Political framings of biological diversity: The case of the Norwegian Nature Index

In September 2010, a Nature Index giving information on status and trends in biodiversity in nine larger ecosystems in Norway was presented. In the article, the authors ask how Norwegian youth politicians framed, i.e. articulated, the topic of biodiversity after being introduced to this new information. To answer this question, focus group interviews were conducted with leading youth politicians in the six largest political parties in Norway. A first finding was that knowledge of and interest in biodiversity at the outset was relatively low. In general, the interviews were structured along three dimensions. First, there was a general discussion about nature and biodiversity. Second, biodiversity was discussed in a political context in terms of state versus market, and local versus national and international politics. Finally, the role of science was discussed. In general terms, the study found that biodiversity as an issue is only to a limited extent able to influence established political opinions (no resonance), but is itself adapted to fit established ideologies (master frames).     

The Norwegian Nature Index: Expert evaluations in precautionary approaches to biodiversity policy

The Norwegian Nature Index is a comprehensive effort to ‘make nature visible’ in communications between policymakers and the general public. To ensure that appropriate ‘early warnings’ for biodiversity loss are made available as a basis for precautionary approaches to sustainability and biodiversity policy, different knowledge sources need to be applied, such as the Red List for threatened species and the Nature Index, which gives a comprehensive overview of biodiversity. The article shows how the Nature Index can be supplemented with ‘early warnings’ of biodiversity from involved scientific experts, who were asked to assess the situation in 2020 for the indicators, in view of all available knowledge. They also assessed the uncertainty in their forecasts and their considerations of the need for and difficulty of implementing management measures to maintain biodiversity at the current level. Particularly for the major ecosystems considered to have a poor state, namely forests and open lowlands, experts indicated that urgent action was needed to improve the state of many indicators and that such management action would be possible. The findings indicate potential for eliciting experts' formal and informal knowledge in assessing the need and potential approaches to biodiversity policy.     

Public opinions on biological diversity in Norway: Politics,science, or culture?

Loss of biological diversity is among the most pressing environmental problems facing modern societies. Whereas today much is known about peoples' opinions on climate change, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding how people asses the issue of biological diversity. The article represents a step towards a better understanding of public opinions on the issue of biodiversity, and hence also of the prerequisites and possibilities for a more or less vigorous or legitimate policy on this issue. The analyses show that social background matters for concern about biodiversity, but only to a certain extent: women are less negative towards biodiversity protection than men, the older segments of the population, at least in Norway, are less concerned with biodiversity, and education has only a marginal effect. Hence, to a large extent, political attitudes matter and indicate that concern for biodiversity seems to work by various types of available heuristics whereby a given case is linked to political understandings of other and similar and/or familiar issues. The inclusion of other political variables (local decision-making) and what the authors label ‘cultural variables’ (e.g. view of nature and trust in science) seem also to matter decisively for attitudes towards biodiversity.     

Knowledge gathering and communication on biodiversity: Developing the Norwegian Nature Index

The authors reflect on knowledge-generating and communication processes involved in the recently developed Norwegian Nature Index, particularly the communication process among experts involved in providing the required biodiversity knowledge. Eliciting a comprehensive overview of biodiversity is a complex process involving choices of approaches and methods in order to reach a common understanding of uncertainties and values as a basis for quantification. Part of the complexity is the establishment of dialogue between experts from research institutions with different research traditions and approaches. The authors discuss how the index was developed through communication processes, challenging involved experts to provide not only biodiversity data for the current situation, but also forecasts of future trends, assessments of uncertainty, and evaluations of the urgency of biodiversity loss and possibility of implementing policy and management measures. The Nature Index framework has potential for informing the biodiversity policy debate by involving stakeholders beyond the science-policy community and enhancing deliberations about biodiversity policy in a wider context of sustainable development. As a policy tool, the Nature Index may develop through a process of practical application, which in turn may have an impact on the selection of narratives, definition of management targets, and technical concepts such as reference states.     

Colour infrared aerial photography as a tool for vegetation mapping and change detection in environmental studies of Nordic ecosystems: A review

The aim of the paper is to sum up knowledge of colour infrared (CIR) aerial photography as a tool for vegetation data for mapping and monitoring in environmental and biodiversity surveys and change detection surveillance. It compiles thirty years of research of the main ecosystems in Swedish vegetation, where the overall goal was to develop methods for mapping and monitoring vegetation by use of CIR aerial photographs, assess the accuracy compared to field-based mapping and to implement them as a tool in nature conservation and environmental planning. The methods include development of a classification system, identification and analysis of indicators, development of interpretation techniques, and evaluation compared to the data collected in the field. The CIR observable criteria are colour, texture, pattern, size, form, and density, based on spectral reflectance, physiognomy, life forms, ecological conditions, moisture and nutrition, vegetation period and phenology, topography, site conditions, and management methods. The methods have been used to produce vegetation maps of mountains, boreal forests, and mires in northern and central Sweden, in national inventories of wetlands, ancient meadows and pastures, key biotopes in forests and for monitoring agricultural landscapes.     

当代生物多样性剧减与古-中生代之交生物绝灭的对比

18世纪以来人类活动对环境造成了强烈破坏,给生物多样性带来了巨大损失.为了了解生物多样性的变化趋势,利用"绝灭物种统计法"、"种-区曲线法"和化石记录对400年以来的生物多样性和古-中生代之交的生物绝灭进行了分析.当代生物多样性剧减表现为物种的快速绝灭(从8×104种/Ma增大到1.2×106种/Ma),而属的绝灭几乎为0;古-中生代之交生物绝灭的初始阶段也表现为物种的快速绝灭(从40种/Ma增大到150种/Ma),并且这个阶段的属的绝灭速率远低于绝灭高峰阶段的相应值(即66属/Ma远小于465属/Ma),可见当代生物多样性剧减相当于二叠-三叠系之交生物绝灭的初始阶段.     

A review of the impacts of pumped hydro energy storage construction on subalpine and alpine biodiversity: lessons for the Snowy Mountains pumped hydro expansion project

ABSTRACT

The Australian government’s proposal to expand the Snowy Hydro Scheme to include a second pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) system, and support for feasibility studies for PHES in Tasmania, offer an opportunity to incorporate more intermittent renewable energy generation into the National Energy Market. However, the infrastructure construction required for PHES expansion may have negative effects for biodiversity in subalpine and alpine areas. To identify the potential effects of PHES on biodiversity in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP), this systematic literature review assesses: (i) the key environmental disturbances likely to arise from PHES construction; and (ii) the specific impacts of these construction processes on biodiversity in subalpine and alpine environments. We find that the effects of PHES construction-related disturbances are likely to be negative for subalpine and alpine biodiversity, with impacts including the proliferation of exotic flora, habitat loss resulting from vegetation clearing, altered landscape hydrology and reduced water quality. Management recommendations to limit these impacts are provided and further research is recommended to assess: (i) the effects of PHES on fish populations in alpine reservoirs; (ii) the utility of spoil as artificial habitat for endemic fauna; and (iii) the chemical and physical impacts of spoil dumping in alpine reservoirs.     

Measuring the effect of an ongoing urbanization process on biodiversity conservation suitability index: integrating scenario-based urban growth modelling with Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS)

The present study adopts an integrative modelling methodology, which combines the strengths of the SLEUTH model and the Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS) method. By developing a scenario-based geographic information system simulation environment for Hashtpar City, Iran, the manageability of the landscape under each urban growth scenario is analysed. In addition, the CAPS approach was used for biodiversity conservation suitability mapping. The SLEUTH model was implemented to generate predictive urban layers of the years 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 for each scenario (dynamic factors for conservation suitability mapping). Accordingly, conservation suitability surface of the area is updated for each time point and under each urban development storyline. Two-way analysis of variance and Duncan’s new multiple range tests were employed to compare the functionality of the three scenarios. Based on results, the managed urban growth scenario depicted better results for manageability of the landscape and less negative impact on conservation suitability values.     

基于遥感和InVEST模型的白龙江流域景观生物多样性时空格局研究

以甘肃白龙江流域为例,结合遥感、GIS技术和InVEST模型,从景观地理学角度选取区域生境质量、植物净初级生产力和景观状态指数为评价指标,构建区域景观尺度上生物多样性空间格局综合评估方法,并在栅格像元尺度上开展白龙江流域景观生物多样性时空变化特征分析。结果表明：白龙江流域景观生物多样性空间格局差异显著,其生物多样性高值区主要集中在自然保护区和林业管护区,低值区主要分布在舟曲-武都-文县的白龙江两岸及其以北区域、宕昌县岷江沿岸、高寒稀疏植被区和高山积雪-裸岩区。1990~2010年,流域景观生物多样性较为丰富,整体呈现不断增长的趋势,个别局部区域减弱,其增长区主要体现在生态工程实施区和林业管护区,减少区多分布在人类活动频繁的城乡农耕区和灾害多发区。     

Conserving Biodiversity in Farm Animals: Do Farmer and Public Biodiversity Knowledge and Awareness Matter?

Increases in biodiversity losses are a growing concern globally. In farm animals, related concerns about losses in genetic diversity have potentially increased with the emergence of breeding technologies that allow for faster genetic change in herds. Farmer and public acceptance of specific breeding practices can be influenced by a number of factors, including concerns about biodiversity and knowledge of biodiversity. The link between these factors and acceptance of new genetic technologies, if it exists, may help explain concerns about genetic technologies. This article examines the effect of attitudes and knowledge about biodiversity on the acceptance of genomic selection in livestock production using farmer and public survey data from Canada. Our results suggest that the link between biodiversity concerns and the acceptance of genomic selection is more robust for the public than for farmers. We also find that biodiversity knowledge and attitudes have opposite effects on acceptance of genomic selection.