The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) marked a renewed commitment to addressing the global biodiversity crisis. This framework of four goals and 23 interim targets is intended to guide and accelerate conservation efforts over the next 25 years and is more ambitious than its predecessor, the Aichi 2020 targets. However, the pursuit of multilateral agreements is dependent upon national pledges, and the limited success of the Aichi targets shows that national pledges are of little worth without aligned (sub)national action. We assessed the submitted National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans of several member countries to determine their alignment with the bold ambition of the GBF. We find a lack of alignment between the GBF and country submissions across many targets, with the notable exception of Target 3—commonly interpreted as increasing protected area coverage to 30% by 2030. Reflecting on the submissions, recent developments, and our collective experience, we outline key considerations that could help guide future submissions and implementation strategies. We caution against cherry-picking specific targets, highlighting that an overemphasis on Target 3 will fail to achieve the overarching vision of living in harmony with nature. This requires a more holistic and inclusive approach to conservation and a focus on the full suite of GBF targets.
Tag: biodiversity conservation
EcoregionsTreeFinder—A Global Dataset Documenting the Abundance of Observations of > 45,000 Tree Species in 828 Terrestrial Ecoregions
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework emphasizes ecological restoration as a key strategy for conserving biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Standard promotes the use of native tree species, aligning with the Ecoregions2017Resolve global map, which enhances systematic planning for terrestrial biodiversity conservation. EcoregionsTreeFinder, a newly developed database, provides comprehensive lists of native tree species across 828 terrestrial ecoregions, aiding restoration projects, biogeographical studies, and tree presence observations. The dataset includes 48,129 tree species with 453,053 ecoregion-species records, detailing observations across bioclimatic zones based on Climatic Moisture Index, temperature thresholds, and water deficit metrics. The data spans 1946–2021, sourced from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, supporting biodiversity conservation efforts worldwide.
Harnessing Giants: Ethical Trade of Goliath Beetles in Community Forests for Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Enhancement
The Upper Guinean forest block of West Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, home to the chief goliath beetle (Goliathus cacicus), an ecologically significant species threatened by deforestation, agricultural expansion, unsustainable harvesting, and climate change. Populations have declined sharply, prompting calls for its listing as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, alongside Goliathus regius (Endangered). Despite these threats, G. cacicus holds considerable economic potential due to high demand in international markets, with specimens valued between $300–$1500. Ethical trade practices—such as limiting collection to naturally deceased beetles or surplus males—could align biodiversity conservation with rural income generation. Community forest initiatives integrating sustainable trade and eco-tourism offer a replicable model for conservation practitioners and policymakers, balancing ecological protection with livelihood support.
Healthy forests safeguard traditional wild meat food systems in Amazonia
Amazonia is the largest and the most species-rich tropical forest region on Earth, where hundreds of Indigenous cultures and thousands of animal species have interacted over millennia. Although Amazonia offers a unique context to appraise the value of wildlife as a source of food to millions of rural inhabitants, the diversity, geographic extent, volumes and nutritional value of harvested wild meat are unknown. Here, leveraging a dataset comprising 447,438 animals hunted across 625 rural localities, we estimate an annual extraction of 0.57 Mt of undressed animal biomass across Amazonia, equivalent to 0.34 Mt of edible wild meat. Just 20 out of 174 taxa account for 72% of all animals hunted and 84% of the overall biomass extracted. We show that this amount of wild meat can meet nearly half of protein and iron dietary requirements for rural peoples, along with a substantial portion of their needs for B vitamins (18–126%) and zinc (23%). However, wild meat productivity is likely to have decreased by 67% in nearly 500,000 km² of highly deforested areas of Amazonia. Furthermore, the availability of wild meat per capita decreases significantly in areas with higher human population, greater proximity to cities, and more extensive deforestation. These findings highlight the urgent need to preserve the forest to safeguard biodiversity and traditional wild meat food systems, which will be essential for ensuring Amazonian peoples’ well-being and achieving several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Human and Environmental Factors Shape Tree Species Assemblages in West African Tropical Forests
This study examined how human activities and environmental factors shape tree assemblages in tropical forests of Nigeria and Cameroon, focusing on differences between edible and inedible species. Using data from 66 forest plots collected between 2002 and 2019, species were classified through interviews and databases, and beta-diversity was analyzed using Generalised Dissimilarity Models. Results showed that environmental filtering had a stronger influence on species composition than dispersal limitation, with high species turnover (>90%) across plots. Elevation was a key driver for inedible species turnover, while forest composition shaped edible species assemblages, reflecting human selection patterns. Human presence affected beta-diversity of inedible species and turnover in edible species. These findings highlight the dominant role of local environmental conditions and human activity in structuring forest biodiversity, suggesting that conservation strategies should integrate sustainable land use and traditional ecological knowledge to address long-term anthropogenic impacts.
Species characteristics modulate tropical mammal responses to forest quality in Southeast Asia
Anthropogenic activities such as forest loss and degradation threaten many species-rich tropical forests. However, how species respond to forest quality and the role of species characteristics (i.e., body mass, carnivory, and habitat breadth) in mediating such responses remain poorly understood. We assessed how the occupancy of 61 mammal species in tropical forests of Southeast Asia responded to forest cover, canopy height, and disturbance history. We used data from 627 camera trap sites across 11 landscapes in Southeast Asia and applied a customized Bayesian multi-species occupancy modelling framework. Higher forest quality was positively related to the occupancy of 77 % mammal species while 5 % showed a negative relationship. Species with limited habitat breadths (habitat specialists) showed the strongest positive relationships, such as the dusky monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus). Similarly, large-bodied species like the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) also exhibited strong positive relationships. Our study highlights the critical need to maintain and restore forests with dense canopies and with old and tall trees, especially for large-bodied and habitat-dependent species. Despite recent suggestions that Asian wildlife may not always be negatively influenced by forest degradation, our study underscores the dependency of most mammal species on relatively undisturbed interior forests for long-term conservation.
Proximity to natural habitat is not consistently associated with pollination services in tropical smallholder farms: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Proximity to natural habitat is known to enhance pollination services in large‐scale agriculture, but it remains unclear whether this holds in tropical smallholder farms. These systems are embedded in ecologically complex landscapes, central to global food security, and depend heavily on biodiversity‐derived ecosystem services. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of 35 studies assessing the relationship between distance to natural habitat and pollinator abundance, species richness, and crop fruit set in tropical smallholder farms. We found no consistent patterns in pollinator abundance and crop fruit set with increasing distance, with relationships highly variable across studies. Similarly variable, yet slightly negative, was the relationship between distance and pollinator species richness. Our findings suggest limited support for the ‘proximity to natural habitat’ hypothesis in tropical smallholder farms, indicating that the inherent complexity of these landscapes may buffer negative effects of distance on pollination. This underscores the importance of maintaining and restoring landscape complexity to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services such as crop pollination. We also highlight the need for greater methodological consistency and publicly available raw data in future studies to strengthen the evidence base and support management strategies for safeguarding pollination services in tropical smallholder farms.
Improving access to quality tree seeds through strong genetics, capacity, and science-based restoration
Tree growing plays a central role in ecological restoration, ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation across Rwanda’s Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin, and Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. However, there are key constraints in the diversity and genetic quality of the tree seed and seedlings that are being used for ecological restoration. These constraints are exacerbated by an increase in demand for tree seed and seedlings to meet ecological restoration commitments; and by the exposure of the trees to changing growing conditions coupled with climate change. While the demand for tree seed and seedlings is increasing to meet tree-planting commitments, limited attention to the quality and climate resilience of planting material undermines long- term ecological restoration efforts. The Quality Tree Seed project responds to this challenge by improving access to high-quality, diverse, and climate-resilient tree seed and seedlings, ensuring that quality tree seed and seedlings are planted in the right places to support ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and food security.
Woody species diversity and structure across natural forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, and homegarden coffee in the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve, Southwest Ethiopia
Natural forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, and homegarden coffee are generally seen as beneficial for biodiversity conservation, but this may not always be the case. While they are widely recognized for their biodiversity conservation values, their impact on woody species diversity, composition, and structure still remains a gap. This study examined the impact of natural forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, and homegarden coffee on woody species diversity and structure in the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve, Southwest Ethiopia. Three coffee production systems were considered for the study, namely homegarden coffee, semi-forest coffee, and natural forest coffee. In all, 90 sample plots were randomly selected and surveyed. A total of 27 woody species belonging to 17 families were recorded. Natural forest coffee maintains the highest structural complexity and continuous regeneration of shade trees as compared to homegarden and semi forest coffee. All diversity indices confirmed that there was significantly higher biodiversity in natural forest coffee. Structural attributes, including stem density, diameter at breast height (DBH), and basal area, were significantly greater in natural forest coffee and semi-forest coffee than in homegarden coffee (p 0.05). Both the Jaccard and Sørensen similarity coefficients indicate a strong overlap in woody species composition between natural forest coffee and semi-forest coffee (Jaccard = 0.67 and Sørensen = 0.80). Natural forest coffee and homegarden coffee showed the lowest similarity (Jaccard = 0.38; Sørensen = 0.56), reflecting substantial differences in species composition. Rarefaction analyses confirmed adequate sampling coverage. The findings emphasize the highly significant role of natural forest coffee and semi-forest coffee for biodiversity conservation.
Contribution of biodiversity-mediated and other forest ecosystem services to agriculture
Forests and trees can enhance agricultural productivity: Forests and trees deliver vital ecosystem services – such as pollination, biological pest control, nutrient cycling, erosion control, fodder, mulch, and climate regulation – that enhance crop yields and sustain ecosystem health.
Integrated landscapes strengthen climate resilience and food security: Incorporating trees and forest patches into agricultural systems can reduce dependence on synthetic inputs, enhance resilience to climate variability, and support the production of diverse, nutrient-dense foods.
Proximity to forests offers benefits and trade-offs: Fields near forests may benefit from stronger ecosystem services, especially pollination and biocontrol, but may also experience disservices such as increased exposure to certain pests.
Policy must support multifunctional landscapes: Existing policy frameworks tend to address ecosystem services in isolation and could be better tailored to support integrated production systems that balance food production with the conservation of trees and forests, and biodiversity.