Ecological Networks in the European Alps

Ecological Networks in the European Alps Map

The European Alps are home to a unique and rich biodiversity of species, which is increasingly impacted by habitat fragmentation through land use changes, urbanization and expansion of transport infrastructure. In this study, they were identified 50 key issues relating to the maintenance and restoration of an ecological continuum - the connection of ecological processes in many scales, including relationship processes and trophic disorders and hydro-ecological flows in European Alps. They initiated and implemented a scoping exercise trans-national priorities, inviting 48 institutions, including researchers, conservation professionals, NGOs, politicians and administrators of the Alpine region. 

The exercise consisted of an initial call to relevant questions, a first online evaluation of incoming questions and a final discussion and selection process during a joint seminar. Participating institutions generated 484 initial questions, which were condensed to the top 50 questions for 16 workshop participants. Were suggested new approaches in dealing with the issue of an ecological continuum in the Alps by analyzing and classifying the characteristics of issues resulting from a non-prioritized way, as well as a visual conceptualization of the interdependencies between these questions. This priority setting exercise will support research institutions and funding to channel their skills and resources to the issues that need to be urgently addressed in order to facilitate significant progress in the conservation of biodiversity in the European Alps.

Sources and further information:

- http://www.alpconv.org/en/organization/g​roups/WGEcologicalNetwork/default.html

- http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org​/about-us/ecological-continuum-initiativ​e

- www.econnectproject.eu

NASA creates interactive map showing forests worldwide

The satellite Suomi NPP, managed by NASA and NOAA, enabled the creation of an interactive map that shows the details of all vegetation in the world. The tool is available online and is updated weekly, showing deforested areas and help predict weather conditions.

As Told by NOAA, the US agency that studies the atmospheric and oceanic conditions, data is collected from satellites that measure the amount of light absorbed by the earth and what is reflective into space. In forested areas, vegetation absorbs the light, unlike desert areas, where the rays are folded.

Interactive map: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/Green.html

The First Ecological Land Units Map of the World

The collaborative partnership between Esri and USGS resulted in a dynamic online map representing the world’s ecological diversity at unprecedented detail and authority. This work leveraged quantitative methods, geographic science, and big data produced by government agencies and the scientific community.  To create this map the data were processed in Esri’s ArcGIS cloud computing environment. This map provides new knowledge and understanding of geographic patterns and relationships by distinguishing the geography of the planets’ ecosystems.

To better understand the significance of the new Global Ecological Land Units (ELUs) map and the data behind it, I recently met with project leads, Roger Sayre, Ph.D., Senior Scientist for Ecosystems, USGS, and Randy Vaughan, Manager of Content Engineering, Esri.

See more at:
http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esri-insider/2014/12/09/the-first-detailed-ecological-land-unitsmap-in-the-world/
http://story.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=dc91db9f6409462b887ebb1695b9c201&webmap=dd6f7f93d54341a69a47002696cf5744
http://ecoexplorer.arcgis.com/eco/

How Europe is greener now than 100 years ago

 

Within the last 100 years, Europe has experienced two World Wars, the end of communism, the emergence of the European Union and a series of other transformative political and economic developments. A team of scientists has now been able to visualize the impact of historical events in maps that show the growth and decline of settlements, forests and croplands.

The map, shown above, is the result of a research project led by Dutch scholar Richard Fuchs from the University of Wageningen. Besides regional political and economic trends, Europe's landscape was shaped by several larger developments of the 20th century, according to Fuchs.

More information:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/12/04/watch-how-europe-is-greener-now-than-100-years-ago/?tid=sm_fb

http://www.geo-informatie.nl/fuchs003/#

Italy: REN, The National Ecological Network

 REN, The National Ecological Network: Italian Vertebrates Network and

The Vertebrates Component Map

In 1999 the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territorial Protection approved a document outling the general guidelines for the National Ecological Network (REN), the defi nition of its structure and its main objectives. The Ministry contracted the Department of Animal and Human Biology of La Sapienza University to carry out the fi rst phase of a programme to develop the network. This programme was started in 2000 and has three main aims:

• to outline the distribution patterns of all 431 Italian vertebrate species;
• to determine whether the protected-area system corresponds with these distribution patterns;
• to determine which actions would improve the effectiveness of the protected-area system and the conservation of these species.

Data on species distribution and habitat suitability were combined to produce a map that shows the degree of suitability for increasing numbers of vertebrate species. This map is intended to form the basis for the design of the ecological network. In general, it is concluded that mountain areas, especially the Alps and the Appenines, will be most suitable as core areas for all vertebrate species.

REN, The National Ecological Network Info:

http://serverbau.bio.uniroma1.it/gisbau/reti_ren.php

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative Map

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is a joint Canada-US not-for-profit organization that seeks to preserve and maintain the wildlife, native plants, wilderness and natural processes of the mountainous region from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon Territory. 

The region stretches over 3,200 kilometres from Yukon Territory in Canada to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Wyoming, covering over a million square kilometres. Until a century ago, pumas (also known as the cougar or mountain lion), grizzly bears, wolverines and wolves were present throughout most of the region. Today, mainly as a result of habitat destruction and hunting, they only exist as potentially viable populations in the small number of protected areas in the northern Rockies. Several aquatic indicator species are also threatened, such as the bull trout, the westslope cutthroat trout and several salmon stocks.

Four additional Priority Areas are located in the northern reaches of the Y2Y region; these were selected for their value as large, intact watersheds. Within these twelve Priority Areas, we are building and supporting collaborative initiatives amongst organizations, scientists, agencies, Aboriginal communities, land trusts, and progressive businesses to identify, resource, and implement on-the-ground actions to help achieve our conservation goals.

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative Info:

http://y2y.net/

National Ecological Network of the Republic of Moldova

National Ecological Network of the Republic of Moldova Map

Moldova has a well-established system of protected areas. However, these sites have historically been identifi ed on the basis of national conservation priorities. It was only with the ratifi cation of the Ramsar Convention in 1999 that for the first time international criteria were formally applied in delineating and managing valuable habitats. At the same time, Moldova’s endorsement of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy in 1995 brought with it the commitment to contribute to the establishment of the Pan European Ecological Network.

The Ecological Network of Moldova presents a totality of natural habitats that are inter-connected physically (territorially) and functionally through populations of species and ecosystems, natural and historic landscapes, natural and cultural monuments, which inherently belong to landscapes. These include artificial landscapes and elements of special value for biodiversity protection, maintaining geo-systemic balance and for research and aesthetics. The Ecological Network presents an informational, co-coordinative, and legal mechanism to safeguard its physical components, the sovereignty of Moldova and State responsibilities in relation to national and international components of biological diversity.

National Ecological Network of the Republic of Moldova Info:

http://www.biotica-moldova.org/ECO-NET/index.htm

XIV Iberian Colloquium on Geography in Portugal

The Iberian Colloquium on Geography has formed over the last 13 editions, as a privileged place for the discussion of geographical problems between the Portuguese and Spanish researchers forum. 

In a context of continuing globalization and increase of scientific relations between researchers in the transatlantic space, it is essential to extend the scientifically oriented initiatives in order to promote the integration of an increasingly wide range of stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of developing the knowledge geographic in its various forms, projecting it in society, through an increasingly effective intervention. 

Thus, it is intended with this event together "at the same table" geographers not only the Iberian Peninsula, but also from countries in Africa and Latin America, with special emphasis on Lusophone and Hispanic. 

The themes proposed for the XIV Iberian Colloquium on Geography precisely reflect the breadth needed for wide open and the various problems that affect society in the Iberian world space and discussion.

Poster presentation of the dissertation: Spatial Modelling of Regional Ecological Networks: Contributions and Proposals for the North of Portugal

  

XIV Iberian Colloquium on Geography - http://xivcig.weebly.com/

European Green Belt

European Green Belt Map

Launched in 2004 by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and IUCN, the corridor is to be created through joint projects along the Green Belt with the support of the respective countries and other partners. The structure of the corridor will differ depending on the circumstances in each region. In some areas the Green Belt will be a continuous strip of land constituting part of existing or new protected areas; in other areas it will be established by linking transfrontier protected areas and protecting other priority transfrontier habitats. Examples of how the Green Belt can be configured have been developed for the northern section along the Finnish-Russian border and for part of the former border between West and East Germany.

http://www.europeangreenbelt.org/

The Green Belt of Amur-Heilong

The Green Belt of Amur-Heilong Map

The three basin countries - China, Mongolia and Russia had by 2005 established approximately 700 Protected Areas (PA) that cover 205,572 km² or about 10 percent of the Amur-Heilong River Basin. PA coverage in the Amur-Heilong basin is actually lower than nation-wide average in any of the three basin countries.

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amur_heilong/structure2/greenbelt/

The Netherlands: The National Ecological Network

 The National Ecological Network of Netherlands Map

The Dutch government decided in 1990, following a multi-year research programme, to develop a National Ecological Network that could provide the long-term basis for ecological sustainability throughout the country. Given the scale of the initiative, establishing the network is a long-term enterprise, with full implementation scheduled for 2018.

The National Ecological Network as originally adopted in 1990 was an “oversized” indicative map of core areas, nature development areas and corridors. It is the task of the 12 provinces to delineate the precise boundaries of the network. This will be done using 132 habitat and landscape types for which minimum aggregate total areas have been fi xed at the national level. The final network is intended to cover about 730,000 hectares, or 17.5 percent of the Dutch countryside.

The realization of the ecological network requires cooperation between a wide range of stakeholders: national, provincial and local governments, protected area managers, water authorities, farmers, foresters, other land owners and business.

Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities

The world has vast amounts of deforested and degraded forest landscapes that deliver limited benefits to both humans and nature. These areas of historical and recent loss provide opportunities for future gain. The maps in this atlas represent a first-ever global approximation of the extent and location of the opportunities for forest landscape restoration – opportunities to reduce poverty, improve food security, mitigate climate change, and protect the environment. The atlas includes maps on current forest coverage, potential forest coverage, forest condition, and human pressure on forest landscapes. The map of Bonn Challenge pledges describes the countries, regional organizations, and other entities that have made pledges toward the Bonn Challenge goal of restoring 150 million hectares of lost forests and degraded forest lands worldwide by 2020.

http://www.wri.org/applications/maps/flr-atlas/#

The Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor

Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor Map

In 1998, the Organization of American States funded a proposal that involved the creation of a transboundary Biosphere Reserve. The proposal incorporated corridors and buffer zones into its confi guration and complemented a similar idea that was being developed by Conservation International. These developments evolved into a more ambitious ecological network called the Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor, which is built up around large protected-area complexes composed of protected areas, multiple-use areas and indigenous peoples’ reserves.

The programme now encompasses 18 protected areas, which are the core areas of a developing ecological network. Three of the areas are also indigenous reserves, and a series of Inca and pre-Inca archaeological sites are located in the network, including the world-famous Machu Picchu. The next phase in the programme is the preparation of detailed action plans.

The majority of the funding for developing the Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor comes from a range of international donors. These include, in addition to Conservation International, WWF, USAID and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (a joint initiative of Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank).

The Gondwana Link

The Gondwana Link Map

Australia is one of the world’s richest centres of biodiversity. For example, more endemic animal species can be found in Australia than in any other country. However, Australia’s fauna and flora are under grave threat. Over the past two centuries more native species have been lost than in any other single country.

Gondwana Link is a collaborative effort entering its eleventh year of achievement, an inspiring example of how a broad spectrum of local, regional and national groups can work together. With the support of Gondwana Link Ltd, these groups are:

• restoring ecological connectivity across south-western Australia, from the dry woodlands of the interior to the tall wet forests of the far south-west corner;
• protecting and restoring biodiverse bushland on an unprecedented scale; and 
• building a living link that reaches eastward across the continent.

http://www.gondwanalink.org/

Estonian Green Network

Estonian Green Network Map

Estonia must be credited as the first country to develop the ecological network concept and to elaborate the model into a comprehensive plan and implementation programme. Today, despite the disruptions caused by the revolutionary changes of the early 1990s, plans for implementing the network at county level throughout Estonia are now vitually complete.

The Estonian approach to ecological networks - the ‘network of ecologically compensating areas’ – has been noted in several studies as being among the pioneering national concepts in Europe. A new term  for ecological network – ‘the green network’ – has recently entered into use in Estonia. The concept of  ecological networks in Estonia is principally embedded in the spatial planning system. However, it is  implemented through other sectors such as nature conservation, forestry, water management and  others. At county level, the green network is one sub-theme of county thematic planning. By the end  of 2007 each of the 15 counties of Estonia had to have prepared a map of ecological networks on a scale of 1: 50 000. 

Florida Wildlife Corridor

http://www.floridawildlifecorridor.com/

Development of the National Ecological Network in the Republic of Macedonia (MAK-NEN)

MAK-NEN Map

The development of the national ecological network in the Republic of Macedonia, as part of the Pan-European Ecological Network (PEEN) is an obligation of the Republic of Macedonia as one of the signatory countries of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS, 1996). The goal of this Strategy and PEEN, as a basic tool for implementation of the strategy, is to enable efficient implementation of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity at European level, namely provision of favourable conservation status of ecosystems, habitats, species and landscapes of European importance.

http://www.ecnc.org/uploads/documents/mak-nen-background-leaflet.pdf

Spatial Modelling of Regional Ecological Networks: Contributions and Proposals for the North of Portugal

Ecological Network with the Human Pressure in North of Portugal

The Human development depends on global sustainable management and conservation of Earth's ecosystems. Ecosystems are complex open systems that include biological diversity in natural conditions, ecological processes and human. The industrialization, urban development, intensification of agriculture, transport, development of infrastructure led to fragmentation of natural areas that influence the life processes of ecosystems and a significant loss of biodiversity.

The ecological networks how includes, connects and relates physically and ecologically a number of areas ecosystems and even with elements and human heritage of recognized value. Networks allow transfers of mass and energy in this sense support the dynamic populations and allow migration and propagation of species. In this sense, it is important to realize the importance of the size and functioning of ecological networks on a regional scale and its relation to the strategic planning by identifying spaces that ensure interconnectivity of existing networks, and that may pose ecological corridors.

In pursuit of these objectives, we proceeded to develop a practical exercise based on a data platform of spatial data, to the proposal of an ecological network for the northern region of Portugal. While we considered the human pressure on a regional scale and potential conflict with respect to the proposal and the interest of continuity of ecological network.

The exercises and the results indicate specialization and decrease the multifunctionality of the territory and the difficulty of balancing the density of elements and human activity with environmental conservation.

This dissertation consists of the presentation of a methodology for the construction of an ecological network on a regional scale, which contributes to the protection, conservation and sustainable use of nature and biodiversity.

Mário Martins 

The Great European Mountain Corridor

The Great European Mountain Corridor aims to create a vast unbroken ecological corridor connecting Portugal, the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees and the Massif Central to the Alps, and possibly eventually, the Balkans, along which natural ecological processes are allowed to flow creating a landscape rich in biodiversity for the benefit of nature and humanity.

The initiative for this comes from the great corridor Territories Foundation and Landscapes Caixa Catalunya in 2005 she completed a comprehensive study, with support from French and Spanish organizations. Currently, the project is supported by Resolution No. 4061 IUCN "The great ecological connector: Cantabrian Mountains - Pyrenees - Massif Central - Western Alps", adopted by the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in 2008, and by the statement "Planes de son" end of the International Congress on ecological corridors mountain, with the support of the Council of Europe, and Eurosite Europarc and World Commission on Protected IUCN (thematic mountain) areas. The project would also create synergies with other European initiatives such as the Green Belt in Eastern Europe, which reaches the extreme south of the Carpathians.

http://www.mountaincorridor.eu/