Biodiversity beyond protected areas
Recent assessments of the threats to biodiversity indicate that both climate change and human impact will put increasing pressure upon existing protected areas and that much biodiversity conservation will need to take place beyond these reserves. Even though regions beyond the reserves account for 88% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, there is currently little scientific research into the processes and mechanisms that could enable these areas to support biodiverse ecosystems into the next century.
Measuring and Monitoring Biodiversity in the Oil Palm Landscape
The expansion and intensification of agriculture is a major current threat to global biodiversity. Agricultural landscapes are now one of the dominant ecosystems on earth, and it is therefore vital that we understand how to manage them so as to conserve both biodiversity itself and the vital ecosystem services that are sustained by biodiversity.
Riparian Forest Strips as a Conservation Strategy
Within oil palm plantations across Malaysia, riverine or riparian forest is protected by law. Riparian forest strips may act as movement corridors for large animals, as well as providing valuable habitat for many smaller mammals and insects. This research will extend our knowledge of the ecological characteristics of these riparian forest reserves, and their potential contribution to tropical forest conservation, remains limited.
The Impact of Biofuel Expansion on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Global biofuel production has increased five-fold in the past decade and is predicted to further double by 2020 with most of this expansion expected to take place in developing nations.
Permanent Latin American Food Systems
Although a broad consensus exists on both the positive role that agriculture could play in poverty reduction and the need to invest in this key economic sector, disagreements remain on the type of agriculture that should be embraced to increase food production without harming the environment, reduce poverty in rural areas, and deliver human, social and economic development benefits.
The Oxford Biodiversity Institute has partnered with the Alliance for Religion and Conservation (ARC) and the World Database on Sacred Natural Sites (SANASI) to identify and map Religious Forest Sites (RFS) around the world.
Perceptions and Values of Biodiversity
The world’s population is increasingly disconnected from nature. This is thought to lead to a cycle of disaffection whereby people become progressively less aware of the importance of natural ecosystems, the ecological processes that they perform and apathetic about their value.
Oxford Biodiversity MapThis venture is a combination of the projects that aim to provide an interactive communication framework for recording and disseminating biodiversity and ecological information across Oxford and the surrounding area.