EARTHTRENDS DATA TABLES TECHNICAL NOTES: Biodiversity 2005 For more information, please consult http://earthtrends.wri.org VARIABLE DEFINITIONS AND METHODOLOGY A Protected Area is defined by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as “an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means." Since September 2002 the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) consortium has been working to produce an improved and updated database, available to the public and maintained by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). The WDPA contains summary information for over 100,000 sites, including the legal designation, name, IUCN Management Category, size in hectares, location (latitude and longitude), and year of establishment. WRI calculated protected area data using the 2004 WDPA database. IUCN categorizes protected areas by management objective and has identified six distinct categories of protected areas. WRI has calculated Total Area in thousand hectares and Percent of Land Protected for categories I-V. Category Ia. Strict nature reserve: a protected area managed mainly for scientific research and monitoring; an area of land and/or sea possessing some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features, and/or species. Category Ib. Wilderness area: a protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection; a large area of unmodified or slightly modified land and/or sea retaining its natural character and influence, without permanent or significant habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural condition. Category II. National park: a protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation; a natural area of land and/or sea designated to (a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations; (b) exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes of designation of the area; or (c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational, and visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible. Category III. Natural monument: a protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features; an area containing one or more specific natural or natural/cultural features that is of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. Category IV. Habitat/species management area: a protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention; an area of land and/or sea subject to active intervention for management purposes so as to ensure the maintenance of habitats and/or to meet the requirements of specific species. Category V. Protected landscape/seascape: a protected area managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation; an area of land, with coast and sea as appropriate, where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant aesthetic, ecological, and/or cultural value, and often with high biological diversity. Category VI. Managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems. These areas contain predominantly unmodified natural systems, managed to ensure long-term protection and maintenance of biological diversity, while also providing a sustainable flow of natural products and services to meet community needs. IUCN defines a Marine Protected Area (MPA) as: "any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora and fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment." These MPAs include areas that are fully marine or littoral. "Littoral" is defined as any site which is known to incorporate at least some intertidal area. Many MPAs have large terrestrial areas. The extent of the marine portion of most protected areas is rarely documented. The degree of protection varies from one country to another, and may bear little relationship to the legal status of any site. The total number of marine areas in IUCN categories I-VI is shown in this table. Wetlands of International Importance, or Ramsar sites, are defined under the Wetlands Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. In order to qualify as a Ramsar site, an area must have "international significance in terms of ecology, botany, zoology, limnology or hydrology.” The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. As of January 2005 there were 1420 Ramsar sites in 146 countries with an overall extent of 123,914,362 hectares. Biosphere Reserves are terrestrial and coastal environments recognized under United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO's) Man and the Biosphere Programme. Selected for their value to conservation, they are intended to foster the scientific knowledge and skills necessary for improving the balance between people and nature, and for promoting sustainable development. Ideally, biosphere reserves perform three main roles: (a) conservation in situ of natural and semi-natural ecosystems and landscapes; (b) the establishment of demonstration areas for ecologically and socio-culturally sustainable resource use; and (c) the provision of logistic support for research, monitoring, education, training, and information exchange. Biosphere reserves normally consist of three elements: a minimally disturbed core area for conservation and research; a buffer zone where traditional land uses, research, and ecosystem rehabilitation may be permitted; and a transition area. Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign jurisdiction of the state where they are located. As of November 2004 there were 459 biosphere reserves in 97 countries. The Total Number of Known Species refers to the total number of a particular type of species in a given country. Data on known mammals exclude marine mammals. Data on known birds include only birds that breed in that country, not those that migrate or winter there. The number of known plants includes higher plants only: ferns and fern allies, conifers and cycads, and flowering plants. The number of known species is collected by WCMC from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to, national reports from the Convention on Biodiversity, other national documents, independent studies, and other texts. Data are updated on a continual basis as they become available; however, updates vary widely by country. While some countries (WCMC estimates about 12) have data that were updated in the last six months, other species estimates have not changed since the data were first collected in 1992. The Number of Threatened Species listed for all countries includes all species that are “critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable” as defined by the IUCN, but excludes introduced species, species whose status is insufficiently known (categorized by IUCN as “data deficient”), those known to be extinct, and those for which status has not been assessed (categorized by IUCN as “not evaluated”). Species are classified as vulnerable or endangered if they face a risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future (critically endangered), in the near-term (endangered), or in the medium-term (vulnerable). Threat categories are assigned based on total population size, distribution, and rates of decline. Net Legal Trade in Selected Wildlife Products is the balance of imports minus exports of live primates, live parrots, and animal skins reported by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Negative values represent net exports. Live primates includes all species of monkeys, apes, and prosimians listed under CITES that were traded live in 2002. Live parrots includes individuals from the Psittaciformes species listed under CITES that were traded live in 2002. Animal skins includes whole skins of all crocodile, cat, lizard, and snake species that were traded in 2002. Data are obtained from trade records submitted by parties to the CITES convention and compiled by the secretariat in the CITES Trade Database. International trade in wildlife and wildlife products, worth billions of dollars annually, causes serious declines in the numbers of many species of animals and plants. In response, CITES entered into force in 1975 with the purpose of protecting wildlife against overexploitation and preventing international trade from threatening species with extinction. Species are listed in appendices to CITES according to their degree of rarity and the threat posed by trade. International trade in either the listed species themselves or in products derived from the species requires permits or certificates for export, import, and re-export. FREQUENCY OF UPDATE BY DATA PROVIDERS Protected Areas Data are updated annually by the WDPA. Wetlands of International Importance and Biosphere Reserves information is updated several times a year as new sites are added. Data for Known Species are updated when new information is provided to WCMC (see above). Threatened Species data are updated by IUCN on a continual basis. Species trade data are published in annual reports; the data presented here were published in 2004. DATA RELIABILITY AND CAUTIONARY NOTES Protected Areas: Due to variations in consistency and methodology of collection, data on protected areas are highly variable among countries. Some countries update their information with greater regularity or have more accurate data on extent of coverage. Many countries have an underreported number and/or extent of protected areas within their borders. Please see http://parksdata.conserveonline.org for the latest revision. Biosphere Reserves and Wetlands of International Importance: Reserves can be conterminous or overlapping. Regional wetland totals may include some double counting of sites that are contained in more than one country. A full listing of these sites is available at http://www.unesco.org/mab/BR-WH.htm and at http://www.unesco.org/mab/BR-Ramsar.htm. Number of Known Species: Values are preliminary estimates based on a compilation of available data from a large variety of sources. They are not based on species checklists. Data have been collected over the last decade without a consistent approach to taxonomy. This can result in significant variations in data quality among countries. Additionally, while the number of species in each country does change, not all countries have been updated; some data may not reflect recent trends. At best, only about 2% of the total species of the world are represented in the UNEP-WCMC Species Database. For this reason, it is important to recognize that numbers of known species in this table are vast underestimates of the actual species worldwide. Data for plant species are less reliable and consistent than data for birds and mammals. Global estimates were not obtained from UNEP-WCMC; see below for citations. Number of Species Threatened: The total number of threatened species in species groups worldwide are frequently underestimated. For all species groups, there are many species that have yet to be described and whose status is yet unknown. In addition, while threat assessments have been conducted for all described species of mammals and birds, only a small portion of described plant species have been assessed. Net Legal Trade in Selected Wildlife Products: Data on net exports and net imports as reported by CITES correspond to legal international trade and are based on permits issued, not actual items traded. Figures may be overestimates if not all permits are used that year. Some permits issued in one year are used at a later date; therefore, numbers of exports and imports may not match exactly for any given year. Species traded within national borders and illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products are not reflected in these figures. CITES trade data also do not reflect legal trade between non-CITES members. In addition, data on mortality of individuals during capture or collection, transit, or quarantine are also not reflected in these numbers. SOURCES Protected Areas (IUCN management categories, marine protected areas): United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). CD-ROM. Cambridge, U.K. Available at http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/wdbpa/download/wdpa2004/index.html. Ramsar Sites (Wetlands of International Importance): Ramsar Convention Bureau, Gland, Switzerland. Available at http://ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf. Biosphere Reserves: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Man and the Biosphere Programme, UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve Directory, available at http://www.unesco.org/mab/wnbr.htm. Known Species of Mammals, Plants, and Breeding Birds: United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. Species Data (unpublished, September 2004). Cambridge, England. UNEP-WCMC Web site available at http://www.unep-wcmc.org. Endangered Species of Mammals, Plants and Birds: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). 2003. 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN: Gland, Switzerland. Available at http://www.redlist.org/info/tables/table5.html. International Legal Net Trade Reported by CITES: United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). 2004. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) annual report data, World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) CITES Trade Database. Cambridge, U.K. Available at http://www.cites.org.