Geconservation in protected areas: why it matters

John Gordon

IUCN WCPA Geoheritage Specialist Group

Scottish Geodiversity Forum

‘Protected Areas – Implications of the Global Agenda’ ConferenceDynamic Earth, Edinburgh, 9 February, 2015

Definitions and context: IUCN and geoconservation

Relevance of geodiversity and geoheritage values

Role of the IUCN Management Categories for geoconservation

Geoconservation principles support PA management

Integrating geodiversity & biodiversity in PA management supports nature conservation goals

OUTLINE

DEFINITIONS

Geodiversity

The variety of rocks, minerals, fossils, landforms, sediments and soils, together with the natural processes that form and alter them.

Geoheritage

Those elements of the Earth's geodiversity that are considered to have significant value.

Geoconservation

The process and activities of conservation of geodiversity & geoheritage through:

protected areas (PAs);

wider application of geoconservation principles.

2007 Protected Areas Summit, Almeria: PAs should address need for protection of geological & soil diversity.

Revision of protected areas definition 2008 – geodiversity is an integral part of nature.

Resolutions 4.040 (2008), 5.048 (2012):

- recognise wider values of geodiversity - economic, social and environmental relevance;

- geoheritage is an integral part of natural heritage;

- call on WCPA to promote and support proper management of geoheritage in protected areas (5.048) .

IUCN AND GEOCONSERVATION

Formally established 2014;

Provide advice to IUCN on geodiversity & geoconservation issues;

Chapter on ‘Geoconservation’ in IUCN's Protected Area Governance and Management e-book;

Develop Best Practice Guideline on ‘Geoconservation’;

Review coverage of geoheritage in World Heritage Sites List;

Develop better understanding of the links between geodiversity and biodiversity to enable more integrated approaches in protected area management.

Further details:

https://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/gpap_home/gpap_biodiversity/gpap_wcpabiodiv/gpap_geoheritage/

IUCN WCPA - Geoheritage Specialist Group (GSG)

GEOCONSERVATION IN A CHANGING WORLD

Biodiversity loss – CBD Aichi targets

Climate change adaptation

Ecosystem approach

Natural capital & ecosystem services

Marine conservation

People and nature

Geodiversity is relevant to wider conservation drivers:

BUT – geodiversity and geoheritage are still poorly recognised and integrated at a policy level and in PA management.

However, momentum growing to raise awareness & promote the:

values and wider relevance of geoheritage and the need for its protection;

role of PAs in the conservation of geoheritage, and the application of geoconservation principles in the wider management of PAs;

benefits of more integrated nature conservation planning & PA management.

Exemplified in:

IUCN GSG activities

Global Geoparks Network

Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter

RELEVANCE OF GEODIVERSITY & GEOHERITAGE VALUES

Falls of Clyde

Photo © Roger Crofts

1. ‘Intrinsic’ value

2. Scientific & educational values

3. Cultural & aesthetic values

4. Abiotic component of ecosystems

5. Provision of other ecosystem services

How well do PAs in Scotland recognise and represent these wider values?

© P&A Macdonald/SNH

© Nigel Trewin

GEOHERITAGE AND THE IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORIES

Geoheritage can be part of protected area rationales and management objectives for ALL of the 6 IUCN Categories, not just Category III.

Ia. Strict Nature Reserve: e.g. Surtsey, Iceland

Ib. Wilderness Area: e.g. Greenland Ice Sheet

II. National Park: e.g. Los Glaciares National Park and WHS, Argentina

III. Natural Monument or Feature: e.g. Devil’s Tower National Monument, USA

IV. Habitat/Species Management Area: e.g. Galapágos National Park and WHS, Ecuador

V. Protected landscape/seascape: e.g. Lyngsalpan landscape protected area, Norway

VI. Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources: e.g. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and WHS, Australia

.

GEOCONSERVATION PRINCIPLES SUPPORT PA MANAGEMENT

1: MANAGE NATURAL SYSTEMS NATURALLY

‘Working with nature’ – ‘make space’ for nature and natural processes.

2: MANAGE NATURAL SYSTEMS IN A SPATIALLY INTEGRATED MANNER

Recognise landscape-scale connectivity at catchment, coastal zone or ecosystem scales.

Geomorphological changes will have impacts elsewhere.

3: RECOGNISE THE INEVITABILITY OF NATURAL CHANGE

Protected area design should not be static.

Consider ‘conserving the stage’ approach – not ‘static’ biotic communities.

4: CONSIDER EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE & GEOMORPHOLOGICAL RESPONSES ON CONDITION OF HABITATS & SPECIES

Increased rates, occurrence, intensity & seasonality of flooding, slope failure, erosion, sediment supply & transfer, channel mobility and coastal change.

Changes in distributions of landforms.

© L Gill/SNH

GEOCONSERVATION PRINCIPLES SUPPORT PA MANAGEMENT

5: SENSITIVITY OF NATURAL SYSTEMS SHOULD BE RECOGNISED

Manage natural systems within limits of their capacity to absorb change.

If limiting thresholds crossed, original features & processes may be lost.

6: MANAGEMENT OF ACTIVE SYSTEMS SHOULD BE BASED ON UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL PROCESSES

Understanding present processes.

Learning from the past to inform restoration and adaptive management – not to provide static baselines, but to help understand past responses, ranges of natural variability and future trajectories of change.

7: MAKE PROVISION FOR MANAGING VISITORS AT SENSITIVE SITES

Evaluate PAs for appropriate multiple uses including science, education & tourism.

Interpretation and education is a key pillar of geoconservation: if people have a deeper awareness of geoheritage, they are more likely to value it and help to protect and manage it.

© John Gordon

8. INTEGRATING GEODIVERSITY IN PA MANAGEMENT SUPPORTS BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

© SNH

Geodiversity + climate form ‘nature’s stage’:

Habitat creation & diversity – substrate, landform mosaics, soil formation.

Habitat maintenance – geomorphological processes (e.g. water flow regimes, sediment supply, erosion and deposition); biogeochemical and water cycling.

Landscape heterogeneity – geomorphological processes & disturbance regimes.

Geodiversity and geosites support:

Diversity of macro/micro habitats that provide opportunities for biodiversity and enhance species richness;

Distinctive habitats that support rare/unique biota adapted to particular abiotic conditions.

Areas of high geodiversity support high biodiversity:

From global to local scales;

In both terrestrial and marine environments.

Photo © Roger Crofts

Photo © John Gordon

SOME IMPLICATIONS & APPLICATIONS

© SNH

Improving PA design: measures of geodiversity appear to be useful indicators for the distribution of biodiversity.

Geodiversity confers resilience to climate change and enables species to adapt or relocate through availability of suitable environmental mosaics, corridors and elevational opportunities – macro & micro refugia.

Geomorphological sensitivity to climate change will impact biodiversity in non-linear ways.

Informing restoration and management interventions: opportunity mapping; learning from the past (100s – 1000s) of years.

Conserving the stage:

Species may change, but conserving geodiversity enhances opportunities for biodiversity under both current and future climates.

Not a static approach - need to maintain geo processes.

CONCLUSIONS

Geodiversity & geoheritage merit conservation for a range of values.

All IUCN categories of PA have a role to play in the conservation of these values.

Role of PAs in geoconservation:

Geodiversity & geoheritage values can contribute to a wider appreciation of protected areas and the engagement of people with nature.

In the face of human pressures and climate change, geodiverse PAs & geoconservation-informed management strategies should be part of the solution to deliver biodiversity targets and benefits for people.

This requires better integration of geodiversity and geoheritage in the selection, management and monitoring of PAs as part of an ecosystem approach that recognises the value of both abiotic and biotic processes in nature conservation.

Wider contribution of geoconservation to reaching conservation goals:

Acknowledgement

This presentation is a contribution to the work of the

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas: Geoheritage Specialist Group

http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/gpap_home/gpap_wcpa/