi-
tion, the need for economic develop-
ment is in danger of leading to rapid,
unchecked growth in mining and
forestry, with potentially drastic
economic consequences.
The Context
he lowland forests of the Congo Basin constitute the Earth’s second
largest contiguous rainforest, smaller only than the Amazon. Renowned
for high levels of biodiversity and endemism, the forests contain the greatest
number of species of mammals, primates, birds, amphibians, fish, and swallow-
tail butterflies in Africa. They are the only forests to shelter all three subspecies
of gorilla: the lowland gorilla, the endemic eastern lowland gorilla, and the
endangered mountain gorilla. The rare bonobo, sometimes known as the
pygmy chimpanzee, is found here and here alone. Bird species unique to the
area include the Congo peacock, the Congo sunbird, and Brazza’s martin.
The Congo River, the second largest river in the world, flows through these
forests. Every wet season the Congo overflows its banks, supplying its flood-
plain forests with vital nutrients and providing feeding and breeding areas for
abundant fish and other animals. Among the diverse fish species of the Congo
Basin are catfish and spiny eels with reduced eyes for life in the lower Congo
rapids, characids that feed on the fins of other fish, and snout fishes with
pronouncedly long rostrums to feed in between rocks or in the mud and sand.
Otter shrews hunt for crabs, fish, and frogs in the water at night, while Allen’s
swamp monkeys sleep in trees above the flooded forest.
All told, the tropical forests and freshwaters of Central Africa are some of
the most valuable in the world in terms of species richness and ecological
diversity. But they are valuable also in other ways: they contain a veritable trea-
sure of tropical timbers and other forest products, as well as oil, gas, and
diamonds. And such richness is placing the ecosystems and their wildlife
under threat.
CongoBasin:N E G O T I A T I N G
Livelihoodsand Leaders
10S
20S
30E
10E
Equator
Angola
Zambia
Uganda
Chad
Gabon
Equatorial Guinea
Cameroon
Nigeria
Congo
Sudan
Rwanda
Burundi
Tanzania
DemocraticRepublic of Congo
CentralAfrican
Republic
Congo Basin
HRH PRINCE PHIL IP WITH CENTRAL AFRICAN
OFFIC IALS AT YAOUNDÉ SUMMIT
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Congo Basin Ecoregions
Terrestrial EcoregionsFreshwater Boundaries
The Face of Conservation
Recognizing the growing urgency of the situation, heads of state and their
representatives from six Central African nations came together for an
unprecedented gathering in Cameroon in March 1999, and signed the
Yaoundé Declaration on the Conservation and Sustainable Management of
Tropical Forests. Recognizing “the need to preserve and sustainably manage
their forest ecosystems,” the heads of state proclaimed their “commitment
to the principle of conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable manage-
ment of forest ecosystems in Central Africa.” They committed to pursuing a
wide range of efforts to address the growing problems facing their forests,
including taking measures to reconcile the wish to protect forest ecosystems
with the need for economic development; involving local communities in
efforts to check severe poaching and other non-sustainable methods of
exploitation; and harmonizing national forestry policies.
The Yaoundé Declaration was, says WWF’s Richard Carroll, “highly
significant. We had been working at all levels to try and foster protection for
these forests. We had been working at the village level, all the way to the
ministerial level. We’d been working a lot with various ministries, but many
of these ministers’ mandates are conflicted—in charge of, say, both environ-
mental protection and logging. We needed to make a quantum leap ahead
on a political level, and what transpired was a series of high-level, very
visible commitments from the heads of state themselves.”
The Congo Basin ecoregions provided the common denominator to
leverage this high-level political support. And although environmental
conservation is littered with empty promises from governments and leaders,
the Yaoundé Declaration is one instance, says Carroll, where the signatories
are proving as good as their word. “In many cases, the presidents are clearly
putting pressure on their ministers to ensure that their wishes are carried
out. Throughout the region, it is clear that they are making major efforts to
live up to their commitments.”
One early consequence was an agreement to develop a biodiversity plan
for the Congo Basin ecoregions: a scientific review that will enable scientists,
conservationists, and planners to determine the areas of greatest species
richness and diversity and establish comprehensive ecoregional conservation
priorities. This review is now complete and has led to greater cooperation
between the nations involved, because it recognizes that protection of the
Congo Basin forests requires more than isolated, national initiatives. Results
include a collaborative commitment to raise financial assistance at the scale
needed, as well as the first practical steps in the overall plan for conservation
action across the basin. For instance, governments have agreed to protect
corridors of habitat that link different national parks in different countries.
In the Sangha River Tri-national Park, which straddles the Central African
Republic, the Republic of Congo, and Cameroon, the combined efforts have
led to the creation of a truly international reserve. The biodiversity plan for
the region has designated ten additional international reserves to be estab-
lished by 2005. And WWF, in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation
Society and Conservation International, has raised US$2.3 million to support
the creation of 13 new national parks in Gabon.
The Result
In many parts of the world, the devastation that has already been visited on
ecosystems by human activity is such that conservation efforts are forced to
try to salvage as much as possible of what is left. In the Congo Basin, now is
an opportune and critical time to move efforts at this broader scale toward a
longer-term vision, while there still remain large and relatively intact forest
areas. The Yaoundé summit and its follow-up actions present a rare oppor-
tunity to act before it is too late to protect one of the most spectacular and
biologically valuable areas on Earth.
G A M B A R E S E R V E , G A B O N
A E R I A L V I E W O F I N D I A N R I V E R
A N D K O R U P R A I N F O R E S T,
C A M E R O O N
G L O B A L 2 0 0 F R E S H W A T E R E C O R E G I O N S
M A J O R H A B I T A T T Y P E S
C O N T I N E N T
Africa
Cameroonian Crater Lakes, Congo Basin PiedmontRivers and Streams, Congo River and FloodedForests, Gulf of Guinea Rivers and Streams, Niger River Delta
G L O B A L 2 0 0 T E R R E S T R I A L E C O R E G I O N S
Central Congo Basin Moist Forest, Congolian CoastalForests, Northeastern Congo Basin Moist Forest,Western Congo Basin Moist Forest
Large Rivers, Large River Deltas, Large RiverHeadwaters, Small Lakes, Small Rivers, Tropicaland Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
C H I L D R E N O F T H E I T U R I F O R E S T
A F R I C A N W O O D O W L
50% O F T H E R E G I O N
H A S B E E N A L L O C A T E D F O R
L O G G I N G C O N C E S S I O N S
M O R E T H A N
1,000S P E C I E S O F B I R D S E X I S T
In the Congo Basin:
Child
ren:
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Act before it is too late to protect the second largest contiguous rainforest in the world.
pages14/15A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / C O N G O B A S I N
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / R U S S I A N F A R E A S T
The Context
xtending across an area
roughly the size of California,
the temperate forests of the Russian
Far East are among the richest and
most unusual anywhere in the world.
Unlike much of the surrounding
region, they escaped the inexorable
march of glaciers during the last Ice
Age, and provided a refuge for
species and communities that else-
where succumbed to the cooling
climate. As a result, long after the
glaciers have retreated, the forests
remain home to a unique assem-
blage of wildlife.
An inventory of the forest’s
wildlife is a “Who’s Who” of species
that do not exist anywhere else on
Earth. Steller’s sea eagle, Siberian
spruce grouse, Japanese Crane,
Blakiston’s fish owl, Amur sturgeon,
13 species of freshwater mussels, 2
species of swallowtail butterfly, goral
(a type of antelope), Himalayan
black bear, Amur forest cat, and
several hundred species of rare
vascular plants, ferns, lichens, liver-
worts, mosses, and fungi: all are
found in this region. The forests are
the only home of the Amur
(Siberian) tiger, and of the Far
desire for hard currency. The problems, says WWF’s Dan Cao, are becoming
more acute with “Russia’s poor economy, which hasn’t recovered from the
1998 crash, contrasted with the growing economies of the Asian countries
next door, which are driving the markets.”
The Face of Conservation
Since 1994, conservation efforts have been directed toward supporting
protected areas within the ecoregion, providing education for students and
teachers on the area’s importance, funding anti-poaching patrols, devel-
oping a strategy to save the Far Eastern leopard and Amur tiger, and identi-
fying economic uses of the forest’s resources that are sustainable, not
destructive.
The focus for much work in the region is the conservation of the Amur
tiger and its habitat. The tigers are much sought after in the Asian market
for traditional Chinese medicines, and with the people of the region so
desperate for money, tiger poaching can be a lucrative business. “Part of the
problem,” ventures Dan Cao, “is that poachers in Russia have historically
been regarded as heroic figures. What we have been trying to do is address
that image, and largely as a result of our education efforts, local attitudes
about poaching are changing completely.”
Tigers make a good focus because they are a dramatic, charismatic
species that easily attracts attention and support, and because their conser-
vation is crucial to other species in the forest. Saving the tiger as a flagship
Russian Far East:from Species to Landscapes
In the Forests of the Russian Far East:
O N LY450S I B E R I A N T I G E R S R E M A I N
E
Poachers in Russia have historically been regarded as heroic figures.
Eastern leopard, of which fewer
than 30 are believed to remain.
Conservation of these forests
is vital—all the more so given that,
whereas similar forest communities
once existed in China, Japan,
and the Korean Peninsula, those
in the Russian Far East are now
essentially the last ones remaining.
Unfortunately, the existence of the
forests and the wildlife they contain
are coming under increasing pres-
sure. Overharvesting and illegal
cutting of timber are major threats
to the region’s forests. Multinational
timber corporations seek to clear-
cut extensive tracts of forest and
entire watersheds for inexpensive,
high quality timber. Poaching is
driven by a demand for animal parts
in Asian medicines, a growth in
organized crime in the region, and a
G L O B A L 2 0 0 E C O R E G I O N S
M A J O R H A B I T A T T Y P E S
C O N T I N E N T
Asia
Russian Far East Broadleafand Mixed Forests,RussianFar East Rivers and Wetlands
Temperate Broadleaf andMixed Forests,Small Rivers
O V E R100FRESHWATER FISH SPECIES E X I S T
pages16/17A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / R U S S I A N F A R E A S T
species better ensures that other species associated with it will survive. If the
tiger or Far Eastern leopard disappeared, the extinction would alter the
densities of prey such as the sika deer, roe deer, and wild boar, and would
subsequently influence the regeneration of native forests. “We’ve been able
to get out the idea that wildlife protection is important, not only for tigers
and leopards, but for their prey, and the forests themselves,” says Cao.
There are signs that the efforts are paying off. Although the number of
tigers in the region remains distressingly low at about 450, that is a consider-
able improvement on estimates just a few years ago, when it was believed
there were as few as 300. Even so, it is far too early to be complacent, and
education by itself is not enough. To that end, WWF, in cooperation with
international and local non-governmental organizations, has also been
funding a network of anti-poaching patrols.
Heading up the patrols is Pavel Fomenko, WWF’s biodiversity conserva-
tion officer in the Russian Far East. Honored by TIME magazine as one of
its “heroes of the planet,” Fomenko has helped WWF fight tiger poaching
for six years. His work frequently sends him into -40°C temperatures and
deep snows, but despite the obstacles he and the brigade members face,
they have been tremendously successful. Since 1995, his 14 anti-poaching
brigades have captured more than 700 weapons, punished 2,000 criminals,
and recovered 40 tiger skins and countless bones. Fewer than 30 tigers were
poached in 1999, and it is in large part because of their efforts that the tiger
population across the landscape has now stabilized. This protection relies
on the combined contributions of other partner organizations such as the
Wildlife Conservation Society, Hornrocker Wildlife Institute, WildAid, and
TIGRIS Foundation.
At the same time, it is important to recognize that the range of the
Siberian tiger—and of the Far Eastern leopard, and the forest habitat
itself—does not end at the Russian border, nor do the sources of the threats
they face. Just as the Chinese medicine market is the single biggest driving
force behind tiger poaching, so China and Japan are the primary destina-
tions for timber from the Russian Far East. “Because of economic develop-
ment in China, and because the cost of timber is so low there right now, just
about everybody is renovating or building new houses. And because the
Chinese government has imposed a ban on logging in China, immense
Russia
Japan
North Korea
South KoreaChina
Mongolia
Sakhalin Island
Kurile Island
KamchatkaPeninsula
Lake Baikal
50N
40N
110E
130E 15
0E 30N
Amur
River
The Result
The establishment of the new
359,000 acre (145,000 hectare)
nature reserve is a great achieve-
ment for both the Chinese and
Russian governments in their efforts
to safeguard the habitat for endan-
gered species. As Cao urges, “It is an
important step; if we only protect
wildlife on the Russian side, we’re
not doing the whole job. We need
to work together across borders.”
pressure is placed on Russia’s
forests to supply China’s demand
for timber,” says Cao.
There has been, however, almost
no discussion on conservation
efforts at any level between the two
countries about their shared
resources—until recently. By
adopting a broader ecoregional
approach, Russian and Chinese
agencies have begun to open a
dialogue over cooperation to
protect the Far Eastern leopard,
Amur tiger, and Amur River water-
shed. In December 2001, a new
transboundary nature reserve in
Hunchun, Northeast China, was
established with joint support from
WWF, the Wildlife Conservation
Society, and Wetlands International.
This reserve will prove to be a crit-
ical piece of a network of protection
for tigers, leopards, and birds
migrating between China and
Russia.
S W A L L O W T A I L B U T T E R F L Y
P R I M O R Y E R E G I O N , R U S S I A N F A R E A S T
J A P A N E S E C R A N E
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Russian Far East Ecoregions
Terrestrial Ecoregion
Freshwater Boundary
Russian Far East
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / A P E R S P E C T I V E O N C H A L L E N G E S
Acting now for the future
Great challenges in biodiversity conservation accompany the benefits of
scaling up our thinking and actions. One of these challenges is to
balance short-term projects that yield fast results with long-term plan-
ning. Our experience to date suggests that quick, high profile actions as
well as locally initiated catalytic projects both have important relation to
long-term programmes that are slower to develop. Either way, to ensure
an involved and connected constituency that will maintain conservation
at ecoregional scales over the long term, the key is to use creative moni-
toring activities that engage stakeholders.
Moving forward
Conservation must be grounded in good science. A lack of information
about ecosystem functioning is at best disruptive, and at worst can stop
conservation efforts in their tracks. Given the limits of our current knowl-
edge, how can we know that the biological targets set today will still be used
in the future? The truth is that unless we are willing to accept the cost of
inaction—the complete and irreversible loss of entire ecosystems—we must
act now and set priorities with the best information available. The key to
progress is an openness to adaptive learning and a practice of innovative
thinking. By using our past experience to judge what does and does not
work, we increase the probability of setting robust targets and initiating
effective conservation efforts in spite of an unpredictable world.
Scaling up
Taking on conservation challenges at the ecoregional scale opens up a far
wider spectrum of structures, discussions, and tensions than traditionally
encountered at the site level. As a result, conservation will often be part of
a larger regional equation driven by political, private sector, and civil
society interests. The strength of ecoregion conservation is in recognizing
that these complexities are an inherent part of the ecological and social
systems in which we are promoting change. From local governance of
resource use and regional agricultural policies to international trade, any
and all aspects of the evolving global economy can affect biodiversity and
sustainable development in ways that we may or may not be able to influ-
ence. The leaders of these efforts are in the best position to mitigate the
actions or attitudes that threaten the state of biodiversity crucial to the
world’s economy. Ecoregion conservation therefore provides a framework
for a coherent package of strategies to be designed and carried out by
multiple stakeholders at multiple levels.
the cornerstone of ecoregion conser-
vation, which sets out biological goals
(often represented on a map) that
provide the guide for negotiating
resource use options across large
areas. The integration of biodiversity
visions at this scale—from local to
national planning and within interna-
tional development agendas—can be
of help to both conservation and
development by providing options
for both.
For instance, in the Southwest
Amazon ecoregion, the process of
developing a biodiversity vision and
map with multiple experts and stake-
holders identified priority areas for
protection across the entire ecore-
gion, which spans Peru, Bolivia, and
Brazil. During land-use planning
discussions in Brazil, the map directly
informed the zoning process for the
State of Acre because it provided
guidance for the incorporation of the
majority of recommended biodiver-
sity priority areas into a regional land-
use plan.
A Perspectiveon C H A L L E N G E S
Too hot to handle
Many parts of the world are
immersed in social and political
instability. Conservation is far from
the minds of decision makers in
places where survival is paramount
or civil strife is ongoing.
Conservation efforts are not usually
feasible in such places. The strength
of ecoregion conservation is that
rather than planning around
shifting political boundaries, it
allows us to think about entire
regions—thereby creating a plan-
ning framework that waits out social
and political instability, but is
poised for action when stability and
opportunity set in.
The power of vision
Development agendas can conflict
with biodiversity conservation
agendas. Since regional resource
use planning does not always
proceed in a coordinated way, the
results can be compromised by
inaction and different priorities.
This is true whether the plans are
for improving economic welfare or
for environmental protection. Just
as inappropriate development can
be the root cause of biodiversity
loss, so too can biodiversity loss and
loss of ecosystem function be the
demise of the most detailed devel-
opment efforts.
Ecoregion conservation offers a
strategic tool in this dilemma. It
begins with the biodiversity vision,© WWF-Canon / Mich
el Gunth
er
pages18/19A P O R T F O L I O O F S T O R I E S / M E E T I N G T H E C H A L L E N G E
Our way of protecting biodiversity has changed.
Thinking and acting at multiple scales better
enables us to meet the demands of global influ-
ences as well as localized human needs, whether orchestrating collaboration
across borders in the forests of South America, designing new legislation
to protect and restore riparian habitats in Asia, discussing conservation
priorities at the same table as development agendas in Central Africa, or
catalysing efforts to redefine resource rights in the Río Grande and Bering
Sea. This Portfolio brings you stories from the field about how ecoregion
conservation is changing the face of conservation.
Changing the faceof C O N S E R VAT I O N
...Meeting the challenge
© W
WF-
Cano
n / M
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ther
E C O R E G I O N C O N S E R VAT I O N / T H E G L O B A L 2 0 0
he Global 200 is a science-based selection of biologically coherent regions representing outstanding examples of every major
ecosystem on earth. The aim of the Global 200 analysis is to ensure that the full range of ecosystems is represented within regional
conservation and development strategies so that they can contribute to a global strategy for biodiversity conservation. By prioritizing the
conservation of the broadest range of habitats, the Global 200 aims to secure the conservation of the fullest possible range of species.
The Global 200 also provides the geographical framework for WWF’s work in its chosen priority issues—forest, freshwater, and marine biomes;
species; toxics; and climate change. WWF’s regional programmes around the world are now prioritizing their conservation efforts at an
ecoregional scale in selected Global 200 ecoregions. Well over 30 ecoregion conservation programmes are now underway with an additional
30 Global 200 ecoregions slated for additional WWF support over the next few years.
T
238
G L O B A L 2 0 0
Freshwater and Marine Ecoregions
Glossarybiodiversity—the variety of life on Earth, reflected in the variety ofecosystems and species, their processes and interactions, and thegenetic variation within and among species.
biodiversity vision—long-term goals for the ecoregion’s biodiversityconservation and actions that identify key sites, populations, thresholds,and ecological processes.
conservation targets—practical targets that guide priority setting andimplementation of strategies—namely, distinctive units of biodiversity;larger intact habitats; intact biotas; keystone habitats, species, andphenomena; large-scale ecological phenomena; species of specialconcern; and native biotas without alien species.
ecological processes—complex mix of interactions between animals,plants, and their environment that ensure that an ecosystem’s fullrange of biodiversity is adequately maintained. Examples include popu-lation and predator-prey dynamics, pollination and seed dispersal,nutrient cycling, migration, and dispersal.
ecoregion—a large unit of land or water containing a geographicallydistinct assemblage of species, natural communities, and environ-mental conditions. The boundaries of an ecoregion encompass an areawithin which important ecological and evolutionary processes moststrongly interact.
ecoregional plan—comprehensive strategy for all concerned, imple-mented by a consortium of WWF and its partners. Scale depends onstrategy, but may focus field actions on a small number of prioritizedsites within the ecoregion.
major habitat type—set of ecosystems that experience comparableclimatic regimes, have similar vegetation structure, display similarspatial patterns of biodiversity, and contain flora and fauna with similarguild structures and life histories.
stakeholder—any person, group, or institution that affects or isaffected by, positively or negatively, a particular issue or outcome.
AcknowledgementsThanks to all those who helped with this publication, especially John Brown, Juliette Brown, JamesCauley, Karen Eng, Wendy Faxon, Chris Hails, Scot Howard, Beth Joselow, Bob Kiernan, Jim Leape, ZandraMcGillivray, Judy Oglethorpe, Linda Redmond, Gibby Waitzkin, Wes Wettengel, Diane Wood. Thanks alsoto Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) for generous software donations. Text: JenniferAtchley, Richard Carroll, Sarah Christiansen, Eric Dinerstein, Curt Freese, Kimberley Marchant, JamesMartin-Jones, Tony Mokombo, Richard Mott, Kieran Mulvaney, Sheila O’Connor, David Olson, JenniferReed, David Stone. Photo Research: Michele Depraz, Ulli Lagler, Jennifer Reed. Map Editor: HollyStrand. Maps: Tom Allnutt, Jennifer D’Amico, Colby Loucks, Holly Strand, Wes Wettengel. Copy Editors:Nicole Ardoin, Alice Taylor. Research Assistants: Miranda Mockrin, Veronica Parcan, Gautham Rao.Reviewers: Dan Cao, Lou Ann Dietz, Bronwen Golder, James Martin-Jones, Sheila O’Connor, DoreenRobinson, Michael Smolen, Holly Strand, Chris Williams, Margaret Williams. Managing Editors: SarahChristiansen, Ulli Lagler, Kimberley Marchant, Jennifer Reed.
Resources and Web LinksWWF-US www.worldwildlife.org
WWF International www.panda.org
Wild World www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld, www.nationalgeographic.org/wildworld
Conservation International (CI) www.conservation.org
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) nature.org
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) www.iucn.org
World Resources Institute (WRI) www.wri.org
The ecoregion visions discussed within this publication are available by request from [email protected].
Notes and References1. Adapted from the full text that includes further details on the guiding principles. A copy of the joint
statement is available by request from [email protected]. The Global 200 is a science-based global ranking of the Earth’s most biologically outstanding terres-
trial, freshwater, and marine habitats. The guiding principle is representation of all major habitat types.By focusing on large, biologically distinct areas of land and water, the Global 200 provides a compre-hensive strategy that sets the stage for conserving biodiversity at the broadest scale on which natureoperates.
3. Olson, D., and E. Dinerstein. 1998. The Global 200: A representation approach to conservingthe Earth’s most biologically valuable ecoregions. Conservation Biology 12: 502-515.
4. These marine ecoregions include only Global 200 ecoregions.5. Adapted from Noss, R.F., and A. Y. Cooperrider. 1994. Saving nature’s legacy: protecting and
restoring biodiversity. Washington, DC: Defenders of Wildlife and Island Press.
G L O B A L 2 0 0
Terrestrial Ecoregions
The Global 200®
Blueprint for a LIVING PLANET ®
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WWF is the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organization. It has 4.7 million supporters and a global network active in 96 countries.
WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by• conserving the world’s biological diversity• ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable• promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption
C O N S E R VAT I ON F O R A L I V I N G P L A N E TPublished in Washington, D.C., USA in January 2003 by WWF
© 2003 WWF. All rights reserved by World Wildlife Fund, Inc.
Printed on recycled paper.
WWF InternationalAvenue du Mont-Blanc1196 GlandSwitzerlandwww.panda.org
World Wildlife Fund1250 Twenty-Fourth Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20037 USAwww.worldwildlife.org ©
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This publication was made possible through support provided by theOffice of Environment, Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, andTrade, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms ofAward No. LAG-A-00-99-00048-00. The opinions expressed herein arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of theU.S. Agency for International Development.