Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative

Greater Mekong Subregion

Dawood Ghaznavi, Chief Operating Officer GMS Environment Operations Center 23rd Floor, The Offices at Central World 999/9 Rama 1 Road, Pathumwan Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel +66 2 207 4444 Fax +66 2 207 4400 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.gms-eoc.org

International Symposium Proceedings 27-28 April 2006, Bangkok Core Environment Program

Urooj Malik, Director Javed Hussain Mir, Senior Natural Resources Specialist Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Division Southeast Asia Department Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel +63 2 632 6234 Fax +63 2 636 2231

Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative

Contact Information

Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative International Symposium Proceedings 27-28 April 2006, Bangkok

Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program

Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative International Symposium Proceedings 27-28 April 2006, Bangkok

Organized by the Greater Mekong Subregion Environment Operations Center

Edited by Jeremy Carew-Reid, Rachel Salazar, and Sylvia Spring

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Copyright © 2007 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved This publication was prepared by staff and consultants of Asian Development Bank. The analyses and assessments contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank, or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. The Asian Development Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequences of their use. Use of the term “country” does not imply any judgment by the authors or the Asian Development Bank as to the legal or other status of any territorial entity. Printing by Clung Wicha Press Co., Ltd., Thailand April 2007 - 2,000

Print on paper made from fast-growing plantation trees using elemental chlorine-free bleaching processes.

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BCI International Symposium Proceedings

Contents

Foreword

vii

Acronyms & Abbreviations

ix

Symposium Agenda

1

1.

Welcome Remarks Monthip Sritana Tabucanon

5

2.

Opening Remarks Arjun Thapan

7

3.

Conservation of Biodiversity in the GMS - Overview Jeremy Carew-Reid

8

Plenary Session 4.

Landscape Mosaics: Integrating Forest Management and Environmental Services in Tropical Landscapes Markku Kanninen

25

5.

Managing the Environment for Development and to Sustain Pro-Poor Growth Stephen Bass and Paul Steele

26

6.

Potential Impacts of Climate Change and Regional Air Pollution on Terrestrial Biodiversity and Landscape Use Frank Murray

36

7.

Upstream, Downstream: How New York City Saves Millions of Dollars by Paying Upstream Communities to Protect the Natural Water Filtration Qualities of the Catskill/Delaware Watershed Mark Kasman

42

PANEL 1: Ecosystems Connectivity and Biodiversity 8.

Current Status of Biodiversity in the GMS Countries, with a Particular Focus on the Pilot Sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative Andrew (Jack) Tordoff

49

9.

Biodiversity Loss in Xishuangbanna with the Changes of Land Use and Land Cover over 27 Years Zhu H., Li H.M., Ma Y.X.

69

10. The Great Green Triangle: An Integrated Approach Towards Regional Planning and Biodiversity Conservation in the PRC/Lao PDR/Viet Nam Border Region David Wescott and Jin Chen

72

11. Watershed Management in the Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween Rivers Marc Goichot

77

12. Wetland Connectivity and Fish Migration in the Lower Mekong Basin Poulsen A.F., Ouch Poeu, Sintavong Viravong, Ubolratana Suntornratana, Nguyen Thanh Tung and Barlow, C.

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Contents

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Contents (continued)

13. Analyzing the Impacts of the GMS Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative: A Toolkit of Policy Relevant Indicators and Models Ben ten Brink, Tonnie Tekelenburg, Rob Alkemade, Mireille de Heer, Fleur Smout, Michel Bakkenes, Jan Clement, Mark van Oorschot, Jan Janse

98

14. Transport Infrastructure and Wildlife Trade Conduits in the GMS: Regulating Illegal and Unsustainable Wildlife Trade Chris R. Shepherd, James Compton and Sulma Warne

107

15. Northern Plains Landscape Conservation - Cambodia Tom Clements

113

16. Photo-Monitoring of Changes in Biodiversity in Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China Jim R. Lassoie, Robert K. Moseley

121

PANEL 2: Local Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction in Biodiversity Corridors 17. Questioning Traditional Livelihood Models: Lessons Learned from Cardamom Mountains Pilot Project (CADP) Cambodia Suwanna Gauntlett

137

18. A Biofuels-based Livelihoods Strategy: Energy Trees for Electricity, Transport, and Climate Change. Field Experiences from Asia and Africa Emmanuel D’Silva

146

19. Raising Rural Incomes while Conserving the Environment, Non-Timber Forest Products, Specialty Agriculture Products, and Compatible Enterprise Development in Cambodia and Viet Nam Maureen DeCoursey

149

20. Linking Communities to Employment Opportunities and Markets: Policy and Institutional Design Aspects Ewald Rametsteiner

156

21. Non-Timber Forest Products and Rural Livelihoods in Lao PDR: Reducing Poverty through Forest Development and Conservation Interventions Andrew W. Ingles, Sounthone Kethphanh, and Andy S. Inglis

166

PANEL 3: Climate Change and Biodiversity Corridors 22. Interrelationship between Climate Change, Urban Air Quality and Impacts Inside and Outside Cities: Rationale for Addressing Air Pollution and GHG Emissions Cornie Huizenga and May Ajero

179

23. Air Pollution and Ecosystem: Assessment of Effects of Ground Level Ozone on Agricultural Crops in Asia 187 Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Dinh Thi Hai Van, and Le Hoang Nghiem 24. Climate Change and Consequent Impacts in the Mekong River Basin Hans Guttman

190

25. Addressing Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Climate Change: An Integrated Modeling System Satya Priya, Murthy Bachu, Annes Hassankunju, and Sridhar Gummadi

198

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Contents (continued)

PANEL 4: Sustainable Financing and Biodiversity Corridors 26. Nature-based Tourism as a Funding Mechanism for Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation: Plans and Opportunities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Paul Rogers

209

27. Payment for Environmental Services - Lessons Learned from a Diagnostic Study in the People’s Republic of China Zuo Ting, Jin Leshan, Li Xiaoyun

223

28. Payments for Environmental Services: a Pathway out of Poverty? Katherine Warner

227

29. Impact Monitoring for Watershed Management Christoph Feldkötter

231

APPENDIX 1: Participants List

239

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Contents

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Foreword

The best way to address the growing transboundary aspects of natural resource management and biodiversity conservation challenges in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will be through intensive and well-focused collaboration involving the governments of the region, organizations of civil society, and the private sector. In early 2006, the Asian Development Bank with support from the Governments of Netherlands and Sweden launched the GMS Core Environment Program (CEP) and its flagship component—the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI). The CEP-BCI is a 10-year program to be implemented in three phases through various collaborative arrangements with state and non-state implementing partners. Also early in 2006, the GMS Environment Operations Center (EOC) was established to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of the CEP-BCI and serve as the Secretariat to the Working Group on Environment (WGE). The WGE has been the focal point for environmental interventions under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. The launch of the CEP-BCI and the establishment of the EOC are important steps forward in evolving long-term institutional arrangements for subregional environmental management in the GMS. The long-term vision of the program is to establish subregional environmental protocols on environmental safeguards and codes of practice for development sectors, on environmental assessment and monitoring procedures, and on management of a subregional network of protected areas and biodiversity corridors linking them. The key concern in landscape approaches is the widespread fragmentation problem that needs to be addressed urgently in the GMS. The BCI focuses on establishing connectivity between fragmented protected areas using linear or stepping stone corridors and forest restoration in agreement with community needs for sound land management regimes. It also entails promoting increased participation of local communities in managing local natural resources and benefiting from these in a sustainable manner. Above all, the CEP-BCI program aims at finding ways and means to increase cash and non-cash benefits for poor households inhabiting remote and rural mountainous areas, which form the major backbone of the remaining rich biodiversity landscapes in the GMS. We hope that lessons learned and experience from implementing the CEP-BCI will move us steadily toward achieving our vision. The GMS countries have lent strong support in the formulation of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative as well as in its implementation arrangements. The first symposium of the BCI family has taken place—and these proceedings emanating from that Symposium is a benchmark of our thinking at the outset of the CEP. It is a rich source of information, viewpoints, and priorities for biodiversity conservation action in the GMS. This gathering and others like it will enable us to maintain close working linkages between the pilot site teams, the lead government agencies and the international community—and over time, to form a sharp and united front on the best way forward.

Urooj Malik Director Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Division Southeast Asia Department Asian Development Bank

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Foreword

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ADB

Asian Development Bank

AFLEG

Asian Forest Law Enforcement and Governance

AIT

Asian Institute of Technology

AQM

air quality management

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

BCI

Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative

BMPs

Best Manufacturing Practices

BINU

biodiversity indicators for national use

CADP

Community Agriculture Development Project

CAI-Asia

Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities

CALM

Conservation Areas through Landscape Management

CBD

Convention of Biological Diversity

CDM

Clean Development Mechanism

CERs

Certified Emissions Reduction units

CEPF

Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

CEP

Core Environment Program

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

CI

Conservation International

COP

Conference of Parties

DAP

diammonium phosphate

DFRC

Division of Forest Resource Conservation

EAPs

environmental action plans

EANET

Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia

EBA

Endemic Bird Area

EBF

Evergreen Broadleaf Forest

EFCF

Ecological Forest Compensation Fund

ENSO

El Niño-Southern Oscillation

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EOC

Environment Operations Center

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency

ETCG

Ecotourism Technical Cooperation Group

FAD

Filtration Avoidance Determination

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organisation

FFI

Fauna & Flora International

GEF

Global Environment Facility

GHGs

greenhouse gas

GLOBIO

Global Methodology for Mapping Human Impacts on the Biosphere

GMS

Greater Mekong Subregion

IAE

Institute of Agricultural Economics

IBAs

Important Bird Areas

ICRAF

International Center for Research in Agroforestry

ICRISAT

International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

IFC

International Finance Commission

IIED

International Institute for Environment and Development

IPTC

International Press Telecommunications Council

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IUCN

World Conservation Union

IWMI

International Water Management Institute

JANBO

Japan Association of New Business Incubation Organizations

KBAs

Key Biodiversity Areas

LDCs

least developed countries

LMS

Lower Mekong Migration System

LMP

Living Mekong Programme

LNTA

Lao National Tourism Administration

LULUCF

land use and land use change and forestry

MAF

Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry

MAFF

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

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MARD

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

MDG

Millennium Development Goals

MEA

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

METI

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

MNP

Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

MOA

Memorandum of agreement

MPDF

Mekong Private Sector Development Facility

MRB

Mekong River Basin

MRC

Mekong River Commission

MSA

mean species abundance

NAFRI

National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute

NBCA

National Biodiversity Conservation Area

NFPP

Natural Forest Protection Program

NGO

nongovernment organization

NGPES

National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy

NR

nature reserve

NTFP

non-timber forest product

NZAID

New Zealand’s International Aid & Development Agency

OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OTCs

open-top chambers

PAFO

Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Offices

PES

payment for environmental services

PLUP

participatory land use planning

PLG

Partnership for Local Governance

PRAs

Participatory Rural Appraisals

PRC

People’s Republic of China

PRS

Poverty Reduction Strategy

RCSP

Regional Cooperation Strategy and Program

RCEEE

Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Economics

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SDWA

Safe Drinking Water Act

SLCP

Sloping Land Conversion Program

SLURP

Semi-distributed Land Use-based Runoff Processes

SME

small and medium enterprise

SNV

Netherlands Development Organisation

SPM

suspended particulate matter

SRES

Special Report on Emission Scenarios

STEA

Science Technology and Environment Agency

SWEC

South West Elephant Corridor

SWTR

Surface Water Treatment Rule

TNC

The Nature Conservancy

UMS

Upper Mekong Migration System

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNEP

United Nations Environment Programme

UNWTO

United Nations World Tourism Organisation

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

USAID

United States Agency for International Development

WCS

Wildlife Conservation Society

WCMC

World Conservation Monitoring Centre

WFP

World Food Programme

WGE

Working Group on Environment

WHO

World Health Organisation

WMO

World Meteorological Organisation

WWF

World Wide Fund for Nature

XNR

Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve

YGRP

Yunnan Great Rivers Project

YGRPPT

Yunnan Great Rivers Project Planning Team

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Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) International Symposium 27-28 April 2006, Bangkok, Thailand The Science and Practice of Biodiversity Corridors Objectives: • Sharing of experience gained and lessons learned by implementers and practitioners of biodiversity corridors outside the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) with implementers of the Core Environment Program (CEP) • Review pilot site proposals of the GMS BCI in light of lessons learned and experience shared • If necessary and possible, make adjustments in the implementation framework of the GMS BCI based on recommendations of the symposium • Identify potential long-term monitoring outlook for the GMS BCI.

AGENDA Theme/Activity

Thursday, 27 April 2006

Presenter

08.30 – 08.40

Welcome Remarks

Monthip Sriratana Tabucanon, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)

08.40 – 08.50

Opening Remarks

Arjun Thapan, Deputy Director General, Mekong Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

08.50 – 09.00

Introduction of participants

Javed Hussain Mir, Senior Natural Resources Specialist, ADB

09.00 – 09.15

CEP-BCI: Challenges and Opportunities

Urooj Malik, Director, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Division (MKAE), ADB

09.15 – 09.30

Overview of Biodiversity Corridor Pilot Proposals under the GMS Core Environment Program

Hasan Moinuddin, BCI Unit Leader

09.30 – 09.45

Break Session I: Ecosystems Connectivity and Biodiversity Corridors

09.45 – 10.00

Landscape Mosaics: Integrating Forest Management and Environmental Services in Tropical Landscapes

Markku Kanninen, CIFOR

10.00 – 10.15

Plenary Discussion

Facilitator

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Agenda

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Theme/Activity


Presenter

Session II: Local Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction in Biodiversity Corridors 10.15 – 10.30

Managing the Environment for Development and to Sustain Pro-Poor Growth

Paul Steele, IPS

10.30 – 10.45

Plenary Discussion

Facilitator

Session III: Climate Change and Biodiversity Corridors 10.45 – 11.00

Potential Impacts of Climate Change and Regional Air Pollution on Biodiversity and Landscape Use

Frank Murray, Murdoch University

11.00 – 11.15

Plenary Discussion

Facilitator

Session IV: Sustainable Financing of Biodiversity Corridors 11.15 – 11.30

Upstream, Downstream: How New York City Saves Millions of Dollars by Paying Upstream Communities to Protect the Natural Water Filtration Qualities of the Catskill/ Delaware Watershed

Mark Kasman, US Environment Protection Agency

11.30 – 11.45

Plenary Discussion

Facilitator

11.45 – 12.00

Announcements: Panel Discussion Groups

Facilitator

12.00 – 13.45

Lunch

13.45 – 17.00 with Break 15.30 – 15.45

Session V: Panel Discussions Panel 1: Ecosystems Connectivity and Biodiversity

Discussion Leader: Markku Kanninen

The Terai Arc Landscape: A New Paradigm for Chandra Gurung, WWF Nepal Conservation in Nepal Biodiversity Loss in Xishuangbanna with the Changes of Land Use and Land Cover Over 30 Years

Zhu Hua, XTBG

The Great Green Triangle Project: An Integrated Approach Toward Regional Planning and Biodiversity Conservation in the PRC/Lao PDR/Viet Nam Border Region

Chen Jin, XTBG and David Westcott, CSIRO

Management of Watersheds of Large Rivers – Marc Goichot, WWF Yangtze, Mekong and Salween

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13.45 – 17.00 with Break 15.30 – 15.45

Theme/Activity

Presenter

Wetland Connectivity and Fish Migration

Chris Barlow, MRC

Current Status of Biodiversity in the GMS Countries, with a particular focus on the pilot sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative

Jack Tordoff, BirdLife International

Measuring and Modeling Biodiversity Gains and Losses for Different Socioeconomic and Corridor Options

Ben ten Brink, MNP

Transport Infrastructure and Wildlife Trade Conduits in the GMS: Regulating Illegal and Unsustainable Wildlife Trade

Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC

Session V: Panel Discussions Panel 2: Local Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction in Biodiversity Corridors

Discussion Leader: Paul Steele

Community Management of Forests and Wetlands for poverty Reduction

Khun Chainarong, ONEP

A Biofuels-based Livelihoods Strategy: Energy Emmanuel D’Silva, ICRISAT Trees for Electricity, Transport, and Climate Change - Field Experiences from Asia and Africa Raising Rural Incomes while Conserving the Environment: Non-timber Forest Products, Specialty Agriculture Products, and Compatible Enterprise Development

Maureen Decoursey, Winrock International

Poverty, Health, Governance and Ecosystems: Paul Steele, Institute of Policy Studies An ADB-IUCN Partnership to Improve Knowledge and Address Challenges Linking Communities to Employment Opportunities and Markets: Policy and Institutional Design Aspects

Ewald Rametsteiner, IIASA

Panel 3: Climate Change and Biodiversity Corridors

Discussion Leader: Frank Murray

Interrelationship between Climate Change, Urban Air Quality and Impacts Inside and Outside Cities: Rationale for Addressing Air Pollution and GHG Emissions

Cornie Huizenga, Clean Air Initiative – Asia

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Agenda

3

Theme/Activity


Presenter

Air Pollution and Ecosystem: Assessment of Effects of Ground Level Ozone on Agricultural Crops in Asia

Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, AIT

Climate Change and Consequent Impacts in the Mekong River Basin

Hans Guttman, MRC

Addressing Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Climate Change - An Integrated Modeling System (Case Study from India)

Satya Priya, RSMI

Panel 4: Sustainable Financing and Biodiversity Corridors

Discussion Leader: Katherine Warner

Sustainable Finance Mechanisms, Protected Area Networks, and Conservation Corridors: Off-setting the Opportunity Costs of Biodiversity Conservation with Tangible Economic Incentives

Jim Peters, Winrock International

Nature-based Tourism as a Funding Paul Rogers, SNV Mechanism for Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation: Plans and Opportunities in the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Payment for Environmental Services: Lessons Zuo Ting, China Agricultural University Learned from a Diagnostic Study in China Friday, 28 April 2006

08.45 – 10.00

Panel Discussion (part 3)

10.00 – 10.15

Break

Discussion Leaders

Session VI: Presentation of Panel Reports 10.15 – 11.15

Presentation of Results by Panels 1 – 4

Panel Rapporteurs

11.15 – 11.45

Plenary Discussion

Panel Discussion Leaders

11.45 – 12.15

Response by GMS BCI Implementers GMS BCI (5 minutes per GMS country – 30 minutes for 6 GMS countries)

12.15 – 12.30

Closing of Symposium

12.30

Lunch and Departure

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Director, MKAE, ADB

1. Welcome Remarks Dr. Monthip Tabucanon

Ladies and gentlemen, It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first international symposium under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Core Environment Program (CEP). I say first, because, in my view, this is the dawn of a new era of international cooperation on environment, both within the region and between the region and the wider global community. We will be seeing regular symposiums of this kind under the CEP, nurturing debate and discussion on environmental problems facing us and generating new ideas and strategies for addressing them. It is a special pleasure for me to open this symposium because Thailand has had the honor of hosting a series of important regional meetings over the past few days. We have launched the CEP and formally opened the GMS Environment Operations Center—both significant steps in cementing working ties between countries of the region to safeguard their shared natural systems and to maintain environmental quality. In the Environment Operations Center, we now have a permanent and focused secretariat to support the GMS Working Group on Environment (WGE). Last year, the WGE was 10 years old. It has served a critical function as an advisory body on GMS issues on environment and natural resources management, reporting to the GMS Ministerial Conference and to respective governments. It has promoted exchange of information, built good working relationships, and enabled review of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) environmental regional technical assistance programs. Now at its 12th meeting, and the opening of a new decade for the Group, I feel a growing excitement that it is taking on a more influential and proactive role. The WGE is intended to facilitate the implementation of priority GMS environmental projects, and ensure that environmental issues are properly addressed in subregional projects in other sectors, with special emphasis on the large infrastructure projects being developed in the transportation and energy sectors. It

was also expected to address the issues regarding harmonization of national environmental legislation and regulations within the GMS. The CEP and the Environment Operations Center now provide the focal mechanism and resources to enable the WGE to better fulfill those roles. The WGE will be successful only if it promotes and works through partnerships. To meet the growing need for strong and proactive environmental management in the GMS, participatory processes embracing the full range of stakeholders are required. As GMS environmental institutional arrangements evolve, so too must the methods and opportunities for participation and the roles of nongovernment organizations (NGOs), community groups, donors, and businesses. This is why the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI)—a flagship activity of the CEP— is so important. It is built on partnership between the six Governments of the GMS and between them and other international and national organizations. The BCI pilots demonstrate how all components of the CEP must operate. However, this process is still in its infancy. We are learning how to do it step by step and will need your full support and patience in the coming years in experimenting and getting it right. The first step is to be open to innovative ideas and approaches and to have the capacity and flexibility to test them in meeting real problems on the ground. This symposium and the BCI aim to begin that process of open discussion and piloting. I believe there are very good reasons for emphasizing biodiversity corridors in this early stage of the CEP. We know we must look beyond economic progress to achieve sustainable development. Development must be ecologically sustainable. It is now commonly accepted that there are three principles necessary to making sustainable development work—biodiversity conservation, intergenerational equity, and the precautionary approach. Together, these approaches aim to prevent and reverse adverse impacts of economic and social activities on our GMS ecosystems, while continuing to allow sustainable equitable development. For me, the concept of “biodiversity corridors” summons up notions of linking and integrating

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Welcome Remarks

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conservation and development across landscapes. It recognizes the need to maintain and enhance critical ecosystems for the wider benefits and services they provide. And, it promotes the idea that maintaining the diversity of life intermingled with human communities is the key to achieving stability and quality in our social and economic systems.

for technical staff from our six countries to contribute and gain skills and experience. In this context, we may need to explore the options for a regional training center or network of training centers as a key capacity building strategy underlying and feeding into the CEP. We will benefit from your ideas and discussion on this and the other priorities.

This symposium aims to move these and other ideas on the essential ingredients for sustainable development forward, toward practical application in our region—one of the most beautiful and diverse in the world.

The Government and people of Thailand have a long history of involvement in environmental management and biodiversity conservation. We have launched initiatives to reforest degraded land, to improve air and water quality, adopt energy efficient technologies, and invest in air pollution abatement schemes. We have also done well in terms of formulating and subsequently refining policy and institutional frameworks for biodiversity conservation. However, several challenges remain: developing an enabling framework for local participation; arresting overexploitation through appropriate enforcement; and developing mechanisms for financing conservation. These issues are all enduring barriers to development and our success in addressing them will depend a great deal on partnering with other GMS countries and harnessing the best available technology, knowledge, and expertise in the region, and globally.

I would like to end my welcoming remarks by identifying three broad priorities for you to consider. The first is the need for transboundary cooperation in the conservation and management of natural systems. This is at the heart of the BCI. Transboundary cooperation is not easy to achieve and there are many economic, political and institutional forces inhibiting it. But when we in the GMS share so many natural systems of importance to our cultural identities, to our growing economies and to our overall security—transboundary cooperation on environment is not a choice, it is a prerequisite to the sustainable development of the GMS. It is for you to advise us on how to achieve it. Second is the need for integration. By that I mean integration of the BCI, its activities, methods, and lessons, with other components of the CEP. And I mean integration of the CEP with other components of the overall GMS development program. The WGE is one of nine sector-based working groups under the GMS economic cooperation program. We must ensure that, in our enthusiasm to progress on our immediate biodiversity goals we do not become isolated from the main forces shaping its use and degradation. We must take action across all the CEP components and seek to connect in active and practical ways with the other sector based working groups. We need to influence and help shape what they are doing. In other words we need to become a central force in shaping GMS development. Third is the need for technical exchange and capacity building within the region. I see the CEP through the Environment Operations Center providing a forum and venue for fresh and expanded opportunities

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So you see, I have put a lot on your shoulders— we need you to help catalyze momentum for this new era of environmental cooperation in the GMS. We in Thailand will do everything possible to support and facilitate your work. Thank you.

2. Opening Remarks Arjun Thapan

2.1

Introduction

Dr. Monthip Tabucanon, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today at the International Symposium on the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI). I am delighted to see so many of you here. It is doubtless a measure of the sense of urgency that the subject of biodiversity conservation evokes. I presume that many of us here are familiar with the GMS Economic Cooperation Program—or GMS Program, as it is commonly known. For those who are not, I would like to bring to your attention a few key features of the program. 2.2

GMS Program

The GMS Program commenced in 1992 seeking to promote economic cooperation between Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. As it grew, the program covered cooperation in several sectors and thematic areas including energy, transport, telecoms, tourism, environment, agriculture, human resources, trade facilitation, and investment. The program adopted a pragmatic approach to regional economic development focused on activities and results rather than on rules. By 1996, much of the infrastructure sector studies and preparations for priority projects were completed. Since then, the program has helped knit the subregion together. Vital infrastructure links have been built; policies to overcome barriers to market and trade expansion, tourism and investment have been designed and are being put in place; and human resource, knowledge and institutional building initiatives have commenced. At the 12th Ministerial Meeting in Dali in 2003, the vision of the First Summit was translated into a threepronged strategy for the Program. These are the three

Cs: connectivity, competitiveness, and community. The Second GMS Leaders Summit in Kunming in 2005 reaffirmed this vision and resolved to further enhance the three Cs. It was also at the Kunming Summit where the GMS leaders endorsed the Core Environment Program (CEP), which was developed as a joint initiative of GMS member countries—facilitated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)—to address the environmental stresses likely to be brought about by subregional integration, especially economic corridor development. 2.3

Economic and biodiversity corridors

At the heart of the GMS Program—and ADB’s regional strategy for the Mekong region—are the economic corridors. The corridors induce integration and competitiveness and facilitate trade and investment. However, the increase in production and trade within the geographic spaces influenced by the corridor investments is potentially accompanied by ecosystem fragmentation. As experts in the field, you will share our view that protected areas that were traditionally seen as the first line of defense against the fragmentation problem, are not sufficient to mitigate this problem. Indeed one of the main causes of biodiversity loss in the region is the destruction of habitat, and the fragmentation and impoverishment of the remaining ecosystems. We are concerned that in the absence of anticipatory environmental and natural resource management, the effectiveness of our development interventions and investments could be undermined. This can potentially have serious implications for poverty reduction and sustainable development of the region. The BCI is a response to this concern. Biodiversity corridors are located within the GMS economic corridors so that they contribute to enhancing the developmental impact of the economic corridors in a sustainable way. These corridors are analogous to economic corridors in their functionality: both attempt to increase system scale, connectivity, integration, and efficiency. The BCI aims to address the urgent issue of fragmented landscapes arising from accelerated economic development, and the impact of this fragmentation on biodiversity in the GMS. The biodiversity corridors will attempt to harmonize economic development with conservation, and protect the ecological and

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Opening Remarks

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environmental services that underpin our common and shared development objectives. So, we now have a response that conceptually addresses the challenge. Making it work will require imagination, commitment, and industry. As a first step, your discussions will help in responding to the following: (i) how can BCI better align environmental protection and economic development to promote biodiversity conservation and mitigate against ecosystem fragmentation; (ii) how do we ensure equitable cost and benefit sharing especially with local communities that derive their livelihoods from this biodiversity; and (iii) what are the best options to overcome policy and institutional fragmentation across national boundaries and sectoral jurisdictions. 2.4

Closing

In closing, let me say that gatherings such as these invigorate our thinking and help reinforce the intellectual foundations of BCI. To say that the BCI is crucially important for the GMS is not simply to state the obvious. It is to help us concentrate our attention on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity that is fundamental to the future of the GMS and the welfare of its people. I am sure your discussions will provide BCI a solid foundation to build upon. Thank you and good day.

3. Conservation of Biodiversity in the GMS – Overview Jeremy Carew-Reid

Summary A point is reached in the degrading of a natural system when there is no return. Natural processes and relationships have been so disrupted and become so simplified that they are beyond renewal. Many of the elements of biodiversity in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)—species, ecosystems, and genetic material—are close to that point because of unplanned side effects of escalating economic development. GMS Governments have responded by mounting the Core Environment Program (CEP) overseen by the Working Group on Environment and supported by a permanent secretariat, the Environment Operations Center (EOC). The Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) is a flagship of the CEP to be integrated closely with other program components which seek to influence development in the GMS economic corridors and sectors. This paper introduces the CEP and BCI and summarizes the papers presented at the first BCI symposium. The main themes are the role and management of biodiversity corridors, ecologically sustainable livelihoods, the recognition of climate change as one of the most important development challenges facing the region, and the economic value of ecosystem services as the basis for sustainable financing of conservation and local livelihoods. Some papers begin to outline a consistent monitoring and reporting framework for the BCI. 3.1

The GMS as a natural system

The GMS is as a natural system. It is a system bound by five shared rivers—the Ayeyarwady, Thanlwin, Chao Phraya, Mekong, Red and Pearl Rivers (Map 3.1). Economic and social development cannot escape this fundamental characteristic of the region—it is a natural system. Over centuries, layers of economic and social patterns of development have grown from it—they have been shaped and determined by its natural capital and potentials. Economic plans and actions must work within the natural system’s ability to regenerate. If they don’t respect those limits, sooner or later GMS development

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will fail. It is beginning to fail now in various hotspots throughout the region.

Map 3.1: The GMS as a natural system of five major river basins

Signs of development failure in hotspots are sharp inequities, exhausted natural resources, and worsening quality of life for many of the most vulnerable communities. Other signs of failure include diminishing productivity in key economic sectors—where for each unit of investment there is declining output. Most often, the evidence is anecdotal and difficult to interpret—but the evidence from many stories is growing and a clearer picture is emerging. Development within the GMS is proceeding without care for the future—without adequate assessment and safeguards for sustainability, for its impact on other sectors, and for its effects on the poor. 3.2

GMS development beyond nature’s limits

There are cases of industries driven to collapse because of exhaustion of the natural resource on which they were based—this occurred for a factory in southern Cambodia dependent on the supply of rattan from Ream National Park. The local communities were the losers. After two years, the foreign company concerned packed up and went elsewhere. There are similar cases in other GMS countries of collapse of industries due to decline in forest products. Those hit hardest are the poor. Fiftytwo percent of Cambodians live within 10 km of forests, while 33% live within 5 km (Forest Sector Review 2004). The quality of the forest, levels of access, and the nature and extent of markets all play critical roles in the benefits poor communities receive from them. Forest products and systems also play an essential role in livelihoods in communities not close to forests, even in urban areas. For example, up to 90% of Cambodians depend on fuel wood for cooking. The smallest fluctuation in the availability and price of fuel wood has far reaching impacts on the poor throughout the country, and market forces tend to work against them. As the quality of natural systems degrades, the cost of accessing resources is rising. The returns for input of labor are reducing. The poor may harvest the resources but the principle beneficiaries are those high in the market chain. The poor move closer and closer to the forest and water bodies, and work harder to exploit them, but benefits are not increasing proportionally.

The links between biodiversity and fisheries are also immediate. Reduced biodiversity will lead to loss of livelihoods and unfavorable socioeconomic impacts (Coates et. Al. 2003). Fishing in the Mekong and in other rivers of the region is not the problem—but the high impact of other sectors on aquatic biodiversity. The signs of biodiversity loss are apparent—Mekong fishers are reporting a significant reduction in the size of fish caught—the larger migratory species are under threat. And in some intensively developed areas, catch per unit effort is declining. Coastal fisheries have collapsed throughout the region. Maintenance of water bodies and associated wetlands is a key to maintaining capture fisheries and overall GMS socioeconomic development. These wet areas include upland tributaries and related systems of streams, reservoirs and headwaters; lowland river channels and lakes; permanently and seasonally

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Conservation of Biodiversity in the GMS – Overview

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inundated wetlands associated with seasonal rainfall and the annual inundation of floodplains, rivers deltas, estuarine and mangrove systems, and in coastal waters, coral reefs and sea grass areas. Decline in water accessibility and quality affects most sectors. When the Mekong mainstream was interrupted for a week due to construction of a dam in Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China (PRC), all vessels over 20 tons in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), were stranded on the riverbed. Water transport, irrigation, drinking water, and water supply to industry all contribute to local and national economies. In the GMS, many of these essential natural system-livelihood links are being severed or weakened by unwise investment and economic policy applied without knowledge of its socioeconomic and sustainability implications. An outstanding example is the increasing incidence and severity of flooding and drought in various parts of the region. It is known, although not fully understood, that forest loss and degradation of watersheds has disrupted natural water regulation increasing peaks and troughs in water flow. In Cambodia, the floods in 2000 cost $156 million in damage. In 2001, again the floods struck affecting over 1.6 million people in 12 provinces. The flooding destroyed homes, infrastructure, and crops. There is mounting evidence to show that the intensity of flooding events is due in large part to development which has reduced river channels and raised riverbeds, obstructed natural drainage systems, reclaimed flood plains and wetlands, expanded urban and residential areas in sensitive areas and cleared natural forest (ESCAP 2002). Then in 2003, drought struck many areas of the country, which severely affected fishing yields. In February 2004, the end of the peak season for the licensed bag net fishery operators, catches were reported at one-seventh the level of the previous year. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is predicting that serious food security and water conflicts will result if these intense drought and flood events continue. The first and most seriously to be affected will be those 35% of the population which are most vulnerable because of their direct reliance on natural products and systems.

These examples show that in many areas the form and scale of development in the region is continuing beyond the replenishment rate of natural capital. It is drawing down heavily on nature’s reserves with unknown and unplanned long-term consequences. 3.3

Scale of GMS economic development

In the 10 years since 1995, the GMS has grown in population from 240 million to 300 million, and gross regional product has grown from some $250 billion to over $400 billion. A Strategic Framework for the cooperative development of the GMS was adopted by the 10th GMS Ministerial Conference in November 2001. It is implemented through periodic plans which promote infrastructure linkages and cross-border trade and investment. For the period 2003-2006, 40 investment and technical assistance projects amounting to about $10-15 billion are designated for priority implementation.1 Key to the strategy are three economic corridors–“northsouth,” “east-west” and “southern”—in which infrastructure development is linked directly with trade, investment, and production opportunities (Map 3.2). The corridors involve five transport routes crossing and linking the GMS countries in various combinations. They are the focus of major transport system projects and both subregional and bilateral agreements on trade, power interconnection and generation, tourism, and telecommunications. All are associated with a wave of targeted investment. Total transformation of the economies and the environment of the GMS is underway. Much of this development is proceeding without adequate environmental assessment and mitigation. Once again anecdotes from local areas provide an insight into the full extent of this wave of investment. The development of the three GMS economic corridors is facilitated through the establishment of distribution centers which link the network of existing roads to each corridor. The centers include provision of warehousing, vehicle servicing, and a range of secondary enterprises. Often they are in remote areas of remaining forests populated by poor minority groups. They have far reaching social and environment effects. For example, a new distribution center connecting to the North South Economic 1 The content of the development matrix is included in ADB’s Regional Cooperation Strategy and Program 2004-2008: The GMS – Beyond Borders (RCSP).

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Map 3.2: The GMS economic corridors

was recognized by the GMS Governments. Since its creation in 1995, the GMS Working Group on Environment (WGE) had played a useful role in sharing information, reviewing the technical assistance program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and providing policy guidance. But it remained the least influential of the network of working groups set up to oversee the GMS development program. It had no permanent secretariat and no program of its own. A 2004 options paper prepared for the WGE proposed the evolution of the WGE to a more proactive and influential body and the adoption of a GMS Core Environment Program as its main operational mechanism (GMS WGE 2004). The logic was spelt out like this:

Corridor in Phitsanoulouk, Thailand, now attracts a flow of 700 trucks each day. There are plans for the corridor to link with Malaysia and Singapore which will multiply the traffic load at the center several times. The warehousing and service facilities will attract many migrants seeking to work leading to further expansion and multiplier impacts. This is one of many examples which are now coming to light of the unplanned side effects of “connectivity” as massive investment flows continue to build momentum. 3.4

The need for a permanent GMS environment organization

It is against this backdrop of mounting pressure on natural capital that the urgent need for a permanent environment body and regional environment program

• The planned economic transformation of the GMS has significant environmental implications. • The GMS governments and their development partners must consider a more proactive approach to ensure ecologically sustainable development of the region. • The environmental projects outlined in the GMS development matrix, while important, are unlikely to be sufficient. • Continued development of national environmental capacities is important, but also unlikely to be sufficient. • As the GMS now enters its second decade of development a great opportunity exists for the WGE to progressively evolve by taking on a more proactive role in shifting the GMS development to a sustainable path. • The WGE will need to change significantly to meet this challenge. • Postponement of this reform opportunity will mean inevitable environmental damage, loss of crucial ecosystem services, and threaten the sustainable future of the region. The paper proposes steps in WGE development as an institution with increasing levels of capacity and autonomy. The WGE will “gradually shift from a program review forum to a proactive permanent body responsible for shaping development of the subregion from the earliest stages of planning, through implementation, monitoring and reporting on performance, and ultimately take on a role in enforcement” under some form of regional environmental agreement (GMS WGE

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2004). As a first step, the establishment of an Environment Operations Centre was proposed to act as the technical secretariat to the WGE. Establishment of the EOC to support the WGE and the implementation of its Core Environment Program were endorsed at subsequent meetings of the WGE and then at a GMS Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Shanghai (May 2005)2 and the 2nd GMS Summit of Leaders held in Kunming (July 2005).3 3.5

GMS Core Environment Program – a response to mounting environmental challenges

The Core Environment Program aims to conserve the GMS as a natural system for the ecosystem products and services it provides. It focuses on the most important actions over the next 10 years to change the quality of GMS economic development so that it is ecologically sustainable. The GMS CEP aims to: secure critical ecosystems and environmental quality in the GMS Economic Corridors and that economic development in all sectors proceeds in a sustainable manner; (ii) conserve biodiversity within protected areas and in corridors linking them; (iii) integrate the environment into national and subregional development planning and adapt, adopt, and apply environmental performance indicators to measure progress in shifting development to a sustainable path; (iv) establish a secretariat to provide full-time support to the WGE in implementing the CEP and build effective institutional arrangements and policy frameworks for transboundary environmental management and sustainable natural resource use; and (v) define and implement sustainable financing strategies to conserve the natural systems of the GMS. (i)

2 Joint Ministerial Statement, Meeting of the GMS Environment Ministers, 25 May 2005, Shanghai PRC, para 9: “...we endorse the launching of the GMS Core Environment Program and the establishment of the Environment Operations Center for its implementation by early 2006.” 3

Kunming Declaration July 2005.

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The CEP operates at five levels of collaborative action: (i) the region as a whole; (ii) the economic corridors connecting two or more countries; (iii) the national level; (iv) within individual investment sectors; and (v) specific shared landscapes where natural systems and biodiversity are of greatest importance to GMS development. In the economic corridors, the intention is to identify critical natural systems and detail the specific benefits these natural assets bring to local and regional development. It will examine the cumulative effects of proposed development plans on natural capital and help implement safeguard plans to minimize the impact of planned development on specific ecosystems. For each of the economic sectors, the CEP will assess the impact of plans and investments on natural and social systems and build environmental codes of practice to maintain ecosystem services and sector productivity. The CEP’s biodiversity corridors work was identified as a flagship activity by GMS Governments in their Kunming Declaration. Building on the existing network of the protected areas in the GMS, the CEP aims to restore ecological connectivity and integrity in a selected set of important biodiversity landscapes. 3.6

The biodiversity conservation corridors initiative

Biodiversity corridors are areas of habitat that provide functional linkages between protected areas to (i) conserve habitat for species movement and for the maintenance of viable populations, (ii) conserve and restore ecosystem services, and (iii) enhance local community welfare through the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Biodiversity corridors are similar to economic corridors in their objectives: both attempt to increase system connectivity, economies of scale, integration, and efficiency. Biodiversity corridors do so through rehabilitation, conservation, and sustainable use and by internalizing biodiversity products and services in the development planning process.4

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For more information see GMS Biodiversity Conservation and Corridors Initiative Strategic Framework and Technical Assessment.

The purpose of the BCI is to establish sustainable management regimes for restoring ecological connectivity and integrity in selected corridors. Those regimes include the provision of natural resource goods and services that contribute to improving livelihoods of peoples living in and around the corridors. The BCI pilot projects in each corridor will lead to: • poverty alleviation through sustainable use of natural resources and development of livelihoods; • definition of optimal land uses and harmonized land management regimes; • restoration and maintenance of ecosystem connectivity; • capacity building in local communities and government staff; and • sustainable financing mechanisms and structures integrated with government planning and budgeting procedures.

Pilot sites for demonstrating the corridor approach: The GMS Governments then identified seven pilot sites within six of the nine biodiversity landscapes for implementation of site-level activities during the first phase of the BCI (2006-2008) (Map 3.3). These are smaller areas with high potential to demonstrate the value of corridor management approaches that need to be applied across all nine landscapes. Jack Tordoff describes the attributes of the seven pilot sites in his paper in this volume (paper 8). Cambodia shares five of the nine priority biodiversity landscapes. All are affected by GMS economic corridors (East-West 2, South 1). Two pilot sites have been selected to reconnect habitats through corridors in the (i) Cardamom Mountains and (ii) Eastern Plains Dry Forest (Map 3.4). For example, Map 3.5 shows the pilot site in the Cardamom Mountains will include a network of corridors to:

Map 3.3: GMS biodiversity landscapes and BCI pilot sites The GMS biodiversity landscapes: As a first step in the BCI, all the information on remaining species and habitats in the GMS was combined and analyzed to identify nine large biodiversity landscapes of greatest importance for conservation (Map 3.3). Those landscapes cross international borders and intersect with the GMS economic corridors. They are the areas which must be kept as far as possible in their natural state for the good of human development and wellbeing in the region. The reservoir of natural capital held in those nine landscapes must be maintained to avoid development failure. The nine landscapes of particularly high biodiversity value in the GMS are the: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Western Forest Complex Tonle Sap Inundation Zone Cardamom Mountains Northern Plains Dry Forest Eastern Plains Dry Forest Tri-Border Forest Central Annamites Northern Annamites Mekong Headwaters

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• Reconnect northern with southern forests and support livelihood alternatives; • Promote rehabilitation and sustainable use of coastal zone (mangroves); • Buffer from population pressure from the east; and • Ensure strict law enforcement along road 48 to prevent ribbon encroachment. Viet Nam has large shares of three of the GMS biodiversity landscapes. All are affected by GMS economic corridors (East -West 1 and 2). The Ngoc LinhXe Sap Pilot Site has been selected to reconnect habitats in the Central Annamites landscape. The Ho Chi Minh Highway dissects the corridor area. In Yunnan Province, the Xishuangbanna Pilot Site has been selected to reconnect habitats in the Mekong Headwaters. It is affected by the North-South 2 Economic Corridor. Several major roads now cut across protected areas (e.g.,

Lao PDR has major shares of three GMS biodiversity landscapes. One is affected by the East-West 1 Economic Corridor. The Xe Pian-Dong Hua Sao-Dong Ampham Pilot Site was selected to relink habitats in the Tri-Border Forests of the Central Annamites. The corridor areas are dissected by roads which are now being upgraded (18A, 18B, 1J, 16). Thailand shares one GMS biodiversity landscape with Myanmar (the Western Forest Complex landscape). While relatively isolated from infrastructure development, the region is part of several GMS economic corridors (overlaps with North-South 1 and East- West 1, proximity to East-West 2 and South 1). The Tenasserim Pilot Site

Map 3.5: Proposed corridors at the Cardamom Mountains Pilot Site, Cambodia

Map 3.4: BCI pilot sites in Cambodia

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G21353 through Mengyang and Mengla). Map 3.6 shows the proposed corridors at that site are intended to link existing and proposed protected areas.

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Map 3.6: Proposed corridors connecting protected areas at the Xishuangbanna Pilot Site

Map 3.7: Proposed corridors in the Tenasserim Pilot Site – Thailand and Myanmar

has been selected to reconnect habitats in the Western Forest Complex landscape. The proposed corridors are framed by two major complexes of protected areas in western Thailand—the Western Forest Complex and the Khang Kha Chan Forest Complex in addition to the relatively closed areas controlled by the Royal Thai Army and a Royal Project (Map 3.7). Because of proximity to border and mountainous terrain the proposed 10-15 km corridor has a limited number of access roads.

investment in alternative livelihoods and enhancing conservation of natural systems by local people. Many of the most important biodiversity areas are on international borders and require transboundary management responses.

The seven pilot sites share a number of common attributes. Population and development pressures go up to and within existing protected areas but there are also significant biodiversity values remaining outside the protected area networks that are fast being depleted. There is a high correlation between poverty incidence and remaining biodiversity wealth and significant potential for poverty reduction through strategic

3.7

The BCI symposium

To implement the BCI pilots, coalitions were formed between government environment and natural resource agencies and international conservation organizations working in each country and at the sites. The BCI symposium held in April 2006 in Bangkok was intended to bring this immediate BCI family together with other organizations and specialists from within and outside the GMS. It was the first of planned regular meetings to take stock, discuss critical issues, and chart the future. The specific objectives of the 2006 Symposium were to:

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• Share experience gained and lessons learned by implementers and practitioners of biodiversity corridors outside the GMS with implementers of the CEP • Review pilot site proposals of the GMS BCI in light of those lessons and experiences • Make adjustments to the implementation framework for the GMS BCI based on recommendations of the symposium, and • Identify a potential long term monitoring outlook for the GMS BCI.5 The remaining sections provide an overview of the papers presented at the symposium and some of the key issues which arose in discussion. 3.8

Overview of BCI symposium papers

The symposium had four linked parts which reflect the critical issues facing effective BCI implementation and biodiversity conservation in the GMS overall: (i) biodiversity corridors, (ii) livelihoods, (iii) climate change and (iv) sustainable financing. The presentations, papers, and working groups were divided into these parts. 3.8.1 Biodiversity corridors Jack Tordoff outlines the key biological attributes of each GMS country and looks at the status of species, habitats and ecosystems (paper 8). He paints a pretty grim and urgent picture. Many of fish species characteristic of the five shared rivers are migratory and require the maintenance of intact, large-scale aquatic systems. Most remaining natural habitats have been heavily fragmented and typically persist as isolated patches. In other areas, such as in the Tenasserim Mountains along the border between Myanmar and Thailand and on the plains of northern and eastern Cambodia, large, continuous landscapes of natural habitat remain. But many species are reduced to one or a few sites, with populations numbering in the hundreds or less, and can be considered to be on the verge of extinction. Jack’s paper describes the biodiversity corridors and sets out options for monitoring biodiversity in each of the seven pilot BCI sites. 5

The last objective was picked up in greater detail in a second workshop organized by the EOC on Biodiversity and Socioeconomic Assessments – Harmonization of Approaches in the GMS, 4 – 6 October 2006, Siam City Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

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Zhu Hua shows how market forces on just two products are leading to serious biodiversity losses in Xishuangbanna (paper 9). There, clearing for rubber plantations and under-planting with Amomum—commercial plant of ginger family—by local people has lead to decreases in tropical rainforest biodiversity. The high price of rubber is driving the expansion of plantations. The ginger poses a serious, but largely unrecognized, threat to natural regeneration of forests, because gathering of Amomum fruit requires complete clearing of young trees, saplings, seedlings, and shrubs. Zhu identifies the challenges to limiting further expansion, to promoting multi-species agro forestry, and the urgent need for a biodiversity conservation corridor to stabilize the situation. Poulsen A.F., Ouch Poeu and their team review how fisheries in the Mekong River play a critical role in food security for the poorer communities (paper 12). Many commercially important species migrate between flood plains, dry season refuges and spawning areas and it is necessary therefore to maintain connectivity between these areas. Regional cooperation is required to manage the river basin as an ecological unit. In developing economic activities which may impact on the river, planning and management authorities must consider the potential impact on fisheries and related livelihoods of the people who live in the Mekong Basin. The wildlife trade is also a threat to biodiversity in the GMS—It is driven by consumer demand, high profits, low risk of being caught, low deterrents, and increasing ease of access to remote resources. Chris Shepherd and others (paper 14) call for regional cooperation in development of regulations and capacity to enforce them, the development of effective deterrents and cooperation and awareness building between agencies as well as educating and empowering poorer communities to develop sustainable livelihoods. Chen Jin and David Wescott introduce the Great Green Triangle Project which pilots an integrated approach to regional planning and biodiversity conservation in the PRC/Lao PDR/Viet Nam border area (paper 10). The Phongsaly region of northern Lao PDR has high biodiversity values and connects major reserve areas in the PRC, Viet Nam and elsewhere in Lao PDR. The project is demonstrating management that: (i) uses

the whole landscape, including areas whose primary land-use is production or extraction, for conservation purposes; (ii) recognizes and incorporates both the productive or extractive values of biodiversity and its services and intrinsic values; and (iii) incorporates people, their livelihoods and their aspirations along with biodiversity conservation goals. In his keynote paper (paper 4), Markku Kanninen also advocates “a whole landscape management process” rather than management for individual goods or services. Marc Goichot reports on the striking contrasts in land-management practices and their associated impacts on freshwater conservation along the Salween, Yangtze, and Mekong Rivers in the PRC. Within the headwaters of the Yangtze, large areas have now been restored through a seven-year, large-scale program (covering 267,000 km2 and costing $600 million) implemented by The Yangtze River Water Conservancy Committee. The Salween is one of the last large free-flowing rivers in the world, although it is subject to a plan to develop largescale hydropower generation. The Mekong is rapidly losing natural condition through unsustainable use and development. Mid-slope areas around human settlements are becoming extremely fragile and susceptible to landslides. Marc stresses the need for emphasis on the role of the upper reaches of these large river systems in maintaining the biological integrity of the entire basin. 3.8.2 Livelihoods WildAid Cambodia has concluded that the only option for conservation of critical natural systems is to wean poor communities off their dependency on direct exploitation of biodiversity (Suwanna Gauntlett, paper 17). Increasing human populations in Koh Kong Province is leading to forest destruction and loss of wildlife. WildAid is testing an agricultural model with poor local communities to allow farmers to relocate to nearby land provided by the government and to become financially self-reliant without clearing forests, hunting, and carrying out other illegal activities in forest concessions and protected areas. Initial results are very encouraging and by 2008, close to 400 families will participate in the scheme.

Emmanuel D’Silva agrees that empowering communities to develop sustainable technologies holds the key to the maintenance of natural systems in many areas (paper 18). He describes work carried out in Adilabad district, India and in Niger, West Africa to implement biofuels-based strategies. There the approach has helped to preserve forests by giving forest-dependent communities opportunities for alternative employment and improved living conditions. Raw oils from several species have been used to produce electricity, pump up groundwater, and run farm equipment. Andrew Ingles and others at IUCN present evidence from a pilot village in Northern Lao PDR of significant and sustained improvements in rural livelihoods arising from the management and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and forest conservation measures (paper 21). Many households have achieved food security, increased annual cash incomes, and improved health. He calls on the CEP-BCI to learn from this positive experience and support the further scaling-up of the approaches in the Lao PDR pilot. Ewald Rametsteiner reviews the lessons from local level development projects and distills a number of key trends toward integrated landscape approaches, higher importance placed on tailoring methods to local contexts, and an emphasis on building access to markets (paper 20). At the policy level, rules and regulations that protect property rights, enforce contracts, enable market-based competition, set appropriate incentives, and provide access to credit have had most impact. In successful projects, target groups have a sense of “ownership” of ideas and of initiatives. Ewald points out that local people are quite skeptical of new concepts being imposed on them and their way of life. Stephen Bass and Paul Steele advocate what they call “green growth” which is pro-poor through more effective environmental management (paper 5). They identify four main environmental problems that undermine growth and poverty reduction: (i) decline in quantity or quality of natural resources, (ii) degradation of fundamental ecosystem processes, (iii) increased climate-related environmental hazards such as floods and droughts, and (iv) water and air pollution. Those problems are increasingly felt in transboundary situations where cross-border trade may cause over-exploitation

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of timber or wildlife and growing demands of growth centers for resources such as timber, metals and energy increase environmental pressure throughout the region. They propose three strategies—institutional changes to improve poor people’s access and rights to natural resources, increased private and public investment in the environment, and international partnerships in environmental health, sustainable sector development, and in greening financial markets and private sector. Natural resource versus non natural resource dependent incomes as a way out of poverty was a key theme emerging in livelihoods working session as recorded by Paul Steele. Depending on the context, there may be opportunities to support poor people in generating larger incomes from natural resources (e.g., non timber forest products) or to assist them to move to less natural resource dependent incomes (e.g., commercial farming). The former may be applicable where population pressure is relatively low, the natural resource relatively abundant, and market opportunities relatively unexploited. The latter may be more appropriate where population pressure is high, the natural resource scarce, and the market opportunities limited. 3.8.3 Climate change Human induced climate change is a serious development issue in the GMS—perhaps more than any other as entire natural systems shift and change and local and national economies are disrupted. Frank Murray argues that climate change will soon be the major cause of biodiversity and agricultural losses in the GMS (paper 6) with emissions from the PRC continuing to dominate the region. He cites the International Panel on Climate Change mid-range climate scenarios for 2050 including (i) a general reduction in crop yields, (ii) decreased water availability in waterscarce regions of sub-tropics, (iii) a widespread increase in the risk of flooding, and (iv) increased exposure to vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Frank points out that climate change intensifies the need for biodiversity corridors. It will change the natural limits of species and ecosystems, leading them to alter distribution, where possible. In most cases, ecosystem fragmentation will impede the movement of these plant and animal species. Species with limited climate range or

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restricted habitat are least able to adapt and most vulnerable to extinction. These special influences of climate change challenge assumptions about fencing off areas with high levels of biodiversity as the most effective way to conserve threatened plant and animal species. Cornie Huizenga and May Ajero detail the close linkages between air pollution and climate change in Asia (paper 22). Rather surprisingly, in the decade from 1993, in many cities there were decreases in pollution levels for sulfur dioxide (SO2), total suspended particulate matter (SPM), and fine particulates (PM10). Yet, NO2 levels are gradually increasing and exceed World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Ozone is an emerging pollutant of concern for Asia. Environmental impacts of urban air pollution extend well beyond the cities where air pollution originates. Ozone, which is a secondary pollutant formed from NOx and HC in warm weather conditions, can usually be found in high concentrations 50 to 70 kilometers downwind from the cities. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh and colleagues conducted a study on the impact of ground ozone on production of rice and peanut crops (paper 23). They found that ozone causes dramatic reductions in productivity. They predict that high levels of ozone from urban and industrial centers in Southeast Asia will adversely affect agricultural crops in the region. Surface ozone is a regional air pollutant growing in concentration. Frank Murray cites other studies that found an increase of 23% in ozone concentration from an ambient level reduces soybean yield by 20%. This concentration is expected to be reached by 2020 in parts of the GMS region. By 2020, increasing ozone concentrations are expected to cause yield losses of 2-16% for wheat, rice, and corn, and 28-35% for soybean. Ozone is known to have severe impacts on biodiversity. Hans Guttman and others describe a modeling study of the impact of climate change on the Mekong River (paper 24). It predicts that the timing and distribution of precipitation will lead to longer dry and shorter, more intense wet seasons all of which will impact on agriculture, flooding, and fisheries. Satya Priya presents a more detailed modeling study on the impact of climate change on water resources and agriculture in the Pennar basin, Andhra

Pradesh State in India (paper 25). He advocates applying similar methods to the GMS where most people are also highly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors, such as rain-fed agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which are already vulnerable to current climatic variability, particularly floods and droughts. The study estimated an increase in runoff of the order of 10-15% with more extremes. Under certain climate change scenarios, all monsoon crops show decreased yields. Frank Murray and others in this working session called for national and regional development planning to incorporate climate change adaptation strategies. Poor communities should be helped to develop their own priorities to reduce climate change vulnerability through ecosystem management and restoration activities that sustain and diversify local livelihoods. A regional assessment of impacts of climate change and regional air pollution on biodiversity and agriculture is needed (paper 6). 3.8.4 Sustainable financing Recognition by governments, the private sector, and resource managers that ecosystem services have economic value is the basis for sustainable financing. Zuo Ting (paper 27) and Kadi Warner (paper 28) describe experiences and options for payments for environmental services (PES). In the PRC, PES programs are being used to improve watershed services by rewarding watershed service providers with tangible economic incentives to protect the watershed. Kadi emphasizes the challenge of developing PES programs aimed at environmental protection and poverty alleviation by reducing the need for unsustainable natural resource uses. Mark Kasman describes how New York City (NYC) saves millions of dollars by compensating upstream communities to protect the ecosystem services they provide, in this case the natural water filtration of the Catskill/Delaware watershed (paper 7). This was achieved through negotiations between all interested parties to broker an agreement which catered for NYC’s need to protect its water supply and the upstream community’s need for economic sustainability and selfdetermination. Without this agreement, the NYC would have had to pay billions of dollars to build a water

filtration system. This experience shows that regular monitoring, incentives, and penalties are needed to keep all parties engaged in delivering program objectives. Once a working regulatory framework is in place, money can be invested in natural ecosystem services. Paul Rogers discusses nature-based tourism and ecotourism and the potential to strengthen them by linking to protected areas, an approach being piloted in Lao PDR (paper 26). This is achieved by channeling money from ecotourism activities into conservation and by developing ecotourism activities in and around protected areas. There is a need for regional dialogue and cooperation on policies and programs promoting forms of ecotourism that provide clear and measurable benefits to biodiversity conservation. 3.9

Monitoring of biodiversity at the pilot sites

A number of the papers addressed the need for a monitoring framework for tracking biodiversity in the region, and especially for the BCI sites. Jack Tordoff sets out a framework for monitoring changes in the status of biodiversity at each BCI pilot site through (i) satellite images and (ii) ground survey of indicator species. Each (except Yunnan) includes a gibbon and an important bird species along with a number of others such as the Asian Elephant. The livelihoods working group stressed the need for clear indicators for both poverty reduction and biodiversity improvement as livelihood interventions cannot be assumed to have positive impacts on either (recorded by Paul Steele). The group concluded that indicators are vital to measure progress toward poverty reduction and biodiversity improvement and that these have not been given enough attention in past interventions by many agencies. Too often it has been assumed that positive impacts will result, but this has not always happened. Possible indicators include: • Poverty and livelihoods - Food security - Incomes - Business development • Biodiversity - Ecosystem connectivity - Species richness - Forest Area

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• Governance and Policy - Infrastructural linkages - Migration - Land Allocation - Regulatory Implementation - Incentives

posium for indicators to be affordable, measurable, and universally applicable. Most important from the Dutch perspective is that indicators should be focused on the key policy questions. 3.10 Conclusion

The group also highlighted the need for discussions beforehand to agree on response mechanisms if the indicators suggest that progress is off track or interventions are having negative impacts on either poverty or biodiversity. Jim Lassoie describes the use of repeat historical photography by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in northwestern Yunnan to understand rates and patterns of ecosystem change under varying land-uses, to set realistic goals for conservation programs, and to establish reliable methods for measuring conservation successes (paper 16). The monitoring work is part of the Yunnan Great Rivers Project. It uses high quality photography techniques and the efficient management of the resulting images and metadata, an analytical framework for identifying and measuring visual indicators of change that are tied to a comprehensive conservation planning scheme, and a sampling methodology that accounts for the variation inherent in the ecoregions under consideration. Christoph Feldkötter sets out an initial impact monitoring framework for watershed management in the Lower Mekong Basin (paper 29). It reflects the need to maintain the watershed’s ecological, social, and economic functions. One imperative he identifies is to use appropriate monitoring methods which are well established, cost efficient, and sufficiently simple to be used by local administrations and communities. Ben ten Brink, Tonnie Tekelenburg, and their colleagues at the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency have applied a wide range of approaches to biodiversity monitoring in Latin America, Africa, and Asia including indicators, models, and an assessment framework to analyze and assess biodiversity change in the past, present, and future as a result of human activities (paper 13). They have developed tools to support policy makers in exploring and assessing policy options. They reinforce the call from Christoph and others at the sym-

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The effect of economic development in the GMS is measurable in terms of climate change impacts, in habitat fragmentation, species loss and loss of environmental services. It is also measurable in terms of social disintegration in some of the poorest communities. Economic corridors are opening up remote areas leading to unplanned losses in natural resources and in the capacity of natural systems to renew. Economic and social progress depends on base ecosystem services (for example oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption by plants) and on the health and quality of natural systems. Development also implies an improvement in the quality of human life through education, equity, community participation, recreation and a sense of well being. Three principles which drive ecologically sustainable development are intergenerational equity, the precautionary approach and biodiversity conservation. Together these approaches aim to prevent and reverse adverse impacts of economic and social activities on ecosystems, while continuing to allow the sustainable, equitable development of societies (Australian NSESD 1992). Those principles need to drive development in the GMS. It is vital for the BCI and the CEP as a whole to link with the strategic investment framework of the GMS. The BCI should not lose sight of the broader GMS investment framework and planning process which has such fundamental influence on natural resource-livelihood links and on environmental quality. This requires clarity on how the BCI pilots link up with GMS sectoral priorities and investments. In particular, it is important to keep in mind the programmatic context for the BCI. It is part of the GMS Core Environment Program. Each component of the program is inextricably linked to the others—they need to move forward together in a closely integrated manner. Alone the BCI cannot succeed. Finally, the BCI needs to embrace and promote the concerns of ethnic minorities and indigenous people, who are often the majority in the pilot sites.

References Australian Government, 1992, National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development. Department of Environment and Environment, http://www.deh.gov.au/esd/national/ nsesd/index.html Coates D., Ouch Poeu, Ubolratana Suntornratana, N Thanh Tung & Sinthavong Viravong. 2003. Biodiversity and fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin. Mekong Development Series No. 2. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh, 30 pages ESCAP. 2000. State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific. United Nations, Bangkok, Thailand. FAO. 2001. State of the Worlds forests. FAO, Rome. GMS Working Group on Environment, August 2004, Evolution of GMS Working Group On Environment - Options Paper, WGE, ADB ICEM. 2003a. The economic benefits of protected areas: field studies in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Review of protected areas and development in the Lower Mekong River region. Indooroopilly, Australia. ICEM. 2003b. Lessons learned in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Review of protected areas and development in the Lower Mekong River region. Indooroopilly, Australia. McKenny, B. and P. Tola. 2003. Natural Resources and Rural Livelihoods in Cambodia – a baseline assessment. Working Paper 23, Cambodia Development Resources Institute, Phnom Penh MRC. 2003. State of the Basin Report: 2003. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh

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Welcome Remarks

PLENARY SESSION

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(i)

4. Landscape Mosaics: Integrating Forest Management and Environmental Services in Tropical Landscapes Markku Kanninen To keep forest ecosystems resilient in the face of social and economic pressures and changing climates, one must understand how ecological and social systems interact to generate particular land use patterns. Often there will be trade-offs between what is globally optimal and what is locally desirable. For instance, the need to conserve large areas in “hot spot” regions may not be compatible with the livelihood needs of local people living in those regions. In fragmented landscape mosaics, forests and natural habitats can be maintained only if they are managed in an integrated manner to generate benefits for local people and to generate income through a combination of products and ecosystem services. In this respect, there are several issues that forest managers and land-use planners have to take into account. These include: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

(v) (vi) (vii) (viii)

local perceptions of the importance of forests, their products and services, the role of forests in managing livelihoods and environmental risks, existing local mechanisms for forest and ecosystem management, how to integrate environmental services into forest and ecosystem management at multiple scales, how to efficiently monitor the services produced, mechanisms for rewarding the production of environmental services, the role of markets, and how to develop and manage multi-functions of forests for goods and services that are valued locally and by the wider community.

In considering these factors, the whole “landscape management process” needs to be followed, rather than focusing on the production of individual goods or services. This “landscape management process” can be defined as a cycle consisting of various steps:

visioning and assessment - learning processes geared towards defining management goals, (ii) planning - using existing planning mechanisms if available, (iii) incentive assessment - adapting the planning tools and incentive system, (iv) implementation of plans - adaptive ecosystem management, facilitation of learning processes, and (v) monitoring - monitoring the progress. When applying the “landscape management process” in practice, we have several methods and tools either already available or that can be easily modified for the purpose. The methods include adaptive management of forests, multidisciplinary landscape assessment, participatory land-use mapping, and tools for developing future management scenarios. In other cases—e.g., with monitoring of the environmental services or assessment of vulnerability and risks—research is underway to develop these methods. In the future, we have to able to identify those actions that can lead to “negotiated, simple and adaptive” landscape management corresponding to local stakeholders’ vision. Approaches of the kind summarized here can promote and facilitate those outcomes. References CIFOR. (2004). Managing landscape mosaics for sustainable livelihoods8 p. www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/ research/livelihood/managing.pdf G. Shepherd. (2004). The ecosystem approach. Five steps to implementation. Ecosystem management series No. 3. IUCN Jean-Laurent Pfund and Thomas Stadtmüller. (2005). Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), InfoResources Focus, No 2/05 S. Maginnis and W. Jackson. (2005). Restoring forest landscapes: Forest landscape restoration aims to re-establish ecological integrity and human well-being in the degraded forest landscapes 6 p., IUCN www.iucn.org/themes/fcp/ publications/files/restoring_forest_landscapes.pdf Sheil, D. , R. K. Puri, I. Basuki, M. van Heist, Syaefuddin, Rukmiyati, M.A. Agung Sardjono, I. Samsoedin, K. Sidiyasa, Chrisandini, E. Permana, E. Mangopo Angi, F. Gatzweiler, B. Johnson & A. Wijaya. (2002). Exploring biological diversity, environment and local people’s perspectives in forest landscapes. Methods for a multidisciplinary landscape assessment. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia

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Landscape Mosaics: Integrating Forest Management and Environmental Services in Tropical Landscapes

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(iv) (v) (vi) (vii)

sustainable fishing, transboundary rivers management, disaster preparedness, greening Asia’s financial markets and private sector, and (viii) pro-poor conservation.

5. Managing the Environment for Development and to Sustain Pro-Poor Growth1 Stephen Bass and Paul Steele Summary 5.1 Asia’s environmental resources have contributed enormously to economic growth and poverty reduction. A quarter of total national wealth in Asia is comprised of environmental assets such as fertile soils, rivers, forests, and mineral deposits. These natural assets are often critical for the livelihoods of many poor people with few other assets. Resource-intensive development has been achieved at significant environmental cost. Environmental issues such as deforestation, pressure on water supplies, and pollution from industry and energy use pose real limits to further economic growth. In many Asian countries, the cost is equivalent to one third or more of gross national savings. They also exacerbate Asia’s high vulnerability to natural disasters. (Asia already suffers 90% of all climate-related disasters, and this is likely to increase with climate change.) The challenge for governments and policymakers is to use natural wealth to generate growth and to enable the poor to benefit from this growth, while at the same time sustaining its capacity to produce these benefits into the future. Such “green growth” can be achieved through improvements in three key areas: institutions, investment, and international partnerships. Significant Asian scientific and institutional innovations have already shown what progress can be made. This paper highlights the potential for further progress through international partnerships that build on existing initiatives in: (i) environmental health, (ii) energy and climate change, (iii) sustainable forestry and eradicating illegal logging,

1

Paper previously presented to ASIA 2015 Conference – Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty, London. 6-7 March 2006.

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The environmental challenge facing Asia

“Without fuelwood we can’t even boil water.” (Poor woman in Murad Dhand, Pakistan)2 Asia’s rich environmental management traditions sustained its people for centuries. Practical examples include the rice terraces of Indonesia and the Philippines, and common property management of Japanese inland fisheries. Some of the greatest Asian thinkers— Buddha, Confucius, and Gandhi—had a profound appreciation of the dependence of people on the natural world. Perhaps such traditions, in part, explain why the Asian public is more concerned about current environmental impacts on health and well-being than people in any other region (Environics International 2002). In the early stages of Asia’s drive for economic development, Asian environmental traditions were challenged by economic development models which promoted the exploitation of natural resources for export. Forests were cleared, first for high-value hardwoods and then for tea, coffee, and rubber. Mines were developed in previously remote areas. Environmental change accelerated with rapid agricultural and industrial growth in the 20th century, becoming more extreme in recent years. Asian agricultural production rose 62% from 1990 to 2002. Forests were cleared rapidly, in part to make way for food production—Indonesia alone lost 1.7m ha a year of forests during the 1990s. Large areas were irrigated for food production, with high amounts of water and agrochemicals being applied. Asian industrial production rose 40% from 1995 to 2002, compared with 23% globally. As in other regions that experienced industrial revolutions, early industrial developments have involved highly polluting industries. Further developments

2

Pakistan Participatory Poverty Assessment (2003), www.opml.co.uk/ docs/1_Pakistan_PPA_national_report.pdf

constantly generate new types of environmental burden—e.g., the heavy metal hazards from “e-waste” (computers, phones, televisions, etc.), one of the fastest growing sources of waste (UNEP 2004; World Bank 2005a). Asian urbanization, the fastest in the world, is posing massive environmental challenges. Today, most of the world’s mega-cities are in Asia, and so also are the world’s biggest slums. By 2020, Asia’s urban population is projected to double to 2.2 billion from a little over 1 billion in 1990, and nearly half of Asia’s population will live in cities (United Nations Secretariat 2002/ 3). Water supply, housing, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, and transport infrastructure already cannot keep pace. For example, municipalities will face a more than ten-fold increase in solid waste burdens by 2025—with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Indonesia, and Philippines facing the largest increases). Pollution may reach intolerable levels: already, eight of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in the PRC, where 3–6 million life-years are lost each year from pollution (World Bank 2005a). Despite having the fourth largest fresh water reserves in the world, the Ministry of Water Resources states that more than 400 Chinese cities, including the capital, face severe water shortages—and people are being forced to migrate because of lack of water (Ramirez 2005). Such dynamics have brought about enormous benefits through fuelling the Asian economies and supporting Asian livelihoods. Many development indicators have directly improved as a result— notably GDP, exports, food security, nutritional status, employment, and levels of poverty. However, these changes are reaching unprecedented levels, increasing the severity of four major environmental problems, which may themselves undermine growth and poverty reduction: (i)

(ii)

Decline in quantity or quality of natural resources, such as fisheries or soils, which threatens many livelihoods and economic activities, and thus growth. Degradation of fundamental ecosystem processes, e.g., natural cycling of water and nutrients, and biological dynamics such as

pollination, which threatens all livelihoods and most economic activity. (iii) Increased climate-related environmental hazards such as floods and droughts, which impose major costs to life and property. (iv) Water and air pollution, which damages both health and infrastructure. Environmental problems are increasingly felt at the regional level. Transboundary resources are often managed unsustainably, e.g., the diminishing fish stocks of the South Pacific or Bay of Bengal; risks to clean air from Indonesian forest fires or East Asian sand and dust storms; and pollution in shared rivers (e.g., the Indus, Mekong and recently, the Songha river where a toxic benzene spill threatens Russia). Cross-border trade may cause overexploitation of timber or wildlife (e.g., in Southeast Asia and East Asia). Growing demands by the region’s growth centers for resources such as timber, metals, and oil are putting other regions under increasing environmental pressure. Regional hazards are also emerging, such as floods and droughts, and zoonotic diseases such as Avian bird flu and SARS. Asia has progressed also in some areas of environmental management. Exposure to water pollution and indoor air pollution has, in general, fallen across the region as investment in clean water and electricity has improved. Safe drinking water now reaches a majority of the population in South Asia— increasing more rapidly over the last decade than in any other region. Many Asian countries have phased out or banned the most dangerous pesticides. Energy efficiency has improved rapidly, particularly in the PRC. Reuse of waste products is increasingly handled at the regional level, with waste reprocessing a rapidly growing industry in the PRC. The increase in Asian land area officially protected for biodiversity (up to 7.6% by 2003) is an overlooked environmental success story—even if there is often much to be done to ensure local poor people benefit. Yet most environmental trends remain negative, and more poor people are suffering from them. There are many promising political, social, and economic processes in Asia that are driving pro-poor environmental outcomes:

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(i)

Poor people themselves have organized to demand better access to natural resources and improved environmental services, and subsequently, to manage resources sustainably and establish improved relations with the authorities. Sometimes this has been done in collaboration with government as with the 89,000 forest protection committees in India, and 13,000 forest user groups in Nepal. Neighborhood groups in the slums of South Asia have organized their own sanitation schemes on massive scales, at costs far lower than those provided inefficiently by municipalities. (ii) Asia’s private sector, as the engine of growth, can play a vital role in responding to environmental challenges, and is already responding with real leadership and innovation. Japan’s auto industry has sought to lead the world in low emission vehicles. Asian companies are rapidly adopting environmental management systems, aiming to meet international standards; 40% of companies with the global environmental standard ISO-14001 are from over 100 countries in Asia. (iii) Asia’s vibrant civil society has mobilized to press government to manage natural resources wisely, with especially significant impacts in India and the Philippines. In many countries, faith groups are increasingly involved in environmental debate. The media in many countries are increasing their coverage of environmental issues. And judicial activism, notably in India, has been driving better implementation of government environmental policies through increasing both supply and demand for environmental justice. (iv) Asian governments are increasingly promoting better care of the environment: decentralizing control over natural resources; entering management agreements with resource users; and promoting clean technologies through fiscal instruments. The resource intensity of consumption patterns is being addressed, e.g., Japan’s “Basic Law for a Recycling-Based Society” and its “Reduce,

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Reuse and Recycle (3Rs) Initiative” began the trend, and today the PRC Government is exploring ways to develop a “Circular Economy,” recently committing to generate 15% of the PRC’s power from renewable sources by 2020 (up from 7% now). th

The 5 Asian Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development has concluded that “long-term, effective poverty reduction requires that the natural environment be protected.” Held in Seoul in 2005, it called for pro-poor “Green Growth,” requiring significant governance, policy, and system changes, supported by international partnerships. The current paper addresses three questions that are central to achieving this bold vision: (i)

How can environmental assets continue to contribute to pro-poor growth, especially in low-income countries in Asia? (ii) How might environmental degradation undermine Asia’s growth, and particularly affect poor people? (iii) How can pro-poor environmental improvements be made, and how can Asia’s development partners assist? 5.2

How can environmental assets continue to support pro-poor growth, especially in lowincome countries in Asia?

“Water is for us what oil is to the Arabs.” (King Wangchuck of Bhutan)3 Natural assets, such as fertile soils, rivers, forests, fisheries and mineral deposits, account for a very significant proportion of national wealth in Asia. Together, they are worth almost as much as the value of manmade assets such as infrastructure. The figure is typically higher for lower income countries, i.e., 25% in South Asia, compared with 21% in East Asia. Indeed, natural capital is the main asset of many of Asia’s poorer countries (e.g., 64% in Bhutan).

3

Over 40% of Bhutan’s government revenues come from hydropower exports to India.

Table 5.1: Asia – percentage shares of wealth, 2000

Human and institutional capital Produced capital Natural capital Of which: Subsoil Land Forests

(%) 54.6 22.8 22.6 21.1 73.1 5.8

Source: World Bank, 2006. Where is the Wealth of Nations? Washington: The World Bank.

The historical trend of using natural resources for growth is continuing. Lao PDR, Bhutan, and Nepal are developing their water resources to generate hydropower exports to their neighbors. While it remains controversial, the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Lao PDR may generate $2 billion in export revenue to Thailand over 25 years. Indonesia has used its oil and mineral wealth to diversify its economy, while Timor Leste sees its rich oil and gas resources as its main driver of growth. Nature tourism is a growing sector in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand. For example, tourism provides 37% of income in Chiang Mai, Thailand where forest trekking is popular (Thailand Environment Monitor 2004). The challenge is to use this natural wealth carefully, to (i) generate growth, and (ii) enable the poor to benefit from this growth, while (iii) sustaining the resource base and its continued capacity for pro-poor growth. There are two main ways in which natural resources can contribute to pro-poor growth: (i)

(ii)

5.3

National economic growth – which creates jobs and adds to total income and government revenues, and can be used for pro-poor purposes. Development of small- and medium-scale enterprises, through use of forests, fisheries, and other natural resources owned and managed by primary producers and processors of natural resources.

How can natural resources drive pro-poor national economic growth?

For natural resources to sustain pro-poor growth, their extraction should not be subsidized, processing

should add real value, the poor must not be harmed by the extraction, and profits must be taxed and used for pro-poor spending. These objectives are not always mutually compatible and there are some difficult choices (DAC/ENVIRONET 2005): (i)

Avoid subsidizing large-scale resource extraction. Many countries lose money from subsidized exploitation, e.g., by loss-making state firms (e.g., Sri Lanka’s state timber corporation), subsidies to government joint ventures (e.g., the Pacific tuna processing industry), large tax write-offs (e.g., Indonesia’s timber industry), permitting excessive logging (e.g., Cambodia) or land conversion (shrimp farming – Bangladesh, Viet Nam). This leads to “boom and bust”: natural capital is assetstripped, and low resource prices encourage excessive, inefficient processing, which eventually destroys the viability of the industry. The key is to reduce incentives for overexploitation, notably by dismantling subsidies that harm the poor and the environment. (ii) Increase the value added by a competitive resource industry. With declining terms of trade for primary commodities, successful businesses have invested in technologies that enable increasingly sophisticated processing. Asian timber producers, for instance, once exported sawn- or roundwood, but now export furniture and moldings. There is broad consensus that the aggregate worth to the economy of further processing is maximized by promoting competitive industry, i.e., without perverse subsidies such as artificially low log prices and log/ rattan export bans. Access to technologies and markets is key, as are capacities to help set and meet appropriate international standards. (iii) Ensure that natural resource extraction does not harm neighboring people but, preferably, supports their development. Many large-scale commercial mining, timber, and hydropower investments can come to dominate remote areas with often poor and/or minority populations. They may compete with subsistence harvesters, for

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whom there is usually little legal recognition. Harm can be avoided—and preferably opportunities realized—by careful zoning, local hiring and procurement policies, management agreements, and earmarking some of the profits for local level investments. Several corporate-community forestry partner-ships in India and Indonesia offer good examples (Mayers and Vermeulen 2001). (iv) Allocate natural resource revenue towards pro-poor growth. While some governments have failed to invest their natural resource wealth in pro-poor growth, and thus fall under the “resource curse,” others have allocated natural resource revenues to poverty-reducing investments. Some have earmarked specific natural resource revenues (notably mineral and forest revenues) to the local administration or local people, as in some mining concessions in the Philippines. 5.4

How can natural resource-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lift people out of poverty?

Job creation is one of Asia’s biggest challenges, and many new jobs will continue to be in the SME sector. To lift themselves out of poverty, poor people will wish to use their major assets, usually natural resources, and aim to add as much value as possible. They may need to group into associations, to help negotiate better terms and improve the efficiency of environmental asset management. Past attempts at forming producer cooperatives around subsidized inputs, such as in fisheries, have often failed due to political interference and elite capture with the inputs not reaching the poor. A more successful approach is to provide an enabling business environment through secure resource rights, support for common property management, improved access to markets and transport, streamlined regulations and technical support. This is an area for further development: since they tend to be dispersed, natural resource-based SMEs are challenging to support, and difficult to regulate for their environmental impact.

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5.5

How can natural resource conservation benefit poor people?

Loss of natural resources can impose high economic and social costs. Thus, some Asian countries have limited the extraction of key land and sea resources, as well as introducing completely protected areas where extraction is forbidden (such as national parks). These often represent significant conservation developments. But in some cases these have been introduced at high social costs for poor people, who may suffer from blanket harvesting restrictions, as in most national parks. Protected areas can be managed in ways which ensure that neighboring poor people still receive substantial benefits, and are compensated for any loss of existing natural resource use rights. Nature tourism is a fastgrowing industry with potential to provide revenues and employment for poor residents, as well as to preserve ecosystem services. 5.6

How might environmental degradation undermine growth and particularly affect poor people?

“Rapid economic growth has exerted considerable pressure on the environmental sustainability of the region and ... could have an adverse effect on achieving sustainable development.” (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific 2005) Asia’s rapid growth is, in some cases, being directly undermined by environmental degradation. In Pakistan, 16% of the land is subject to salinization resulting from excessive water application, with similar scales of this problem occurring in the Central Asian countries. The irrigation mismanagement in Pakistan costs over US$200 million per year in reduced food yields (DFID/EC/UNDP/World Bank 2002). In western India, groundwater pumping has enabled agricultural intensification, but water tables quickly dropped from 10–15 m below ground in the 1970s to 400-450 m by the 1990s. In many areas, wells have been abandoned and entire villages have become deserted (Roy and Shah 2002). Shrimp farming has declined in some countries, due primarily to pollution and weak environmental controls; resulting disease caused Asia’s shrimp industry losses of over US$1 billion in the 1990s. Marine overfishing has also undermined economic returns. In the Gulf of

Thailand, average hourly catch has fallen almost 10 times from 250 kg/h in 1961 to 18 kg/h. The Republic of Korea saw over 70 anti-pollution protests in the 1990s (Far Eastern Economic Review 1990). The PRC has faced rural unrest because of increasing pollution.

60% of environmental services (particularly freshwater, air and water purification, climate regulation, and pest regulation) have been degraded (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005).

Investing Asia’s drawdown of natural capital in other sectors of the economy can avoid “boom and bust.” This is particularly the case of minerals and other nonrenewable resources which, by definition, are declining with extraction. It is clear that, if natural capital is simply liquidated as consumption, then it will not lead to sustained improvements to the economy. If, however, profits from natural capital extraction are invested in physical capital (e.g., infrastructure) and human capital (e.g., education) to drive further growth, they might make a sustained contribution to improved welfare. Where there is a windfall natural resource gain, such as a rapid oil price rise, this can be set aside in a special saving account. This in itself can be beneficial environmentally if future investments in physical and human capital lead to more efficient resource utilization, thus reducing further pressure on the resource base. Timing is crucial in shifting from pure resource extraction to resource management and diversified income sources, before it is too late and the resource collapses. In many cases, the switch has not been made in time, such as gold mining in Kyrgyzstan, oil and gas in Indonesia, and some Asian timber enterprises and fishing fleets.

Most poor people in Asia, particularly women, are dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods, but suffer from inadequate access and declining resource quality. Most of Asia’s rural poor depend on agriculture, for which access to fertile soil and predictable water supplies is essential. Yet 28% of Asia’s land is already degraded and water tables are declining (FAO 2004). World Bank studies in the PRC, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam suggest that there is a strong overlap between highly degradable land and where the poor live (World Bank 2005b). People without access to secure land are, perhaps paradoxically, even more dependent on a wide range of natural resources, as they cannot raise financial capital—and women are disproportionately dependent (Jodha 1990). In West Bengal, three times as many women as men are involved in gathering non-timber forest products, processing is done entirely by women, and twice as many women as men are involved in their marketing (Ford Foundation 1998). Fisheries are the key resource for more poor people in Asia than in any other region (Briones et al. 2004), notably in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and along the great Mekong River, and many farm households augment their food supplies and incomes by fishing (UNEP 2002).

But there are limits to how much drawdown of natural capital is economically desirable. Natural capital in Asia is already declining dramatically in both quality and quantity, while manmade and human capital continue to grow. Fisheries are depleted, soils eroded and made saline, aquifers dry up, and forests are denuded. These impacts are significant enough to reduce gross national savings by almost a third in the PRC, Philippines and Cambodia, by almost a half in Mongolia and Malaysia, and by nearly 90% in Indonesia (World Bank 2005b). In addition, there are certain ecosystem processes which are critical for their lifesupporting services, notably nutrient recycling, air and water purification, pollination and other biological mechanisms. Loss of this ‘”critical natural capital” is irreversible and represents a significant threat to the long-term welfare of the human race. Yet, globally, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has identified that

Many poor people in Asia are exposed to environmental health risks and hazards, both the traditional risks of dirty air and water, but also new risks from animaltransmitted (zoonotic) diseases such as bird flu. There have been major environmental health improvements over the last decades, with 80% of people in low-income Asian countries now having access to improved water sources. However, access to sanitation remains much lower at 44%—partly explaining why water pollution remains a significant problem: fecal coliforms in Asian rivers are 50 times the WHO safe maximum (World Bank 2005b). In South Asia, the environmentally caused disease burden is now greater than that from malnutrition (20%, compared to 15%). Many women and children suffer particularly from indoor air pollution (from dirty cooking fuels used in confined spaces), causing up to a million premature deaths each year across Asia. Young children and poorly educated women in poor households

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in Bangladesh suffer four times as much from indoor air pollution as men in higher income households (Das Gupta et al. 2004). Animal health and human health are becoming increasingly linked in Asia, as people and livestock come into closer contact with wildlife when they move into new areas and intensify agricultural production. Wildlife acts as a “pool” from which pathogens can emerge, as with avian bird flu and possibly SARS and HIV AIDS. Environmental changes have exacerbated Asia’s high vulnerability to disasters, and this will increase with climate change. Asia has always experienced wide climatic variation. Buildings, livelihoods, and social networks have adapted to cope with natural events. Management of normal floods has been integral to the fishing and farming livelihoods of poor people in Bangladesh and Cambodia. However, these natural events are now becoming more frequent and extreme, leading to more lives lost, more property destroyed, and more conflict. In the PRC, natural disasters are now the main direct cause of people falling back into poverty. The poor tend to suffer most, as they live in the most vulnerable areas, e.g., many slum dwellers live on land which is highly vulnerable to environmental hazards such as landslides, pollution, and floods. Such vulnerabilities are exacerbated by damage to protective environmental assets, such as coral reefs, coastal mangrove forests, and riverine wetlands, which increase exposure to floods, as illustrated in some areas by the devastating tsunami. Asia includes several larger countries like the PRC and India that are increasingly significant emitters of greenhouse gases. It is also the continent that will experience some of the greatest adverse impacts of climate change, which will affect millions of people in almost all countries. Asia already faces 90% of all climate related disasters in the world, at a cost of half a million lives each year. Many development assistance investments have recently been shown to be vulnerable to climate change (OECD 2004). A further 2O rise in temperature is expected to cut farmers’ incomes by 25% (DFID 2004). There is an urgent need to balance energy provision with less pollution, and with investment in adapting land use, infrastructure and other systems to climate change (especially in the vulnerable agricultural drylands of India and the PRC, and the fragile coastal zones in Bangladesh and the South Pacific).

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As Asian countries grow and trade increases, the world economy’s environmental impact (“footprint”) becomes heavier, with impacts felt well beyond the main centers of growth. For example, the PRC is now responsible for half of global cement consumption, a third of coal and steel use, and is the biggest importer of timber. This boosts the revenues of resource producing countries in the region and beyond, but also increases the rate of resource depletion and carries significant environmental risk such as increased pollution, land degradation, and climate change.4 A similar picture can be painted for large urban centers which obtain many of their supplies from far away, at significant environmental costs on the remote ecosystems on which their continued growth depends. The next 10 years are likely to witness significant increases in consumer demand in Asia—in the PRC alone it is expected to rise to the equivalent of four more Americas (ADB 2005). Added to the already high, and increasing consumer demand in the West, pressures on the world’s natural resource base are also set to increase exponentially, unless rising commodity price increasing consumer awareness of “footprints,” and improved policies and market instruments start to dismantle predominant high-input/low-efficiency/highwaste production processes. 5.7

How can pro-poor environmental improvements be made, and how can Asia’s development partners help?

“The global market for environmental goods and services is over $600 billion in 2005. Asia-Pacific accounted for $37 billion of this total, but its growth is the fastest in the world, with the market expected to triple by 2015.” (ADB 2005) There is growing agreement that pro-poor environmental change is urgently needed, and moreover, emerging consensus about how to achieve it. The analysis above points to three key areas for improvement: (i) Institutions and governance (ii) Investment (iii) International partnerships

4

The energy used by the PRC’s economy makes it the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is likely that, as the world economy’s preferred location for heavy industries continues to shift to Asia, the focus of emissions will move with it.

Institutional and governance changes are key to addressing natural resource management and pollution. Pollution is, in part, a governance issue, when there are few private incentives to protect public assets. While simple point-source pollution problems can be tackled by technological solutions, not all environmental problems can be dismissed by assuming that technical fixes will become available. On the one hand, investments are needed in Asian science, technology, and innovation systems to generate effective technology. On the other hand, the underlying causes of many broader-scale environmental problems arise primarily from the political, economic, and social systems that drive existing production and consumption patterns. For example, many natural assets—fisheries, minerals, forests, and aquifers—are both finite and of key importance, but they are effectively “unowned,” unvalued, and/or unmarketed. Valuable natural resources are too easily seized by élites and contribute little to the national economy. Institutional change is thus at least as important as technological change (WRI 2005). Institutional change, to enable environmental management for pro-poor growth, has begun but may need scaling up. Progress has often been the result of changes in who controls the allocation and use of environmental assets, as well as better incorporation of environmental norms and incentives in mainstream institutions (Bass et al. 2005). It is remarkable how many institutional innovations have begun in Asia. But there is scope for further governance and institutional changes to: (i)

improve poor people’s access and rights to natural resources, (ii) develop information, analysis, and political capabilities to challenge those sectors that affect the environment most, including watchdogs, (iii) empower poor people and local organizations to lead action on the ground, and (iv) form institutions and partnerships that link development and environment more closely, in debate, planning, accounting, and investment. Investment in environmental management is good for economic growth, good for quality of life, and good for the quality of the global commons.

“Investments into renewables and energy efficiency technologies ... are the best hedge against the economic risks of rising oil prices and declining reserves,” says the Chief Executive of the Chinese investment banking specialists, London Asia Capital (The Observer 2005). As well as reducing risk, environmental investments can produce high rates of return. An extensive global review has revealed some very persuasive figures.5 In Thailand, more than 600 firms participating in an eco-efficiency investment program achieved an aggregate 47% rate of return (ADB 2005). In the PRC, one of the world’s largest land management investments, in the Loess Plateau, has improved the livelihoods of over 1.2 million farmers: combined with other initiatives, numbers living under the poverty line have halved from 59% in 1993 to 27% in 2001 (Zhen Liu 2004). There is scope for increased public investment on environmental management. The PRC Government’s environmental investment is set to increase from 1.3% during 2001–2005 (based on its Tenth Five-Year Plan: 2001–2005), to 1.5% (based on its Eleventh Five-Year Plan: 2006–2010). In most other countries, though, public investment in the environment remains low, at 0.3% of GDP in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Viet Nam. The private sector will undersupply environmental services unless market and regulatory incentives are compelling. Investment by the public sector is often important for leveraging much larger private investment. For example, the PRC’s State Environmental Protection Agency has only 300 full time staff members, but without their effective strengthening and enforcement, including means to value environmental assets and allocate appropriate funds, the private sector will be slow to invest in clean technology (Time Magazine 2004). Private sector environment investment requires an enabling context. There is a growing body of experience on introducing environmental fiscal reform (to reduce overuse of scarce, inefficiently priced resources, such as water) and payments for environmental services (to reward those who protect, e.g., biodiversity

5

Some 400 cases of pro-poor environmental investment revealed cost:benefit ratios of up to 14:1 for investment in water and sanitation, 4:1 for soil conservation, 5:1 for reef conservation, 7:1 for mangrove conservation, and 7:1 for natural disaster prevention (Pearce 2005).

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and watersheds) (Pearce 2005). In essence, environmental “bads” can be taxed, and environmental “goods” supported, especially where they are pro-poor. Transaction costs can be reduced to help small and medium enterprises benefit from environmental markets. Micro-credit can help, enabling poor households to bear the risks of investing in environmental assets. International partnerships can provide important support to Asian countries’ management of the environment for pro-poor growth. Many Asian countries are taking a lead in improving management of environmental assets, as we have described above. Their development partners can also play a key role. Development assistance to Asia could help mainstream environment within partner governments’ poverty reduction strategies or equivalent national and local planning processes, budget support, sector-wide programs, and projects. Specific initiatives could be supported that help improve the capacity of Asian authorities to manage the environment. Together, Asian countries and development partners can share technology and knowledge, catalyze environmental investment, and forge institutional change in a number of priority areas. There are knowledge challenges in all the following suggested partnerships. Asian scientists and their colleagues from other regions need to play a key role in them, particularly to invigorate regional and national innovation systems. There are also institutional and investment challenges, and it is important for them to build on existing Asian-led processes: (i)

(ii)

Healthy Asia, healthy environment: Environmental health improvements in air and water pollution can lead to major reductions in mortality. Improvements in water quality and quantity also lead to significant health benefits.6 There are a number of promising public-private part-nerships across the region to increase access to clean water and air. Transition to sustainable energy, 7 and tackling climate change: A meaningful postKyoto regime is now within reach to limit the

6

Asia’s prospects for meeting the sanitation target of the Millennium Development Goal 7 (Environment) by 2015 are poor—in India alone, for instance, only 30-40% of the urban population is currently linked to sanitation systems. Rural sanitation coverage is especially low. 7

See also the paper on energy produced for the Asia 2015 conference.

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causes and effects of climate change. Global carbon trade needs to develop in ways that support investment in clean energy (through, e.g., the Clean Development Mechanism as well as bilateral arrangements). There are good potentials for partnerships within the region on clean energy, e.g., hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan, which could also form the hub of regional energy strategies—but these would have to be planned to minimize environmental risks. There is a strong need for partnerships to improve learning, innovation, and investment in adapting to climate change. The G8 Gleneagles Plan of Action highlighted many such areas for partnership, and energy will be the theme of the next G8 assembly. (iii) Sustainable forestry and eradicating illegal logging: illegal logging costs countries billions of dollars in lost revenue, and harms poor people. The Asian Forest Law Enforcement and Governance initiative (AFLEG) addresses supply- and demandside incentives for illegal logging, and assures wood is traded from legal sources alone. This process serves as a high-profile means to encourage radical institutional change. It may be usefully supplemented with efforts to encourage Asian consumers to discriminate in favor of good environmental practice, and fair trade, through certification. (iv) Sustainable fishing: Given the importance of both fish production and fish consumption in Asia, improved management is vital. One innovative approach is fisheries certification which is now beginning but only covers 4% of the world’s catch. Without such approaches, the long-term future of Asia’s fish producers is threatened. (v) Asian rivers management: Transboundary rivers pose a major challenge: they are critical assets for growth in the countries that share them, but without effective cooperation, the environmental services they offer will be undermined. Where means for cooperation are secured such as in the Indus River Treaty and Mekong River Commission, they provide

a powerful vehicle for larger regional cooperation. There is scope to strengthen work in these established forums, and to extend such approaches to other basins in the region. (vi) Greening Asia’s financial markets and private sector: Asia’s private sector is booming and interest in environmental management is growing. This can be stimulated through the commercial and investment banking sectors, export markets and private sector accr editation. OECD markets are vital for Asian exports and can provide important incentives for environmental improvements. (vii) Disaster preparedness and risk reduction: The deaths of over 70,000 in the South Asian earthquake and of over 280,000 in the tsunami have brought home once again the vulnerability of Asia to disasters. Two things stand out: typically, it is the poor who suffer most and, with climate change, the risk of extreme weather events is increasing. Disaster preparedness requires strengthening the existing coping strategies of the poor combined with good information systems and appropriate technical, financial and physical support. The response to the 2004 Asian Tsunami and 2005 South Asia Earthquake illustrated the strengths of (as well as the challenges of managing) multiple national–international partner-ships, including with the UN and the military. (viii) Pro-poor conservation: Since Asia has already invested over 7% of its land in protected areas, there is an urgent need to both demonstrate and secure their potential contributions to pro-poor growth. One approach is for development partners to capitalize local environmental conservation and nature tourism funds that can trigger larger environmental investments.

World Bank, and David McCauley and Nessim Ahmad of the Asian Development Bank. References ADB (2005). Asian Environment Outlook. Manila, Asian Development Bank. Bass, S., Reid, H., Satterthwaite, D. and Steele, P. (eds) (2005.) Reducing Poverty and Sustaining the Environment, The Politics of Local Engagement. London, Earthscan. Briones, M., Dey, M.M. and Ahmed, M. (2004). The Future of Fish in the Food and Livelihoods of the Poor in Asia. NAGA Worldfish Centre Quarterly 27.3 and 4: July–December. www.worldfishcentre.org/demandsupply DAC/ENVIRONET Task team and Poverty Environment Partnership on Pro-poor Growth and Natural Resources (2005). Sustaining Pro-Poor Growth or Boom and Bust? The Politics of Natural Resources. Revised draft, October. Das Gupta, S., Huq, M., Khaliquzzmam, M., Pandey, K. and Wheeler, D. (2004). Who Suffers from Indoor Air Pollution? Evidence from Bangladesh. World Bank Policy Research Working paper 3428, October. DFID (2004). Climate Change and Poverty: Making Development Resilient to Climate Change. London, DFID. DFID, EC, UNDP, World Bank (2002). Linking Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2005) Report of the 5th Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Asia and the Pacific, Seoul 28–29 March. ECOSOC E/ESCAP/MCED/(05)/Rep. Environics International (2002). International Environmental Monitor: Global Public Opinion on Environmental and Resource Issues. Toronto, Environics International. FAO (2004). Towards a Food-secure Asia and Pacific: Regional Strategic Framework. Bangkok, FAO Asia Pacific Regional Office. Far Eastern Economic Review (1990). Kicking up a Stink, South Korean Government Suffers from Anti-pollution Backlash. 18 October. Ford Foundation (1998). Forestry for Sustainable Rural Development: A Review of Ford Foundation Supported Community Forest Projects in Asia. New York, Ford Foundation. Jodha, N.S. (1990). Rural Common Property Resources: Contributions and Crisis. Economic and Political Weekly. 30 June: A65–A78.

Acknowledgments We acknowledge valuable comments from DFID colleagues, coordinated by Leo Horn and Yvan Biot, John Humphreys of IDS, Jan Bojo and Kirk Hamilton of the

Mayers, J. and Vermeulen, S. (2001). Company-community Forestry Partnerships: From Raw Deal to Mutual Gains? London, IIED.

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MEA (2005) Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.aspx OECD (2004). Mainstreaming Climate Responses in Development, Issues Paper. Paris, Environment Directorate, EPOC.

6. Potential Impacts of Climate Change and Regional Air Pollution on Terrestrial Biodiversity and Landscape Use Frank Murray

Pearce, D. (2005). Investing in Environmental Wealth for Poverty Reduction. New York, UNDP. Ramirez, L. (2005) Water Shortages are Potential Threat to China’s Growth, Stability. Voice of America. 18 March. www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-03/2005-03-18voa41.cfm Roy, A.D. and Shah, T. (2002). Socio-ecology of Groundwater Irrigation in India. IWMI-TATA International Water Management Institute. www.iwmi.org/iwmi-tata Thailand Environment Monitor (2004). Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and World Bank. The Observer (2005). Bank Invests in Clean Air for China. Heather Connon, London, 4 December. Time Magazine (2004). Bad Air Days. December 13: 17–23. UNEP (2004). An Overview of Our Changing Environment. GEO Year Book 2004/5, Nairobi. UNEP (2002). Global Environmental Outlook 3. Nairobi. United Nations Secretariat (2002/3). World Population Prospects: The 2002 Revision and World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. esa.un.org/unup World Bank (2005a). Environment Strategy for the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific Region. World Bank (2005b). Little Green Data Book 2005. Washington, The World Bank. WRI (2005). The Wealth of the Poor, Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty. UNDP, UNEP, World Bank, WRI. Zhen Liu (2004). China: the Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project. Paper for the World Bank, Shanghai Conference on Poverty Reduction.

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Summary Human-induced climate change is a serious environmental and development issue. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that observed changes in climate have already affected ecological, social, and economic systems, and sustainable development is threatened by climate change. Examples of currently observed changes include: (i) (ii)

shifts in plant and animal distribution ranges, a general reduction on crop yields in many tropical and subtropical regions, (iii) decreased water availability in waterscarce regions of subtropics, and (iv) increased exposure to vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Under some recently published climate change scenarios, climate change poses a greater threat of species extinction than deforestation or habitat destruction. However, there are many opportunities for both mitigation and adaptation to climate change while enhancing the conservation of biodiversity and landscape use. Surface ozone is a regional air pollutant growing in concentration. Mean global surface ozone concentrations are predicted to increase by about a quarter by 2020 in parts of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). A number of important crops in the GMS are adversely affected by ozone at current concentrations. Recent studies predict East Asia is about to experience reductions in crop production due to increasing ozone with major yield losses for wheat, rice, corn, and soybean. There is much less knowledge about impacts of ozone on biodiversity than on major crops, but ozone is known to have severe impacts on biodiversity. Impacts of other regional air pollutants, including acid deposition and the atmospheric brown cloud could also be important in the GMS within the next decade or two.

Due to the dependence on agriculture in the region to support local livelihoods, these crop reductions will have major social, economic, and environmental consequences. Assessments and adaptation to enable these changes to be factored into developments planning are needed. 6.1

Background

As the economy of the GMS has grown from about US$250 billion in 1992 to over $400 billion now, so have emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases. Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases are inextricably linked, as they are both associated with use of energy for transport, industrialization, urbanization, and economic development (Unger et al. 2006). Emissions from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) dominate other emissions in the region. Emissions from the PRC in the year 2000 were estimated to be 3,820 million tons of CO2, 20.4 million tons of SO2, 11.4 million tons of NOx, 116 million tons of CO, 38.4 million tons of methane, 17.4 million tons of non-methane volatile organic compounds, 1.05 million tons of black carbon, 3.4 million tons of organic carbon, and 13.6 million tons of ammonia (Streets et al. 2003). Emissions of most of these pollutants are expected to increase as the industrialization of the region continues, and energy shortages remain. Demand for coal and oil is expected to double or triple in the next 30 years in the region (Cofala et al. 2004). Just as Europe and North America experienced significant impacts of these pollutants on agricultural and natural ecosystems during industrialization, so the countries of the GMS are starting to experience impacts due to growing industrialization, urbanization, and use of transport and energy, associated with economic transformation. Asian sulfur emissions now exceed those of Europe and North America combined. The impacts on agricultural and natural ecosystems will grow as emissions continue to grow. Biodiversity is inextricably linked with climate and the livelihoods of people, especially poor people who are directly dependent on agriculture and rainfall. This paper will briefly review linkages between climate change and regional air pollution with biodiversity and landscape use.

6.2

Climate change

IPCC reports show that human-induced climate change is a serious environmental and development issue and in conjunction with other stresses threatens ecological systems, their biodiversity and development, especially for the poor in developing countries, due to impacts on agriculture, water supplies, and health (IPCC, 2001b; Pachauri, 2004). The Earth is warming, with most of the warming of the last 50 years due to human activities. The global mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.6OC over the last 100 years, and is projected to increase by a further 1.4–5.8OC by 2100 (IPCC, 2001a). More recent analyses by IPCC estimate temperature changes at the top of this range. The patterns of precipitation are changing, and the sea level is rising. The spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation have already changed and are projected to change even more in the future, with an increasing incidence of floods and droughts. Sea levels have already risen by 10–25 cm during the last 100 years and are projected to rise an extra 8–88 cm by 2100 (IPCC, 2001a) and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have increased (IPCC, 2002). These changes in climate have affected the timing of reproduction in plants, animals and the migration of animals, the length of growing seasons, the range, distributions and population sizes of plant and animal species, and the frequency of pest and disease outbreaks (IPCC, 2002). For example, there is direct evidence of decreased rice yields from increased night temperature associated with global warming (Peng et al. 2004). Climate change is also changing the frequency and intensity of disturbances such as wildfires and wind erosion, and increasing pressures on resources such as water (IPCC, 2002). Factors causing loss of biodiversity, such as the removal, modification, and fragmentation of habitats and the spread of non-native species interact with climate change, and in some regions will be intensified by climate change. Climate drying is expected to cause regional die-off of overstory woody plants at a subcontinental scale (Breshears et al. 2005). Changing patterns of climate will change the natural distribution limits of species and communities, leading them to alter distribution,

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Potential Impacts of Climate Change and Regional Air Pollution on Terrestrial Biodiversity and Landscape Use

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where possible. In most cases, ecosystem fragmentation will impede the movement of these plant and animal species. For example, national parks and protected areas are often surrounded by agricultural and urban land uses that impede migration and ecozone shift. Climate change intensifies the need for biodiversity corridors. It also challenges the assumptions about fencing off areas with high levels of biodiversity as the most effective way to conserve threatened plant and animal species under climatic change. Species with limited climatic ranges or restricted habitat requirements particularly with small populations are the most vulnerable to extinction. In contrast, species with extensive distributions, long-range dispersion, or large populations are at less risk from extinction due to climate change. A recent study used projections of species distributions for future climate scenarios to assess extinction risks for sample regions representing 20% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. Using three different approaches, their results were similar. On the basis of mid-range climate scenarios for 2050, Thomas et al. (2004) predicted that 15-37% of the species in their sample regions would be committed to extinction. This is a loss that would exceed that expected from the destruction of their habitat. Another recent study modeled the effects on plants if the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide doubled from pre-industrial times, which is expected by the end of the century, in order to project habitat changes and associated extinctions (Malcolm et al. 2006). In the worst-case scenario, the doubling of present carbon dioxide levels and resulting temperatures rises could potentially eliminate 56,000 plant and 3,700 endemicvertebrate species in the 25 global biodiversity hotspot regions. Areas particularly vulnerable to extinctions are those with species with restricted migration options due to geographical limitations. The estimated rates of species extinctions associated with global warming in tropical hotspots in some cases exceeded those due to deforestation. Malcolm et al. (2006) concluded that under certain scenarios, global warming could be a more serious threat to biodiversity than deforestation. Just as climate change affects biodiversity, so changes in land use can affect the global climate.

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Forests are a major global store of carbon, so the replacement of forests with land uses that store less carbon, such as agriculture or urban land uses, release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Deforestation is occurring largely in the tropics, and at current rates it is estimated to be responsible for the annual release of 1.1-1.7 billion tons of carbon, about 20% of human-related carbon emissions. In contrast, effective management of biodiversity can lead to higher levels of carbon sequestration. Activities such as reafforestation, agroforestry on cleared land, increasing rotation age, and use of buffer zones, can achieve co-benefits for mitigation of climate change and biodiversity (Reid 2004). 6.2.1 Some adverse impacts on communities Poor people generally depend more on agriculture and ecosystems services than wealthy people. In many less-developed countries, up to 70% of working people in rural areas are directly dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods (Maxwell, 2001) and they use grazing land and forests to provide income, food, medicines, fuel, fodder, construction material, and other uses (Reid 2004). A climate-induced general increase in crop failures, flooding, droughts, and cyclones in many tropical and subtropical regions will dramatically affect the most vulnerable communities, those with least capacity to adapt. The predictions of the IPCC, based on models and other studies (IPCC 2001a), include: (i)

a general reduction in crop yields in most tropical and subtropical countries, (ii) decreased water availability in waterscarce regions of subtropics, (iii) increased exposure to vector-borne (e.g., malaria) and water-borne diseases (e.g., cholera), (iv) a widespread increase in the risk of flooding, and (v) poor coastal communities are most vulnerable. Adaptation actions combining benefits for biodiversity, climate change, and livelihoods should aim to build the resilience of communities to climate-related stresses, through improving the soil, erosion prevention, water management, agricultural productivity, and hillside protection (IISD 2003). Afforestation and reforestation activities can have positive, neutral, or negative impacts

on biodiversity, depending on the ecosystem being replaced, and management actions. The best opportunities for positive action are afforestation or reforestation on degraded lands with natural regeneration and native species and with minimal clearing of preexisting vegetation. Avoided deforestation can provide the greatest biodiversity benefits (IPCC 2002). 6.2.2 Adaptation

agriculture is needed. It requires modeling of likely impacts of climate change and regional air pollution on biodiversity, agriculture and water availability. Coordinated assessments of impacts on important vegetation, monitoring, modeling and policy implications need to be conducted by institutions in the region, using agreed, harmonized protocols. High priority should be given to this type of partnership and technology transfer approach with institutions in the region.

Adverse consequences of climate change can be reduced by mitigation and adaptation measures, but cannot be eliminated. Both mitigation and adaptation measures have important roles in responding to climate change. Climate change is already a reality and adaptation to these changes needs to be incorporated into national development planning. Even with best-practice management it is inevitable that some species will be lost, some ecosystems irreversibly modified, some environmental goods and services severely damaged, and some vulnerable communities adversely affected (IPCC 2002).

Capacity building of key national institutions is required to enable them to participate in modeling and national and regional assessments of impacts of climate change and regional air pollution on biodiversity, agriculture, and water availability. This would enable them to respond to issues raised by their national policymakers and support vulnerable communities. The development of regional and national policy dialogues to communicate and discuss the modeling and assessments and their policy implications is essential.

Existing capacities at both national and local community levels may be weak, but they are the starting point for adaptation actions to protect biodiversity and communities. The capacity to adapt to climate change is closely related to how communities develop their technological capability, the level of support provided to them and type of governance. Capacity building activities should include support for communities to develop their own priorities to reduce climate change vulnerability through ecosystem management and restoration activities that sustain and diversify local livelihoods (Reid 2004).

Ground-level ozone is easily the most important air pollutant for impacts on agricultural production in North America and Europe (Emberson et al. 2003) and its concentrations in the GMS region are increasing. Mean global surface ozone concentrations are predicted by the IPCC to increase by 23% by 2050 and by 2% per year in parts of the Asian region, due to rapidly growing economies emitting growing emissions of the precursors of groundlevel ozone (IPCC 2001a). However, recent assessments demonstrate the likely huge impact of growing surface ozone concentrations on agriculture in Asia. Recent studies show a predicted increase of 23% in ozone concentration from an ambient level of 56 to 69 ppb over two growing seasons, will reduce soybean yield by 20% (Morgan et al. 2006). This concentration is expected to be reached by 2020 in parts of the GMS region (Dentener et al. 2005).

The key to adaptation to climate change and regional air pollution at regional, national, and local levels depends upon an adequate understanding of the likely impacts of climate change on the countries of the region, and the effective communication of this information to empower decision-makers and communities. This is essential to capacity building to enable adaptation of vulnerable communities and the formulation of development policies that incorporate adaptation. A regional assessment of impacts of climate change and regional air pollution on biodiversity and

6.3

Regional air pollution

Other studies indicate that East Asia is about to experience substantial reductions in grain production. By 2020, increasing ozone concentrations are expected to cause yield losses of 2-16% for wheat, rice, and corn, and 28-35% for soybean. Compliance with ozone standards would increase annual grain revenues by US$2.6-27 billion in the PRC (Wang and Mauzerall 2004).

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6.3.1 Ozone and biodiversity

6.4

There is much less knowledge about impacts of ozone on biodiversity than on major crops. Ozone and other air pollutants have severe impacts on some forest types and species of biodiversity and economic importance. For example, high levels of mortality in NorthEastern hardwood forests of the US and Eastern Canada since the early 1980s have been directly linked to air pollution (Percy, 2003) and impacts of ozone on native forests in Europe, Japan, the PRC, India, Mexico, Australia, and elsewhere have been documented (Emberson et al. 2003). Ozone also affects insect infestations and diseases.

Human-induced climate change is a serious environmental and development issue and in conjunction with other stresses, it threatens social, economic, and ecological systems and biodiversity. Under some recently published climate change scenarios, climate change poses a greater threat of species extinction than deforestation or habitat destruction. However, there are many opportunities for both mitigation and adaptation to climate change while enhancing the conservation of biodiversity and landscape use.

Lessons learned

Asia has experienced large decreases in sunlight intensity at ground levels in recent years due to the atmospheric brown cloud. Emissions of sulfur dioxide and black carbon have increased rapidly reducing solar radiation at the surface, evaporation and summer monsoon rainfall (Ramanathan et al. 2005). This is expected to result in a doubling of drought frequency with major impacts on biodiversity, agriculture, and water availability.

Recent studies predict East Asia is about to experience substantial reductions in crop production due to increasing surface ozone concentrations. Impacts of other regional air pollutants, including acid deposition and the atmospheric brown cloud could also be important in the GMS within the next decade or two. Due to dependence on agricultural and natural ecosystems in the region to support local livelihoods, these impacts will have major social, economic, and environmental consequences. Assessments, capacity building, communication, and adaptation to enable these changes to be factored into development planning are needed.

6.3.3 Acid rain

6.5

Emissions of acid air pollutants are expected to increase as the industrialization of the region continues and energy shortages remain. The IPCC scenario A1B envisages rapid economic growth with a balance between fossil fuel and renewable energy sources. Under this scenario by 2030, emissions from India of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are expected to increase by 400% and 500%, respectively, and for the PRC, by 33% and 100%, respectively (Unger et al. 2006). Demand for coal and oil is expected to double or triple in the next 30 years in the region (Cofala et al. 2004). With the growing emissions of acid gases, the importance of acid rain and its impacts on biodiversity will grow. The Chinese EPA estimates that economic losses due to damage caused by acid rain to forests and farmlands increased five times from 1996 to 2000 and losses were estimated to be US$13.25 billion in 2000 (Shah et al. 2000).

Climate change and regional air pollutants are soon to be major drivers of biodiversity and agricultural losses in the GMS region. A regional assessment of impacts of climate change and regional air pollution on biodiversity and agriculture is needed. It requires modeling of likely impacts of climate change and regional air pollution on biodiversity, agriculture, and water availability. High priority should be given to a partnership, technology transfer approach with key national institutions in the region to enable assessments, capacity building, and communication, and to facilitate the outcomes being factored into development planning.

6.3.2 Atmospheric brown cloud

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Conclusions and future steps

References Breshears D.D. et al. (2005). Regional vegetation die-off in response to global-change-type drought. PNAS. 102: 1514415148.

Cofala J, Amann M, Gyarfas F, et al. (2004). Cost-effective control of SO2 emissions in Asia. Journal of Environmental Management. 72: 149-161.

Reid, H. (2004). Climate change – biodiversity and livelihood impacts. International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK.

Dentener F, et al. (2005). The impact of air pollutants and methane emission controls on tropospheric ozone and radiative forcing: CTM calculations for the period 1990-2030. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 5: 1731-1755.

Shah J. et al. 2000. Integrated analysis for acid rain in Asia. Policy implications and results of RAINS-Asia model. Annual Review of Energy and Environment. 25: 339-375.

Emberson L, Ashmore M, and Murray F, (Eds) (2003). Air pollution impacts on crops and forests: A global assessment. Imperial College Press, London. IISD (2003). Livelihoods and climate change: combining disaster risk reduction, natural resources management and climate change adaptation to reduce vulnerability and poverty. IISD, SEI, Intercooperation. Information Paper 2, December 2003. IPCC (2001a). Climate change 2001: The scientific basis Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UNEP, Nairobi and WMO, Geneva. IPCC (2001b). Climate change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UNEP, Nairobi and WMO, Geneva.

Streets DG, Bond TC, Carmichael GR et al. (2003). An inventory of gaseous and primary aerosol emissions in Asia in the year 2000. Journal of Geophysical Research. 108: No.D21, 8809. Thomas C.D. et al. (2004). Extinction risk from climate change. Nature. 427: 145-148. UEA, (2003). Global climate change and biodiversity. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Unger N. et al. (2006). Cross influences of ozone and sulfate precursor emissions changes on air quality and climate. PNAS. 103: 4377-4380. Wang X. and Mauzerall D.L. (2004). Characterizing distributions of surface ozone and its impact on grain production in China, Japan and South Korea: 1990 and 2020. Atmospheric Environment. 38: 4383-4402.

IPCC (2002). Climate change and biodiversity. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Technical Paper V. UNEP, Nairobi and WMO, Geneva. Malcolm J. et al. (2006). Global Warming and Extinctions of Endemic Species from Biodiversity Hotspots, Conservation Biology. 2: 538-548. Maxwell S. 2001. WDR (2001): Is there a “new poverty agenda”? Development Policy Review. 19: 143–149. Morgan P.B et al. (2006). Season long elevation of ozone concentration to projected 2050 levels under fully open-air conditions substantially decreases the growth and production of soybean. New Phytologist. 170: 333-343. Pachauri, R.K. (2004). Climate change and its implications for development: the role of IPCC assessments. IDS Bulletin. 35: 11-14. Peng S et al. (2004). Rice yields decline with higher night temperature from global warming. PNAS. 101: 9971-9975. Percy F. (2003). Air pollution impacts on North America. In: Air pollution impacts on crops and forests: A global assessment. Edited by Emberson L, Ashmore M, and Murray F, 2003. pp 35-57. Imperial College Press, London. Ramanathan V. et al. (2005). Atmospheric brown clouds: Impacts on South Asian climate and hydrological cycles. PNAS. 102: 5326-5333.

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7. Upstream, Downstream: How New York City Saves Millions of Dollars by Paying Upstream Communities to Protect the Natural Water Filtration Qualities of the Catskill/Delaware Watershed Mark Kasman Summary This paper discusses how New York City saves millions of dollars by compensating upstream communities to protect the ecosystem services they provide, in this case the natural water filtration qualities of the Catskill/ Delaware Watershed. It will show how the State of New York, City of New York, and upstream communities developed a model consensus approach to resource management. Together they developed a plan for Land Acquisition, Stream Management, Sustainable Agricultural Development, Stream Restoration, Infrastructure Development and Maintenance, and Tourism and Recreation Opportunities to protect the watershed. This approach balances the need of upstate communities for economic development and self-determination, with the City’s need to provide clean drinking water to its citizens. 7.1

Background

It is helpful to understand the context of New York City’s drinking water supply. The City’s first drinking water source was a well dug at Bowling Green in lower Manhattan. It quickly became contaminated and inadequate as New York City grew. Consequently, the City began a north and westward search for clean drinking water. In the early 1800s, it became clear that the fast-growing City needed a new source, far from the City. Croton River in Westchester County was impounded and the Croton aqueduct became operational in 1842. However, by the end of the 19th century, the Croton system was at full capacity. The City reached across Hudson River to the Catskills in the early 20th Century. The Catskill system was completed in the late 1920s and the Delaware system completed in 1967. Today, New York City has one of the largest unfiltered surface water supplies in the world. About 1.3 billions gallons a day is delivered to

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9 million people in the New York City metropolitan area. The watershed is 2,000 square miles in size and reaches over 125 miles and 8 counties. It contains 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes. The Delaware System provides 50%, the Catskill System provides 40%, and the Croton System 10% of the City’s drinking water. Ninety-five percent of the drinking water is delivered by gravity and only 5% is pumped to maintain pressure. Figure 7.1 shows the relationship between the water supply systems and New York City. 7.2

Taking action to protect the city’s drinking water

What the map in Figure 7.1 does not illustrate, however, is the deep-seated anger, resentment, and grievances left in the City’s wake as it aggressively acquired water in these regions. For much of the 20th Century, many upstate communities felt exploited by both

Figure 7.1: New York City’s water supply system

the City and the State in the quest for more water. Sometimes, towns were submerged. About 5,800 people were displaced. Recreation areas were lost. It is this collective anger and fear that the City would have to deal with when years later they came back to the Catskills in an effort to protect the system with additional watershed regulations and a program to buy more land. However uncomfortable the task might be for city officials, new Federal regulations forced the city to take action to protect New York City’s drinking water. The mandate of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), specifically, the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), requires that all drinking water taken from surface role be filtered to remove microbial contaminants. However, the SWTR does allow EPA to grant relief from the filtration requirement if the water supplier (e.g., New York City) can show that it meets a strict set of criteria. The “watershed control” criterion requires that the water supplier control “...all human activities in the watershed that may have an adverse impact on the microbiological quality of the source water.” That is a very high bar. Relief from filtration or “Filtration Avoidance” is the exception to the rule. Nationwide, excluding the New York City system, only 6 out of 235 large systems (those serving over 100,000 people) are able to avoid filtration. Most of those systems draw from watersheds in pristine areas that are entirely owned by either the federal or state government or the water purveyor. EPA first provided New York City relief from the requirement to filter its Catskill/Delaware system in January 1993. The basis for EPA’s decision included: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

the high quality of the source water, the mostly rural and low density population in the Catskill Mountain area, the substantial distance between the source water and the City, and the stringent source water protection program that the City presented to EPA in 1992 as part of its application to avoid filtration.

However, EPA provided the City a Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) for the Catskill/Delaware system in 1993 that was conditioned on the City’s implementation of a number of new initiatives including:

new rules and regulations, land acquisition—explicit goal of 80,000 acres—and the upgrading of wastewater infrastructure. 7.3

Rethinking the program

This is when history caught up with the City. The anger, mistrust, and resentment toward the City that had been building up through the decades, was released in a torrent of lawsuits. Upstate communities did not want additional regulations telling them what they could or couldn’t do on their land. They didn’t want the City buying their land and limiting their opportunity for growth. They feared that, if pushed, the City would again resort to eminent domain, or the seizure of private land for the public good. They also feared that the cost of these expensive new infrastructure programs would ultimately be borne by the people living in the Catskills. It became apparent to EPA that the program was not progressing as planned—it was dead in the water. By early 1995, EPA was prepared to require the City to filter its Catskill/Delaware system, a requirement that would have cost the City at least $6 billion. To avoid this expense, the Governor of New York brought the parties together in an attempt to broker an agreement. The negotiating parties included New York City, New York State, EPA, the upstate watershed communities, and a number of environmental groups. The parties participated in over 150 negotiating sessions over an 18-month period. Ultimately, EPA had to be satisfied with the outcome if it was to continue to provide New York City relief from the filtration requirement. 7.4

New York City watershed MOA signed

It is worth emphasizing how stakeholder empowerment and collaboration framed the entire watershed protection program. They were key elements that were built into the watershed memorandum of agreement (MOA), and it would have never been signed without them. It was very important for the upstate communities that they were not only part of the decision-making process in how programs were implemented, but that they were also a collaborative participant in doing the on-the-ground work.

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The outcome of this process was the 1997 New York City Watershed MOA. The MOA is a balancing act: On one side it addresses the upstate towns’ needs for economic sustainability and self-determination. On the other, it addresses New York City’s needs to protect its water supply and to meet EPA’s requirements for filtration avoidance. After the MOA was signed, EPA issued the City a 5-year conditional filtration avoidance determination. This relieved the City of the requirement to build a $6 billion-plus filtration plant. To comply with EPA’s FAD, which was reissued in 2002, the City is spending approximately $1.2 billion in watershed protection/ remediation investments. Elements of these investments include: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Objective criteria compliance Land acquisition Agricultural program Infrastructure a. Septic systems b. Wastewater treatment plant upgrade program c. Stormwater controls (v) Waterfowl management (vi) Forestry program (vii) Wetlands protection (viii) Monitoring/modeling/geographic information system (ix) Watershed rules and regulations (x) Inspection program (xi) Disease surveillance (xii) Cross connection controls (xiii) Education and outreach (xiv) Stream management (xv) Total maximum daily loads The elements under the MOA are living programs. They are regularly monitored and modified as appropriate. A regular dialogue with the community and concerned organizations helps keep the program on track and aimed at achieving its objectives. To renew its FAD, the City must demonstrate its progress in meeting the terms and spirit of the agreement. Progress has been made in most components, but this paper will focus on the Land Acquisition and Agricultural Programs.

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7.5

Two critical components of the MOA: land acquisition and agricultural programs

Land ownership is the best means of protecting water quality. In 1997, the city owned about 7% (approximately 8,000 acres) of watershed land. Under the MOA, the Land Acquisition Program requires the City to solicit 355,050 acres of vacant land for purchase from willing sellers. Purchases were prioritized by their proximity to reservoirs and distribution systems. The Land Acquisition Program represents a $300-million commitment by New York City over 15 years. Figure 7.2 illustrates some of the progress made with land acquisition since 1997. While this chart only goes through June 2004, as of December 30, 2005, close to 70,000 acres (69,745) had been protected or acquired under contract at a cost of $167.7 million. This total includes: (i) lands purchased by the City, (ii) lands protected through conservation easements by the City, and (iii) lands protected through farm easements by the Watershed Agricultural Council. Recently, business tycoon Donald Trump donated 436 acres to develop a state park. This land is heavily wooded and includes some significant wetlands. When he bought this land in the early 1990s for about $2 million, he had planned to develop it into homes and a golf course. One hundred fifty four acres of this land was designated Priority A for acquisition by the City because of its significance to the City’s watershed. Trump’s donation allows the City to redirect some of its resources toward other priority land. Predictably, the state park will be named the Donald J. Trump State Park. To date, the City has protected about 10% of the watershed lands, with about 20% protected by other governments (mostly State) and land trusts. Another component of the FAD is the Agricultural Program. The objective of the Agricultural Program is to improve water quality through source control, transport reduction across the farm, and prevention of contaminant deposition in watercourses. There are over 300 dairy farms located in the watershed. The waste from these farms is a potential source of pathogens and nutrients to source water. The Watershed Agricultural Council, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and individual farmers work together to develop Whole Farm Plans which are like individual Best Manufacturing Practices (BMPs) for the farms.

Figure 7.2: Land acquisition status – March 1997-June 2004

Contentious players can agree to a mutually beneficial agreement. While differences of opinion or approach are bound to occur, it is important to have a structure in place to deal with these issues. It is necessary to ensure continued compliance to protect the ecosystem services provided. With a regulatory framework in place, money can be saved by investing in the natural ecosystem services upon which development depends. References

Acers Acquired

Nearly all of the farms have signed up for the Agricultural Program with over 90% of the farms having commenced their whole farm plans. Substantial implementation of these plans has been completed at about 60% of these farms. A recent program has started to serve small farms. Another component helps take cropland/pastureland out of production. Three hundred seventy six stream miles have been protected by riparian buffers under this effort.

“New York City’s Catskill/Delaware Drinking Water Supply: Filtration Avoidance Determination Status Update-May 2005,” provided by New York City Watershed Protection Team, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “New York City Watershed Partnership,” provided by New York City Watershed Protection Team, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Watershed Agreement Overview,” provided by New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Each of the components of the MOA helped to protect the watershed. Household septic systems were repaired and upgraded to prevent human waste from contaminating the watershed. Comprehensive forest management planning and logger training helped sustain the forest resources and prevent erosion. Regular monitoring helped to measure progress and infrastructure was improved. 7.6

Lessons learned

Many lessons have been learned through the experience New York has had balancing upstream resources and downstream needs. It is critical for the parties to recognize that ecosystem services have a real economic value. Without this basic acknowledgment, it is difficult to motivate the parties to come to an agreement. Regular monitoring, incentives, and potential penalties help keep the parties actively engaged in meeting the objectives of the program. As time passes, it is important to regularly monitor and advance the programs of the MOA to maintain private and public investment.

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PANEL 1: Ecosystems Connectivity and Biodiversity

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8. Current Status of Biodiversity in the GMS Countries, with a Particular Focus on the Pilot Sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative Andrew (Jack) Tordoff Summary This paper begins with an overview of the current status of biodiversity in each of the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries, which outlines the key biological attributes of each country and highlights key trends in the status of species, habitats, and ecosystems. This overview is then followed by a discussion of the options for monitoring the impacts of investments in the conservation and sustainable management of each of the seven pilot sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI). Specifically, potential biodiversity indicators are proposed for each pilot site, and the availability of baseline data is summarized. 8.1

Current status of biodiversity in the GMS

The GMS comprises the Kingdom of Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand, Viet Nam, and Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Consistent with the focus of the GMS BCI, this paper reviews the status of terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal biodiversity in the region. Marine biodiversity is not covered, although this is in no way a reflection of its relative importance. The GMS is a region of extremely high significance for the conservation of biodiversity. The GMS lies almost wholly within the Indo-Burma Hotspot, although northern parts of Yunnan province are included within the Mountains of South-western China Hotspot, the extreme north of Myanmar lies within the Himalayas Hotspot, and the extreme south of peninsular Thailand lies within the Sundaland Hotspot (Mittermeier et al 2004). The geological and evolutionary history of the GMS is complex, and the wide variation in topography and climate within the region has allowed the development of a wide diversity of natural habitats, supporting a high

richness of plant and animal species. The fauna and flora of northern and montane parts of the GMS have strong Sino-Himalayan influences, while peninsular Thailand and southern Myanmar have strong Sundaic influences. In addition, the biota of the GMS has a significant endemic element, with endemic species being concentrated on montane isolates, in limestone karst formations and in lowland wet evergreen forests. The GMS is one of the most densely populated regions on the planet. Human populations have been concentrated, since historical times, in the floodplains and deltas of the region’s major rivers: the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady); Salween (Thanlwin; Nu Jiang); Chao Phraya; Mekong (Lancang Jiang); Red; and Pearl (Zhu Jiang). In these regions, natural habitats have been extensively cleared, to make way for agriculture, human habitation and, increasingly, industry. Human populations are not evenly distributed across the GMS, however, and significant areas of natural habitat can still be found in more sparsely populated areas, particularly in mountainous areas or other areas marginal for agriculture. In some areas, such as Guangxi and northern Viet Nam, remaining natural habitats have been heavily fragmented and typically persist as isolated patches. In other areas, such as in the Tenasserim mountains along the border between Myanmar and Thailand and on the plains of northern and eastern Cambodia, large, continuous landscapes of natural habitat remain. Such landscapes have the greatest potential to maintain, over the long term, full biotic communities, including populations of megafauna species, such as Tiger Panthera tigris, Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, and Gaur Bos gaurus. Due to loss and degradation of natural habitats, arising from population expansion, economic growth and increasing consumption, many species in the GMS are threatened with global extinction. These threats are compounded by exploitation of plant and animal species, driven in many cases by demand from the rapacious wildlife trade. The 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2004) lists over 100 non-marine globally threatened species in each GMS country, a significant proportion of which are Critically Endangered, the highest category of threat (Table 8.1). For GMS countries, comprehensive global threat assessments are typically only available for mammals,

Current Status of Biodiversity in the GMS Countries, with a Particular Focus on the Pilot Sites of the Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative

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Table 8.1: Non-marine globally threatened species in the GMS Country

CR

EN

VU

Total

Cambodia Lao PDR Myanmar PRC* Thailand Viet Nam

23 17 27 113 49 47

37 28 41 271 55 82

49 56 81 379 111 157

109 101 149 763 215 286

*Figures are for whole country birds, amphibians, and some groups of reptiles. For some countries, most notably Myanmar, national species inventory data are incomplete for most, if not all, major taxonomic groups. As a result, all GMS countries can be expected to support more globally threatened species than are currently listed by IUCN (2004). Recent decades, in particular the last 15 years, have witnessed increasing efforts by GMS governments, with support from donor agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to halt the loss of natural habitats and the decline of plant and animal populations. These efforts have included establishment and expansion of protected area systems, initiatives to control trade in wildlife, and development of mechanisms to integrate environmental considerations into the policies, plans, and programs of economic sectors. In the context of these efforts, there have been very few recorded plant and animal extinctions in the GMS to date. Nonetheless, many species are reduced to one or a few sites, with populations numbering in the hundreds or less, and can be considered to be on the verge of extinction. Effective measures are urgently required if the GMS is to avoid a wave of species extinctions and an accompanying decline in the ecosystems whose products and services underpin sustainable economic development in the region. 8.1.1 Cambodia Habitats and ecosystems The topography of Cambodia is predominantly lowland. The most significant area of highlands in the country is the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains in the southwest, which reach 1,756m above sea level (asl) at the summit of Phnom Aural, Cambodia’s highest mountain.

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Other highland areas include the Annamite mountains, the western extremes of which extend into the northeast and southeast of the country. The lowlands of Cambodia are bisected by the Mekong River, which runs north-south through the country. The other major aquatic system in the country is Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the GMS. Tonle Sap Lake is connected to the Mekong by the Tonle Sap River. During the wet season, the rising water level in the Mekong causes the Tonle Sap River to change direction and fill, rather than drain, Tonle Sap Lake. This process accounts for the annual expansion of the lake across a vast inundation zone. The inundation zone of Tonle Sap Lake contains some of the most unique ecosystems in the GMS, including seasonally inundated swamp forest and complex mosaics of seasonally inundated grassland, scrub, and deepwater rice. The swamp forest around the lake supports the GMS’s largest remaining breeding colonies of large waterbirds, such as Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis, Greater Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius and Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster. The inundation zone of the lake supports a unique bird community for the GMS, including the world’s largest population of Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis. The lake itself is of high importance for freshwater biodiversity, and supports one of the most productive freshwater fisheries in the region. Other important aquatic ecosystems in Cambodia comprise the Mekong River and its major tributaries: the Sekong, Sesan, and Srepok. These lowland rivers are wide, slow-flowing, and braided in places by large sandbars or punctuated by rocks. These riverine ecosystems support rich freshwater communities, including several globally threatened species, most notably Giant Catfish Pangasianodon gigas, the largest freshwater fish in the world. Many fish species characteristic of these rivers are migratory, and require the maintenance of intact, large-scale aquatic systems. Planned infrastructure developments, particularly dam construction, threaten to disrupt their migration patterns. Cambodia’s lowland riverine ecosystems are also important for communities of riverine mammal, bird, and turtle species, including otters, fish eagles and sandbar-nesting birds. These communities have disappeared from large parts of the GMS, as a result of over-exploitation, disturbance and clearance of riverine habitat.

The hills and mountains of Cambodia support evergreen forest ecosystems, with plant and animal communities very distinct from those of the adjoining plains. Because of the relative inaccessibility of these areas, they still support extensive landscapes of continuous forest, particular in the south-west and northeast of the country. However, in upland areas suitable for cash crop cultivation, forest is being converted to coffee and other crops, while logging is contributing to forest degradation and loss in a number of places. The plains of northern and eastern Cambodia are characterized by dry forest ecosystems, which comprise habitat mosaics dominated by deciduous dipterocarp forest, interspersed with patches of semi-evergreen forest, grassland and wetlands, many of which are subject to seasonal monsoon inundation. As recently as the 1950s, these ecosystems supported large herds of ungulates, including Gaur, Banteng Bos javanicus, Kouprey B. sauveli, Wild Water Buffalo Bubalus bubalis, and Eld’s Deer Cervus eldii. So impressive was the wildlife spectacle of these dry forest ecosystems that they were considered to be one of the “great gamelands of the world” (Wharton 1957). Unfortunately, following three decades of civil war, the wildlife populations of the dry forests have been decimated, and one of the flagship species, Kouprey, may have gone globally extinct. The dry forest ecosystems of Cambodia’s northern and eastern plains and adjacent parts of Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam are recognized (under the name “Indochina Dry Forests”) as one of the Global 200 Ecoregions: the earth’s most biologically outstanding terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats (WWF 2005). Other Global 200 Ecoregions in Cambodia comprise the Annamite Range Moist Forests, the Cardamom Mountains Moist Forests, and the Mekong River. Species diversity and endemism Compared with the other countries in the GMS, Cambodia is not especially rich in species. Considering the best-studied group, birds, over 530 species have been recorded in Cambodia to date (Seng Kim Hout et al 2003), the lowest number for any GMS country (Smythies 1986, Duckworth et al 1999, Robson 2000, Round 2000, MacKinnon and Phillips 2000). Moreover, Cambodia only supports moderate levels of endemism. IUCN has identified a single Center of Plant Diversity in

the country, the Cardamom Mountains (Davis et al 1995), while BirdLife International has defined two Endemic Bird Area (EBAs) that include parts of the country: the Southern Vietnamese Lowlands; and the Thailand-Cambodia Mountains (Eames et al 2002, BirdLife International 2004). The most important center of plant and animal endemism in Cambodia is the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains. Although these mountains are still being explored scientifically, studies to date have revealed significant numbers of endemic and near-endemic species, such as Chestnut-headed Partridge Arborophila cambodiana, Cambodian Laughingthrush Garrulax ferrarius, and Cardamom Banded Gecko Cyrtodactylus intermedius (Daltry and Momberg 2000). Globally threatened species According to IUCN (2004), Cambodia supports 109 non-marine globally threatened species, of which 23 are Critically Endangered, 37 are Endangered, and 49 are Vulnerable. Although none of these species are endemic to Cambodia, the country is of high global significance for the conservation of many of them. For example, Cambodia supports the majority of the global populations of Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea and White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni, two Critically Endangered bird species, as well as the largest-known remaining population of Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus siamensis, another Critically Endangered species. Cambodia is also notable for the conservation of globally threatened primate species, supporting the largest and most significant populations of Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon Nomascus gabriellae (Vulnerable), Pileated Gibbon Hylobates pileatus (Vulnerable), and Black-shanked Douc Pygathrix nigripes (Endangered) in the world. Key sites for conservation An analysis by BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Government of Cambodia identified 40 Important Bird Areas (IBAs), internationally important sites for the conservation of birds and biodiversity, in Cambodia (Seng Kim Hout et al 2003). This network of key sites for conservation covers 4.4 million ha, equivalent to 24% of the total land area of Cambodia. In 2003, approximately 65% of Cambodia’s IBA network was under some form of legal protection, although only 55% was under the strictest forms of legal


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protection (national park and wildlife sanctuary). Of the different ecosystems in Cambodia, IBAs supporting examples of offshore island, lowland riverine, and seasonally inundated grasslands were significantly under-represented within areas under the strictest form of legal protection (Seng Kim Hout et al 2003). Conservation corridors A recent conservation-priority-setting exercise supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) defined a set of “conservation corridors” across most of the GMS, excluding northern and central parts of Yunnan and Guangxi (Tordoff et al in prep.). Conservation corridors comprise interconnected landscapes of core areas, linked by actual or potential habitat corridors that are potentially of sufficient size to maintain intact biotic assemblages and natural processes over the long-term. Nine conservation corridors were defined in Cambodia (Tordoff et al in prep.), based on the results of an earlier ecoregion-based conservation assessment conducted by WWF (Baltzer et al 2001). The conservation corridors defined by CEPFsupported exercise were used by the BCI as the basis for defining “Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes,” the establishment of which would help maintain the quality of ecosystems, ensure sustainable use of shared natural resources, and improve the livelihoods of people in the GMS. Cambodia includes all or part of five Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes: the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains (which comprises the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains conservation corridor); the Tonle Sap Lake and Inundation Zone (which comprises the Tonle Sap Inundation Zone corridor); the Northern Plains Dry Forests (which comprises the Northern Plains Dry Forests Conservation Corridor); the Eastern Plains Dry Forests (which comprises the Eastern Plains Dry Forests and Southern Annamites Western Slopes corridors); and the Tri-border Forests (which comprises the Cambodia-Lao PDR-Viet Nam Tri-border Forests and Sekong Plains corridors, together with the Xe Khampho-Xe Pian corridor in Lao PDR). 8.1.2 Lao PDR Habitats and ecosystems Lao PDR is predominantly a hilly and mountainous country. The north of the country is dominated by the

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Northern Highlands, which are characterized by rugged and steep topography. The highest peak in the Northern Highlands is Phou Bia, at 2,820m asl, although elevations are typically in the range from 500 to 2,000m asl. In the center and south of the country, the key topographical feature is the Annamite mountains, which run along the international border with Viet Nam, and reach a maximum elevation of 2,711m asl. To the west of the Annamite mountains lies the Mekong plain, which is characterized by plains and low hills. The major river in Lao PDR is the Mekong, which runs from north to south, and drains almost all of the country apart from the extreme northeast. Although forest cover in Lao PDR has declined greatly over the past century, the country still retains extensive areas of forest, particularly in the center and south (Duckworth et al 1999). In the Northern Highlands, natural habitats were dominated originally by dry evergreen forest, with substantial areas of deciduous forest also present. Much of the original forest cover has, however, been lost as a result of shifting cultivation and associated fire, and replaced by Imperata grassland, bamboo, and other secondary vegetation (Duckworth et al 1999). Dry evergreen forest is also the dominant natural habitat type in the Annamite mountains, although wet evergreen forest is found in areas where the main mountain ridge is sufficiently low for them to be influenced by the northeastern monsoon. In the northern section of the Annamite chain, in Khammouan province, extensive areas of limestone karst, supporting specialized vegetation formations, can be found. In addition, upper montane evergreen forest can be found at higher elevations in both the Northern Highlands and Annamite mountains. Although large areas of the Annamite mountains have been affected by shifting cultivation, forest loss has not been as extensive as in the Northern Highlands. Nevertheless, many forest areas have been degraded by logging (Duckworth et al 1999). The original vegetation of the Mekong plain was dominated by semi-evergreen forest, with extensive areas of deciduous dipterocarp forest and mixed deciduous forest. Although the semi-evergreen forest has been the focus of logging activities, large areas remain relatively intact, particularly on steep slopes. The major focus of human activities has been low lying areas in the floodplain of the Mekong River, and the original forest cover of these

areas has been largely converted to permanent agriculture. Lao PDR still supports significant examples of dry forest ecosystems dominated by deciduous dipterocarp forest, particularly in Champasak and Attapu provinces. However, these are typically subjected to higher levels of human disturbance and support lower densities of megafauna than similar ecosystems in Cambodia.

considered reasonably likely to occur (Duckworth et al 1999). Lao PDR also supports at least 160 reptile and amphibian species (Duckworth et al 1999), although herpetological species inventory data for the country are not exhaustive. In particular, the north of the country and areas over 1,000m asl have been under-represented by herpetological surveys to date (Duckworth et al 1999).

Aquatic ecosystems in Lao PDR range from fastflowing mountain streams to wide, slow-flowing lowland rivers, such as the Mekong and Sekong. Aquatic ecosystems make an important contribution to the livelihoods of a significant proportion of the rural population, and support a number of globally threatened species. Almost all aquatic ecosystems in Lao PDR are subject to fishing and other forms of human disturbance, usually at high levels (Duckworth et al 1999). Specific threats to these ecosystems include unsustainable fishing practices and changes to river flow patterns due to widening of navigation channels or construction of hydropower dams.

The main center of endemism in Lao PDR is the Annamite mountains. These mountains, which also lie within Viet Nam and, marginally, Cambodia, support remarkable levels of endemism in plants and animals, including a significant proportion of the species endemic to the GMS. These levels of endemism have been attributed to the mountains’ geological and evolutionary history. Specifically, fluctuations in the relative extent of evergreen forest during Pleistocene glacial episodes are thought to have enabled evergreen-forest-specialist species to evolve in isolation (Baltzer et al 2001). Species endemic to the Annamite mountains include Saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, Red-shanked Douc Pygathrix nemaeus, Annamite Striped Rabbit Nesolagus timminsi, and Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata. Within Lao PDR, several of these species are associated with wet evergreen forest, located in areas influenced by the northeastern monsoon.

Four Global 200 Ecoregions defined by WWF (2005) lie wholly or partly within Lao PDR: the Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests; the Annamite Range Moist Forests; the Indochina Dry Forests; and the Mekong River. Species diversity and endemism As with all countries in the GMS, species inventory data for Lao PDR are far from comprehensive, even for the better-studied groups, such as large mammals, birds, and reptiles. New species continue to be added to lists for the country (e.g., Duckworth et al 2002), and recent years have seen a number of discoveries of new species to science. Most notable among the recent discoveries has been that of Laotian Rock Rat Laonastes aenigmamus (Jenkins et al 2005) from limestone karst areas in the center of the country, which represents not only a new species and genus but also a new family of mammals. Other notable discoveries over the last decade include a large number of new fish species from the Mekong basin (e.g., Kottelat 1998, 2000; Vidthayanon and Jaruthanin 2002). Lao PDR has a rich and diverse avifauna, reflecting the wide range of habitats in the country. Approximately 700 species of bird are known or provisionally recorded from Lao PDR, and a further 100 or so species are

Lao PDR includes parts of three EBAs defined by BirdLife International: the Annamese Lowlands, the Kon Tum Plateau, and the Eastern Himalayas (Ounekham and Inthapatha 2003). The former two lie within the Annamite mountains. In addition, IUCN has identified a single Center of Plant Diversity in Lao PDR, the Bolaven Plateau, which is located in the south of the country (Davis et al 1995). Globally threatened species According to IUCN (2004), Lao PDR supports 101 globally threatened species, comprising 17 Critically Endangered, 28 Endangered and 56 Vulnerable species. Although no globally threatened species is endemic to the country, Lao PDR supports an endemic species of primate, Lao Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus laotum, which is currently assessed as Data Deficient. Lao PDR is of very high global significance for the conservation of several globally threatened species, particularly ones endemic to the Annamite mountains, such as Saola and Red-shanked Douc (both Endangered). Moreover, within


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the GMS, Lao PDR supports some of the most important regional populations of a number of large mammal species, including Tiger and Asian Elephant (both Endangered). Key sites for conservation An analysis by BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Government of Lao PDR identified a total of 27 IBAs in Lao PDR (Ounekham and Inthapatha 2003). These sites cover a total area of 2.4 million ha, equivalent to 10% of the total land area of the country. During a recent conservation-priority-setting exercise supported by CEPF, the results of this analysis were expanded, by including data on other taxonomic groups, to define a provisional list of 38 “Key Biodiversity Areas” (KBAs): sites of international importance for conservation (Tordoff et al in prep.). Of the 38 KBAs in Lao PDR, only 22 (58% of the total) are included, partly or fully, within gazetted protected areas (Tordoff et al in prep.). Conservation corridors The priority-setting exercise supported by CEPF also defined 11 conservation corridors in Lao PDR (Tordoff et al in prep.), based on the results of an earlier ecoregion-based conservation assessment conducted by WWF (Baltzer et al 2001). These conservation corridors were used by the BCI as the basis for defining Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes, four of which lie partly within Lao PDR: the Northern Annamites (which comprises the Northern Annamites, Central Indochina Limestone, and Quang Binh-Quang Tri-Xe Bangfai conservation corridors); the Central Annamites (which comprises the Central Annamites corridor); the Northern Plains Dry Forests (which comprises the Northern Plains Dry Forests conservation corridor); and the Tri-border Forests (which comprises the Cambodia-Lao PDR-Viet Nam Tri-border Forests and Xe Khampho-Xe Pian corridors, together with the Sekong Plains corridor in Cambodia). 8.1.3 Myanmar Habitats and ecosystems Myanmar is one of the largest countries in the GMS and exhibits an extraordinary diversity of topography and climate. Elevations range from sea level to 5,881m asl at the summit of Mount Hkakaborazi in the far north. In between are several mountain ranges, extensive lowland

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plains, and several major rivers. Much of Myanmar is drained by the Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) River and its tributary the Chindwin, although the country also encompasses stretches of the Salween (Thanlwin) and Mekong Rivers. Due to its great topographical and climatic variation, Myanmar supports a correspondingly wide range of natural ecosystems. Forest types range from lowland wet evergreen forest in the south of the country to sub-alpine forest at high elevations in the far north; in between, montane evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest, deciduous dipterocarp forest, thorn forest, and freshwater swamp forest can be found. Natural forest covers around 66% of the country’s land area (Leimgruber et al 2004), making it one of the most forested countries in the GMS. Myanmar is particularly notable for supporting extensive, little disturbed areas of lowland wet evergreen forest, a forest type that has been extensively degraded and cleared elsewhere in Southeast Asia, through commercial logging and conversion to cash crops (Tordoff et al 2005). In addition to forest habitats, Myanmar also supports a wide diversity of freshwater ecosystems, ranging from fast-flowing mountain streams to wide, slow-flowing lowland rivers, as well as large lakes and other non-flowing wetlands (Tordoff et al 2005). Important habitats associated with lowland rivers include ox-bow lakes and alluvial grasslands, which have been extensively lost throughout the rest of the GMS (Tordoff et al 2005). As elsewhere in the GMS, Myanmar’s freshwater ecosystems are frequently subjected to high levels of human use, often with negative implications for biodiversity (Tordoff et al 2005). Although the coastal ecosystems in Myanmar are among the most extensive and least disturbed in the GMS, they have not escaped the threats that have led to the extensive degradation and loss of these ecosystems elsewhere in the region, such as aquacultural expansion and fuelwood collection (Tordoff et al 2005). Mangrove ecosystems are experiencing some of the highest rates of loss in the country: over 20% of the forest cover of the Ayeyarwady Delta was lost between 1990 and 2000, for example (Leimgruber et al 2004).

The global significance of Myanmar’s natural habitats and ecosystems has been recognized by a number of conservation priority setting exercises. The country includes all or part of nine Global 200 Ecoregions defined by WWF (2005): the Eastern Himalayan Alpine Meadows; the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf and Conifer Forests; the Naga-Manupuri-Chin Hills Moist Forests; the Kayah-Kayin/Tenasserim Moist Forests; the Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests; the Mekong River; the Salween River; Inle Lake; and the Andaman Sea. Species diversity and endemism Available data indicate that Myanmar supports extraordinarily high plant and vertebrate diversity. A recent checklist catalogued 11,800 species of gymnosperms and angiosperms for the country (Kress et al 2003). Northern Myanmar is particularly rich floristically: Kingdon-Ward (1944-5) recorded 6,000 vascular plant species in this area, of which perhaps 25% are endemic. IUCN identified five Centers of Plant Diversity in Myanmar, comprising: Northern Myanmar (with an estimated 6,000 vascular plant species); Tanintharyi (with an estimated 3,000); Natmataung National Park and the Chin Hills (with an estimated 2,500); the Bago Yoma Range; and the Shan Plateau (each with an estimated 2,000) (Davis et al 1995). Myanmar supports at least 250 species of mammal, including seven that are thought to be endemic to the country (Groombridge and Jenkins 1994, Bates et al 2004). Regarding birds, Myanmar supports at least 1,020 species (Smythies 1986), the greatest diversity of any GMS country apart from the PRC (Duckworth et al 1999, Robson 2000, Round 2000, MacKinnon and Phillips 2000). Myanmar supports at least 270 species of reptile and 80 species of amphibian, including seven nationally endemic species of turtle (Tordoff et al 2005). The freshwater fish fauna of Myanmar is little known but the country is estimated to support at least 350 species, a significant fraction of which may be national endemics (S. Kullander, C. Ferraris, Jr and Fang Fang in litt. 2004 to Tordoff et al 2005). For all major taxonomic groups, national species inventories are still incomplete: new species records for the country are being continually made, and new species for science are regularly described. In 1997, for example, a new species of muntjak, Leaf Deer Muntiacus

putaoensis, believed to be the smallest deer in the world, was discovered in the north of the country (Amato et al 1999). Recent surveys of other groups have resulted in the description of 14 new species of reptiles and amphibians (e.g., Slowinski and Wuster 2000, Vindum et al 2003) and 27 new species of freshwater fish (e.g., Kullander and Britz 2002, Kottelat 2004). One of the main centers of endemism in Myanmar is the Central Dry Zone, an area of plains, which experiences a very dry, seasonal climate, as a result of being sheltered from the southwest and northeast monsoons by surrounding mountain ranges. Other centers of endemism include the Eastern Himalayas, which extend into northern Myanmar, although many of the species endemic to these mountains are shared with neighboring countries. Myanmar includes all or part of four EBAs defined by BirdLife International: the Eastern Himalayas, the Irrawaddy Plains, the Yunnan Mountains, and the Andaman Islands (Stattersfield et al 1998). Regarding freshwater biodiversity, Inle Lake is known to support several nationally endemic fish species but other centers of endemism may have been overlooked due to patchy collecting effort elsewhere. Globally threatened species According to IUCN (2004), Myanmar supports 149 non-marine globally threatened species, of which 27 are Critically Endangered, 41 are Endangered and 81 are Vulnerable. Nine of these species are thought to be endemic to Myanmar: Joffre’s Pipistrelle Pipistrellus joffrei; Anthony’s Pipistrelle P. anthonyi; White-browed Nuthatch Sitta victoriae; Burmese Star Tortoise Geochelone platynota; Arakan Forest Turtle Heosemys depressa; Burmese Roofed Turtle Kachuga trivitatta; Burmese Eyed Turtle Morenia ocellata; Burmese Frogfaced Softshell Turtle Chitra vandijki; and Burmese Peacock Softshell Nilssonia formosa. In addition to these endemic species, Myanmar is of high global significance for the conservation of a number of other species. These include Gurney’s Pitta, a Critically Endangered species endemic to southern Myanmar and peninsular Thailand, which is highly threatened by clearance of its lowland forest habitat; Eld’s Deer, a Vulnerable species, which, outside of Myanmar, is restricted to small, isolated populations in northeastern India, Lao PDR, Cambodia, and Hainan


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Island; and Hoolock Gibbon Bunipithecus hoolock, an Endangered species of which Myanmar potentially supports the largest remaining population in the world. Key sites for conservation A list of 55 IBAs in Myanmar has been prepared by BirdLife International (2004). This analysis was expanded by the addition of globally important sites for the conservation of other taxonomic groups, to prepare a preliminary list of 76 KBAs (Tordoff et al 2005). The total number of globally important sites for conservation in Myanmar would undoubtedly be greater, were more detailed data available on the distribution and conservation status of species in Myanmar, particularly in Shan State. Of the 76 KBAs in Myanmar, only 23 (or 30% of the total) are designated or officially proposed as protected areas, while the remaining 53 (70%) are unprotected (Tordoff et al 2005). There may be, therefore, a need to review and expand the national protected area system, in order to increase the coverage of under-represented species and habitats, and/or to develop alternative approaches to site conservation outside of formal protected areas, such as conservation by local communities. Conservation corridors Fifteen conservation corridors have been defined in Myanmar, covering a total area of 293,400 km 2, equivalent to 43% of the national land area (Tordoff et al 2005). These corridors include the Nan Yu Range, in the northeast of the country, which is included within the BCI’s Mekong Headwaters Biodiversity Conservation Landscape. They also include the Sundaic Subregion (44,200 km2), an extremely large block of natural habitat in Tanintharyi Division and neighboring Mon and Kayin States, which comprises the Myanmar portion of the BCI’s Western Forest Complex Biodiversity Conservation Landscape. The available information indicates that the Sundaic Subregion still supports rich lowland evergreen forest communities, including important populations of Asian Tapir Tapirus indicus (Vulnerable), Tiger Panthera tigris (Endangered), and Plain-pouched Hornbill Aceros subruficollis (Vulnerable) (Lynam 2003, Tordoff et al 2005). Of greatest significance, the Sundaic Subregion supports the vast majority of the global population of Gurney’s Pitta (Critically Endangered) (Eames et al 2005). The Sundaic Subregion is particularly important for the conservation of lowland wet evergreen forests

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and mangroves, two ecosystems that are significantly under-represented within the protected area systems of the GMS. Unfortunately, the lowland wet evergreen forests of the Sundaic Subregion are under severe and immediate threat of conversion to oil palm plantations, while its mangrove habitats are threatened by conversion to aquaculture. Other threats to biodiversity in the corridor include hunting, mining, timber extraction, and over-exploitation of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) (Tordoff et al 2005). 8.1.4 PRC (Yunnan and Guangxi) Habitats and ecosystems Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are located in the south of the PRC. Both areas have a more tropical climate than the rest of the country, and have close faunal and floral affinities with the rest of the GMS. The main exception to this is highland areas in Yunnan, which have strong Sino-Himalayan affinities. Yunnan is situated to the southeast of the Tibetan (Qinghai-Xizang) Plateau, which is the origin of two of the major rivers in the GMS: the Salween (Nu Jiang) and Mekong (Lancang Jiang). Western Yunnan is drained by these two rivers, while the southeast is drained by the Red River and parts of the northeast are included within the catchment of the Yangtze (Chang Jiang). Yunnan has some of the most complex topography in the world, with high mountain ranges extending southeastwards from the Himalayas bisected by deep gorges. Yunnan contains the highest peak in the GMS: Mount Kagepo (6,740m asl). Guangxi does not contain the high mountain ranges that characterize Yunnan. Rather, it is characterized by hilly topography, with several moderately high mountain ranges and significant areas of limestone karst, most notably around Guilin in the northeast. Much of Guangxi is drained by the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang), one of Asia’s largest rivers. Terrestrial ecosystems range from alpine meadows and coniferous forests at higher elevations in Yunnan’s mountains, to lowland moist evergreen forests in Xishuangbanna prefecture in the southwest of the province. Montane evergreen forest is distributed in highland areas in Yunnan, although it has been cleared and

degraded in many areas. Lowland areas in both Yunnan and Guangxi have been extensively cleared of forest, following centuries of human settlement. Much of the natural forest that does remain at low elevations is distributed on limestone karst formations, which are largely unsuitable for conversion to other land uses. Although greatly fragmented, remaining patches of limestone forest are very important for the conservation of endemic species, particularly plants, primates, and invertebrates. While limestone forests are less threatened by conversion to agriculture that many other terrestrial ecosystems, the plant and animal species they support are often threatened by over-exploitation, while the very existence of the karst formations themselves is, in places, threatened by quarrying. The high significance of the PRC for the conservation of natural ecosystems is illustrated by the fact that 17 of the Global 200 Ecoregions defined by WWF (2005) lie wholly or partly within the country. Of these, nine Global 200 Ecoregions are located partly or fully within the GMS: the Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests, the Southeast China-Hainan Moist Forests, the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf and Conifer Forests, the Hengduan Shan Coniferous Forests, the Eastern Himalayan Alpine Meadows, the Mekong River, Xi Jiang Rivers and Streams, the Salween River, and Yunnan Lakes and Streams. Species diversity and endemism Specific species inventory data are not available for the parts of the PRC within the GMS. Nevertheless, given the size of Yunnan and Guangxi, and the degree of topographical and climatic variation within them, they can be expected to support comparable levels of species diversity to the other GMS countries. Nine Centers of Plant Diversity defined by IUCN lie wholly or partly within Yunnan and Guangxi (Davis et al 1995). These comprise: Xishuangbanna Region (with an estimated 4,000 to 4,500 vascular plant species, of which 120 species are strictly endemic); Nanling Mountain Range (with over 3,000 species); Guangxi Zhuang Limestone Region (with an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 species); Ailao Shan (with an estimated 2,000 species); South Yulong Mountains; Haba Snow Mountains; Gaoligong Mountains, Nu Jiang River and Biluo Snow Mountains; and Southern Guangxi.

Yunnan and Guangxi support a large number of endemic species. They are particularly important for the conservation of endemic plant species. Moreover, the importance of Yunnan and Guangxi for the conservation of restricted-range bird species is illustrated by the fact that they contain parts of five EBAs defined by BirdLife International: the Central Sichuan Mountains, the Chinese Subtropical Forests, the Eastern Himalayas, the Southeast Chinese Mountains, and the Yunnan Mountains (Stattersfield et al 1998). Globally threatened species According to IUCN (2004), the PRC supports 763 non-marine globally threatened species, of which 113 are Critically Endangered, 271 are Endangered, and 379 are Vulnerable. These figures are for the whole country, however, and only a proportion occurs within the GMS. Because of the high levels of local endemism in Yunnan and Guangxi, many of the globally threatened species in the Chinese portion of the GMS occur nowhere else in the world. A number of these species have extremely restricted global ranges. These include: Nyssa yunnanensis, Vatica xishuangbannaensis and Pterospermum menglunense, three Critically Endangered plant species known only from Xishuangbanna in Yunnan; P. kingtungense, a Critically Endangered plant species known only from Babian Jiang in Yunnan; and Guangxi Warty Newt Paramesotriton guangxiensis, an Endangered amphibian species known only from Paiyangshan in Guangxi. Key sites for conservation A preliminary list of 20 IBAs in Yunnan was prepared by BirdLife International (2004). This analysis was expanded by the addition of seven additional sites of international importance for the conservation of other taxonomic groups (Tordoff et al in prep.) to prepare a list of 27 KBAs for the province. In Guangxi, a provisional list of 40 IBAs was prepared (BirdLife International 2004), and then expanded by the addition of 12 sites important for other taxonomic groups to prepare a list of 52 KBAs for the autonomous region (Tordoff et al in prep.). These lists of KBAs are far from comprehensive, in particular because the analysis of taxonomic groups other than birds only included the parts of Yunnan and Guangxi that lie within the Indo-Burma Hotspot (Tordoff et al in prep.).


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Of the 27 KBAs defined in Yunnan to date, 25 (93% of the total) are partly or fully included within protected areas. For Guangxi, 42 out of 52 KBAs (81%) are partly or fully included within protected areas. These figures indicate that the coverage of sites of global conservation importance within protected areas may be relatively good in the parts of the GMS within the PRC. Conservation corridors Nine conservation corridors have been defined in the parts of Yunnan and Guangxi within the Indo-Burma Hotspot (Tordoff et al in prep.). Two of these conservation corridors are included within the BCI’s Mekong Headwaters Biodiversity Conservation Landscape: Xishuangbanna-Simao; and the Mekong River and Major Tributaries. 8.1.5 Thailand Habitats and ecosystems Like many other countries in the GMS, Thailand has a very diverse topography. Elevations range from sea level, along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand, to 2,595m asl, at the summit of Doi Inthanon in the northwest. The principal lowland areas are the Central Plain, in the center of the country, and the Khorat Plateau, in the northeast. The Phetchabun mountains divide these two lowland areas. The highest mountains in the country are in the north but there are also significant mountain ranges along the international borders with Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Cambodia. Two of the GMS’s major rivers, the Salween and Mekong, flow along Thailand’s northwestern and eastern borders, respectively, while a third, the Chao Phraya, drains much of the center and north of the country. In mountainous areas throughout Thailand, montane evergreen forest is the predominant natural ecosystem. This ecosystem remains widespread and relatively undisturbed, although significant areas have been affected by shifting cultivation and associated fire, particularly in the north. At lower elevations, lowland moist evergreen and semi-evergreen forests are widely distributed, while deciduous dipterocarp forest is concentrated in parts of the west, north, and northeast. Deciduous dipterocarp forest has been degraded and cleared in many areas, particularly in the northeast.

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The lowlands of peninsular Thailand originally supported large expanses of lowland wet evergreen forest. The faunal and floral communities of this ecosystem are species rich, and have a very strong Sundaic component. However, because of the suitability of these areas for the cultivation of cash crops, such as rubber and oil palm, and the abundance of valuable timber species, Thailand’s lowland wet evergreen forests have been extensively cleared and fragmented. Some of the largest and least disturbed patches that remain can be found along the international border with Malaysia. The growth of Thailand’s economy and human population, coupled with unsustainable management practices, have resulted, over the last half-century, in severe over-exploitation of the country’s natural resources. For example, Thailand’s forest cover declined from an estimated 53% in 1961 to 26% in 1995 (WCMC 1997). The impacts on certain other terrestrial ecosystems were even greater: natural grasslands, which were once widespread in Thailand, particularly in the floodplains of rivers, almost totally disappeared, as a result of conversion to agriculture, human settlement, and other land uses. Aquatic ecosystems in Thailand include slowflowing, lowland rivers, such as the Mekong, the Chao Phraya and their major tributaries, fast-flowing, rocky mountain streams, and freshwater lagoons, such as Thale Noi. Coastal ecosystems include intertidal mudflats, sandy beaches as well as significant areas of mangrove. As is the case with terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic and coastal ecosystems have been severely impacted by unsustainable natural resource use: fish stocks have been depleted, mangroves have been extensively converted to aquaculture, and freshwater ecosystems have been affected by industrial, agricultural, and domestic pollution (Bugna and Rambaldi 2001). In spite of the declines in extent and condition undergone by natural habitats in Thailand over recent decades, significant areas of relatively extensive and little-disturbed natural habitat remain, particularly within the north, west, south and southeast of the country. These areas still support faunal and floral communities that are near to complete in terms of species composition. Thailand includes parts of eight Global 200 Ecoregions

defined by WWF (2005): the Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests, the Kayah-Karen/Tenasserim Moist Forests, the Peninsular Malaysian Lowland and Montane Forests, the Cardamom Mountains Moist Forests, the Indochina Dry Forests, the Mekong River, the Salween River, and the Andaman Sea. Species diversity and endemism Because of the wide climatic, latitudinal, and altitudinal variation within Thailand, the country supports relatively high species richness. The country has been estimated to support between 20,000 and 25,000 species of vascular plant, and over 3,000 species of vertebrate (MacKinnon 1997). Regarding the best-studied group, birds, Thailand supports at least 960 species (Round 2000). IUCN has identified nine Centers of Plant Diversity in Thailand, comprising: Thung Yai-Huai Kha Khaeng (which is estimated to support over 2,500 species of vascular plants); Khao Yai (with an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 species); Doi Suthep-Pui (with over 2,000 species); Tarutao (with an estimated 2,000 species); Doi Chiang Dao (with over 1,200 species); Doi Inthanon; Khao Soi Dao; the Limestone Flora; and the Wet Seasonal Evergreen Forests of South-east Thailand (Davis et al 1995). Compared with other GMS countries, Thailand supports moderate levels of endemism, at least within relatively better-studied taxonomic groups. Thailand supports at least 120 endemic plant species (Bugna and Rambaldi 2001), while endemic vertebrate species comprise at least six mammals, 31 reptiles, eight amphibians, and 29 fish (OEPP 2000). The number of endemic species in these groups may be higher than these figures indicate, as new species to science continue to be described for the country (e.g., Vidthayanon 2003, Vidthayanon and Kottelat 2003). One reason for the moderate levels of nationallevel endemism in Thailand is that many species with restricted global distributions are found in mountainous areas, which, in Thailand’s case, are concentrated along international borders. It is no surprise, therefore, that the two EBAs defined in Thailand by BirdLife International are shared with neighboring countries: Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia; and the Thailand-Cambodia Mountains (Bird Conservation Society of Thailand 2004).

Globally threatened species Thailand supports 215 non-marine globally threatened species, of which 49 are Critically Endangered, 55 are Endangered, and 111 are Vulnerable (IUCN 2004). Nineteen of these species are known only from Thailand. They comprise: two species of mammal, Neill’s Longtailed Giant Rat Leopoldamys neilli (Endangered) and Surat Serotine Eptesicus dimissus (Vulnerable); one species of bird, White-eyed River-martin Eurochelidon sirintarae (Critically Endangered); two species of amphibian, Thai Slender Toad Ansonia siamensis and Smith’s Wrinkled Frog Ingerana tasanae (both Vulnerable); seven species of fish, Betta simplex, Cryptotora thamicola, Nemacheilus troglocataractus, Oreoglanis siamensis, Puntius speleops, Schistura jarutanini and S. oedipus (all Vulnerable); and seven species of plant Cycas chamaoensis, C. tansachana (both Critically Endangered), C. pranburiensis, Knema austrosiamensis, K. conica, Wrightia lanceolata, and W. viridifolia (all Vulnerable). One of the above species, White-eyed Rivermartin, may already be extinct, not having been conclusively recorded since 1978 (BirdLife International 2001). However, it is possible that this rare and enigmatic species still survives somewhere in the GMS. At least one mammal species that formerly occurred in Thailand is thought already to have gone extinct globally: Schomburgk’s Deer Cervus schomburgki. This species once inhabited the plains and swamps of the Central Plain but the last known individual was killed in 1938 (Lekagul and McNeely 1977). A second mammal species that formerly occurred in Thailand and may also have gone extinct globally is Kouprey. There have been no confirmed records of this Critically Endangered species, which also formerly occurred in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, for more than 20 years. Thailand also supports the last known population of Hairy Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis in the GMS. A small population of this Critically Endangered mammal species survives at Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary in the far south. Key sites for conservation A total of 62 IBAs have been identified in Thailand, covering a total area of 4.4 million ha, equivalent to 9% of the total land area of the country (Bird Conservation Society of Thailand 2004). The IBA analysis was expanded


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during a recent conservation-priority-setting exercise supported by CEPF, by the inclusion of data on other taxonomic groups, to define 113 KBAs in the country. Eighty four percent of these KBAs are partly or wholly included in gazetted protected areas. This partly reflects Thailand’s high protected area coverage, which, at over 17% of the national land area, is one of the highest in the GMS. It may also partly reflect the fact that recent biodiversity surveys have been heavily focused on protected areas, with areas of natural habitat outside of protected areas receiving relatively little survey effort. Conservation corridors Nineteen conservation corridors were defined in Thailand through a recent conservation-priority-setting exercise (Tordoff et al in prep.). These corridors were based on an analysis of forest complexes conducted by the Royal Forest Department (1999). The 19 conservation corridors include the Western Forest Complex, which, together with the Sundaic Subregion corridor in Myanmar, comprises the BCI’s Western Forest Complex Biodiversity Conservation Landscape. 8.1.6 Viet Nam Habitats and ecosystems The major rivers in Viet Nam are the Red River in the north and the Mekong in the south. The deltas of these two rivers comprise large alluvial plains, which are the main centers of human population. The other major lowland areas in the country are the coastal plain, which runs along the length of the country, and western parts of the Central Highlands, which are drained westward by tributaries of the Mekong River. The main highland areas in Viet Nam are the Hoang Lien mountains in the northwest, which contain Mount Fan Si Pan (3,143m asl), Viet Nam’s highest peak, and the Annamite mountains, which extend the full length of the country, and reach a maximum elevation of 2,711m asl. The lowlands of Viet Nam have been largely converted to agriculture and human settlement, with the result that natural lowland habitats are fragmented and vastly reduced in extent. In many highland areas, on the other hand, human population densities are lower, and significant, continuous areas of natural habitat remain, particularly in the Annamite mountains.

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Evergreen forest ecosystems are widely distributed in Viet Nam, particularly in the north and center of the country. Lowland evergreen forest is distributed at low elevations, in areas with high rainfall and a short dry season. Montane evergreen forest is the dominant natural habitat above 1,000m asl throughout the country, except in parts of the southern Annamite mountains, where natural coniferous forest is distributed over large areas. In areas with greater seasonality, such as parts of the Central Highlands and the lowlands of southern Viet Nam, semievergreen forest and mixed deciduous forest are distributed. Deciduous dipterocarp forest is found in areas with an extended, pronounced dry season: lowland areas in the Central Highlands, and localized areas in the coastal zone of south-central Viet Nam. Other terrestrial ecosystems in Viet Nam include limestone forest, which is distributed on limestone karst formations in central and northeastern Viet Nam, with smaller areas elsewhere in the country. Limestone forest ecosystems are characterized by high levels of localized endemism, particularly in plants and invertebrates. However, they are threatened in many areas by quarrying to supply the growing demand for construction materials. Viet Nam also supports a wide diversity of freshwater ecosystems, including rivers, natural lakes and seasonally inundated grasslands. Wide, slow-flowing, lowland rivers are the focus of human settlement throughout Viet Nam and, as a result, the assemblages of riverine species that characterize these ecosystems elsewhere in the GMS have been dissociated almost everywhere. Seasonally inundated grasslands are an important habitat for such species as Sarus Crane Grus antigone, and Wild Rice Oryza rufipogon, the wild ancestor of cultivated rice. However, these ecosystems, which were once widespread throughout the Mekong Delta, are now reduced to a few small fragments, as a result of conversion to agriculture and aquaculture (Buckton et al 1999). Coastal ecosystems in Viet Nam include mangroves, intertidal mudflats and offshore islands. Mangroves were once distributed along long stretches of the coastline of Viet Nam, particularly in the Red River and Mekong Deltas but are now vastly reduced in extent. Intertidal mudflats, which are concentrated at

river mouths, are an important habitat for migratory waterbirds, including several globally threatened species, such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus and Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor (both Endangered). These ecosystems are subjected to high levels of human disturbance, and are threatened in places by afforestation with mangrove (Pedersen and Nguyen Huy Thang 1996).

Century, the entire Vietnamese Mekong Delta was one uninterrupted mosaic of wetlands and forests, spanning 3.9 million ha. Today, the region has been almost entirely converted to rice farming and other human uses, and natural freshwater wetlands are reduced to a few isolated fragments, mainly in areas of acid sulphate soils, which are unsuitable for agriculture ( Buckton and Safford 2004).

A prolonged period of rapid economic growth and population expansion, preceded by a series of armed conflicts, has had significant impacts on Viet Nam’s natural ecosystems. Over the period 1945 to 1995, natural forest cover declined from 43% to 29% of the national land area (MARD 2001a), and much of the remaining forest was degraded by over-exploitation. Although wartime bombing, spraying of defoliants, and mechanized land clearing resulted in the loss of significant areas of natural forest (Collins 1990), the major causes of forest loss in Viet Nam have been agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, commercial logging, over-exploitation of firewood and other forest products, and reliance on destructive forms of pioneer agriculture by some representatives of the ethnic minorities (De Koninck 1999, Baltzer et al 2001).

While Viet Nam no longer supports extensive landscapes of undisturbed natural habitats, such as can still be found in certain other GMS countries, it does support very high levels of species endemism for a continental country. For many species, habitats, and ecosystems, Viet Nam represents the best (or only) opportunity in the world for their conservation. The global significance of Viet Nam for the conservation of natural ecosystems is recognized by WWF (2005), who have defined six Global 200 Ecoregions partly within the country: the Northern Indochina Subtropical Moist Forests, the Southeast China-Hainan Moist Forests, the Annamite Range Moist Forests, the Indochina Dry Forests, the Mekong River, and Xi Jiang Rivers and Streams.

According to official statistics, the decline in Viet Nam’s forest cover is beginning to be reversed: forest cover increased from 9.3 million ha in 1995 to 12.1 million ha in 2003 (MARD 2001b, 2005). However, these figures mask the true situation, as over half of this increase can be accounted for by an increase in the area of plantation forest, which typically has limited biodiversity value. Moreover, remaining natural forests are mostly degraded and fragmented, and host depauperate faunal and floral communities. Only a very small proportion of Viet Nam’s forests could be considered to be in an undisturbed condition, and these are concentrated on steep slopes, at high elevations or in other inaccessible areas. The picture for coastal ecosystems is even bleaker. Over the second half of the 20th century, over 80% of Viet Nam’s mangrove forests were lost, initially due to wartime damage, and later through massive expansion of shrimp aquaculture. Between 1991 and 2001, the total area of coastal and marine aquaculture in Viet Nam increased by 94% (MoFi 2001). The situation for aquatic ecosystems is little better. At the beginning of the 19th

Species diversity and endemism Viet Nam supports relatively high levels of biodiversity for a medium-sized country. Viet Nam has been evaluated as one of the 16 most biologically diverse countries in the world (WCMC 1992), and is especially significant for the conservation of particular taxonomic groups. For example, Viet Nam is ranked fourth in the world for a number of endangered primates, and supports five of the world’s top 25 most endangered primates (CI, MMBF, IUCN/SSC and IPS 2002). IUCN has identified seven Centers of Plant Diversity in Viet Nam, comprising: Phu Khan (with an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 species of vascular plants); Mount Fan Si Pan (with over 3,000 species); Bach Ma-Hai Van (with an estimated 2,500 species), Cat Tien (with an estimated 2,500 species); Langbian-Dalat Highland (with an estimated 2,000 species); Cuc Phuong (with nearly 2,000 species); and Yok Don (with an estimated 1,500 species) (Davis et al 1995). Since the early 1990s, Viet Nam has drawn the attention of the global scientific community, with a series of remarkable discoveries of new mammal species. Five


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of these species, Grey-shanked Douc Pygathrix cinerea (Nadler 1997), Saola (Vu Van Dung et al 1993), Largeantlered Muntjac Muntiacus vuquangensis (Do Tuoc et al 1994, Timmins et al 1998), Annamite Muntjac M. truongsonensis (Pham Mong Giao et al 1998, Timmins et al 1998), and Annamite Striped Rabbit (Averianov et al 2000), are known only from the Annamite mountains, highlighting the significance of this area as a center of endemism. Other recently discovered species from the Annamite mountains include three birds: Golden-winged Laughingthrush Garrulax ngoclinhensis (Eames et al 1999a), Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush G. konkakinhensis (Eames and Eames 2001), and Black-crowned Barwing Actinodura sodangorum (Eames et al 1999b). Other centers of endemism in Viet Nam include limestone karst areas in the north and center of the country, which support many endemic plants and animals, including several primates, such as Delacour’s Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus delacouri and Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus avunculus, and several conifers, such as Amentotaxus hatuyensis and Xanthocyparis vietnamensis. BirdLife International has identified five EBAs, centers of bird endemism, in Viet Nam: the Annamese Lowlands, the Da Lat Plateau, the Kon Tum Plateau, the Southeast Chinese Mountains, and the Southern Vietnamese Lowlands (Tordoff 2002). Globally threatened species According to IUCN (2004), Viet Nam supports 286 globally threatened species, the largest number of any country in the GMS outside of the PRC. Of these species, 47 are Critically Endangered, 82 are Endangered, and 157 are Vulnerable. The high levels of faunal and floral endemism supported by Viet Nam are reflected in the 72 globally threatened species that are endemic to the country. These include: five mammal species, Small-toothed Mole Euroscaptor parvidens, Viet Nam Leaf-nosed Bat Paracoelops megalotis, Tonkin Snub-nosed Monkey, Delacour’s Leaf Monkey, and Chapa Pygmy Dormouse Typhlomys chapensis (all Critically Endangered); six bird species, Grey-crowned Crocias Crocias langbianis, Collared Laughingthrush Garrulax yersini, Edwards’s Pheasant Lophura edwardsi, Vietnamese Pheasant L. hatinhensis (all Endangered), Chestnut-eared Laughingthrush and Golden-winged Laughingthrush

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(both Vulnerable); one reptile species, Vietnamese Pond Turtle Mauremys annamensis (Critically Endangered); and five amphibian species, Theloderma bicolor, Hoang Lien Moustache Toad Vibrissaphora echinata (both Endangered), Annam Spadefoot Toad Brachytarsophrys intermedia, Leptolalax tuberosus, and Vietnamese Salamander Paramesotriton deloustali (all Vulnerable). Viet Nam also supports an endemic taxon of Whiteheaded Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus poliocephalus (Critically Endangered), which is considered by some authorities to be a separate species. In addition, 55 globally threatened plant species are endemic to Viet Nam: Cycas fugax, Hopea cordata, H. hongayanensis, Shorea falcata, Xanthocyparis vietnamensis (all Critically Endangered), Alstonia annamensis, Amentotaxus hatuyensis, Cinnamomum balansae, Cycas aculeata, C. hoabinhensis, Dalbergia annamensis, D. mammosa, Mangifera dongnaiensis, Schefflera kontumensis, S. palmiformis (all Endangered), Actinodaphne ellipticbacca, Alleizettella rubra, Amentotaxus poilanei, Aquilaria banaensae, Bennettiodendron cordatum, Bursera tonkinensis, Caesalpinia nhatrangense, Camellia fleuryi, C. gilbertii, C. pleurocarpa, Cleistanthus petelotii, Craibiodendron scleranthum, Croton phuquocensis, C. touranensis, Cycas elongata, C. condaoensis, C. inermis, C. lindstromii, C. micholitzii, C. nongnoochiae, C. pachypoda, Goniothalamus macrocalyx, Helicia grandifolia, Horsfieldia longiflora, Huodendron parviflorum, Knema mixta, K. pachycarpa, K. pierrei, K. poilanei, K. sessiflora, K. squamulosa, Mangifera minutifolia, Mouretia tonkinensis, Phoebe poilanei, Pinus krempfii, Pistacia cucphuongensis, Sinoradlkofera minor, Styrax litseoides, Trigonostemon fragilis and Vitex ajugaeflora (all Vulnerable). Despite the large and growing number of threatened species in Viet Nam, relatively few species are known to have become nationally extinct. Vertebrate species thought to have become extinct in Viet Nam since 1900 include Hairy Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, Sika Cervus nippon, Kouprey Bos sauveli, Wild Water Buffalo Bubalus arnee, Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis, White-crowned Hornbill Aceros comatus and Mangrove Terrapin Batagur baska. Of these, only Kouprey may have become extinct globally.

Although Viet Nam appears to have retained most of its species into the 21st Century, many species that do survive persist only as small, highly fragmented populations of doubtful long-term viability. For example, three of Viet Nam’s four endemic primates have populations of under 500 individuals (Nadler et al 2003), while the population of Lesser One-horned Rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus at Cat Tien National Park, one of only two known populations of this species in the world, numbers only 6 or 7 individuals (Polet et al 1999). It is likely that, if current trends continue, the first decades of the 21st century will witness a wave of species extinctions in Viet Nam, unprecedented in the country’s history. Key sites for conservation An analysis by BirdLife International and the Government of Viet Nam identified 63 IBAs in Viet Nam, covering a total area of 1.7 million ha, equivalent to 5% of the country’s land area (Tordoff 2002). During a recent CEPF-supported conservation-priority-setting exercise, the results of this analysis were expanded, by including data on other taxonomic groups, to define a provisional list of 102 KBAs: sites of international importance for conservation (Tordoff et al in prep.). Of the 102 KBAs in Viet Nam, only 35% are included within gazetted protected areas, in whole or in part, the lowest proportion for any GMS country (Tordoff et al in prep.). Conservation corridors Eighteen conservation corridors were defined in Viet Nam through the recent conservation-priority-setting exercise supported by CEPF (Tordoff et al in prep.). These were, in turn, based on an earlier analysis led by WWF (Baltzer et al 2001). Seven of these corridors are included within the Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes: the Northern Annamites, Central Indochina Limestone, and Quang Binh-Quang Tri-Xe Bangfai Lowlands (which, together, comprise the Northern Annamites landscape); the Central Annamites (which comprises the Central Annamites landscape); the Cambodia-Lao PDRViet Nam Tri-border Forests (which, together with the Sekong Plains corridor in Cambodia and the Xe Khampho-Xe Pian corridor in Lao PDR, comprise the Tri-border Forests Landscape); and the Eastern Plains Dry Forests and Southern Annamites Western Slopes (which, together, comprise the Eastern Plains Dry Forests landscape).

8.2

Options for monitoring the status of biodiversity in the BCI pilot sites

Seven pilot sites have been identified for implementation of site-level activities during the first phase (2006-2008) of the BCI. These are distributed among five of the six countries of the GMS, and cover six of the nine Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes defined by the BCI. In order to evaluate the impact of the BCI pilot projects, identify key trends in biodiversity in the Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes and GMS Economic Corridors, and monitor progress towards attaining the goals of the BCI, it will be necessary to monitor the status of biodiversity in the BCI pilot sites. This section presents options for monitoring the status of biodiversity at each pilot site, and briefly reviews the availability of baseline data. For all BCI pilot sites, it will be possible to monitor large-scale changes in condition and extent of natural habitats by means of remote sensing data, in particular satellite images, supported by ground truthing. However, many key changes in the status of biodiversity at pilot sites can be difficult or impossible to detect using remote sensing data. In particular, changes in population densities of animal and plant species, resulting from overexploitation, disturbance and/or habitat degradation, are seldom possible to detect using remote sensing data. In such cases, site-level monitoring will be required to detect trends. Because of resource limitations, coupled with the fact that many species are difficult, if not impossible, to monitor with an acceptable degree of accuracy, it will be necessary to monitor the populations of a subset of species at each site, termed “indicator species.” In order for the monitoring results to be informative as to the overall status of biodiversity at a site, the indicator species should be ones that respond to pressures in a similar fashion to other species of conservation concern. In addition, in order that monitoring can be conducted in a cost-effective, sustainable manner, the indicator species should be ones that can be monitored with low to moderate resources, and, ideally, by local stakeholders, such as researchers, site managers, or local community members, rather than by scientists from outside the area. Moreover, in order that trends can be identified over the timeframe of the BCI, indicator species should be ones that are expected to undergo measurable change over a 10-year period (i.e., by 2015).


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8.2.1 Cardamom Mountains Site description This pilot site is situated within the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains Biodiversity Conservation Landscape and comprises three ecological corridors in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia. Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Cardamom Mountains Pilot Site include the following: • Pileated Gibbon (Vulnerable; endemic to the GMS; the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains may support the largest population of this species in the world) • Asian Elephant (Endangered; the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains support one of the largest populations of this species in the GMS) • Chestnut-headed Partridge (Vulnerable; endemic to the GMS; the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains support the majority of the global population of this species) • Siamese Crocodile (Critically Endangered; endemic to the GMS; the pilot site supports the largest known population of this species in the world) Baseline data Baseline studies of Pileated Gibbon, Asian Elephant, and Siamese Crocodile in the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains have been conducted by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), and population estimates for all three species have been produced (Daltry et al 2003, Traeholt et al in prep.). No baseline population data are available for Chestnut-headed Partridge, although they ought to be relatively straightforward to obtain, given that the species can be readily detected by its call. 8.2.2 Eastern Plains Site description This pilot site is situated within the Eastern Plains Biodiversity Conservation Landscape and comprises six ecological corridors in Mondulkiri province, Cambodia. Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Eastern Plains Pilot Site include the following:

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• Asian Elephant (Endangered; the Eastern Plains support one of the largest populations of this species in the GMS) • Banteng (Endangered; the Eastern Plains support one of the largest populations of this species in the world) • Eld’s Deer (Vulnerable; the Eastern Plains support one of the largest populations of this species in the GMS) • Green Peafowl Pavo muticus (Vulnerable; the Eastern Plains support one of the largest populations of this species in the world) • Giant Ibis (Critically Endangered; endemic to the GMS; the Eastern Plains support one of the largest populations of this species in the world) Availability of baseline data Baseline studies of Asian Elephant in the Eastern Plains have been conducted by FFI, and a population estimate has been produced. No baseline population data are available for the other four species. 8.2.3 Khao Yai-Thab Lan Site description This pilot site is situated outside of the nine Biodiversity Conservation Landscapes defined by the BCI, and comprises the Khao Yai-Thab Lan corridor in Thailand. Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Khao Yai-Thab Lan Pilot Site include the following: • Gibbons: White-handed Gibbon (Near Threatened) and Pileated Gibbon (Endangered, endemic to the GMS) • Asian Elephant (Endangered) • Gaur (Vulnerable) • Large carnivores, particularly Tiger (Endangered) • Hornbills, particularly Great Hornbill (Near Threatened) Availability of baseline data Hornbill Project Thailand has established baseline data for hornbill populations. Local NGOs around Khao Yai National Park have collected some baseline data on Gaur populations. Researchers at Mahidol

University have established a 30 ha permanent sample plot to study plant-animal interactions; data on bird and primate densities have been collected in a systematic way since 2001. Population surveys of large carnivores and Asian Elephant have also been carried out at the pilot site. 8.2.4 Ngoc Linh-Xe Sap Site description This pilot site is situated within the Central Annamites Biodiversity Conservation Landscape and comprises the Ngoc Linh-Xe Sap corridor in Viet Nam. Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Ngoc Linh-Xe Sap Pilot Site include the following: • White-cheeked Crested Gibbon Nomascus leucogenys (Data Deficient; endemic to the GMS; the Central Annamites may support one of the largest populations of this species in the world) • Red-shanked Douc (Endangered; endemic to the GMS; the Central Annamites supports one of the largest populations of this species in the world) • Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata (Vulnerable; the Central Annamites supports one of the largest populations of this species in the world) Availability of baseline data WWF has established baseline data on primate populations in Quang Nam province in the south of the pilot site (Minh Hoang et al 2005). BirdLife International has established baseline data on populations of all three indicator species in Quang Tri province in the north of the pilot site. 8.2.5 Tenasserim Site description This pilot site is situated within the Western Forest Complex Biodiversity Conservation Landscape and comprises an ecological corridor, linking Thailand’s Kaeng Krachan and Western Forest Complexes.

Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Tenasserim Pilot Site include the following: • • • • •

White-handed Gibbon (Near Threatened) Asian Elephant (Endangered) Gaur (Vulnerable) Large carnivores, particularly Tiger (Endangered) Hornbills, particularly Great Hornbill (Near Threatened)

Availability of baseline data Hornbill Project Thailand has established baseline data for hornbill populations at several sites within the Kaeng Krachan and Western Forest Complexes. Wildlife Conservation Society has initiated a monitoring program at Kaeng Krachan National Park, focusing on large carnivores. For the pilot site itself, accurate population estimates are not available for most of the indicator species listed above, and baselines would need to be established. 8.2.6 Xe Pian-Dong Hua Sao-Dong Ampham Site description This pilot site is situated within the Tri-border Forests Biodiversity Conservation Landscape and comprises the Xe Pian-Dong Hua Sao-Dong Ampham corridor in Lao PDR. Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Xe Pian-Dong Hua Sao-Dong Ampham Pilot Site include the following: • Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon (Vulnerable; endemic to the GMS) • Asian Elephant (Endangered) • Large carnivores, particularly Tiger (Endangered) • Hornbills, particularly Great Hornbill (Near Threatened) Availability of baseline data Baseline data on population densities of all the above indicator species will need to be established.


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8.2.7 Xishuangbanna Site description This pilot site is situated within the Mekong Headwaters Biodiversity Conservation Landscape and comprises the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve Complex in Yunnan. Indicator species Potential indicator species for the Xishuangbanna Pilot Site include the following: • Asian Elephant (Endangered) • Green Peafowl (Vulnerable) • Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis (Vulnerable) Availability of baseline data Baseline data on population densities of all the above indicator species will need to be established. References Amato, G., Egan, M. and Rabinowitz, A. (1999) A new species of muntjac Muntiacus putaoensis (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) from northern Myanmar. Animal Conservation. 2: 1-7. Averianov, A. O., Abramov, A. V. and Tikhonov, A. N. (2000) A new species of Nesolagus (Lagomorpha, Leporidae) from Viet Nam with osteological description. Contributions from the Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg. 3: 1–22. Baltzer, M. C., Nguyen Thi Dao and Shore, R. G. eds. (2001) Towards a vision for biodiversity conservation in the Forests of the Lower Mekong Ecoregion Complex. Hanoi: WWF Indochina Programme. Bates, P. J. J., Struebig, M. J., Rossiter, S. J., Kingston, T., Sai Sein Lin Oo and Khin Mya Mya (2004) A new species of Kerivoula (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Myanmar (Burma). Acta Chiropterologica. 6(2): 219-226. Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (2004) Directory of Important Bird Areas in the Kingdom of Thailand: key sites for conservation. Bangkok: Bird Conservation Society of Thailand and BirdLife International. BirdLife International (2004) Important Bird Areas in Asia: key sites for conservation. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. Buckton, S. T., Nguyen Cu, Nguyen Duc Tu and Ha Quy Quynh (1999) The conservation of key wetland sites in the Mekong Delta. Hanoi: Birdlife International Viet Nam Programme.

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Buckton, S. T. and Safford, R. J. (2004) The avifauna of the Viet Namese Mekong Delta. Bird Conservation International. 14: 279-322. Bugna, S. and Rambaldi, G. (2001) A review of the protected area system of Thailand. ASEAN Biodiversity. 1(3): 36-41. CI, MMBF, IUCN/SSC and IPS (2002) The world’s top 25 most endangered primates. Washington DC: Conservation International, Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and International Primatological Society. Collins, M. ed. (1990) The last rain forests: a world conservation atlas. New York: Oxford University Press. Daltry, J. C., Chheang Dany, Em Phal, Poeung Mora, Sam Han, Sonn Piseth, Tan Thara and Simpson, B. K. (2003) Status of the Siamese Crocodile in the central and southern Cardamom mountains, Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Fauna & Flora International Cambodia Programme and Department of Forestry and Wildlife. Daltry, J. C. and Momberg, F. eds. (2000) Cardamom Mountains: Biodiversity Survey 2000. Fauna & Flora International: Cambridge. Davis, S. D., Heywood, V. H. and Hamilton, A. C. eds. (1995) Centres of plant diversity: a guide and strategy for their conservation. Volume 2: Asia, Australasia and the Pacific. Cambridge, U.K.: IUCN Publications Unit. De Koninck, R. (1999) Deforestation in Viet Nam. Ottawa: International Development Research Centre. Do Tuoc, Vu Van Dung, Dawson, S., Arctander, P. and MacKinnon, J. (1994) [Introduction of a new large mammal species in Viet Nam]. Hanoi: Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. (In Vietnamese.) Duckworth, J. W., Davidson, P., Evans, T. D., Round, P. D. and Timmins, R. J. (2002) Bird records from Laos, principally the Upper Lao/Thai Mekong and Xiangkhouang province, in 19982000. Forktail. 18: 11-44. Duckworth, J. W., Salter, R. E. and Khounboline, K. compilers (1999) Wildlife in Lao PDR: 1999 status report. Vientiane: IUCN, Wildlife Conservation Society and the Centre for Protected Areas and Watershed Management. Eames, J. C. and Eames, C. (2001) A new species of Laughingthrush (Passeriformes: Garrulacinae) from the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. Bull. B.O.C. 121 (1): 10-23. Eames, J. C., Htin Hla, Leimgruber, P., Kelly, D. S., Sein Myo Aung, Saw Moses and U Saw Nyunt Tin (2005) The rediscovery of Gurney’s Pitta Pitta gurneyi in Myanmar and an estimate of its population size based on remaining forest cover. Bird Conservation International. 15: 3-26.

Eames, J. C., Le Trong Trai and Nguyen Cu (1999a) A new species of laughingthrush (Passeriformes: Garrulacinae) from the Western Highlands of Viet Nam. Bull. B.O.C. 119: 4-15. Eames, J. C., Le Trong Trai, Nguyen Cu and Eve, R. (1999b) New species of barwing Actinodura (Passeriformes: Sylviinae: Timaliini) from the Western Highlands of Viet Nam. Ibis. 141: 1-10.

Lekagul, B. and McNeeley, J. (1977) Mammals of Thailand. Bangkok: Association for the Conservation of Wildlife. Lynam, A. J. (2003) A national Tiger action plan for the Union of Myanmar. Yangon: Myanmar Forest Department and the Wildlife Conservation Society International Program. MacKinnon, J. ed. (1997) Protected area systems review of the Indo-Malayan Realm. Canterbury: Asian Bureau for Conservation.

Eames, J. C., Steinheimer, F. D. and Ros Bansok (2002) A collection of birds from the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia, including a new subspecies of Arborophila cambodiana. Forktail. 18: 67-86.

MacKinnon, J. and Phillips, K. (2000) A field guide to the birds of China. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Groombridge, B. and Jenkins, M. D. eds. (1994) Biodiversity data sourcebook. Cambridge, UK: World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

MARD (2001a) National five million hectare reforestation programme. Hanoi: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Forest Development.

IUCN (2004) 2004 IUCN red list of threatened species. Downloaded from http://www.redlist.org on 3 March 2006.

MARD (2001b) Report on result of overall national forest inventory. Hanoi: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Central Inventory Directive Board.

Jenkins, P. D., Kilpatrick, C. W., Robinson, M. F. and Timmins, R. J. (2005) Morphological and molecular investigations of a new family, genus and species of rodent (Mammalia: Rodentia: Hystricognatha) from Lao PDR. Systematics and Biodiversity. 2: 419-454.

MARD (2005) Decision No. 1116/QD/BNN-KL dated 18/05/2005 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on gazettement of forest area and unused land nationwide in 2004.

Kingdon-Ward, F. (1944-5) A sketch of the botany and geography of North Burma. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Society. 44: 550-574; 45: 16-30, 133-148. Kottelat, M. (1998) Fishes of the Nam Theun and Xe Bangfai basins, Laos, with diagnoses of twenty-four new species (Teleostei: Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, Cobitidae, Coiidae and Odontobutidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters. 9(1): 1-128. Kottelat, M. (2000) Diagnoses of a new genus and 64 new species of fishes from Laos (Teleostei: Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, Bagridae, Syngnathidae, Chaudhuriidae and Tetraodontidae). J. South. Asian Nat. Hist. 5(1): 37-82. Kottelat, M. (2004) Botia kubotai, a new species of loach (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from the Ataran River basin (Myanmar), with comments on botiine nomenclature and diagnosis of a new genus. Zootaxa. 401: 1–18. Kress, W. J., DeFilipps, R. A., Farr, E. and Daw Yin Yin Kyi (2003) A checklist of the trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers of Myanmar (revised from the original works by J. H. Lace and H. G. Hundley). Contrib. U. S. Nat. Herbarium. 45: 1-590. Kullander, S.O. and Britz, R. (2002) Revision of the family Badidae (Teleostei: Perciformes), with description of a new genus and ten new species. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 13: 295-372. Leimgruber, P., Kelly, D. S., Steininger, M., Brunner, J., Müller, T. and Songer, M. A. (2004) Forest cover change patterns in Myanmar 1990-2000. Unpublished report to Conservation International and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Minh Hoang, Tu Van Khanh, Huynh Van Thuong and Long, B. (2005) Primate conservation in Quang Nam province, central Viet Nam. Tam Ky: WWF Indochina and Quang Nam Forest Protection Department. Mittermeier, R. A., Robles Gil, P., Hoffmann, M., Pilgrim, J., Brooks, T., Mittermeier, C. G., Lamoreaux, J. and da Fonseca, G. A. B. eds. Hotspots revisited: Earth’s biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions. Monterrey: CEMEX; Washington D.C.: Conservation International; and Mexico: Agrupación Sierra Madre. MoFi (2001) Master plan for fisheries sector 2000-2010. Hanoi: Ministry of Fisheries. Nadler, T. (1997) A new subspecies of Douc Langur, Pygathrix nemaeus cinereus ssp. nov. Zool. Garten N. F. 67: 165-176. Nadler, T., Momberg, F., Nguyen Xuan Dang, and Lormee, N. (2003) Viet Nam primate conservation status review 2002. Part 2: leaf monkeys. Hanoi: FFI Viet Nam Programme and Frankfurt Zoological Society. OEPP (2000) Biodiversity conservation in Thailand: a national report. Bangkok: Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. Ounekham, K. and Inthapatha, S. (2003) Directory of Important Bird Areas in Lao PDR. Vientiane: Forest Inventory and Planning Division, the Division of Forest Resource Conservation, BirdLife International in Indochina and the Wildlife Conservation Society Lao Program.


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Pedersen, A. and Nguyen Huy Thang (1996) The conservation of key coastal wetland sites in the Red River Delta. Hanoi: BirdLife International Viet Nam Programme. Pham Mong Giao, Do Tuoc, Vu Van Dung, Wikramanayake, E. D., Amato, G., Arctander, P. and MacKinnon, J. R. (1998) Description of Muntiacus truongsonensis, a new species of muntjac (Artiodactyla: Muntiacidae) from Central Viet Nam, and implications for conservation. Animal Conservation 1: 61-68. Polet, G., Tran Van Mui, Nguyen Xuan Dang, Bui Huu Manh and Baltzer, M. (1999) The Javan Rhinos, Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus, of Cat Tien National Park, Viet Nam: current status and management implications. Pachyderm. 27: 34-48. Robson, C. R. (2000) A field guide to the birds of Thailand and South-East Asia. Bangkok: Asia Books. Round, P. D. (2000) Field check-list of Thai birds. Bangkok: Bird Conservation Society of Thailand. Royal Forest Department (1999) Forest complexes in Thailand. Bangkok: Forestry Biological Diversity Secretariat Office, Natural Resources Conservation Office, Royal Forest Department. Seng Kim Hout, Pech Bunnat, Poole, C. M., Tordoff, A. W., Davidson, P. and Delattre, E. (2003) Directory of Important Bird Areas in Cambodia: key sites for conservation. Phnom Penh: Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Department of Nature Conservation and Protection, BirdLife International in Indochina and the Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia Programme. Slowinski, J. B. and Wuster, W. (2000) A new cobra (Elapidae: Naja) from Myanmar (Burma). Herpetologica. 56: 257-270. Smythies, B. E. (1986) The birds of Burma. Liss, Hampshire and Pickering, Ontario: Nimrod Press and Silvio Mattacchoine. Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. and Wege, D. C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the world: priorities for biodiversity conservation. Cambridge, U.K.: BirdLife International. Timmins, R. J., Evans, T. D., Khounboline, K. and Sisomphone, C. (1998) Status and conservation of the Giant Muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis and notes on other muntjac species in Lao PDR.. Oryx. 32: 59-67. Tordoff, A. W. ed. (2002) Directory of Important Bird Areas in Viet Nam: key sites for conservation. Hanoi: BirdLife International in Indochina and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources. Tordoff, A. W., Baltzer, M. C., Davidson, P., Fellowes, J., Ha Quy Quynh and Tran Thanh Tung (in prep.) Ecosystem Profile: Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, Indochina Region. Washington DC: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.

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Tordoff, A. W., Eames, J. C., Eberhardt, K., Baltzer, M. C., Davidson, P., Leimgruber, P., U Uga and U Aung Than (2005) Myanmar: investment opportunities in biodiversity conservation. Yangon: BirdLife International. Traeholt, C., Roth Bunthoen, Rawson, B. M., Mon Samuth, Chea Virak and Sok Vuthin (in prep.) Status review of Pileated Gibbon Hylobates pileatus and Yellow-cheeked Crested Gibbon Nomascus gabriellae in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Fauna & Flora International, Indochina Programme. Vidthayanon, C. (2003) Schistura pridii, a new nemacheiline loach (Teleostei: Balitoridae) from the upper Chao Phraya drainage, northern Thailand. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 14(3): 209-212. Vidthayanon, C. and Jaruthanin, K. (2002) Schistura kaysonei (Teleostei: Balitoridae), a new cave fish from the Khammouan karst, Lao PDR. Aqua 6(1): 17-20. Vidthayanon, C. and Kottelat, M. (2003) Three new species of fishes from the Tham Phra caves in northern Thailand (Teleostei: Cyprinidae and Balitoridae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 14(2): 193-208. Vindum, J. V., Htun Win, Thin Thin, Kyi Soe Lwin, Awan Khwi Shein and Hla Tun (2003) A new Calotes (Squamata: Agamidae) from the Indo-Burman Range of western Myanmar (Burma). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 54: 1-16. Vu Van Dung, Pham Mong Giao, Nguyen Ngoc Chinh, Do Tuoc, Arctander, P. and MacKinnon, J. (1993) A new species of living bovid from Viet Nam. Nature. 363: 443-444. WCMC (1992) Development of a national biodiversity index. A discussion paper prepared by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK. Unpublished. WCMC (1997) Report on the Third Regional Workshop held at Hanoi, Viet Nam, 18-21 August 1997. Wharton, C. H. (1957) An ecological study of the Kouprey Novibos sauveli (Urbain). Manila: Institute of Science and Technology (Monograph 5). WWF (2005) List of Global 200 Ecoregions. Downloaded from http://www.panda.org on 6 April 2006.

9. Biodiversity Loss in Xishuangbanna with the Changes of Land Use and Land Cover over 27 Years Zhu H., Li H.M., Ma Y.X.

9.2

Summary The major land-use change in Xishuangbanna has been an increase in rubber tree plantations and a decrease in the tropical rain forest. In 1976, approximately 11% of the region was the tropical seasonal rain forest, but by 2003 this forest type was reduced to 3.6%, and rubber plantations increased from 1% to 11%. Therefore, the decrease and fragmentation of the tropical seasonal rain forests due to rubber planting was the principal factor leading to loss of biodiversity in the region. In addition, Amomum (a commercial plant of ginger family) planting underneath the seasonal rain forests poses a serious threat to natural regeneration of forest, because it destroys the sapling-seedling bank of the rain forest causing the forest to lose its regeneration capability. It is urgent to conduct a Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) for this region to limit further expansion of rubber plantations and to promote multispecies agroforestry systems. 9.1

moist forest, tropical montane evergreen broad-leaved forest, and tropical monsoon forest (Zhu et al 2006). In Xishuangbanna, the tropical rain forest landscape stretching down to the border of Lao PDR is the location of the biodiversity corridor conservation pilot site.

Introduction

Xishuangbanna is an administrative region of southern Yunnan. It is located in the southern section of the Mekong Headwaters. The region has an area of 19,690 km2 and has a typical monsoon climate and annual precipitation of 1500 mm in its lowland areas. The region has a rich tropical flora and a typical tropical rain forest in the lowland areas. The flora of the region consists of 3,336 native seed plant species belonging to 1,140 genera in 197 families (Li 1996). The fauna consists of 539 species of vertebrate, 400 bird species, and 36-44 reptile species, which make up one fourth of the total vertebrates and one third of the birds in the PRC, respectively (Xu et al 1987). The primary vegetation in the region can be organized into four main vegetation types: tropical rain forest (including two subtypes, i.e., tropical seasonal rain forest and tropical montane rain forest), tropical seasonal

Changes of land use and land cover over past 27 years

Conspicuous changes in land use and land cover, especially in the tropical seasonal rain forest cover, have taken place in the region since the 1970s. The tropical rain forests cover of 10.9% of the total area of Xishuangbanna in 1976, decreased to 8.0% in 1988 and to 3.6% in 2003, while the rubber plantations cover of 1.1% of the total area in 1976, increased to 3.8% in 1988, and to 11.3% in 2003. The majority of rubber plantations occurred below 1000m in areas which were originally seasonal tropical rain forest (Li et al 2006). Shrub lands made up 11.6% of the total area in 1976 and 12.4% in 1988, increasing to 18.4% in 2003, mainly by replacing the tropical montane forests and developing from slash and burn lands. Montane rain forest also decreased in area, from 15.8% of the total area in 1976, down to 10.4% in 2003. Other land covers have had no significant change (Figure 9.1 and Table 9.1) (Li et al 2006). As the forest cover decreased, fragmentation of tropical rain forests occurred. The tropical rain forests consisted of a total 2,306 patches with an average patch area of 90.6 ha in size in 1976, increasing to 3,668 patches with an average patch area of 18.9 ha in 2003 (Table 9.2) (Li et al 2006). The splitting index of the fragments of the seasonal tropical rain forests was 1,138 in 1976, increasing to 133,702 in 2003. The tropical montane rain forests consisted of a total 2,643 patches with an average patch area of 114.7 ha in 1976, increasing to 3,820 patches with an average patch area of 51.9 ha in 2003, and the splitting index of the fragments increased from 1,048 in 1976 to 5,197 in 2003. On the other hand, rubber plantations consisted of a total 1,100 patches with an average patch area of 19.9 ha in 1976, increasing to 4,592 patches with an average patch area of 47.1 ha in 2003, and the splitting index of the rubber plantations decreased conspicuously from 660,472 in 1976 to 672 in 2003 (Table 9.3) (Li et al 2006).

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Figure 9.1: Land use and land cover in 1976, 1988 and 2003 in Xishuangbanna respectively

Table 9.1: Comparison of areas under different land use and land cover 2003 1976 1988 (% of the total area of Xishuangbanna) Tropical seasonal rain forests Rubber plantations Slash and burn lands Arable lands Shrub lands Montane rain forests Others no significant changes

10.9 1.1 11.1 4.1 11.6 15.8

8.0 3.8 15.0 2.7 12.4 14.7

3.6 11.3 11.6 3.1 18.4 10.4

Table 9.2: Number of patches and average patch area of different land uses Average area of patch (ha) 1976 1988 2003 1976 1988 2003 No. of patches

Tropical seasonal 2,306 2,852 3,668 90.6 rain forests Montane rain forests 2,643 3,126 3,820 114.7 Rubber plantations 1,100 3,106 4,592 19.9 Shrub lands 22,269 21,934 14,862 10.0 Slash & burn lands 15,863 14,752 10,503 13.4

9.3

53.5

18.9

90.1 23.4 10.9 19.5

51.9 47.1 23.7 21.1

Biodiversity loss with the changes of land use and land cover

The tropical rain forests lost their tree species diversity after they were replaced by rubber plantation with single rubber tree species. Although there is a flora composed largely of shrub and herbaceous plants underneath rubber plantations, it has much less biodiversity richness than natural forests (Figure 9.2). With fragmentation of the tropical rain forests, species diversity reduced, and the smaller the fragment, the less the species richness. The more seriously disturbed the fragment, the more the species richness diminished (Figure 9.3) (Zhu et al 2004). Tree species with small populations were lost first in the process of rain forest fragmentation.

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Table 9.3: Comparison of splitting index of different land uses 1976

1988

2003

Tropical seasonal rain forests 1,138 Montane rain forests 1,048 Rubber plantations 660,472 Shrub lands 9,754 Slash and burn lands 37,662

6,657 2,009 42,557 18,814 13,935

133,702 5,197 672 1,802 14,366

Figure 9.2: Comparison of species diversity of shrub-herb layer between the natural forest and the rubber plantation based on 500m2 sampling plots

A neglected, but serious threat to biodiversity of the tropical rain forest in the region is the planting of Amomum (a commercial plant of ginger family) underneath the tropical rain forests by local people. Amomum planting is as widely practiced as rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna as well as in SE Asia. This poses a serious threat to natural regeneration of forests, because gathering of Amomum fruit requires complete clearing of young trees, saplings, seedlings and shrubs (Zhu et al 2002). The tropical rain forests regenerate from their sapling-seedling bank, especially the lower tree layer and sapling-shrub layer. If clearing takes place, there is destruction of sapling-seedling bank of the rain forest that causes the forest to lose its regeneration capability (Figure 9.4).

Figure 9.4: Comparison of sapling density between a primary forest and the forests with Amomum villosum plantation based on 0.25 ha sampling plots

3.3616 Natural forest: Rubber plantation

$ 3,500

0.9536

3,113

$ 3,000

No. of sapling

1.0204

0.8247

2,431

$ 2,500 $ 2,000

1,758

$ 1,500 $ 1,000

Shannon-Winner’s index

Simpson index

725

$ 500 $0

1

3

2

4

Amomum cover

Figure 9.3: Number of tree stems and species per 0.25 ha sampling plot in primary rain forest and fragmented rain forests

1 primary forest without Amomum; 2 forest with 20-40% Amomum Cover; 3 forest with 40-60% Amomum cover; 4 forest with over 90% Amomum cover

9.4 250 207

No. of species

200 No. of tree/species

Conclusions

No. of tree stems

182 152

150

152 135 113

100

50

0 Primary

Fragment 1

Fragment 2

The tropical rain forests with the most species richness lost their tree species diversity after rubber plantations replaced them. The plant species diversity was also reduced in the fragmented forests. Therefore, decrease and the consequent fragmentation of the tropical rain forests due to rubber planting were the principal factors leading to loss of biodiversity in the region. Local officers largely ignored the threat to natural regeneration of the tropical rain forests by Amomum planting, because no timber collection took place. However, the threat is serious and should be highlighted.

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The high price of rubber continues to promote the expansion of rubber plantations in Xishuangbanna. To meet this challenge, it is urgent to conduct a BCI for this region. Limiting further expansion of rubber plantations and promoting multispecies agroforestry systems will be expected by the implementation of a BCI in the region.

10. The Great Green Triangle: An Integrated Approach Toward Regional Planning and Biodiversity Conservation in the PRC/Lao PDR/Viet Nam Border Region David Westcott and Jin Chen

References Summary Li H.M., Aide,T.M., Ma, Y., Liu, W.,and Cao M. (2006). Demand for rubber is causing the loss of high diversity rain forest in SW China. Biodiversity and Conservation (in press). Li, Y.H. (ed). (1996). List of plants in Xishuangbanna. Yunnan National Press, Kunming. Xu, Y.C., H.Q. Jiang and Quan, F. (1987). Reports on the Nature Reserve of Xishuangbanna. Yunnan Science and Technical Press, Kunming. Zhu, H., Cao, M. and Hu H. (2006). Geological history, flora, and vegetation of Xishuangbanna, southern Yunnan, China. Biotropica. 38(3): 310-317. Zhu, H. et al (2004). Tropical rain forest fragmentation and its ecological and species diversity changes in southern Yunnan. Biodiversity and Conservation. 13:1355-1372. Zhu, H. et al (2002). A discussion on the loss of biodiversity of tropical rain forest by Amomum planting underneath in South Yunnan. Guihaia. 22(1):55-60.

The Phongsaly region of northern Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is a remote area with low population densities and an economic base focused on shifting agriculture. The area has high biodiversity values and connects major reserve areas in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Viet Nam and elsewhere in Lao PDR. The development of major road infrastructure in nearby Luang Namtha and Yunnan is expected to have effects on both the social and conservation setting in Phongsaly. Here we review the values of the region and suggest that an opportunity exists to build on current activities and linkages to develop an integrated conservation and development program for the region that would ease the transition to greater social and economic mobility in the province and contribute to conservation efforts by its neighbors. 10.1 Background and introduction The threats to the maintenance of biodiversity, natural ecosystems, and the services they provide by both current and foreseeable development and population growth represent one of the major challenges for Asia in the 21st century. High population densities, intensive agriculture, and increasing levels of exploitation of natural resources through land conversion, logging, hunting, and water use are all placing increasing pressure on the region’s natural assets and through this, on the future health and prosperity of its peoples. These processes impact negatively on ecosystems and people alike. Natural ecosystems are increasingly restricted to ever more ecologically isolated reserves and fragments. In the long-term this ecological isolation removes many reserves from landscape-level processes, such as dispersal and recruitment, which sustain them. Inevitably, isolation results in the gradual loss of diversity and ecological value. At the same time these natural systems

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remain integral to the livelihoods of many rural communities, either directly through exploitation or indirectly through the ecosystem services they provide. As these systems decline, so too does their value in sustaining human livelihoods. Maintaining the values of natural ecosystems while providing the opportunity for rural communities to develop is no simple task. The tight linking of natural and human systems leads inevitably to the conclusion that successful integration of conservation and development requires a landscape level approach that seeks not to maximize the returns of conservation or development in isolation but instead seeks to identify means of achieving the goals of both across the landscape. Thus, successful conservation requires an approach that i) utilizes the whole landscape, including areas whose primary land-use is production or extraction, for conservation purposes; ii) recognizes and incorporates both the productive or extractive values of biodiversity and its services and intrinsic values: and iii) incorporates people, their livelihoods, and their aspirations along with biodiversity conservation goals. A major determinant of the nature of exploitation of natural systems is the larger economic context in which they are located, particularly access to markets and opportunities for economic activity. Key to the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Cooperation Strategy and Program (RCSP 2004-2008) in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is the development of regional economic corridors which are expected to play a crucial role in meeting development goals by facilitating trade through the movement of goods and people. There is concern, however, over the indirect impact of increasing development activities and population pressures in these economic corridors on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Recognizing the threat that degradation of the region’s natural ecosystems would pose to long-term socioeconomic development and environmental security, the GMS Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) seeks to develop landscape scale linkages between the region’s major reserves to protect ecosystem services and integrity across the region. Overall the vision is for a system of core protected areas connected by natural and/or semi-natural landscape elements configured and

managed with the objective of maintaining or restoring ecological functions so as to conserve biodiversity while simultaneously providing appropriate opportunities for the sustainable use of natural resources and socio-economic development in the context of the economic development corridor. One of the nine corridors selected for implementation in 2006-15 is the Northern Mekong. The southern component of this project links the protected areas of the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserves and will, in Phase 2 of the GMS-BCI, link these with the Nam Ha National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) across the Lao PDR border. These reserves protect significant forested areas with high conservation and ecosystem services value. Here, we suggest an extension of the Northern Mekong BCI to incorporate existing reserves and areas of shifting cultivation in both Lao PDR and Viet Nam. The proposed extension would require a focus on biodiversity conservation, land use planning, and livelihoods development in Phongsaly and Buon Neua Provinces of Lao PDR. This is an area with superior biodiversity values, high ecosystem integrity, and low current population pressure, but is one which faces dramatic social and demographic changes in the near future as a result of the development of the Economic Corridor in the area immediately adjacent. Though currently remote, it is expected that the area will gain dramatically improved market access as a consequence of the corridor development. Importantly, the area is at a developmental stage where appropriate decisions, made now, can have an enormous influence on future trajectories and outcomes. Consequently, the area represents an opportunity for significant on-ground conservation and socioeconomic impact. 10.2 Biodiversity setting The Phongsaly and Buon Neua districts lie in the northernmost part of the Lao PDR, between the People’s Republic of China and Viet Nam (Figure 10.1). The region is rugged and is covered by a mosaic of natural vegetation types, the principle type being tropical rain forest (Figure 10.2).

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Figure 10.1: The proposed Mengla – Phou Dene Din Corridor

(Figure from GMS Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative, Strategic Approaches and Priorities, Annex 3)

Figure 10.2: Coarse vegetation map of the Tri-Border Region and showing the general area of interest (encircled) and indicating relatively high levels of forest cover and integrity

PR China SR Vietnam

Lao PDR

LEGEND Evergreen Mountain Forests (> 1000m) Evergreen Lowland Forests (> 1000m) Fragmented and Degraded Evergreen Forests Deciduous Forests Mangrove Forests Swamp Forests and Inundated Shrubland Evergreen Wood & Shrubland and Regrowth Mosaics Deciduous Wood & Shrubland and Regrowth Mosaics Mosaics of Cropping and Regrowth Other Land Rocks Water Bodies

Excerpt from Stibig and Beuchle (2003), scale is 1: 4 000 000.

It represents a transition zone between the Sino and Indo-Malaysian bio-geographic regions, between temperate and tropical, and dry and wet ecosystems. While much of the forest cover remains, the area has a long history of agricultural activity, perhaps as much as

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3,700 years as is the case in neighboring Xishuangbanna, and this has transformed climax vegetation type in some areas. Current vegetation types reflect local environmental conditions, current and past land use and time since disturbance. The existing formations are diverse and range from primary rain forests to Imperata cylindrica savannah (Ducourtieux et al 2006). The relatively continuous forest cover indicated in available vegetation mapping based on remote sensing (Figure 10.2) and the low population densities of the region (Ducourtieux et al 2006) all suggest relatively high levels of ecological integrity. This is further supported if comparison is made with Xishuangbanna to the immediate west in Figure 10.2. Natural vegetation types in the Phongsaly districts are broadly similar to Xishuangbanna, and include tropical rainforest, tropical seasonal forest, monsoon forest, and tropical evergreen broad-leaved forest (Zhu et al in press; Figure 10.2). Surveys in Xishuangbanna (Zhu et al in press) and Nam Ha (Tizard et al 1997) to the west and southwest and Muong Nhe (BirdLife International 2004) to the east (Figure 10.1) suggest that diversity will be high with potentially ca. 3,300+ species and 1,000+ genera of plants to be expected and ca. 35 large mammal species and 250 bird species. Significant proportions of these are likely to be species of conservation concern. While no biodiversity surveys have been conducted in the area, large mammals such as Asian elephant, gaur, banteng, Asiatic black bear, sun bear, leopard, and tiger are believed to occur there. The area contains a single conservation reserve. Located in the east of the province, Phou Dene Din NBCA covers an area of 222,000 ha of rugged mountain (to 2,000m) terrain on the border with Viet Nam. Like the rest of the province, the NBCA consists of a mosaic of vegetation types reflecting environmental and human influences and including mid-montane and montane forest, newly cleared areas and fallow areas of up to 20 years of age. 10.3 Socioeconomic and agricultural setting The population of Phongsaly and Buon Neua is drawn primarily from Sino-Tibetan ethno-linguistic groups. Many of these groups extend across the international borders into the PRC and Viet Nam. Approximately 20,000 farmers in Phongsaly live in 82 rural villages, of

which 80% are sufficiently remote as to have no vehicular access, and live largely from swidden agriculture (75% of food resources) (Ducourtieux et al 2005). Agricultural alternatives are limited by topography, primarily the absence of arable flatlands in the V-shaped valleys, access to markets, and, a high incidence of disease in stock (Ducourtieux et al 2005). An unwillingness to see family farmed areas reduced to unviable sizes means there is a tendency for young people to leave the area (Ducourtieux et al 2005). This trend, along with a population-wide drift to urban areas, has seen rural populations decrease with about 20% of the villages having been lost and a third of the families having left the region since 1966. Today, the population density is about 8 inhabitants/km 2 (Ducourtieux et al 2006). Between 1995 and 2003, population growth rate in rural areas of Phongsaly averaged 0.3% year-1 while the province’s growth rate averaged 0.3 between 1995 and 2005 (Ducourtieux et al 2005). Despite the shifting nature of the main agricultural activities, some cash cropping, most notably in the form of cardamom growing is now widespread in the region (Ducourtieux et al 2006). In addition, attempts at sugar cane production have been made and commercial forestry companies are increasingly interested in the area. Interest in similar activities is bound to increase with increased proximity to transport links. 10.4. Conservation opportunity The close proximity of national boundaries in the area mean that conservation issues in Phongsaly and Buon Neua would be most effectively viewed within an international context. As noted above, there is both cultural and biogeographic continuity across the borders of the three nations. In addition, there are reserves in both the PRC and Viet Nam that are immediately adjacent to the borders and to the study area. In Viet Nam on the Lao PDR border is the Muong Nhe Nature Reserve. This is a mountainous reserve with peaks up to 2,124 m. Muon Nhe has a total area of 396,176 ha with a total of 45,581 ha as core area. This figure comprises 9,920 ha of lowland evergreen forest (distributed at elevations below 800 m); 19,850 ha of lower montane evergreen forest (distributed at elevations

between 800 and 1,800 m); 1,705 ha of upper montane evergreen forest (distributed at elevations above 1,800 m); and 15,925 ha of bamboo forest. The remaining area of the nature reserve comprises 204,201 ha of grassland, and 43,980 ha of shifting cultivation and scrub (Nguyen et al 2001). Populations of large mammals such as Asian elephant, banteng, guar, tiger, and white-cheeked crested gibbon persist but are threatened by hunting. Bird surveys indicate between 158 and 270 bird species are to be found in the reserve. Although long called for at a local government level, Muong Nhe Nature Reserve was officially established in September 2005. In this initial stage, lack of capacity in Nature Reserve management is apparent with only four employees and a separate building is scheduled for construction next year. In the PRC on the Lao PDR Border, the Mengla Nature Reserve (NR) is a part of the network of reserves that comprise the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve (XNR). Together these reserves cover 241,000 ha with the dominant vegetation types being mid-elevation and montane tropical rain forest with strong similarities to the rain forests of Southeast Asia (Zhu et al 2006). These similarities include some Dipterocarp forests dominated by Shorea and Vatica spp. Across all its reserves, the XNR contains significant biodiversity including about 3,300 of plant, 427 bird, 113 mammals, and 100 species of fish. Listed species include Asian elephants, several species of cat and bear, and crested gibbon. Mengla NR consists of about 93,994 ha with vegetation that consists primarily of tropical montane broadleaf evergreen forest with smaller areas of tropical rain and monsoon forest. It surrounds two towns, Yaoqu and Mengban and has significant populations living on its boundaries. The existence of these reserves and their biodiversity significance, the fact that despite political boundaries the area represents a single biogeographic and ecological zone with strong cultural links, provides a real opportunity to develop a transnational collaboration. Management and development activities undertaken by one country in the region, inevitably impact on the adjacent regions of the neighboring countries. Current examples of successful collaboration include farmer exchanges and joint fire management between the PRC and Lao PDR in the area and provide a good base for building a much broader collaboration.

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References

10.5. Conclusions and future steps We are suggesting a project that will extend the northern BCI into the Phongsaly region of Lao PDR. We suggest an integrated conservations and development approach, designed and implemented at a landscape scale, to identify future trajectories for the Phongsaly region which strengthen: (i)

the resilience of livelihoods through income diversification and linkage through the region, (ii) retention of natural systems and biodiversity values across the landscape, and (iii) quality of life and social capital of communities. A key consideration will be how best to incorporate livelihoods, development and conservation in the same landscape. Evaluation of the synergies between ecosystem processes and economic enterprises and the trade-offs that might be necessary between biodiversity protection and wealth generation thus becomes a fundamentally important step in designing future trajectories. This evaluation will rely on quantification of the ecological, economic, and social attributes of land uses and management strategies and the development of modeling tools to allow for cost-benefit assessment of alternative landscape design options. Fundamental to the long-term sustainability of our approach is the engagement and participation of local peoples. Local knowledge and insight into all aspects of the work, from natural history through to regulation, will identify the most appropriate options and local ownership and commitment to the goals will enable their achievement. Consequently, the initial task of this project will be to enlist the participation of local communities and government in the project’s design and implementation. Effective development of this collaboration means that initially we will work with broadly stated objectives for the latter stages of the project to enable meaningful input from collaborators and stakeholders.

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BirdLife International. (2004). Sourcebook of Existing and Proposed Protected Areas in Viet Nam, Second Edition. http://www.birdlifeindochina.org/source_book/pdf/1%20north% 20west/Muong%20Nhe.pdf Ducourtieux, O., Laffort, J-R and Sacklokham, S (2005). Land Policy and Farming Practices in Laos. Development and Change. 36(3): 499–526. Ducourtieux, O., Visonnavong. P., Rossard, R. (2006). Introducing cash crops in shifting cultivation regions – the experience with cardamom in Laos. Agroforestry Systems. 66:65–76. Nguyen DT, Le TT, Le VC. (2001). A rapid field survey of Muong Nhe Nature Reserve, Lai Chau Province, Viet Nam. Hanoi: Birdlife International Viet Nam Programme and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. Tizard R, Davidson, P, Khounboline, K and Slivong, K. (1997). A wildlife and habitat survey of Nam Ha and Nam Kong Protected Areas, Luang Namtha Province, Lao PDR. Final Report, Dept. of Forest Resource Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Society, pp 75. UNEP. (2000). State of Environment Report, Lao PDR 2001. http://www.rrcap.unep.org/reports/soe/laosoe.cfm Zhu, H., M. Cao, and H. B. Hu. (2006). Geological History, Flora, and Vegetation of Xishuangbanna, Southern Yunnan, China. Biotropica. 38:310-317.

successful work in Yangtze can help to ensure not only a healthier river but also longer life spans of the existing reservoirs. Application of standards for road construction, sustainable and appropriate irrigation schemes, and regulation of mining practices will help to ensure that the Mekong River will continue to provide the products and services needed for sustainable economic and social development for its population.

11. Watershed Management in the Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween Rivers Marc Goichot Summary In the “three parallel rivers” area of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), we can see striking contrasts in land-management practices and their associated impacts on freshwater conservation among the Salween (or Nu), Yangtze, and Mekong (or Lancang) Rivers. While the headwaters of the Salween are relatively pristine, the headwaters of the Mekong present a very different picture. Degradation is now proceeding rapidly. Serious erosion is resulting from road construction, irrigation on steep slopes, and unregulated small-scale mining. The headwaters of the Yangtze have also been badly degraded over the last 50 years or more. In terms of management of the three rivers, we see the following scenarios: (i)

Within the headwaters of the Yangtze, large areas have now been restored in an exemplary effort by the PRC Government, and pictures of the Yangtze headwaters now show a very attractive land-scape of stable tree-covered slopes and agricultural valleys. These efforts in the Yangtze should be encouraged to ensure that the river continues to provide the services and products to the people living around it. (ii) The situation in the Salween is different where the government will have to decide whether the most beneficial use of the river is to protect and maintain its natural state— being of global and regional importance in terms of biodiversity it being one of the last large free-flowing rivers in the world—or whether to develop the potential for largescale hydropower generation. (iii) Although the Mekong River is still in relatively good condition when compared with many large rivers around the world, this is rapidly changing as unsustainable development is impacting on the river’s health. The promotion of rehabilitation of slopes modeled on the

11.1 Introduction This paper was written to give a freshwater conservation perspective to the Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative and provide suggestions for the consideration of the Environment Operation Center, the Core Environment Program, and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Working Group on Environment. “Freshwater research may be less sexy than that in the terrestrial or marine realm, but trajectories of species loss make it arguably the most urgent” (Abell 2002). The Mekong, Yangtze, and Salween basins are among the World Wife Fund for Nature (WWF) Global 200 Priority Ecoregions. WWF has already developed basin-wide environmental action plans (EAPs) for the Mekong and Yangtze (Figure 11.1). The study areas cover the sections of the Mekong (called Lancang in the PRC in the studied section), the Salween (called Nu in the studied section) and the Yangtze rivers from the margins of the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude above 3,000 meters until those rivers reach down to an altitude just below 1,000 m some 500 km downstream. In this section, the three great rivers run in parallel in deep gorges flowing from the Tibetan Plateau into Yunnan Province. Steep slopes and high water discharges make this region attractive for the development of large-scale hydropower. Both the Mekong and Yangtze now have dams on the main stem. The Salween main stem, however, remains un-dammed for the time being. Northwest Yunnan has been designated as a biodiversity hot spot (Makinnon et al 1996). Furthermore, an important part of the section of the three rivers studied in this paper has been listed as “The Three Parallel Rivers” World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

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The unique but fragile natural ecosystems of the studied area have been valued for the following (van der Meer and Wang 2005):

Figure 11.1: Study area

(i)

Protection function - e.g., regulating water and erosion input to rivers, thus preventing severe flooding, silting of downstream reservoirs (ii) Biodiversity function - sustaining natural hydrology and aquatic habitat (iii) Production function - sustaining economic activities

The uniqueness of both terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity of the area can be explained by the variety of habitat conditions from the combination of altitude variation and the favorable subtropical monsoon climate, localized important variation in rainfall due to orographic effect, geological differences, the high gradient of the river, and the ice-fed hydrology. Furthermore, the authors of the study would like to put emphasis on the role of the upper reaches of these large river systems to the entire basin. The quality and hydrology of the water originating from the Tibetan Plateau is very different from that in the lower part of those basins, and therefore it is anticipated that it plays a vital role in supporting biodiversity basin wide. Even if the flow contribution can be seen as modest (18% of total average annual flow for the Mekong [MRC 2003]), it is crucial because of its glacio-nival hydrological characteristics and therefore very different from the remaining input that is all tropical.

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The studied stretches of the three rivers share a main feature that contributes to their uniqueness but also makes them particularly vulnerable to human impact: their very steep slopes. Over the past centuries, many of the natural ecosystems have gradually given way to grazing land, agriculture, and agro-forestry systems. Although the traditional land management system with terraced agriculture on alluvial fans and slopes and extensive grazing was relatively sustainable, it remained very fragile, thus settlements developed only on the most favorable locations. Since the 1950s, demographic pressure and the need to increase productivity brought more pressure on the slopes. Terraced agriculture is very labor intensive, so less sustainable practices appeared. Slope stability was closer to dangerous thresholds, and severe erosion problem started in the more accessible sub watersheds of the Yangtze. Recently, additional pressure was put on the slopes affecting even the westernmost districts. The author identified three factors causing the destabilization of the slopes: (i) newly introduced irrigation, (ii) smallscale mining, and (iii) roads. Yet, at this stage, a striking difference remains in the way the three river basins are affected and land use is managed. This is seen as a unique opportunity to draw lessons and suggests a regional approach to the conservation of the studies areas in line with the rational that led to the Greater Mekong Subregion program. This paper summarizes the main findings from field work conducted in 2005 (Bravard & Goichot 2006). The author would also like to acknowledge the contributions by Hans Guttman (Mekong River Commission).

11.2 Program for the prevention and control of soil erosion and land degradation in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River - a model for landscape management? This is a seven-year, very large-scale program (covering 267,000 km 2 and costing $600 million) implemented by The Yangtze River Water Conservancy Committee. It falls under priority 5—conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources—of the Priority Program for the PRC’s Agenda 21. Realizing the scale of the erosion problem and its implication on agriculture land loss, the program allows for the restoration of 41 watersheds, seeking to alleviate poverty, improve agricultural production, and restore the ecological balance of the region. Moreover, it is believed that the reduction of soil erosion in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River will decrease siltation and lessen the potential for natural disasters throughout the entire Yangtze River. Amongst the benefits of this program, according to the official document, are the longer life spans of the hydropower reservoirs downstream. The authors visited one of the demonstration sites in the Chang Jiang River upstream of the city of Shigu, near Judian. The landscape showed a relative mastership of erosion by humans. It was clear that slopes were controlled through a policy aiming at protecting them from erosion by field farming and by cattle. While lower slopes, shaped in thick and red colluviums, or alluvial fans, are still intensively farmed with paddy fields, corn, and nut trees, mountain slopes display a transformed landscape. The steepest slopes exclude any agriculture and have been reafforested with pine trees. Grazing seems to be permitted below the trees, but it is very extensive and does not affect the trees. Tracks are opened from the villages up to the upper areas in the mountain. They are used by cattle and by loggers. These tracks provide the only erosion features visible in the landscape (ravines created by concentration of cattle and hauling of logs by buffalos). Under the program, the communities benefit from the policies. They receive funds for maintaining the forest and their commitment to decrease the surfaces devoted to farming (Photo 11.1).

Photo 11.1

Further downstream, on the banks of the main stem or large tributaries, restoration of riparian forest associated with embankments can also be observed. This also serves to protect agricultural land and restoring the ecosystem and its functions (Photo 11.2).

Photo 11.2

11.3 The state of the Upper Mekong (Lancang Giang) slopes Analysis of photographs taken during the WWF Living Mekong Programme (LMP) fact-finding mission to Yunnan and Tibet (June 2004) identified a recurrent phenomenon—mid-slope areas around human settlements becoming extremely fragile and susceptible to landslides. In many cases, the threshold of the land had

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already been reached and significant erosion was visible. A rapid literature study and a follow-up field mission in June 2005 confirmed the severity of the issue. LMP started an analysis of the processes leading to this extreme situation. The adverse effects of high loads of suspended matter and deposited fine sediment on fish and other aquatic life have been well documented in a wide range of river systems globally. One study presented a good synthesis of the known impacts (Mol and Ouboter 2004). “Suspended and deposited sediment have adverse impacts on fishes and other aquatic life. They kill fish outright, usually by clogging or damaging the gills, or reduce growth rate and thus tolerance to disease; reduce the suitability of spawning habitat and hinders development of fish eggs, larvae, and juveniles; modify the natural migration patterns of fish; reduce the abundance of fish food by reducing light penetration and primary production; impede the feeding activities of invertebrate prey; and affect the efficiency of hunting, particularly in the case of visual feeders.” In the case of the Upper Mekong, the impact of suspended matters is particularly relevant for the tributaries that have naturally very clear waters. The main stem is naturally very turbid. If the impact of suspended matters is well documented, the change of bed load is more difficult to measure; yet the role of bed load on the morphological stability of tropical rivers has been demonstrated (Tinkler and Wohl 1998; Gupta et al 2002). Furthermore, beyond the environmental impact, the potential impact of the life span of existing hydropower reservoirs must be emphasized. Ensuring that existing reservoirs deliver the services they were designed to deliver is a major concern of conservationists as this will reduce the need for new ones. 11.3.1 The Yongchun River Watershed: a case study to look at impact of new roads on a tributary of the Lancang-Mekong With the rapid pace of development, new roads are often being constructed in fragile slopes, causing large scars in the landscape. The extent of observed erosion can be said to be very significant in relation to human density and rainfall, and thus, seriously impact-

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ing natural sediment input to the river systems. This is a consequence of the extreme topography and is a great challenge to the transport sector to offer local population an effective service. But these planning mistakes can also be attributed to poor knowledge or consideration of the environmental processes of slope geomorphology. From the pass linking the Lapu River to the Lancang River down to the valley of the Yongchun River (close to the city of Waxi), a new road has been opened in 2004 after two years of work. This road shows the efforts to connect the western part of Yunnan to the rest of this province. It provides a good insight on the conditions of development undertaken in this part of the PRC. The authors selected this area as a case study to better understand the impacts of new roads on the tributary watershed of the Lancang-Mekong. A following step will be to extrapolate the result of this study to the larger studied area to better estimate the extent of the impact on the scale of the entire Lancang-Mekong system. The new road has been opened across steep mountain slopes and significant efforts have been done such as concrete bridges, tarring, and gutters on each side to collect water from rainfalls. Nevertheless, the road, shaped into crumbly alterites of metamorphic rocks, has destabilized the slopes. The platform is about 8-10 m wide, including the road and the two road shoulders. Eroded slopes above the road and filling material below the large road represent major scars in the landscape of Labadi and Haduku villages. Trees are covered by thick layer of sediment and will probably not resist such treatment (Photo 11.3). These artificial slopes are quite unstable because of the thickness of the alterites exposed to creep, landslides (due to compaction processes), and gullying, where water flows over the road, is concentrated before pouring downslope to the rivers. In many places, the filling material, which has an unstable gravity slope, fills in the talweg below and is reworked by floods, which increases instability of the slopes and the bed load of the river which displays depositional features. This is very significant in the last kilometers where the road has been notched into weak red sandstones. Small terraces one to two meters high have been shaped into thick alluvial deposits by a recent flood.

One should understand that this is a dynamic process in progress. The “sediment wave” produced by road construction has been transiting along the tributary for about two to three years, and should move further downstream in the next years. Generally speaking, aggradation of a riverbed means that the river flow is unable to transport the sediments in excess, the sediment balance having been disturbed by the increase of input. Paddy fields, the most productive places in the watershed, are threatened, but aquatic habitats are also severely altered. It can be anticipated that the negative impacts to irrigated agriculture and aquatic habitat will increase in the future considering the fact that the slopes in the watershed are durably destabilized. Indeed, aggradation of a riverbed raises the level of the floods and overall favors the deposition of bed load upon the alluvial plain. So the present difficulties of farmers who have to deal with the destruction of their fields by floods should increase notably in the future, due to the combination of hydraulic and hydrologic features linked to the impact of road construction.

Photo 11.3

It is noticeable that these recent erosion features are far more extended and potentially detrimental to the environment than the tracks which have been opened for decades to facilitate logging in the vicinity of Labadi— a community living out of wood cutting and the cultivation of corn on steep slopes. 11.3.2 The Yongchun River downstream the City of Waxi: evidence of riverbed aggradation Aggradation is evident downstream of the confluence of the river draining the watersheds impacted by road construction (described above), about 6-7 km from Waxi and at an elevation of about 2,120 m. Along the Yongchun River, the input of coarse sediment from the tributary increases dramatically the aggradation of the riverbed, inducing several types of impacts.

In the long term (5-10 years and more), the sediment wave will be delivered to the Lancang River, increasing bed load. However, the relative importance of this sediment input from one tributary may remain relatively modest considering the sediment transport capacity of the Lancang. This said, the occurrence of very heavy rainfalls might trigger much more severe destabilization of the upstream slopes impacted by new roads. Furthermore, one needs to quantify the cumulative impact of a number of impacted watersheds. The authors’ relatively short mission didn’t allow to estimate this properly, so the significance of the impact on downstream reservoirs is not yet adequately demonstrated. 11.3.3 Roads in riverbeds Road construction can bring another severe erosion scenario. This is when the valley is narrow and the slope too steep, then the road is built on an embankment in the active riverbed (Photo 11.4). Narrowing the natural riverbed causes the flood flows to erode the opposite bank, which in turn causes severe destabilization of terraces and alluvial fans, resulting in loss of valuable farmland and settlements and significantly increasing the sediment load of the draining river. But again, measuring bed load is difficult, so precise estimation is still difficult to ascertain.

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11.4.1 Slope conditions

Photo 11.4

Slope conditions along the Salween – geology and climate The Salween shares many characteristics of the neighboring Lancang and Yangtze river basins. However, visual assessments show that the slopes surrounding the Salween (also known as Thanlwin in Myanmar or Nu in the PRC) in its upper reaches appear much more stable than those of the Mekong River (Photo 11.5). This is evident from observations in the Mekong and Salween basins, as well as from studying satellite images, which in both cases offer a striking contrast. The landscapes of the Nu are much wetter and greener and the slopes are far more stable and often still covered with dense forests. The WWF report provided several other case studies. Only the impact of road on the Yongchun River is presented in detail. Other case studies demonstrate that irrigation and mining cause similar damage (Annexes 11.1 and 11.2).

Photo 11.5

11.4 Salween (Nu Jiang): the last free-flowing river Within the ecological hotspot of the Three Parallel Rivers, the Salween basin presents a unique ecological feature, as the only two rivers to maintain a connection from the Tibetan Plateau downstream to the sea, thus presenting an outstanding ecological continuity for different species of fish and river species. There are around 140 known species of fish in the entire basin, of which 47 are endemic. The area also has the world’s greatest diversity of turtles, including riverine species, such as the stream terrapin Cyclemys dentata, giant Asian pond terrapin Heosemys grandis, and bigheaded turtle Platysternon megacephalum (WWF 2001). On the valley walls, terrestrial flora and fauna are well preserved, often, in pristine conditions. Some species are protected, such as the golden-eyed monkey, small panda, the wild ass of Dulong, and the wild ox, among others. This section examines some of the unique conditions that contribute to the ecological importance of the Salween, the imminent threats to the river valley, and alternative options for achieving economic development without compromising the integrity of the Salween corridor.

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Underlying this greater stability is a geological structure consisting of narrow valleys made of hard crystalline and metamorphic rocks alternating with wider basins of softer rocks (weak sandstones). This natural heritage is combined with less human pressure, traditional agriculture techniques that are in better keeping with the landscape, and a less aggressive climate. Slope conditions - livelihoods and landscapes The rural habitat of the Lisu people (the main ethnic group in a valley populated with many different groups) is well preserved. Almost all villages at the valley bottom are built on alluvial fans. Once boulders have been cleared off the land, alluvial fans provide good

space for agriculture that are easy to terrace and the torrents that form them provide convenient access for fisheries, water for irrigating paddy fields, and energy for small water mills to grind cereals. Along the river, many traditional techniques of fishing are still in use, like throwing a net held by two wooden poles. An outstanding landscape is Bingzhongluo, about 40 km north of Gongshan. Bingzhongluo is a protected rural area where both natural and rural landscapes are well preserved. Farms are still covered with slates, sometimes with thatch. A series of three ingrown meanders1 into dark schists is visible from an upper road. Former riverbeds, hanging at different altitudes over the present course of the Salween River with the blocks carried in ancient times, are settlement places with hamlets and paddy fields. On the right bank of the Salween, 14 km north of Gongshan, a small tributary is fed by springs originating in limestones providing dissolved carbonates. Above it, this river is actively building a large terrace of travertine. This latter area, like many others, displays rural landscapes of high quality. Farmers grow corn and paddy, and breed dwarf goats. Another outstanding place is located a few kilometers upstream of the village of Maji, associating valley sinuosities, small peaks, and alluvial fans in a misty atmosphere. The most renowned place is called “Stone Moon” from a place in the mountain where a hole in the rock has been opened by weathering. From the view point, the gorge is fascinating. Downstream is the magnificent site of Lamateng with its rapids linked to a large rock fall. Slope conditions – conclusions As seen above, the slopes along the Salween are in a better condition than in the neighboring river basins of the Mekong and the Yangtze. The question is whether this is because the slopes are naturally less vulnerable, whether it is because there is less pressure on the slopes, or whether they are better managed. In all likelihood, it is a combination of these three factors. The Salween has a different geology and higher rainfall than the more eastern Mekong valley. 1

An ingrown meander displays a steep concave bank notched by the river and a soft convex bank shaped during the translation of the river towards the other bank.

Slope erosion by agricultural practices is not a major concern here. In the narrow valley bottom, paddy fields and corn are grown on alluvial fans and in some places of low slopes. Most land tenures are located far above the river, on slopes of mid-altitude. Despite the wetness of the climate, erosion is controlled, probably because the density of vegetation covers plays a positive role. Finally, traditional management and less pressure from lower populations may play a role. Traditional management is proving effective, although it is very laborintensive to build terraces and to maintain the existing ones. Nevertheless, even if the slopes are a bit less fragile than in the neighboring valleys, the slopes of the Salween are still very steep and prone to destabilization. This can be accelerated by unsustainable use of the river. 11.4.2 Exploiting the river’s energy – from small to large hydropower The steep slopes together with reliable water discharge make the Salween and its tributaries an ideal location for hydropower development. Until now, hydropower development has been confined to tributaries. The reach from Gongshan to Liu Ku has 13 small hydropower plants built along the Salween, providing energy from high artificial falls with intakes along tributary torrents. Although these hydropower plants may have some negative impacts on the forest cover and on the stability of slopes, they do not significantly alter the life of local people—in some cases, they provide the opportunity of building concrete bridges which solve the problem of crossing the Salween—nor do they affect significantly the natural morpho-dynamics of the Salween. Plans for large-scale development of the main stem of the river are now moving ahead in both the PRC and Myanmar. The upper stretch of the Salween in Yunnan Province is earmarked for a cascade of 13 dams, with a total capacity of 21,320 MW. Such large-scale development, involving dams built across the gorge with a wall height of up to 300 meters, will irreversibly disrupt the ecological integrity of

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the Salween river basin and affect the important corridor functions, both terrestrial and aquatic, provided by the river. The construction of the dams will necessitate the resettlement of villages located in the bottom reaches of the valley, as well as reconstruction of the main roads on higher grounds. This is likely to open up many of the forested areas on the surrounding hillsides and the combined impacts of an influx of people, increased logging, and introduction of agriculture on unsuitable slopes is likely to be substantial. Significantly, most of the small hydropower plants along the river are of recent construction or are still under development. The construction of large dams will mean decommissioning the existing plants, many of which are newly built. 11.4.3 The importance of Salween as a free-flowing river Free-flowing rivers, aside from their ecological significance, provide numerous benefits and services to people, including provision of food and water, regulation services such as water purification, sediment transport and deposition, and cultural and aesthetic purposes. All these are in evidence in the Salween River, which also contributes to the maintenance of the hydrological cycle further downstream, and the ecosystems and livelihoods that depend on this. The author would like to emphasize the impact of decreased sediment flux to the costal areas. “Costal retreat is directly influenced by the reduction of river supplied sediment; change in sediment supply can greatly influence the benthic environment of coastal estuaries, coral reefs, and sea grass communities; in addition, nutrients fluxes, particularly carbon, are intimately tied to the flux of sediment, which has implication on coastal fisheries; sediment offers delivery will also affect harbor maintenance and the potential for burial of pollutants” (Syvitsky et al 2005). Furthermore, drastic decrease in input of sediment from rivers has led to a global tendency observed in most major river systems where, simultaneously, sediment input is increased upstream through soil erosion, yet the flux of sediment reaching the coast has decreased (Syvitsky et al 2005), and therefore, most natural sea beaches are receding worldwide (Paskoff 2004).

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Globally, free-flowing rivers are under threat, and in particular, the state of large rivers, those that stretch over a distance of more than 1,000 km, is dire. According to a recent report (WWF 2006), only a third of the world’s 177 large rivers remain free-flowing, unimpeded by dams or other barriers and only 21 of these actually run freely from source to sea. The Salween River is one of these and one of the last in Asia. Among the many reasons for preserving the natural state of large rivers, including the services they provide to people, is the uncertainty about the losses caused by disrupting ecological integrity. Our understanding of the mechanisms of free-flowing rivers over long distances and the contributions made by these rivers to the global ecosystem is still limited, and so for scientific reasons alone, there is an important need to protect free-flowing rivers. With so few major freeflowing rivers now left, we are on the brink of losing another natural phenomenon without fully understanding the costs of these losses. The loss of the integrity of the Salween could prove to be a particular loss as this represents the last free-flowing river draining eastwards to the sea from the Tibetan Plateau. 11.4.4 Options for sustainable development of the upper Salween In the view of WWF, an alternative exists for exploiting the upper Salween, without compromising on economic development and without sacrificing the important terrestrial and biological corridor provided by the river. This scenario calls for the further development of small-scale hydropower along tributaries, in combination with development of tourism. White-water rafting, in particular, could prove to be an important economic driver. 11.4.5 Tourism potential The area has a tropical mountain climate with temperatures between 20-30 OC in summer. This temperature is very suitable for tourism. The Salween valley (i.e., the river, its banks and valley walls, and the tributary valleys) display a lot of outstanding opportunities for developing the economy taking into account the local forces, the labor of people inside their environment, instead of relying on the revenues of the energy of high dams and on emigration of the poor to large cities in

search for uncertain employment. Diffusing a type of tourism respectful of local people, able to consume local products and hire people for activities based upon local resources, is a guarantee for sustainable development, in this valley as well as in other ones. The possibilities and their social and environmental impacts need to be further explored. 11.4.6 Developing the rapids – rafting Instead of dams A WWF mission made brief field observations and took pictures on all the 170 rapids located between Gongshan and Liu Ku to understand their localization, their origin, and their potential difficulty for white water uses. The mission believes that the Salween offers a remarkable potential for high-end river rafting (Annex 3). 11.5 Conclusions/recommendations Infrastructure is as much the cause for increased erosion as it is a victim of its impact. The abnormally high erosion observed is believed to cause direct impact to the aquatic habitats of the tributaries but also on the livelihoods of local populations. In addition to the local impacts, it can be assumed that the excess sediment input created by this erosion—as they seem to be repeated on a number of the Lancang tributary watersheds cumulatively representing a large scale—has a direct impact on the life span of the hydroelectric reservoirs downstream. 11.5.1 Yangtze There is a need to support further development of the program for “Prevention and Control of Soil Erosion and Land Degradation in the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River.” The results observed are positive and impressive. 11.5.2 Lancang-Mekong Promote the same model and scale of intervention2 as the program for “Prevention and Control of Soil

2

A limited number of watersheds in the Lancang have been included in the program, but this would need to be extend to many more in order to have a significant impact at basin scale.

Erosion and Land Degradation in the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River” to protect biodiversity in tributaries and ensure long life of existing reservoirs downstream. Furthermore, a comprehensive program could include the following elements: (i)

Standard for roads building on steep slopes and in upper reaches of watersheds. The Flood Management and Mitigation Program of the Mekong River Commission, Delft Cluste, and WWF are currently collaborating on a project to develop guidelines to develop roads in the floodplains of the Mekong in Cambodia and Viet Nam. This model could be adapted to the roads of the Upper Basin. (ii) Sustainable irrigation. This might include awareness-raising campaigns and technical transfer to local farmers on use of irrigation on steep slopes and regulations for development of irrigation. The use of sprinklers could be recommended in the most sensitive areas where gravity irrigation from canals is proved to be unsustainable. In some cases, it might be worth evaluating the benefits of a conversion from paddy to more profitable crops (e.g., fruit trees), requiring less intensive irrigation. (iii) Promote regulations for small-scale mining. Measure more accurately the basin-wide impact of abnormally high erosion on life span of reservoirs on main stem and evaluate the economic implications. This may call for the development of a mechanism for investment in management of watersheds upstream. (iv) Measure more accurately the basin-wide impact of abnormally high erosion on life span of reservoirs on main stem, and evaluate the economic implications. This may call for the development of a mechanism for investment in management of watersheds upstream.

11.5.3 Nu-Salween (i)

(ii)

Promote the conservation of the Salween as one of the planet’s last free-flowing large river from the Tibetan Plateau to the sea. Promote small- to medium-scale hydropower with derivation canals to meet the local demand rather than large-scale reservoirs on the main stem.

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(iii) Undertake an economic analysis and environmental impact analysis for development of white river rafting in the Salween. (This might be an opportunity for further collaboration between the Working Group on Environment and the Working Group on Tourism.) References Abell, Robin. October (2002). Conservation Biology for Biodiversity Crisis: A Freshwater Follow-up. Conservation Biology: 1435-1437. Bravard, Jean-Paul, and Marc Goichot. December (2005). Slope and Sediment Management in Upper Mekong and Salween River Basins. Non-published technical report. Gupta A., L. Hock, H. Xiaojing, and C. Ping. (2002). Evaluation of Part of the Mekong River Using Satellite Imagery. Geomorphology 44, 3-4: 221-240. Mackinnon J., M. Sha, C. Cheung, G. Carey, X. Zhu, and D. Melville. (1996). A Biodiversity Review of China. Hong Kong: WWF International. Mekong River Commission. (2003). State of the Basin Report Executive Summary. Phnom Penh: MRC. Mol, Jan H., and Paul E. Ouboter. February (2004). Downstream Effects of Erosion from Small-Scale Gold Mining on the Instream Habitat and Fish Community of a Small Neotropical Rainforest Stream. Conservation Biology Vol. 18, No. 1: 201-214. Paskoff, Roland. (2004). Les Littoraux: Impact des Amenagements sur Leur Evolution. Armand Colin – Masson Paris: 257. Priority Programme for China’s Agenda 21, Priority 5 - Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Natural Resources, Subsection 5-2 Prevention and Control of Soil Erosion and Land Degradation in the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, available at http://www.acca21.org.cn/pp5-2.html Syvitsky, James P. M., Charles J. Vorosmarty, Albert J. Kettner, and Pamela Green. (2005). Impact of Humans on the Flux of Terrestrial Sediment to the Global Coastal Ocean. Science Vol. 308. 15 April. Tinkler, K.J., and E.E. Wohl. (1998). Rivers Over Rock: Fluvial Processes in Bedrock Channels. Geophysical Monographs, Vol. 107. van der Meer, Peter, and Chongyung Wang. February (2005). Forest and Agriculture Ecosystem Functioning. In Integrated Ecosystem and Water Resources Management of the Lancang (Upper-Mekong) River Basin: A Pilot Research in Fengqin and Xiaojie Catchments.

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World Wide Fund for Nature. (2001). Global 200 Ecoregion Profiles. Available: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/ where_we_work/ecoregions/global200/pages/list.htm#water WWF report, Free-Flowing Rivers – Economic Luxury or Ecological Necessity? defines a free-flowing river as any river that flows undisturbed from its source to its mouth, at either the coast, an inland sea, or at the confluence with a larger river, without encountering any dams, weirs, or barrages and without being hemmed in by dikes or levees. Available: http:// www.panda.org/freshwater

Annex 11.1: The Lancang River Gorge: slope management, the impact of new agriculture practices, and small-scale mining on the stability of the slopes 1.

Unsustainable ways of managing soil and irrigation in the context of the intensification of practices

Irrigated agriculture has been traditionally developed on alluvial fans, where soils are the most fertile, slopes less extreme, and where it is easy to divert water from the torrents. The land use practices are well adapted, but the local conditions are still quite extreme and the life of farmers is very difficult. Natural setting—slopes and climate—being so extreme, an external factor can easily disturb this fragile equilibrium between humans and nature. In the region between Zhoupai and Shideng, one can see striking examples of the impact of irrigation on slopes when the delivery of water is not correctly mastered. Failure in canals or simply open-ended irrigation system pouring water down slope induces severe landslides across the fields, then gullies into the loose deposits. The main issue is managing excess water downstream the irrigated paddy fields when it is poured along the slope without any respect to the weakness of slope deposits. The landscape shows three examples of landslides induced by poor management of irrigation on slopes where agriculture has been intensified. (i)

An old inactive landslide surrounded by hedges (ii) A large and active landslide displaying mudflows, gullies in the middle (iii) A fresh mudflow which covers corn fields below irrigated paddy fields on the right of the picture

However, one can also see some sustainable examples of newly developed irrigated perimeters. For instance, on the right bank downstream Zhoupai, a large area has been developed with a new village, irrigated paddy fields on the upper part, dry corn fields on the steepest slopes closer to the gorge or where delivery of water is impossible. The old gullies have been controlled, but fresh gullies originate from a large dirt road opened between the village and the fields 2.

When thresholds are passed on tilled land

In this reach of the Lancang River, the cross profile of the valley slopes are convex, which means that the steepest slopes are close to the river while the valley opens at a higher altitude, below the mountain forest. Irrigated agriculture has been developed on very small alluvial fans when tributary torrents entrench the valley walls. Usually, they benefit water diversion from torrents, manure from the litter of pine forest and from lime. Corn is the only possible crop on non-irrigated tenures and when the slopes are too steep for the construction of terraces and paddy fields. Three types of land tenures have been developed with characteristic landscapes: On gentle slopes less than 20-25O, paddy is grown on terraced irrigated fields. The plots of land are constructed, manured, and perennial. (ii) On slopes comprised between 20-25 O O and 50 , corn is grown on dry land, tilled with the hoe, sometimes watered using pails. (iii) On the steepest slopes located along the lower part of the gorge, land is tilled with temporary corn fields. These slopes associate corn, fallow, and pastures. (i)

This leads to the loss of large areas of cultivated land.

The lowest and steepest slopes are prone to landslides when soils are saturated. These landslides occur in thick weathered rocks and in slope deposits.

Furthermore, the construction or widening of a road through a main irrigation channel can have some severe impacts, when farmers try to restore them without fully understanding the risk of saturating the surface deposits and therefore creating landslides.

The most fragile soils are on weak rocks (schists, soft sandstones). Those soils are easier to crop due to their thickness, thus they suffer the most intense pressures. A large number of landslides were observed in the vicinity of Yingpen. It must be stressed that erosion

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does not always have an obvious and direct human cause. Many landslides have been observed not only on tilled land prone to rill erosion, but also on ancient fallows protected by grass and shrubs. In some narrow sections of the Lancang River, small-scale mining adds to the pressure from agriculture. In the area situated 10 km south of Yingpen, the gorges are intensively mined for lead. Along dirt tracks linking the mines to the river, processions of donkeys carry the ore and some wood in a bare landscape. Natural forest has been cut down to sustain the mine galleries, for processing ore, or just for fuel for the minors. Some slopes are covered by recent eucalyptus plantations. Other areas downstream present very similar features and this allow us to state that the most depredated slopes occur during mining, intense grazing, and when corn are in competition on fragile soils. Traditional agricultural practices have limited impact on the natural erosion process. Because the natural conditions are so harsh, the most remote tenures and isolated farms are often abandoned. Only a limited number of erosion forms due to grazing have been observed. But introduction of small-scale mining is sufficient to destabilize the traditional harmony and trigger severe erosion on significant areas.

Along the downstream reach of the tributary: Undermining of the slopes and slumping Burying of nut trees in the neighboring fields

Along the Yongchun River itself: (i)

(ii)

Deposition of sediment (fine gravel and sand over the riverine paddy fields) which are locally ruined Alterations to the riparian forest

The length of the impacted reach is about 2-3 km downstream Waxi and the confluence which commands most of the transformation. The riverbed morphology downstream the tributaries delivering their normal sedimentary input, is again in equilibrium with land occupation. The elevation of the bank is approximately 1.5 m above the bed, irrigation intakes are not destroyed, and

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These impacts must be considered in the perspective of the normal behavior of the river during floods and between floods. Along this reach, the conquest of paddy fields is compromised by the occurrence of large floods which deposit gravel and small boulders on the adjacent alluvial plain. The upper level, close to the slope, has been aggraded by colluvium and is cultivated with corn relying on rain falls. Closer to the river, stands a belt conquered to the detriment of the active tract of the river, result of tenacious work performed by the farmers. Levees and small irrigation canals made of stones separate the small paddy fields; longitudinal embankments made of boulders line up the river in order to constrict the alluvial tract. However, this conquest has been destroyed by recent large floods and is presently under reconquest. Corn fields have been settled on freshly deposited gravels, before the cultivation of paddy. Farmers told us, the situation was different a few years ago. Annex 11.3: Developing the rapids – rafting Instead of dams

Annex 11.2: Yongchun

(i) (ii)

if the meadows are probably flooded, they are not fossilized by sediments during floods. The river shows the morphological features of a bed which does not display much gravel transport along a steep reach. Other features, such as boulders deposited by tributary torrents, confirm that the long profile is stable.

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A WWF mission made brief field observations and took pictures on all the 170 rapids located between Gongshan and Liu Ku to understand their localization, their origin, and their potential difficulty for white water uses. The rapids may be classified in three categories depending on their geomorphologic origin: (i)

(ii)

Rapids linked to the constriction of the channel when the alluvial fan impinges into it - These alluvial constructions are rejuvenated by floods on the tributaries; boulders have a medium size and can be reworked by the floods of the main river. Rapids linked to the deposition of large rounded boulders (several meters in diameter) originating from tributaries into the Nu River - Usually, they originate from

steep and narrow gorges drained by powerful torrents (or debris flow torrents, when the boulders are transported inside mud). During floods of the tributary, all sizes of material reach the Nu River, the floods of which clean up the deposits letting only the bigger boulders. (iii) Rapids linked to large rock falls from steep valley slopes shaped into metamorphic rocks for instance - This material is usually coarse and not rounded due to its origin.

Table 11.1: Number of rapids between Bingzhongluo and Fugong (Upstream) Valley Alluvial type fan V gorges basin U gorges Total

Big % boulders % Large % from rockfall tributary

Total

41

79

4

8

7

13

52

12 53

55 72

6 10

27 14

4 11

18 14

22 74

The rapids have been attributed to one of two characteristic types of valleys: (i)

(ii)

V-shaped valleys or open gorges with moderate slopes facilitating agriculture and settlements - These valleys are shaped into soft rocks (schists, weak sandstones) U-shaped valleys, with steep or vertical slopes, few hamlets or farms, narrow bed, fast-flowing waters along steep reaches These valleys are shaped into hard rocks (limestone = canyon, granite, resistant metamorphic rocks)

Table 11.2: Number of rapids between Fugong and Liu Ku (Downstream) Valley Alluvial type fan V gorges basin U gorges Total

Big boulders % % Large % from rockfall tributary

Total

50

77

7

11

8

12

65

17 67

45 56

11 18

29 17

10 18

26 17

38 103

Two reaches have been selected: (i) (ii)

Between Bingzhongluo and Fugong Between Fugong and Liu Ku

Comments (i) At the valley scale, 2/3 of the rapids are linked to alluvial fans, i.e., to river con striction linked to torrential processes. The other rapids are shared into two equal parts, boulders and blocks from rock falls (ii) If one considers the total population of rapids of the two reaches, the upper one has more rapids linked to alluvial fans than the downstream one, probably because the upper part is higher and drained by more torrents. (iii) In the downstream reach, boulder rapids and rock falls are more represented, probably because of the steepness of the valley slopes.

Table 11.3: Number of rapids between Bingzhongluo and Liu Ku Valley Alluvial type fan V gorges basin U gorges Total

Big % boulders % Large % from rockfall tributary

Total

91

78

11

9

15

13

117

29 120

48 67

17 28

28 16

14 29

24 17

60 177

(iv) Considering the type of valley, V gorges and basins are prone to the large development of alluvial fans, while U gorges are prone to the other types linked to active slope processes

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Excellent quality of water The quality of water is excellent since the cities, even if they do not purify their releases, are small. Few industries, of very small size, are present along the rivers of the watershed. This situation should not change in the near future and might even improve if waste waters are collected and treatment plants are constructed. Sand beaches When rafting downstream a river, it is important to be able to stop the raft on soft sandy beaches to take a rest or to spend the night. This section of the river offers many “pocket” beaches on both sides of the river, even during high waters. Usually those beaches are found downstream alluvial fans where the counter currents decrease velocity and allow the depositions of suspended sediments. These beaches will disappear if a dam on the main stem is constructed upstream. Hamlets and villages where meeting people Some small market towns like Gongshan, Fugong can provide accommodation and necessity products. Just downstream Bingzhongluo, in the protected area, a hamlet of the Dulong people (the mountain of supernatural turtles) provides accommodation and ethnic food.

12. Wetland Connectivity and Fish Migration in the Lower Mekong Basin1 Poulsen A.F., Ouch Poeu, Sintavong Viravong, Ubolratana Suntornratana, Nguyen Thanh Tung and Barlow, C. Summary The fisheries of the Mekong are immensely important both nutritionally and economically for the livelihoods of people in the basin. The fisheries are exploited predominantly by the poorer sections of society, and so have an important role in terms of food security as well. The high yield from the river is primarily due to the annual flood, flat topography providing extensive flood plains, and high level of exploitation. Migration is a key feature of many commercially important species. Three major migration areas have been identified on the mainstream, although there is considerable overlap and mixing between them. There are no constructed barriers on the mainstream below the People’s Republic of China (PRC), so the connectivity between seasonally important habitats is intact. These habitats can be broadly described as flood plains for feeding and growth, dry season refuges (particularly deep pools in the main river and larger tributaries), and spawning areas. Maintenance of healthy fisheries in the Mekong will require that connectivity between these areas is preserved. 12.1 Introduction The fishery of the Mekong River Basin is probably one of the largest and most important inland fisheries in the world. The main reasons for this are: (i)

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The river contains an unusually large number of species (probably more than 1,200).

This paper is adapted from Poulsen A.F., Ouch Poeu, Sintavong Viravong, Ubolratana Suntornratana and Nguyen Thanh Tung, 2002. Fish migrations of the Lower Mekong River Basin: implications for development, planning and environmental management. MRC Technical Paper No. 8, Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh.

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(ii)

A large number of people are involved in fisheries activities in the basin. (iii) Large areas of floodplain remain accessible for fish production. (iv) The annual flood pulse, which drives fish production on the floodplain, has not been greatly affected, in contrast to most other large rivers. (v) In most of the basin, large-scale fish migrations provide the basis for the seasonal fisheries along their migration routes. These migrations have not been affected as in most other large rivers. The issue of fish migration is of particular interest to the MRC, since many migratory fish stocks constitute transboundary resources, i.e. resources shared between two or more of the riparian countries. Fish migrations in the Mekong River Basin are of great significance to the local people. Many fishing communities along the rivers of the basin have adapted their way of life to the seasonal patterns of fish migrations. A few of the most conspicuous examples are: (i)

Throughout the basin, villages have adapted to the seasonal migration of groups of small cyprinid fishes belonging to the genus Henicorhynchus which takes place at the beginning of the dry season (OctoberFebruary). These migrations support very large fisheries and the surplus yield creates the foun-dation for a variety of fish processing activities. (ii) From December to February, villages near certain sites along the river exploit the seasonal spawning migration of the large cyprinid Probarbus jullieni (and also Probarbus labeamajor), one of the high profile ‘flagship’ species of the Mekong. (iii) The seasonal spawning migration of the giant Mekong catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) has experienced a dramatic decline in recent decades, and in 2006 fishers have voluntarily stopped fishing for the giant catfish at the only remaining traditional fishery, in northern Thailand.

12.2 Fish migration in the Mekong River In a multi-species fisheries environment such as the Mekong system, it is useful to distinguish different species groups based on different life history strategies. The broadest classification of fishes in the Mekong fisheries context is the classification of fishes into blackfishes and whitefishes (Welcomme 1985). Black-fishes are species that spend most of their life in lakes and swamps on the floodplains adjacent to river channels and venture into flooded areas during the flood season. They are physiologically adapted to withstand adverse environmental conditions, such as low oxygen levels, which enable them to stay in swamps and small floodplain lakes during the dry season. They are normally referred to as non-migratory, although they perform short seasonal movements between permanent and seasonal water bodies. Examples of black-fish species in the Mekong are the climbing perch (Anabas testudineus), the clarias catfishes (e.g. Clarias batrachus) and the striped snakehead (Channa striata). White-fishes, on the contrary, are fishes that depend on habitats within river channels for the main part of the year. In the Mekong, most white-fish species venture into flooded areas during the monsoon season, returning to their river habitats at the end of the flood season. Important representatives of this group are some of the cyprinids, such as Cyclocheilichthys enoplos and Cirrhinus microlepis, as well as the river catfishes of the family Pangasiidae. Recently, an additional group within this classification has been identified. It is considered an intermediate between black-fishes and white-fishes and therefore has been referred to as greyfishes (Welcomme 2001). Species of this group undertake only short migrations between floodplains and adjacent rivers and/ or between permanent and seasonal water bodies within the floodplain (Chanh et al. 2001; Welcomme 2001). Virtually all fishes of the Mekong are exploited and therefore constitute important fishery resources. All fishes are also vulnerable to impacts from development activities, including transboundary impacts. However, longdistance migratory species (i.e. white-fish species) are particularly vulnerable because they depend on many

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different habitats, are widely distributed, and require migration corridors between different habitats. For these important fishes, the term ‘transboundary’ has double meaning: they are transboundary resources that may be affected by transboundary impacts of human activities. 12.3 Important fish habitats in the lower Mekong basin 12.3.1. Flood plains The flood-pulse during the monsoon season is the driving force of the Mekong River ecosystem. As is the case for most tropical floodplain river systems, the seasonal habitats on the floodplains created by the monsoon floods are the main “fish production sites” of the Mekong (Sverdrup-Jensen 2002). These areas are very rich in nutrients, food and shelter during the flood season, and most Mekong fishes depend on these resources for at least certain parts of their early life cycle. The main floodplain habitats occur in the lower part in southern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam. The most important floodplain complex is associated with the Tonle Sap River/Great Lake system in Cambodia. In the upper parts of the basin, in Thailand and Lao PDR, floodplain areas are smaller and are mainly associated with Mekong tributaries. In the upper parts of the basin, i.e. approximately upstream from Vientiane, floodplain habitats become more and more scarce as the river gradually changes to become a typical mountain river with steep riverbanks. The migratory behavior of many fishes is an adaptation to these hydrological and environmental conditions. The timing of migrations is “tuned” to the flood-pulse, and although different species may have tuned their migrations in different ways, some general patterns can be elucidated. In general, most species spend the dry season in refuge habitats. The arrival of the monsoon and its floodwaters is an ecological trigger for both spawning and migration. Spawning at the right time and place will enable offspring to enter floodplain habitats, where they can feed. Some species spawn on the floodplain itself, whereas others migrate upstream to spawn within the river channel and then rely on the river current to bring the offspring to the downstream rearing habitats. Many larger juveniles and adult fish actively

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migrate from dry-season shelters to the floodplains to feed. Thus, the life cycles of migrating fish species ecologically connect different areas and habitats of rivers. From their point of view, the river basin constitutes one ecological unit interconnecting upstream spawning habitats with downstream rearing habitats. 12.3.2. Dry season refuge habitats When water recedes from flooded areas at the end of the flood season, fishes have to move out of the seasonal habitats and return to their dry season refuges. In a broad sense, two types of dry season refuge habitats exist: permanent floodplain lakes and swamps; and river channels. Floodplain lakes are mainly used by the group of black-fish species, whereas river channel refuges are mainly used by whitefishes. Within rivers, deep areas are particularly important as dry season refuges. These areas are most often referred to as deep pools. Certain stretches of the Mekong River emerge as important locations for deep pools. In particular, the stretch from Kratie to the Khone Falls in northern Cambodia contains a large number of deep pools that are used by many species during the dry season. The river stretch immediately upstream from the Khone Falls, as far upstream as Khammouan/Nakhon Phanom, and the stretch from the Loei River to Luang Prabang also contains many deep pool habitats. 12.3.3. Spawning habitats for migratory fishes Although little is known about spawning habitat requirements for most Mekong fishes, spawning habitats are generally believed to be associated with: (i) rapids and pools of the Mekong mainstream and tributaries; and (ii) floodplains (e.g., among certain types of vegetation, depending on species). River channel habitats are, for example, used as spawning habitats by most of the large species of pangasiid catfishes and some large cyprinids such as Cyclocheilichthys enoplos, Cirrhinus microlepis, and Catlocarpio siamensis. Floodplain habitats are used as spawning habitats, mainly by black-fish species. Other species may spawn in river channels in the open-water column and rely on particular hydrological conditions to distribute the offspring (eggs and/or larvae) to downstream rearing habitats.

Information on spawning habitats for migratory species in the river channels of the Mekong Basin is scarce. Only for very few species, such as Probarbus spp. and Chitala spp., spawning habits are well described because these species have conspicuous spawning behavior at distinct spawning sites. For most other species, in particular for deep-water mainstream spawners such as the river catfish species, spawning is virtually impossible to observe directly. Information about spawning can instead be obtained through indirect observations such as observations of ripe eggs in fishes. For fishes that spawn in main river channels, spawning is believed to occur in stretches where there are many rapids and deep pools, e.g. (i) the Kratie–Khone Falls stretch; (ii) the Khone Falls to Khammouan/Nakhon Phanom stretch; and (iii) from the mouth of the Loei River to Bokeo/Chiang Khong. 12.4 Migration systems in the Mekong Three main migration systems have been identified in the lower Mekong River mainstream. These three systems have been termed the Lower Mekong Migration System (LMS), the Middle Mekong Migration System (MMS), and the Upper Mekong Migration System (UMS). It is important to note that the different migration systems are inter-connected and, for many species, overlapping. Furthermore, their classification as ‘systems’ is based on the fact that migration patterns are different in each. In general, the migration patterns are determined by the spatial separation between dry season refuge habitats and flood season feeding and rearing habitats within each system. This again demonstrates how migration habits are deeply embedded in the environment within which they occur. 12.4.1 The Lower Mekong Migration System (LMS) This migration system covers the stretch from the Khone Falls downstream to southern Cambodia, including the Tonle Sap system, and the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam. The migrations in this region are driven by the spatial and temporal separation of flood-season feeding and rearing habitats in the south with dry-season refuge habitats in the north. The rise in water levels at the beginning of the flood season triggers many migrating fishes to move from the dry season habitats just below the Khone Falls,

e.g., in deep pools along the Kratie-Stung Treng stretch, towards the floodplain habitats in southern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam. Here they spend the flood season feeding in the fertile floodplain habitats. Some species spawn on, or near the floodplain, whereas others spawn far upstream, i.e., above Kratie, and rely on the water current to bring offspring to the floodplain rearing areas. One of the key factors for the integrity of this system is the Tonle Sap/Great Lake system—a vast and complex system of rivers, lakes and floodplains. As a result of increasing water discharge from the Mekong River at the onset of the flood season, the water current of the Tonle Sap River changes its direction, flowing from the Mekong into the Tonle Sap River and towards the Great Lake. This enables fish larvae and juveniles to enter the Tonle Sap from the Mekong by drifting with the flow. Together with the floodplains of the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, these floodplains are the main “fish factories” of the lower basin. An important group of species, which undertakes this type of migration, belongs to the genus Henicorhynchus. In terms of fisheries output, these fishes are among the most important of the Lower Mekong. For example, in the Tonle Sap River dai fishery, species of the genus Henicorhynchus account for 40 percent of the total annual catch (Lieng et al 1995, Pengbun and Chanthoeun 2001). Larger species, such as Catlocarpio siamensis, Cirrhinus microlepis, Cyclocheilichthys enoplos, and Probarbus jullieni, as well as several members of the family Pangasiidae, also participate in this migration system. The Sesan tributary system (including the Sekong and Srepok Rivers) deserves special mention. This important tributary system is intimately linked with the LMS, as evidenced by many species such as Henicorhynchus sp. and Probarbus jullieni extending their migration routes from the Mekong River mainstream into the Sesan tributary system (Chanh Sokheng, personal communication, December 2001). In addition, the Sesan tributary system also appears to contain its own migration system. Many of the species (e.g., all the species mentioned above) are believed to spawn within the

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Mekong mainstream in the upper stretches of the system (from Kratie to the Khone Falls, and beyond) at the beginning of the flood season in May-June. Eggs and larvae subsequently drift downstream with the current to reach the floodplain feeding habitats in southern Cambodia and Viet Nam. 12.4.2 The Middle Mekong Migration System (MMS) From just above the Khone Falls and upstream to the Loei River, Thailand, the migration patterns are determined by the presence of large tributaries connecting to the Mekong mainstream. Within this section of the river, floodplain habitats are mainly associated with the tributaries (e.g., the Mun River, Songkhram River, Xe Bang Fai River, Hinboun River, and other tributaries), so fishes migrate seasonally along these tributaries from mainstream dry season habitats to floodplain feeding/ rearing habitats. At the onset of the flood season, fishes generally move upstream within the Mekong mainstream until they reach the mouth of one of these major tributaries. They swim up the tributary until they can move into floodplain habitats. At the end of the monsoon, fishes move in the opposite direction, from floodplains through the tributary river and, eventually, to the Mekong mainstream, where many fishes spend the dry season in deep pools. This is of course a very simplistic description of the main movements, and there are considerable variations in the general pattern, both between different species and within species. Furthermore, there are complex interconnections to the lower migration system described above, i.e. many of the same species participate in both systems, either as genetically-distinct populations, or at different stages of their life cycle. It is important to emphasize that the two different migration systems (LMS and MMS) are not “closed” ecological systems, isolated from each other. The two systems are in fact interconnected. Many species are known to migrate over the Khone Falls, both during the flood season and during the dry season, thereby demonstrating that the Falls is not a barrier for fish movements (Baird 1998; Roberts 1993; Roberts and Baird 1995; Roberts and Warren 1994; Singanouvong et al. 1996a and 1996b). For some species, the same fish may be part of the lower migration system as a juvenile,

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and part of the middle migration system as a mature adult. For example, important species such asCyclocheilichthys enoplos and Cirrhinus microlepis are mainly reported as juveniles and sub-adults in the LMS and as adults in the MMS. The same may be true for a number of other species, including the Giant Mekong Catfish. For other species, it may be the case that genetically distinct sub-populations are involved in the different migration systems. However, further research is needed before conclusions can be made on this issue. 12.4.3 The Upper Mekong Migration System (UMS) The third migration system occurs in the upper section of the river, approximately from the mouth of the Loei River and upstream towards the border between Lao PDR and the PRC (probably continuing into PRC, although we have no data to confirm this). This section of the river is characterized by its relative lack of floodplains and major tributaries (although there are some floodplains associated with tributaries in the far north, i.e. the Nam Ing River, in Thailand). This migration system is dominated by upstream migrations at the onset of the flood season, from dry season refuge habitats in the main river to spawning habitats further upstream. This is also a multispecies migration system, and some of the species participating in the previous migration systems further downstream also participate in this migration, although the total number of species may be lower. The most conspicuous member of this migration system is the Giant Mekong Catfish, Pangasianodon gigas. Henicorhynchus sp., which is so important for the fishery further downstream, is also important along this stretch of the river. For example, a fisherman from Bokeo in northern Lao PDR reported a catch of between 100 and 200 kg per day of this fish during the month of October 2001. This may be a genetically distinct stock compared with downstream stocks (research is currently underway to determine if this is the case). Whereas the LMS and the MMS are interconnected to a large degree, the UMS appears to be relatively isolated, with little “exchange” between the UMS and the other migration systems. Deep pool habitats are rare for a long stretch of the Mekong between the MMS and the UMS. Along the same stretch, observations of mature fishes with eggs are also rare. This

indicates that for many migratory species, the stretch from Paksan to the mouth of the Loei River is a functional barrier. Interestingly, the geographical extent of these three migration systems corresponds with elevation contours of the lower Mekong Basin. In particular, there is a clear area overlap between the extent of the LMS and the extent of the 0-149 m elevation of the Mekong Delta/ Cambodian lowlands. A correlation also occurs between the MMS and the 150-199 m elevation represented largely by the Korat Plateau. The UMS correlates with a plateau of 200-500 m elevation. This demonstrates how fish migration has evolved within the surrounding physical environment.

12.5 Key issues for management of the migration systems For management of migratory fishes, the most important issue is that critical habitats are maintained in time and space. This includes the maintenance of connectivity between them, i.e., through migration corridors. The importance of the annual hydrological pattern is paramount, including its role in the creation of seasonal floodplain habitats, as well as its role as a distributor of fish larvae and juveniles through passive drift. The following key ecological attributes for migratory species are identified, based on the three major migration systems described above along the Mekong mainstream.

Table 12.1: The Lower Mekong Migration System (LMS) General ecological attributes

Mekong-specific ecological attributes

Dry season refuge habitats:

Deep pools in the Kratie-Stung Treng stretch of the Mekong mainstream. These habitats are extremely important for recruitment for the entire lower Mekong Basin, including floodplains in southern Cambodia (including the Tonle Sap/Great Lake System) and the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam.

Flood season feeding and rearing Floodplains in the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, in southern Cambodia, and in the Tonle Sap system. habitats: These habitats support the major part of Mekong fisheries. Spawning habitats:

Rapids and deep pool systems in the Kratie – Khone Falls, and in the Sesan catchment. Floodplain habitats in the south (e.g. flooded forests associated with the Great Lake).

Migration routes:

The Mekong River from Kratie – Stung Treng to southern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam. Between the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap River (longitudinal connectivity). Between floodplain habitats and river channels (lateral connectivity). Between the Mekong mainstream and the Sesan subcatchment (including Sekong and Srepok Rivers).

Hydrology:

The annual flood pattern responsible for the inundation of large areas of southern Cambodia (including the Tonle Sap system) and the Mekong Delta is essential for fisheries productivity of the system. The annual reversal of the flow in the Tonle Sap River is essential for ecosystem functioning. If the flow is not reversed (or if reversal is delayed), fish larvae drifting from upstream spawning sites in the Mekong River cannot access the important floodplain habitats of the Tonle Sap System. A delayed flow reversal would also lead to a reduced floodplain area adjacent to the river and lake, and thus, reduced fish production. Changed hydrological parameters, e.g., as a result of water management schemes, result in changed flow patterns, which in turn may change sedimentation patterns along the river. Examples of this already exist in some tributaries where hydropower dams have been constructed, resulting in sedimentation, and thus in disappearance of deep pool habitats.

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Table 12.2: The Middle Mekong Migration System (MMS) General ecological attributes



Deep pool stretches of the Mekong mainstream and within major tributaries. Of particular importance is the stretch from the Khone Falls to Kammouan/Nakhon Phanom. Deep pools immediately downstream from the Khone Falls also are important for this migration system (thereby linking the MMS and the LMS).

Flood-season feeding and rearing habitats:

Floodplains of this system are mainly associated with major tributaries (e.g. the Mun/Chi system, Songkhram River, Xe Bang Fai River, Hinboun River).

Spawning habitats:

Rapids and deep pool systems in the Mekong mainstream (particularly along the stretch from the Khone Falls to Khammouan/Nakhon Phanom). Floodplain habitats associated with tributaries.

Migration routes:

Connections between the Mekong River (dry season habitats) and major tributaries (flood season habitats). Access to floodplain habitats from main river channels must be maintained.

Hydrology:

The annual floods that inundate floodplain areas along major tributaries must be maintained.

Table 12.3: The Upper Mekong Migration System (UMS) General ecological attributes



Occur throughout the extent of the UMS, but are most common in the downstream stretch from the mouth of the Loei River to Louang Prabang.

Flood season feeding and rearing The UMS occurs within a section of the Mekong, which is dominated by mountainous rivers with habitats: limited floodplain habitats. Floodplain habitats therefore play a less important role, compared to MMS and LMS. Large catches of Henicorhynchus sp. in Bokeo Province of Lao PDR suggest that even the limited areas of available floodplains are important. Spawning habitats:

Spawning habitats occur mainly in the upper stretches of the system. They are mainly situated in stretches with alternating rapids and deep pools.

Migration routes:

Migration corridors between downstream dry season refuge habitats and upstream spawning habitats should be maintained.

Hydrology:

The annual flood pattern that triggers fish migrations and causes inundation of floodplains.

12.6 Khone Falls The Khone Falls are situated on the border between Cambodia and Lao PDR and thus also demarcate the “border” between the LMS and the MMS. It is important to emphasize that the Khone Falls are not a barrier to migration. The Khone Falls area is probably the most studied site along the whole of the Mekong, and large-scale migrations involving a large number of

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species have been documented through intensive sampling programs over the past decade (Baird 1998; Roberts 1993; Singanouvong et al. 1996a and 1996b). Thus, the LMS and the MMS are in fact inter-connected. What makes the LMS and the MMS different from each other is not that they are geographically isolated. The difference is that in the LMS, the dry season refuge habitats are situated upstream from the flood season

feeding and rearing habitats, whereas in the MMS, they are situated downstream from the flood season habitats. Therefore, at the onset of the flood season, in the LMS fishes migrate downstream towards flood season habitats, whereas in the MMS, fishes migrate upstream towards flood season habitats. As mentioned earlier, in some cases the same fish may participate in both migration systems at different stages of their life cycle.

Singanouvong, D., C. Soulignavong, K. Vonghachak, B. Saadsy & T. J. Warren. (1996a). The main dry-season fish migrations of the Mekong mainstream at Hat Village, Muang Khong District, Hee Village, Muang Mouan (Sic) District and Ban Hatsalao Village, Paxse. IDRC Fisheries Ecology Technical Report No. 3. 131 pp.

The UMS may be relatively isolated from the two migration systems further downstream. It thus may represent genetically distinct populations of fishes. If so, these populations should be regarded as separate management units. Further research, particularly on population genetics, is needed to clarify this issue.

Sverdrup-Jensen, S. (2002). Fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin: status and perspectives. MRC Technical Paper No. 6. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh. 103 pp.

Singanouvong, D., C. Soulignavong, K. Vonghachak, B. Saadsy & T. J. Warren. (1996b). The main wet-season migration through Hoo Som Yai, a steep-gradient channel at the great fault line on the Mekong River, Champassack Province, Southern Lao PDR. IDRC Fisheries Ecology Technical Report No. 4. 115 pp.

Welcomme, R. (1985). River Fisheries. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 262. 330 pp. Welcomme, R. (2001). Inland Fisheries Ecology and Management. Fishing News Books, Blackwell Science, Oxford. 358 pp.

References Baird, I. G. (1998). Preliminary fishery stock assessment results from Ban Hang Khone, Khong District, Champasak Province, Southern Lao PDR. Technical Report. Environmental Protection and Community Development in the Siphandone Wetland, Champasak Province, Lao PDR. Funded by European Union, implemented by CESVI. 112 pp. Chanh, S., C. K. Chhuon & J. Valbo-Jorgensen. (2001). Lateral migrations between Tonle Sap River and its flood plain. p. 102111. In: Matics, K.I. Editor. Proceedings from the Third Technical Symposium on Mekong Fisheries, 8-9 December 2000. Mekong Conference Series No. 1. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh. Lieng, S., C. Yim & N. P. van Zalinge. (1995.) Freshwater fisheries of Cambodia, I: the bagnet (dai) fishery in the Tonle Sap River. Asian Fisheries Science, 8:255-262. Pengbun, N. & H. Chanthoeun. (2001). Analysis of the dai catches in Phnom Penh/Kandal. p. 44-51. In: Matics, K. I. Editor. Proceedings from the Third Technical Symposium on Mekong Fisheries, 8-9 December 2000. Mekong Conference Series No. 1. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh. Roberts, T. R. (1993). Artisanal fisheries and fish ecology below the great waterfalls of the Mekong River in Southern Laos. Natural History Bulletin Siam Society, 41:31-62. Roberts, T. R. & I. G. Baird. (1995). Traditional fisheries and fish ecology on the Mekong River at Khone Waterfalls in southern Laos. Natural History Bulletin Siam Society, 43:219-262. Roberts, T. R. and T. J. Warren. (1994). Observations on fishes and fisheries in Southern Laos and Northeastern Cambodia, October 1993 – February 1994. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society. 42:87-115.

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13. Analyzing the Impacts of the GMS Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative: A Toolkit of Policy Relevant Indicators and Models Ben ten Brink, Tonnie Tekelenburg, Rob Alkemade, Mireille de Heer, Fleur Smout, Michel Bakkenes, Jan Clement, Mark van Oorschot, Jan Janse

generated will help policy makers assess different options for the BCI and foresee what consequences their decisions may have on ecosystem functions and human wellbeing.

Figure 13.1

Assessment tools

indicators

Summary The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is undergoing rapid economic developments, which are expected to have a severe impact on the region’s biodiversity. The International Biodiversity (IB) Project of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) offers indicators, models, and an assessment framework to analyze and assess biodiversity change in the past, present, and future as a result of human activities. These could be useful tools to support policy makers in exploring and assessing policy options. This paper presents a generic outline of the tools offered by the IB Project, with an emphasis on their potential use for regional policy support. 13.1 Introduction The Greater Mekong Subregion Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI) is meant to counterbalance the negative effects of rapid economic development on the region’s biodiversity by safeguarding a significant part of the area for nature. Major questions regarding the design of the Corridor will include its size, location, and the benefits for biodiversity it will have. At the same time the question is how the livelihoods of people in the area can be secured. The IB Project of the MNP offers tools to analyze biodiversity change in the past, present, and future as a result of human pressures and conservation measures. The main tools relevant for the BCI will be biodiversity indicators and models. The indicators serve to describe changes in biodiversity in a policy relevant way, whereas the models predict the effects of changes in the landscape and the environment on biodiversity in terms of the same indicators (Figure 13.1). The information

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policy measure 1 policy measure 2 policy measure 3 0% past

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13.2 Tool 1: What is changing - indicators and monitoring Indicators keep track of changes in biodiversity, ecosystem goods and services, and human well-being, in the context of policy goals. The challenge is to create tangible and powerful indicators that accurately describe trends in biodiversity loss and ecosystem goods and services. Indicators give meaning to data and must be quantitative, sensitive, affordable, measurable, and universally applicable. Once indicators have been designed, cost-efficient monitoring programs are needed to collect data in the “real world” for reliable and frequent updates. 13.2.1 The 2010 biodiversity indicators To evaluate progress towards the 2010 target, the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) has selected a set of headline indicators (decision VII/30). These indicators cover, among others, the following focal areas: (i) status and trends in biological diversity, e.g., indicators on ecosystem extent, species abundance, status of threatened species, coverage of protected areas; (ii) sustainable use; (iii) pressures, e.g., nitrogen deposition, climate change; and (iv) ecosystem integrity and goods and services, e.g., marine tropic index, freshwater quality. The coherence between the indicators is

of utmost importance, as ultimately the set of indicators will have to tell the story of biodiversity loss, the causes of change, what we can do about it, and why this is important.

Figure 13.2

Processes have been started at the global, regional, and national levels to implement the indicators for the 2010 target. The IB project contributes to this (e.g., in the project Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators for the 2010 target) and applies the indicators in modeling and assessments. Furthermore, the project works with common socioeconomic indicators and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) indicators for human well-being, such as the gross national product per capita, calories food intake, and access to clean water. 13.2.2 Supporting partners on indicators and monitoring The IB project supports partners in establishing indicators and monitoring. It uses a step-wise approach, focused at the key questions of the policy makers (Figure 13.2). Data are collected and the indicators calculated. In an iterative process the results are fed back to the policy makers to see whether the indicators sufficiently answer their questions. The resulting indicators are used to produce an indicator-based national ecosystem or biodiversity assessment. For frequent updates of the indicators, a permanent monitoring system is needed.

An example of collaboration in this area is the project “Biodiversity Indicators for National Use” (BINU), where the IB project together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre supported four developing countries (Philippines, Kenya, Ukraine, and Ecuador) in the production of indicator-based assessments. Among the successfully tested indicators were the MSA (species abundance) and ecosystem extent. Reports from the project can be found on www.unep-wcmc.org.

Box 13.1: Homogenization and the mean species abundance index Biodiversity loss consists of loss of natural area and changes in species abundance in the remaining area. The change in species is generally characterized by the decrease in abundance of many original species and the increase in abundance of a few other—opportunistic—species, as a result of human activities. Extinction is “just” the last step in a long degradation process. As a result, many different ecosystem types are becoming more and more alike, the so-called homogenization process (Pauly et al 1998; Ten Brink 2000; MEA 2005). The Mean Species Abundance (MSA) is an index which addresses the homogenization process by dealing only with the original species in an area. Thus, it is avoided that the “ Fishing down the food chain” (Pauly et al 2001) increasing opportunistic species mask the loss in the original species. The IB project applies the MSA, as a universal end term, to give meaning to monitoring data and in modeling studies.

Analyzing the Impacts of the GMS Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative: A Toolkit of Policy Relevant Indicators and Models

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Index

1.0

0.5

0 1981

1990

2000

The Kenya WildLife Services and various researchers have over the decades censused water birds on several lakes in Kenya. As a result many time series of population size are available. Though these data are too complex in their raw form to be interpreted by most people, they can be simplified into meaningful indicators in different ways to answer different questions. Calculating a multi-species indicator (in this case for 8 bird species on lake Naivasha) using the method of the Living Planet Index provides an overview of the trend in species status over time in these wetlands and by implication of the trend in biodiversity status more generally.

13.3 Tool 2: Why is it changing - biodiversity modeling Models capture knowledge on the relationship between human activities, the environment and biodiversity. Thus they can answer questions on the impacts of policies on biodiversity, ecosystem goods and services and human wellbeing. A model may also help to find the major causes of change and the most impacted areas. Furthermore models are used to check whether and when targets can be met. 13.3.1 The GLOBIO 3 Model The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre and UNEP-GRID Arendal developed the GLOBIO (Global Methodology for Mapping Human Impacts on the Biosphere) 3 model. GLOBIO 3 uses quantitative relationships between environmental pressure factors and biodiversity, based on state-of-the-art knowledge from literature. Pressure factors comprise climate change, land use change, nitrogen deposition, fragmentation, infrastructure and settlements. The model links to several other global models, including the global fisheries

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Deforestation trend in the central Andes region in Ecuador (Cotopaxi, 1979 - 2004, and projection 2015). The example shows how side-by-side presentation of maps allows people to visually identify the ecosystems under pressure. Source: Ecociencia, Ecuador.

model EcoOcean of the University of British Colombia. The impacts of the various pressures are combined into the overall change in biodiversity in terms of extent of ecosystems and species abundance and distribution, in line with the CBD 2010 indicators. 13.3.2 Collaboration on modeling When regional data and expert knowledge on species are available, the generic GLOBIO 3 model can be elaborated into a region-specific biodiversity model. To this end, partners develop so-called ecoprofiles, containing habitat and climate requirements and information on distribution and ecology of species. Using this information, the model predicts changes in species distribution and abundance as an impact of land use, climate change, or other pressures. Based on the results for the individual species, aggregated indices can be calculated across the species. Regional biodiversity models have been developed in Africa and are currently being developed in Meso-America, the Northern Andes region, and Ukraine.

Remaining original species richness

Figure 13.3: Biodiversity relationships in the GLOBIO 3 Model - impact of nitrogen, infrastructure, land use, and climate change on abundance of original species 1,0

b.

a.

0,8

Grassland

0,6

Boreal

0,4

Tundra

Deciduous

0,2 Tropical rainforest

Grasslands

0,0 5

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0,00 0,25 0,50 0,75 1,00 1,25 1,50 1,75 2,00 Road density (km road km-2)

Remaining original species richness

Exceedance of critical loads for nitrogen (meq m2 yr-1)

c.

1,0

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Tundra

0,8 Boreal Deciduous

0,6

Grassland 0,4 0,2

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R = 0,70, p 1 km

Distance to water

: Not relevant

Altitude

: 0-4000 m

High human impact Medium-high impact Low-medium impact

Min. Area Requirement : 100 km2 : 1 km2 (daily average)

Dispersal

Modeling primate habitat for current (2000) and future (2030) impact of infrastructure with GLOBIO 2 model.

Source: African Mammals Databank. Animal Diversity Web, IUCN, UNEP-WCMC.

Source: GRASP.

Figure 13.6

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(a)

(b)

Assumed biodiversity resilience threshold

Direct drivers of change - Land use change - Climate change - Bio fuels - N-deposition - Forestry - Infrastructure development

.


(e)

(d)

GDP per capita

▲

Life on earth - Biodiversity - C-sequestration

▲

Human well being and poverty reduction

Indirect drivers of change - Population - Economic - Technology - Lifestyle (meat cons.)

Biodiversity

Figure 13.5

13.4.1 How to link biodiversity and poverty The constellation of drivers causing both poverty and biodiversity loss is different in every occasion, but “lose-lose” situations are probably determined by a few typical constellations of drivers, such as “poverty-driven” and “capital-driven” mechanisms of change. The IB project and its partners carry out studies to explore these mechanisms, using two approaches: (i)

A bottom-up approach by case study research, correlating drivers that might cause both poverty and biodiversity loss. So far the project has set up 10 case studies in selected countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

(ii)

A top-down approach to find globally applicable relationships using literature

Outputs of both approaches are used to build a biodiversity-poverty module as part of the GLOBIO 3 model, for predicting areas with high risk of poverty and exploring options to timely avoid poverty traps. 13.4.2 Working with partners on biodiversity-poverty case studies A step by step approach supports partners to carry out case studies. Some of the major steps are:

Step 1: Resource user categorization This example shows how biodiversity loss can be decoupled from increasing farm income by intensification of production on a smaller area of land (horizontal arrow) or by diversification of production or sustainable production management in the same area (vertical arrows). Source: UCA-ADAA, Managua Nicaragua

Step 2: Historical land use pattern analysis This example shows that pasture is converted into secondary forests and plantations. Although this is not the same as the former primary forests (which are still in decline), this still is beneficial to biodiversity. Source: CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Step 3: Future impact assessment This example shows how a major ecosystem good (fodder) is getting lost in a business-as-usual (baseline) scenario, but can be maintained with an alternative sustainable policy package. Source: T. Struif-Bontkes & J.J. Kessler, Wageningen, The Netherlands


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Results from different case studies are combined to understand linkages at the global scale. For example, outputs from three Latin-American case studies at farm and landscape level were used to identify constellations of drivers that cause a lose-lose situation for biodiversity and poverty (Figure 13.7). These poor to extremely poor communities all depend on natural resources with no alternatives and are confronted with increasing scarcity of these resources—the so-called poverty trap. Population growth is high to very high and adequate support by way of rural development policies is lacking.

Figure 13.7 Constellations of factors causing biodiversity loss and decrease in human wellbeing favourable Maize and bean farming system in Chiapas, Mexico unfavourable favourable

Livestock production system in Central Nicaragua

unfavourable favourable

Highland mixed small farmer production in Cotopaxi, Ecuador

S o lan lan uita d b d il fo ity rp o R ro f th po ura du e lic l d cti ies ev elo on pm P en to ove t na rty tio co na m l a pa ve red ra ge

st es Ac c

Po p

ul

at

io

n

gr ow t

h

unfavourable

13.5 Tool 4. What can we do about it - assessments Governments on national to global scales develop and implement Biodiversity Action Plans, Socioeconomic Development Plans and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. In these processes, assessments are needed to answer key questions of policy makers in a coherent manner: • What is changing? • Why is it changing? • Why is it important? • What can we do about it?

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13.5.1 Global assessments Models and indicators developed by the IB project facilitate evaluations of socioeconomic and environmental policies that possibly have effects on land use, climate, and biodiversity. Using these tools, the IB project contributes or has contributed to UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlooks, assessments by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and the 2nd Global Biodiversity Outlook. In the latter, six global policy options were explored for their contribution to meeting the 2010 biodiversity target: (i) (ii)

Trade liberalization Trade liberalization combined with poverty alleviation in Sub-Sahara Africa (iii) Sustainable meat production (iv) Bio-energy intensive climate change mitigation (v) Large-scale wood plantation (vi) Protection of 20% of all ecoregions The following maps (see page 105) show the mean species abundance of the original species in the baseline scenario for the years 2000 and 2050. 13.5.2 Supporting national and regional assessments In national or regional assessments, the specific physical characteristics and specific policy problems of the area can be taken into account. Generic indicators and models can be fed with national data to analyze causes of biodiversity change and to explore policy options. In collaborative projects, the IB project can support partners to produce such assessments. For national assessments the following information can be used: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Land use data Data on pressures Scenarios Policy options

An example of a regional assessment is a study on the greater Mekong region in Southeast Asia, with project partner UNEP Regional Resource Center in Asia

MSA(%)

Figure 13.8 Mean species abundance (as % of original) in 1970

Mean species abundance (as % of original) in 2000

Mean species abundance (as % of original) in 2030


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and the Pacific. The state and trends of biodiversity were assessed for 1970, 2000, and 2030 with the GLOBIO 3 model (Figure 13.8). The historical trend and the businessas-usual scenario for 2030 show an increasing rate of biodiversity depletion. The mean species abundance drops from 70% to 60% to 40%. The graphs (Figure 13.9) show the share of different sectors in the loss of biodiversity under a baseline scenario (left) and the effects of six global policy options for the reduction of biodiversity loss (right) in South and East Asia.

Figure 13.9 Baseline development - South and East Asia mean species abundance (%) 100 Climate Fragmentation

90

Infrastructure /settlement 80

Nitrogen Forestry

70

60

Agriculture

13.6 Lessons learned 50

Biodiversity indicators as selected by the Convention on Biological Diversity enable track changes in biodiversity over time and its linkages with human well-being. In combination with models, these can help to better understand what has happened in the past, what probably will happen in the future with current policies, and what options we have to adjust in the future to fulfill our needs. These tools help to determine minor and major causes and which combinations of measures are most promising from the point of view of different interests and costeffectiveness. These tools were used and appeared to be useful in UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook 1-4, in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, in the safe landing options analyses for the second Global Biodiversity Outlook as discussed at the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) in Brazil, and regional assessments on, for example, the Himalayas. Especially in a region such as the GMS, in which socioeconomic development is so rapid and large scale, these tools may be of great help to avoid unchecked development with unnecessary losses of ecological, social, and economic capital. 13.7 Conclusion and future steps The indicator Mean Species Abundance and the GLOBIO model can be useful to support policymakers in their search into a sustainable future. Moreover, these generic tools can be further improved by replacing generic cause-effect relationships into region-specific relationships and adding region-specific pressures, policy options, and species-modules. We propose elaborate specific adjustments and applications for the GMS Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative iteratively in discussion with the partners in the BCI process.

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40 2000

2050

Change in mean species abundance - South and East Asia % level 2000 0

-10

-20 Baseline 2050

Liberalisation

Climate change

Sustainable meat prod.

Sustainable forestry

Protected areas

What is MNP? The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) is an independent assessment agency in the Netherlands. MNP has assumed the role of charting the current status of the environment and nature in collaboration with a range of scientific institutes and other national assessment agencies to support a broad, ecologically based, political and social discussion. Policy makers use MNP research findings to develop, implement, and enforce environmental policy. The MNP teams share their knowledge and expertise with national and regional governments, and with supranational bodies around the world.

14. Transport Infrastructure and Wildlife Trade Conduits in the GMS: Regulating Illegal and Unsustainable Wildlife Trade Chris R. Shepherd, James Compton and Sulma Warne

Summary Harvest or extraction of wild animals and plants from the ecosystems of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), largely driven by the demands of domestic and international trade, has been assessed to be one of the greatest threats to the remaining biological diversity in the six countries. Rates of extraction and trade generally have increased over the past two decades with rapid economic development and rises in purchasing power, with many harvesting regimes moving from subsistence to commercial levels of extraction to satisfy domestic and international demand. At the same time, access to previously remote areas has been facilitated by transport infrastructure development: even when habitats remain largely intact, the trend towards the ‘empty forest syndrome’ is of major concern. The existing protected area systems of the GMS countries provide the last reserves of habitat and biodiversity, but as expanding transport infrastructure combined with land conversion encroaches on their boundaries, these last outposts are likely to become even more threatened unless realistic mitigation measures are designed and implemented to prevent the “economic corridors” becoming wildlife trade superhighways. 14.1 Background “Mandalay, Lashio and Muse cities in Burma are now connected by a smooth highway and this is a major trade route between Burma and Yunnan. If people learn that there is a good price for pangolins in China, they go hunting for them. Turtles and otters are rapidly disappearing; pangolins and tigers are already extinct in most parts of Burma”. – From Myint Zaw, Inter Press Service News Agency, May 2005.

Wildlife trade, along with habitat loss, is regarded as the most serious threat to the biological diversity of the GMS, and in some key areas has been assessed to be the greatest threat to remaining animal populations (e.g., Baltzer, et al 2001). In general terms, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar act as sources for wildlife trade while Viet Nam, Lao PDR, and Thailand play dual roles as source and re-export countries. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the greatest consumer country in the GMS, particularly for flora and fauna species used as food and in traditional medicines (World Bank 2005). The PRC also supplies traditional medicine ingredients (e.g., medicinal plants) to its neighbors and globally to the ethnic Chinese diaspora. Local populations of numerous species native, and in some cases endemic, to this region have declined markedly due to over-exploitation to supply persistent demand. As economies have opened up and continued to develop in the GMS over the past decade, increased purchasing power has created a concurrent increase in the scale of demand for wild animals and plants. This is driven by a combination of increasingly powerful local and regional (i.e. within the GMS) markets, and international market demand from East Asian countries, including the PRC; but it is important not to discount the significance of the market in the EU and North America for particular species and products. Species found in the GMS countries that have suffered drastic declines due to over-exploitation include the more charismatic megafauna such as Tiger Panthera tigris, Sumatran Rhino Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, Javan Rhino Rhinoceros sondaicus, and Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, but also numerous lesser known animal and plant species, such as pangolins Manis spp., tortoises and freshwater turtles, agarwood Aquilaria spp, timber (e.g., Fokienia hodginsii) and numerous wild orchid species. The PRC, in terms of both volume and frequency of demand, is the most significant consumer country in the GMS. The PRC’s demand encompasses animal and plant specimens and cargoes sourced from other parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, that may be transiting GMS countries en route to end-destination markets. This demand is driven by long-established


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patterns of consumption for use as traditional medicines, wild meat and tonic foods, and is concentrated in the south-eastern provinces of the PRC including Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong. Wildlife enters the PRC directly (by road) from Viet Nam, Myanmar, and Lao PDR at a number of major crossings, the most significant probably being via Viet Nam through the northern border provinces of Lang Son, Lao Cai, and Quang Ninh. As the north-south transport corridors connecting Myanmar, northern Thailand and Lao PDR to PRC become more developed, however, this current primacy of Viet Nam as a conduit to the PRC may shift. There are, in addition to the PRC, other centers of demand within the GMS countries for wildlife and wildlife products for use as building materials (timber), traditional medicines, ornamental decorations (horns and antlers, orchids, wild cat skins), luxury souvenirs (ivory, Hawksbill Turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata shell) and pets (particularly birds and reptiles). Many of these nodal points (e.g., across Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam) are becoming increasingly connected as east-west transport corridor linkages become complete. However, despite escalating concern that the volumes and frequency of extraction and trade are not being adequately addressed on the ground, the regional policy environment to deal with illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade has never been more supportive towards addressing this complex set of threats. With Cambodia (1997), Myanmar (1997), and finally Lao PDR (2004) becoming Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), all six GMS countries now have the same international regulatory obligations for many of the species of animals and plants threatened by trade. In 2004, Viet Nam hosted the inaugural meeting of the six GMS countries to improve CITES and wildlife trade co-operation, which produced a concrete set of action points. (A second meeting on issues pertaining to Mekong Sub-regional CITES Implementation and Enforcement was held in Kunming, PRC, in July 2006.) Later that year, as Thailand hosted the 13th Conference of the Parties to CITES, the 10 Member Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a commitment to increase co-operation on CITES

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implementation and law enforcement to combat illegal and unsustainable trade, known as the “ASEAN Statement on CITES” (see www.aseansec.org/17750.htm). Adding weight to this regional commitment was the Prime Minister of Thailand’s opening address to CITES CoP13, in which he called for the establishment of a ‘wildlife Interpol’ to combat wildlife crime. That same year, the Prime Minister of Viet Nam officially endorsed a five-year National Action Plan specifically on improving wildlife trade controls; and two provinces of Viet Nam (Ha Tinh and Quang Binh) signed a transboundary cooperation agreement specific to wildlife trade with their provincial counterparts in Lao PDR (Bolikhamsay and Khammouane). In 2005, momentum at the ASEAN level stepped up further with the development and Ministerial endorsement of the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora 2005-2010 (www.aseansec.org/ 17753.pdf), under which five objectives address needs for improved legislation, better regional law enforcement co-operation, increased scientific research to inform wildlife trade management decision making, and to encourage industry groups, trade associations/traders and local communities to comply with legality and sustainability requirements of CITES and national regulations This process in turn catalyzed the formulation of the ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) which was launched in December 2005 (www.aseansec.org/17933.htm), and had its first official meeting in May 2006 where a Terms of Reference was agreed. ASEAN-WEN aims to address critical elements of wildlife trade law enforcement co-operation, notably bringing Customs and Police jurisdictions into more structured collaboration with government departments tasked with natural resource management. These national-level structures will then provide the building blocks for bilateral and regional co-operation on wildlife trade law enforcement under ASEAN-WEN. When considering the producer-consumer trade dynamics, it is significant that the PRC has also attended ASEANWEN events as an observer. The regional policy context, as outlined above, would seem to be very much conducive to translating

this political commitment in the GMS countries into action on the ground. 14.2 Current situation Over the past few years, numerous seizures involving large volumes of endangered species have been made in the GMS, involving tons of reptiles (e.g., snakes, monitor lizards and freshwater turtles), mammals (e.g., pangolins), plants (orchids), and timber (Table 14.1). Despite these successes, animal and plant species continue to be collected in source countries, and when compared with volumes still observed in the markets of the PRC, it is clear that seizures of illegal shipments represent no more than a small percentage of what is actually being traded. Among the most commonly seized animals are pangolins, freshwater turtles and tortoises, and snakes; all of which are in high demand for their medicinal value, as well as for consumption in the PRC, and to a lesser extent, Viet Nam. Other species of concern transported along these routes to destination markets, whether live or as products and derivatives, include bears, leopards and tigers. Pangolins are one of the most frequently traded species groups from and through the GMS, predominantly for end-consumption in the PRC where the meat, blood and scales are either consumed as “tonic food” or used in traditional medicinal applications. The skin is also tanned to make leather products. As populations of pangolins nearer to the PRC have been depleted (e.g., in Lao PDR and Viet Nam), sourcing has diversified into Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In 2002, personnel transporting pangolins from Thailand to Lao PDR stated to a TRAFFIC investigator that pangolins were now extremely difficult to find in Lao PDR, and the large volumes they were regularly moving through Lao PDR from Thailand to Viet Nam and on to the PRC were from Malaysia. This fact is borne out by numerous seizures of north-bound pangolin cargoes by authorities in peninsular Malaysia. Increasingly, shipments of pangolins bound for the PRC are coming also from Sumatra, Indonesia, indicating that the populations in Malaysia may also be declining. These shipments are largely made by road—and the transit time has become increasingly faster as the road infrastructure has improved in the GMS countries.

Chelonians are also among the most voluminous species transported from Southeast Asia to the PRC, often by air. Nearly all species of Asian freshwater turtles and tortoises are consumed in South PRC (Ades, et al 2000), although the bulk of species observed in Chinese markets are Southeast Asian species (Compton 2000). Trade represents the greatest threat to the longterm survival of Asia’s freshwater turtles and tortoises (van Dijk 2000). The PRC and, to a lesser extent, ethnic Chinese communities, make up the bulk of the consumer market for freshwater turtles and tortoises, for food and traditional medicines (Compton 2000). To date, a number of attempts have been made to quantify the value of illegal trade in wildlife and although it is extremely difficult to make exact estimates, evidence would suggest that it is a multi-billion dollar business. In 2002, Viet Nam’s wildlife trade alone was estimated at over US$ 65 million annually (World Bank 2005). Although it is widely recognized that illegal wildlife trade is a significant factor in the rapid decline, and even local extirpation, of some species, what is less considered is the impact it has on rural communities many of which are still largely dependent upon the natural resources of their environments. For many rural communities, wildsourced plant and animal species form the basis of food, medicine, fuel, building materials, and clothing upon which they depend for survival. The decline and loss of these species is exacerbated through larger-scale commercial exploitation, often driven by outside business interests. It could be argued, therefore, that the shift to largely unmanaged commercial levels of extraction, aided by more efficient transport infrastructure, poses a direct threat to the livelihoods of these communities. 14.3 Regulation and control of transport by land It is now widely agreed that consumer demand for wildlife and wildlife products in the PRC, Europe, and North America is one of the most significant drivers of wildlife trade. Underpinning this, however, are other driving factors such as the massive profits associated with the trade, the very low risk of being caught, minimal disincentive in terms of the punishment associated with wildlife crime, and increasing ease of access to resources through transport infrastructure development.


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Table 14.1: Examples of recent seizures made in the GMS Species seized

Location of seizure

Origin

26 May 2004 500kg of turtle plastron said to be from Indotestudo elongata, Orlitia borneensis and Morenia ocellata

Border of Myanmar and Yunnan Province, PRC

Myanmar (possibly other countries, as Orlitia borneensis is not found in Myanmar)

Date

Destination

Mode of transport

Chengdu, PRC

5 April 05

3.5 tons of turtles Thanh Hoa and 2 tons of Province, Viet Nam monitor lizards, snakes and pangolins

Mekong Delta PRC province of Long An. Animals are suspected to have been smuggled from Cambodia or Myanmar

Truck

14 June 05

330kg of turtles, 90kg of pangolins, and 8kg of snakes

Bac Ninh Province, Viet Nam

Unknown

PRC

Public bus

2 March 06

147 Long-tailed Macaques Macaca fascicularis (291kg)

Quang Ninh, Viet Nam

Hai Phong City, Viet PRC Nam

Public bus

27 March 06 5 Malayan porcupines Hystrix brachyura and one civet.

Da Nang City, Viet Nam

Unknown

North Viet Nam and Public bus PRC

29 March 06 70 Long-tailed Macaques

Phu Yen, Viet Nam

Unknown

Vinh City, Nghe An, Mini-bus Viet Nam

Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (Udon Thani to Vientiane)

Southern Thailand

PRC

Private Vehicle

Lao PDR

Air

7 April 06

Approx. 100 pangolins

7 June 06

Tiger bones Panthera Don Muang tigris (amounting to 6 Airport, Bangkok, tigers) Thailand

Hat Yai, southern Thailand

26 June 06

245 pangolins and 63 Don Muang freshwater turtles Airport, Bangkok, Thailand

Penang, Malaysia

As harvest areas move further away from collection centers and end-use markets, efficient transport becomes increasingly important. Large quantities of live specimens are moved by air, to keep mortality levels low, but for other hardier species, transport by road is preferred. Species that are already dead are also often sent by road.

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As road transport infrastructure improves, and new airports and seaports open up to international traffic, so too does the efficiency of transporting wildlife. Illegal shipments of wildlife move from source to market with small chance of interception, as current levels of enforcement, regulation and control of the transportation of wildlife and other illicit cargoes along these major road networks are generally very poor.

Inefficient regulation and low capacity to monitor and enforce legislations pertaining to the wildlife trade along these major transport routes allows the illegal trade to continue on a large scale. As the number and quality of land routes increases, so too does the importance of these routes to wildlife smugglers. However, the capacity of the enforcement agencies responsible for controlling this trade is not increasing at the same pace. Clear evidence of this was apparent at a 2006 “training of trainers” workshop on CITES implementation, for Customs officers in Viet Nam organized by TRAFFIC, where most of the participants had little, if any, knowledge about the Convention, and of more concern, almost no understanding of the role they were required to play in implementing it. Lack of knowledge on international Conventions (and the national laws that support them) is only one aspect of the problem. The overall situation is exacerbated by a range of other factors such as: low awareness of national laws regulating wildlife harvest and trade; very little capacity to identify species and distinguish between protected and non-protected specimens; minimal levels of intra- and inter-agency co-operation; and an overall lack of human resources, equipment and access to important resource materials. Furthermore, Customs are only one part of the law enforcement equation. Other important law enforcement agencies, most of which are also limited in their capacity and understanding of the impacts of illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, include the police, prosecutors and the judiciary, quarantine, and staff involved with the functions of national CITES Management and Scientific Authorities. These are critical issues because without such an inter-agency law enforcement mechanism in place throughout the GMS, economic development via increased transport infrastructure will indeed facilitate these corridors to become the ‘super highways’ of the wildlife trade. 14.4 Lessons learned (i)

increasing the deterrent to participate in illegal activity through efficient legislation, monitoring and surveillance, detection, seizures and prosecutions. (ii)

Enforcement capacity in GMS countries to address illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is limited and weaknesses such as these are being taken advantage of by wellorganized crime networks.

(iii) Rapid economic development, and associated infrastructure development, is making formerly remote biodiversity reserves more accessible, and with that rates of extraction and trade of wildlife and wildlife products are likely to increase. (iv) Wildlife trade concerns need to be integrated into economic development planning processes so that mitigation measures are adequate and effective, and that sustainable development goals are supported. (v)

Although illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is increasingly gaining recognition as an issue of concern in the GMS, it needs to be accorded a much higher political profile and more funds and resources need to be invested for the problem to be effectively addressed.

(vi) A growing middle class is demanding wildlife and wildlife products inside GMS countries, and the associated commercial wildlife trade activity is servicing external markets. (vii) Together these factors are having serious negative impacts on species diversity and richness, ecosystems, and the environment in general. 14.5 Conclusions and future steps

Illegal wildlife trade is an attractive and lucrative business and will persist unless robust mechanisms are put into place to address the problem systematically, including

The economic development of the GMS since 1992 has focused primarily on increased connectivity and integration via economic corridors aligned both northsouth and east-west. Within these economic corridors


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are transport infrastructure networks that are already important conduits (by road, air, sea, and rail) for the transport of many natural resources, including illegally and unsustainably harvested animals and plants. The more streamlined these economic corridors become, in an increasingly liberalized trade environment, the greater the potential impact on remaining reserves of biodiversity—including in protected areas and other extant ecosystem habitat that becomes increasingly adjacent to this expanding infrastructure. If viable populations of wild animals and plants in the GMS, and throughout Southeast Asia, are to persist, urgent interventions are required to disrupt the regular flow of illicit wildlife shipments along these major transport routes. Increased capacity and resources for the various agencies responsible for controlling this trade, especially at the numerous international border crossings is essential; including the ability to enforce CITES (to which all ASEAN countries—and the PRC—are Parties) and national laws and regulations. The issue of illegal wildlife trade must be accorded priority among the various donors and other stakeholders involved in the development of transport infrastructure in the region. Combating illicit movements of wildlife trade may best be addressed by linking GMS development priorities with the goals of the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network, the wider ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora 2005-2010, and the ongoing co-operation between the six GMS countries on matters pertaining to wildlife trade. There would seem to be, therefore, great opportunity for the Asian Development Bank’s Core Environment Program and specifically the Biodiversity Corridors Initiative to include as a priority for its work with the GMS countries the establishment and implementation of necessary safeguards (inter alia technical, human and regulatory capacity, training and strategy) to ensure that any further negative impacts on biological diversity and long-term sustainable development are mitigated.

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References Ades, G., Banks, C. B., Buhlmann, K. A., Chan, B., Chang, H., Chen, T., Crow, P., Haupt, H., Kan, R., Lai, J., Lau M., Lin, H. and Haitao Shi. (2000). Turtle Trade in Northeast Asia: Regional Summary (China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). In: van Dijk, P. P., Stuart, B. L. and Rhodin, A. G. J, eds., (2000). Asian Turtle Trade: Proceedings of a Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises in Asia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1-4 December, 1999. Chelonian Research Monographs, No. 2; Chelonian Research Foundation. Baltzer, M. C., Nguyen Thi Dao and Shore, R. G. (Eds.) (2001). Towards a Vision for Biodiversity Conservation in the Forests of the Lower Mekong Ecoregion Complex. WWF Indochina/ WWF US, Hanoi and Washington D.C. Compton, J., (2000). An Overview of Asian Turtle Trade. In: van Dijk, P. P., Syuart, B. L. and Rhodin, A. G. J, eds. (2000). Asian Turtle Trade: Proceedings of a Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises in Asia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1-4 December, 1999. Chelonian Research Monographs, No. 2; Chelonian Research Foundation. van Dijk, P. P. (2000). The Status of Turtles in Asia. In: van Dijk, P. P., Stuart, B. L. and Rhodin, A. G. J, eds., (2000). Asian Turtle Trade: Proceedings of a Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises in Asia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1-4 December, 1999. Chelonian Research Monographs, No. 2; Chelonian Research Foundation. Lin, J. (2005). Tackling Southeast Asia’s Illegal Wildlife Trade, Singapore Year Book of International Law. World Bank. (2005). Going, Going, Gone: The Illegal Trade in Wildlife in East and Southeast Asia. Environment and Social Development Department, East Asia and Pacific Region. Washington D.C.

15. Northern Plains Landscape Conservation Cambodia Tom Clements Summary The Northern Plains Conservation Landscape Project of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is working with the Royal Government of Cambodia to improve overall conservation planning across a large, complex landscape containing Protected Areas, rural communities, logging concessions, and unclassified forests. Extensive research has demonstrated that the protected area network is incapable of effectively conserving the biodiversity values of the landscape: areas are either inappropriately located, do not capture the range of species and habitats present, or have little connectivity. The ramifications of this are that landscapelevel biodiversity conservation outcomes will require strategies both inside and outside protected areas, including measures to improve linkages across the landscape between conservation areas. In response, the project has developed a landscape-level plan for the Northern Plains that aims to deliver biodiversity outcomes within productive landscapes through the application of innovative landscapelevel tools to map conservation, development and cultural values. The plan recognizes four ‘key sites for conservation’ that together include a representative sample of key habitats and species in areas sufficient to maintain the ecological integrity and connectivity of the landscape. These are complemented by areas of importance for cultural values, local livelihoods, or agro-industrial development. In partnership with national and provincial government agencies, WCS has been implementing the landscape plan since late 2005. It is being adopted as the provisional basis for zonation of conservation areas—including core, buffer and community zones—and is now being further refined through participatory land and natural resource planning with local communities. Further, the plan is now used by government agencies to guide development decisions—for example the recent designation of a rubber plantation outside the key sites for conservation,

or movement of a road due for rehabilitation under a World Bank project, to better serve local communities. 15.1 Background The Northern Plains of Cambodia is one of the largest remaining extensive intact block of a unique landscape of exceptional global importance for biodiversity conservation. The area is either a last refuge for, or maintains a key population of 36 species on the IUCN Red List, including six listed as Critically Endangered— a greater number of Globally Threatened species than any other landscape in Cambodia (Table 15.1). It is equivalent to the ADB Biodiversity Conservation Landscape. Northern Plains Dry Forests contains a large portion of one of WWF’s Global Priority Ecoregions (Olson and Dinerstein 1998, Wikramanayake et al 2001), is within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000) and includes four Important Bird Areas (Stattersfield et al 1998). Many species that rely on these forests are known to be extinct elsewhere in their historical range, thus heightening the value of this landscape. One, the Giant Ibis Pseudoibis gigantea, was only known from a handful of records in the 1900s, until rediscovered by WCS in considerable numbers in the Northern Plains. Conservation of these species is particularly challenging because the majority of them—large birds and mammals—have large spatial requirements. The landscape is defined by the geography of the area, its boundaries being naturally delimited by the Dangrek Mountains to the north, the Mekong River to the east and the Tonle Sap Great Lake to the south and west. The total region covers over 19,000 km2. Land tenure in the area is complex as the Northern Plains stretches across the borders of five Provinces, includes three Protected Areas and seven currently dormant logging concessions (see Map 15.1). The landscape is continuous with similar habitats in Lao PDR and Thailand, including Dong Kanthong proposed National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) in Laos and Yot Dom Wildlife Sanctuary and Phu Jong Na Yoi National Park in Thailand, all on the border of Cambodia. The area is one of the most remote regions of Cambodia, a country that ranks amongst the poorest in

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Table 15.1: Biodiversity values of the Northern Plains in comparison to other landscapes a) Globally Threatened Mammals Faunal Area Northern Plains Eastern Plains Southern Annamites Cardamoms

CR

EN

VU

NT

DD

Total

1

4 4 4 2

8 7 8 5

5 4 3 7

6 5 4 4

24 20 19 18

(b) Globally Threatened Birds Faunal Area

CR

EN

VU

NT

Total

Northern & Eastern Plains Tonle Sap Mekong River Cardamoms Southern Annamites Coastal

4 1 1

2 2

5 7 2 2 2 2

7 6 4 3 3 2

18 16 7 6 5 5

1 1

South-East Asia. From the early 1970s the region was a central base of the Khmer Rouge and as a consequence experienced long periods of conflict and civil war, which only ceased in 1998. Many of the local communities belong to the indigenous Kui ethnic group. The vast majority of families rely on subsistence rain-fed paddy rice growing, collection of forest products and seasonal fishing at forest pools. Chamkar (shifting cultivation) is practiced by many families for vegetables and either to supplement rice production from paddyfields, or as an alternative. Fish from forest pools are the principal source of protein. Livelihood assessments have highlighted the prevailing food insecurity in the region, which is only mitigated by the extensive availability of forest products, which provide up to 50% of livelihood needs (Navarro 2003, McKenney et al 2004). In addition to the landscape’s importance for biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods, it also has significant cultural and tourism values. Molu Prey, in the centre of the landscape, was the site of one of the first Stone Age settlements in Cambodia. During the Khmer Empire (9th-15th centuries A.D.) cities, temples and roadways were constructed across the Northern Plains. Some of the cities are of particular historical and tourism interest: Koh Ker (in southern Preah Vihear) was the

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capital in the early 10th century under Jayavarman IV, while Preah Khan of Kompong Svay was the largest temple complex constructed by the empire. Escalating land and resource use across the Northern Plains is leading to competing human-wildlife requirements and loss of key biodiversity and local livelihood values. Human land and resource use has increased partly as a result of increasing human population and in-migration, but also because, as security returns to the area, there is much greater potential for resource exploitation particularly by outsiders. The conflicts are exacerbated by the current “open-access” management system of natural resources across the Northern Plains—local residents have no recognized legal or management rights over land and natural resources. This leads to over-exploitation of forest, wildlife and water resources through scramble competition between those best placed to extract them. 15.2 Establishing CALM (Conservation Areas through Landscape Management) Although the landscape contains three protected areas in Cambodia and three further proposed or existent protected areas in Laos and Thailand, they form a

Map 15.1: Northern Plains

network that currently is incapable of effectively conserving the biodiversity values of the landscape: areas are either inappropriately located, do not capture the range of values or have little connectivity. Simply put, the spatial and ecological requirements of key species are often inadequately met by the existing protected areas. The ramifications of this are that landscape-level biodiversity conservation outcomes will require strategies both inside and outside protected areas, including measures to improve linkages across the landscape between conservation areas. The WCS Northern Plains Landscape project has worked in support of the Royal Government to develop a landscape plan for the Northern Plains. The plan aims to deliver biodiversity outcomes within productive landscapes through the application of innovative landscapelevel conservation tools. The project has applied the Landscape Species Approach (LSA), (Sanderson et al

2002; Redford et al 2003; Coppolillo et al 2004)—a wildlife-based strategy pioneered internationally by WCS to define conservation landscapes, identify threats and achieve conservation outcomes at the landscape scale in a cost-effective manner by prioritizing conservation investments. The LSA centers on preserving the ecological integrity of a large area or wilderness through understanding and conservation of a suite of landscape species, selected as being ecologically representative of that landscape. The approach is to develop strategies for the conservation of large, complex ecosystems that are integrated in wider landscapes of human influence which includes, but is not restricted to, protected areas, community land, forestry concessions, plantations and other areas of economic importance. For landscape scale conservation to be socially as well as ecologically sustainable, strategies must succeed in a mosaic of

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different land uses that not only conserve biodiversity, but also allow people to make a living.

each zoned into core and buffer areas and linked by corridors (Clements 2003).

The focus on landscape species allows the landscape to become geographically tangible and ecologically meaningful and makes the targets for, and outcomes of, conservation investments explicit and measurable. In other words, the approach defines where interventions should achieve site-based outcomes in order to have broader landscape-level impacts. The Northern Plains are ideally suited to this approach as the main biodiversity values reside in populations and unique assemblages of large mammals and waterbirds which have broad spatial and ecological requirements.

The selection of these key sites implies that successful management of each, for all of the key species, will result in the maintenance of all components of biodiversity across the Northern Plains landscape. However, only two of the key sites, Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary and the Preah Vihear Protected Forest are within formal protected areas. The other sites are the O’Scach and O’Dar rivers within the Cherndar Plywood logging concession, which is contiguous with the Preah Vihear Protected Forest, and the Phnom Tbeng plateau, inside the TPP logging concession. The remainder of the Cherndar Plywood logging concession is important in order to maintain a corridor linking the key sites. The WCS Northern Plains Conservation Landscape project is designed to work together with the Government Ministries and provincial authorities integrate biodiversity values within the human land-use systems found in these key sites with the aim of maintaining local populations of key species. If the assumptions of the LSA are valid then the suite of sites selected will be (importantly) sufficient for the successful conservation of all key components of biodiversity across the landscape.

Simple decision rules were used to select a suite of ten landscape species (or species groups) that together covered the range of habitat requirements and threats (Table 15.2). During 2002-2003, the distribution of each species was mapped across the Northern Plains. This distribution was analyzed in comparison with human threats and used to select four key sites for conservation (Map 15.2),

Table 15.2: Landscape species Core Landscape Species Name Asian Elephant, Elephas maximus Giant Ibis, Pseudibis gigantea Eld’s Deer, Cervus eldi siamensis Large Cats, Panthera spp. Sarus Crane, Grus antigone White-winged Duck, Cairina scutulata Wild Cattle, Bos spp.

Conservation Status Endangered Critical Data Deficient Endangered (P. tigris) Vulnerable Endangered Endangered (B. javanicus) Vulnerable (B. frontalis)

Key resources Evergreen forests Dry forests and waterbodies Dry forests and waterbodies Prey populations Grasslands and waterbodies Riverine forests Evergreen and dry forests

Special Elements, species of limited range but of conservation importance, or indicators of particular resources Name

Conservation Status

Key resources

Flooded rivers Oriental Darter, Anhinga melanogaster Near-threatened Vultures, Gyps spp. and Sacrogyps spp. Critical, (G. bengalensis, G. tenuirostris) Prey populations Near-threatened (S. calvus) Waterbodies White-shouldered Ibis, Pseudoibis davisoni Critical

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Map 15.2: Key sites for conservation and landscape plan

15.3 Community conservation- integrating conservation and local livelihoods The second component of the Northern Plains Landscape plan relates to integrating conservation priorities with the livelihoods of local people. Rural Khmer and particularly Kui villages are heavily reliant on collection of forest products for their livelihoods. Although the rights of local communities to access land and forest resources are recognized in Cambodian Law, this legal framework is new and has yet to be applied in the Northern Plains. Local communities therefore are vulnerable and poorly equipped to resist resource exploitation by immigrants and power figures. Land is being lost through forceful land grabs and through illegal sales, which reduces the availability of land for the original residents and either causes worsened poverty or drives them to clear more forest. Forest products are threatened by illegal harvests that damage

the resource. The best example is fish, which is the main source of protein for most villagers. Stocks are declining due to increased harvesting by outsiders for local markets, especially using electric shock equipment or artificial poisons. Establishing local rights to land and forest resources is essential therefore in order to protect livelihoods and ensure that the transition to the opportunities and risks of the modern market economy does not lead to increased poverty. WCS is assisting Government departments to use Participatory Land-use Planning (PLUP) as a tool to identify and establish local rights to land and forest resources and to resolve conflicts. The PLUP outputs include maps of land zones around communities together with regulations on land and natural resource exploitation, which are recognized by the relevant government authority. This can eventually lead to land titling in villages that request it. Map 15.2 shows some examples of community agricultural areas.

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Land and natural resource rights established through the PLUP process provide the basis for more advanced community development planning. This could include, for example, agricultural assistance, community commercial forestry (McKenney et al 2004), eco-tourism development, or creation of new markets. WCS has engaged a local development NGO, Farmer Livelihood Development, to provide specific agricultural assistance in support of existing land-use plans. This is helping poor families to improve their agricultural output and to diversify their systems (through, for example, creation of fish ponds) within the village agricultural area. Recent reviews of Integrated Conservation and Development Projects have shown that there are very few incidences where increasing peoples livelihoods or meeting developmental needs has contributed to conservation objectives (Wells et al 1999; Chape 2001; Ferraro and Kiss 2002). Many conservation projects around the world are emphasizing more direct incentives approach or in some cases a direct payment for biodiversity conservation. These payment plans are based on a person or group of people producing conservation outcomes in exchange for a payment in cash or in (Ferraro and Kiss 2002). “Direct payments” and “conservation easements” are actually much more accepted in developed countries than developing (e.g., set-aside payments under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy). Proponents argue that in addition to being more effective at delivering the conservation objective they may actually be simpler to implement and therefore more efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and deliver more substantial development benefits. In the Northern Plains, WCS is piloting a range of incentives to encourage the adoption of sustainable livelihood practices and, in some cases, establish a legal market value for maintenance of wildlife populations and habitats. The most successful example of this approach is the innovative Tmatboey Ibis Eco-tourism project, implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Environment. The flagship species—the Giant and White-shouldered Ibises—are amongst the rarest bird species in the world and attract international visitors from around the world. Tourists provide direct employment

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for local guides as well as contributions to a community development fund in exchange for community agreements not to hunt wildlife, particularly the large waterbirds. Revenue in 2005-6 was greater than $4,000—a considerable sum for a poor Cambodian village—in addition to service payments. The project has led to substantial reductions in hunting, in addition to significant increases in community conservation awareness and ‘pride’ in their populations of critically endangered ibises. 15.4 Planning development activities Effective landscape management requires the adoption of an integrated development plan, which recognizes biodiversity conservation, local livelihood and cultural values in addition to national development ambitions. Uncoordinated development is a major threat both to local livelihoods and to biodiversity conservation. Local people are vulnerable to harm from many aspects of national development, including logging concessions, and agro-industrial plantations if these do not respect their current livelihoods. Similarly, uncoordinated development could significantly impact biodiversity conservation if priority areas were not recognized. The WCS Northern Plains Landscape project is working to introduce biodiversity values into landscapelevel planning processes, through building the capacity of provincial departments and authorities to integrate conservation priorities with established provincial planning processes. A key partner is SEILA/PLG (Partnership for Local Governance), an aid mobilization and coordination framework in support of the government’s decentralization and deconcentration reforms, whose goal is to contribute to poverty alleviation through good governance. PLG specifically provides technical assistance and funding to provincial government, provincial departments and district and communal authorities in support and implementation of development plans. The Northern Plains Landscape project is contributing to those plans through training officials and representing biodiversity conservation priorities at the various planning stage, e.g. a recently proposed World Bank funded road upgrade planned to rehabilitate an historical road line that is now barely used (Map 15.3).

Map 15.3: Proposed road development

This line would, however, not serve local communities who have relocated over the last 40 years to an alternative road. In addition, the proposed road would severely impact the natural habitats inside the Preah Vihear Protected Forest, one of the key sites for conservation. Accordingly the WCS Northern Plains Landscape project is working together with district officials and provincial departments to advocate an alternative road line, which would better serve local communities and reduce the impact on the natural habitats.

populations of all natural habitats and species found in the Northern Plains. Biodiversity corridors have been identified to link the key sites and ensure ecological connectivity. The key sites for conservation are being integrated with local livelihood priorities, using participatory land-use planning techniques, to develop specific local maps and regulations which can be recognized by government departments. At the provincial and national scale, the plans are being used to inform development activities – such as the location of road upgrades or agroindustrial plantations.

15.5 Conclusions Acknowledgments The Northern Plains Biodiversity Conservation Landscape is of global importance for biodiversity conservation. These conservation priorities have been recognized in an integrated landscape plan developed by WCS with the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The plan recognizes a complementary set of key sites for conservation which together contain ecologically viable areas and

The author would like to thank the Wildlife Conservation Society for support and funding, particularly Joe Walston and Colin Poole. Survey work was conducted by Tan Setha, Sin Polin, Tong Yee, Prum Sovanna, Kong Kim Sreng, An Dara, Sok Ko, Men Soriyun, Pech Bunnat, Thong Sok Ha, Songchan Socheat, Frederic Goes and Pete Davidson. Part of the project was financed by a PDF-B grant from UNDP/GEF.

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References Chape, S. (2001). An overview of integrated approaches to conservation and community development in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Parks. 11: 24-32. Clements, T.J. (2003). Mapping Biological and Human Landscapes in the Northern Plains, Cambodia. WCS Cambodia Program, Phnom Penh. Coppolillo, P., Gomez, P., Maisels, F. and R. Wallace (2004). Selection criteria for suites of landscape species as a basis for site-based conservation. Biological Conservation. 115: 419-430. Evans, T. D., Hout, P., Phet, P. and Hang, M. (2002). A study of resin-tapping and livelihoods in southern Mondulkiri, Cambodia with implications for conservation and forest management. WCS Cambodia Program, Phnom Penh. Ferraro, P.J. and Kiss, A. (2002). Direct payments to conserve biodiversity. Science. 298: 1718-1719. McKenney, B., Yim Chea, Prom Tola and Evans, T (2004). Focusing on Cambodia’s High Value Forests: Livelihoods and Management. Phnom Penh. Cambodia Development Resource Institute and WCS Cambodia Program, Phnom Penh. Myers, N., R.A. Mittermier, C. G. Mittermier, G.A.B.da Fonseca, and J. Kent. (2000). Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature. 40: 853-858. Navarro, I. (2003). Chey Sen and Chhep Districts Food Security Assessment. Action Against Hunger, Preah Vihear, Cambodia. Olson, D. and E. Dinerstein. (1998). The Global 200. A representation approach to conserving the Earth’s most biologically valuable ecoregions. Conservation Biology. 12(3): 502-515. Redford, K.H., Coppolillo, P., Sanderson, E.W., Fonseca, G.A.B.d., Dinerstein, E., Groves, C., Mace, G., Maginnis, S., Mittermeier, R.A., Noss, R., Olson, D., Robinson, J.G., Vedder, A. and M. Wright. (2003). Mapping the conservation landscape. Conservation Biology. 17: 116–131. Sanderson, E.W., Redford, K.H., Vedder, A., Coppolillo, P.B. and S.E. Ward. (2002). A conceptual model for conservation planning based on landscape species requirements. Landscape and Urban Planning. 58: 41–56. Stattersfield, A.J., M. Crosby, M.J. Long, D.C. Wegge. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Wells, M., Guggenheim, S., Khan, A., Wardojo, W., & Jepson, P. (1999). Investing in biodiversity: a review of Indonesia’s integrated conservation and development projects. Directions in development series. World Bank, Indonesia and Pacific Islands Country Department, Washington D.C.

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Wikramanayake, E.D., E. Dinerstein, C. Loucks, D. Olson, J. Morrison, J. Lamoreux, M. McKnight, and P. Hedao. (2001). Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a conservation assessment. Island Press: Washington, D.C.

16. Photo-Monitoring of Changes in Biodiversity in Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China1 Jim P. Lassoie, Robert K. Moseley

monitoring transects for establishing the baseline for the long-term monitoring of ecological changes. The photographic temporal assessment that eventually will result will help assess conservation and development activities across geographically extensive and diverse ecoregions, and serve as a means for monitoring the outcomes of conservation programs at specific locations.

Summary 16.1 Introduction Barring abrupt natural or anthropogenic disasters, ecological changes in terrestrial landscapes proceed at a pace not readily detected by humans. The use of historical repeat photography can provide valuable information about such changes, but these studies are opportunistic in that they must rely on old photographs. Hence, their ecological interpretative power is compromised by the intention of the original photographer, the quality of original photographs, an incomplete and potentially misrepresentative sampling design, and a limited analytical framework for interpreting ecological changes. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been using repeat photography to document ecological changes in northwestern Yunnan Province as part of its conservation planning efforts in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This experience supported the development of a forward-sampling, ground-based, photo-monitoring methodology designed around a high quality digital camera and a comprehensive database management system, which was tested during the summer and fall of 2003 across two adjacent ecoregions in northwestern Yunnan: the Hengduan Mountains and the NujiangLancang Gorge. Based on results from a collaborative ecoregional conservation assessment for the region, visual indicators obtainable from the resulting photographs were identified and used to assess the threat status (for example, logging, grazing, mining) for five key ecosystem conservation targets (cold evergreen oak, evergreen broadleaf forest, mixed forest, subalpine forests, alpine mosaic). A sampling design strategy then was developed based on the inherent geographical variation in the distribution of targets, ethnic minorities (a surrogate for land-use), and climactic zones (based on precipitation and temperature) across the region. This distribution information is being used to design photo1 This paper appeared in the proceedings from the 2004 conference in Denver, Colorado on “Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere” (USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-42CD).

Northwestern Yunnan Province in the southwestern part of the PRC is considered a conservation “hot spot” worldwide owing to its spectacular landscapes and abundant biological diversity (Myers et al 2000). This region is also home to three million people, whose lives depend on the sustainable utilization of its natural resources. Faced with rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions and development expectations, however, some of their livelihood strategies (specifically, enhanced agricultural and livestock production, and the increased collection of wood and various non-timber forest products) are now threatening the area’s rich biodiversity (Li 2002; Xu and Wilkes 2004). As a consequence, northwestern Yunnan (NWY) is receiving much attention from the international conservation community, as well as all levels of the Government. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was invited by the provincial government in 1998 to address the threats to biodiversity in the NWY using its collaborative and systematic “Conservation by Design” process (TNC 2001). Called the Yunnan Great Rivers Project (YGRP), the collaboration produced an ecoregional assessment in 2002, which identified 19 conservation areas of biodiversity significance across the five ecoregions that intersect NWY (YGRPPT 2002). Following the assessment phase, TNC and local partners then concentrated their efforts at five action sites within the YGRP to produce conservation plans and strategies for effectively protecting and enhancing biodiversity and the livelihoods of local people (Moseley et al 2004). However, TNC and the Yunnan government also are concerned about conservation and rural development across the portfolio of 19 conservation areas of biodiversity significance identified during the ecoregional assessment. While some species-level inventories exist and detailed vegetation maps are

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being assembled for the region, there has been little research on important landscape-level questions, such as rates of ecosystem succession, scale and frequency of disturbance regimes, and patterns and intensity of past and ongoing threats to conservation targets (Moseley 2004). TNC has been using repeat historical photography (e.g., see Rogers 1984; Hall 2001; Turner and others 2003) to understand rates and patterns of ecosystem change under varying land-uses, to set realistic goals for conservation programs, and to establish reliable methods for measuring conservation successes (Moseley 2004). Such investigations also provide a base for developing a comprehensive photo-monitoring system for the entire YGRP. Such forward-sampling, ecological studies of landscape changes are very important to designing and implementing sustainable conservation and management strategies (Lunt 2002; Pickard 2002) and, hence, are critical to the future of biodiversity and local people in NWY, and elsewhere. Here we report the development of a relatively simple, yet rigorous, methodology that employs groundbased, repeat photography as an extensive, efficient, and cost-effective means for monitoring ecological changes at the landscape level across expansive ecoregions. Specifically, this study: (i) designs, tests, and refines an image capturing and processing workflow methodology that includes image and metadata management; (ii) develops and tests an indicator-based analytical framework for assessing ecological changes identifiable and quantifiable from oblique, ground-based photographs; and (iii) designs a sampling methodology for selecting photo-monitoring transects representative of spatial and temporal variations in landscapes across NWY.

to glaciated peaks at over 6500 m within a distance of 20 km or less. Although at a subtropical latitude, the region’s climate is characteristically temperate, modified by a summer monsoon season leading to warm, wet summers and cool, dry winters. The topographic extremes that characterize the region cause major microclimatic differences associated with changes in elevation, slope, and aspect. The region’s wide ranging environmental conditions support a biological diversity rivaling that found in the tropics (CBD 2001). Five World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ecoregions (Olson and Dinerstein 1998) are found within the YGRP, the largest being the Nujiang-Lancang Gorge and the Hengduan Mountains (Figure 16.1). Ten different vegetation types occur across the region with the most important being the alpine mosaic and a variety of natural forest ecosystems, the latter covering over 60 percent of region (Xu and Wilkes 2004). All landscapes in NWY have been influenced by human activities for thousands of years. Population density is relatively low, especially compared to eastern PRC, and except for a few modest urban centers, most people live in rural areas. Although income-generating endeavors are becoming more important, local people historically have focused on subsistence agriculture, including livestock production and the collection of plants and animals from natural areas. All but two counties in the YGRP are considered poverty counties under the Chinese classification system. Fourteen ethnic minority groups are living within the region, which is significant because of their differing cultures and practices relative to land-use (Xu and Wilkes 2004). 16.3 Methods

16.2 Study area

16.3.1 Workflow development

This study was conducted across the YGRP, an area of over 66,000 km2, comprising 15 counties and four prefectures (Figure 16.1). The region’s biophysical uniqueness arises from its location between the QinghaiTibet and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateaus and from the four major rivers (Jinsha, Lancang, Nu, and Dulong) that cut deep, parallel gorges in the landscape all within 90 km of one another. This results in very steep elevation gradients that can rise from river valleys below 1500 m

An extensive review of repeat photography literature and modern photographic techniques and equipment was conducted. Equipment had to be durable and dependable under wet or dusty field conditions, extremely portable, able to take and process potentially thousands of images, and capable of daily operation for multiple weeks without access to AC power. We examined data management programs for their comprehensive capabilities to catalogue a large number

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Figure 16.1: Yunnan Great Rivers Project study area

China

WWF ECOREGIONS Southeast Asia Subtropical Forest Nujiang-Lancang Gorge Hengduan Mountains Yunnan Plateau North Indochina Subtropical Forest

Tibet Sichuan

28˚N 27˚N 26˚N

▼

Guizhou

YGRP Boundary

Yunnan

25˚N

Guangxi

Myanmar Vietnam Laos

98˚N 99˚N 100˚N 101˚N

of images in formats useful for future analysis. Back up and archival needs were examined in relation to current technology. A comprehensive workflow was designed in Ithaca, New York during the first half of 2003, and tested during the summer and fall in NWY, all leading to a refined system for image capture, management, and storage. 16.3.2 Analytical framework Critical to the successful use of repeated photographs for measuring the impacts of conversation programs is the analytical framework for interpreting

indicators of change to biodiversity and threats. TNC’s four-part conservation framework called ‘Conservation by Design’ provides this important analytical context (TNC 2001). The framework was developed to systematically focus conservation action on priority biodiversity and critical threats in a dynamic, adaptive process involving setting geographic and threat priorities through ecoregional assessments, developing strategies, taking actions, and measuring conservation impacts (Groves et al 2002; Groves 2003). The conservation planning framework for ecoregional assessments includes four steps relevant

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to the current study: (i) selecting focal conservation targets from the universe of possible species and ecosystems, (ii) setting representation and quality goals for conservation targets, (iii) evaluating the ability of conservation targets to persist (in other words, assessing viability and ecological integrity) and (iv) selecting and designing a network of conservation areas of biodiversity significance (Groves 2003). Because Conservation by Design is an adaptive process, it requires monitoring the conservation status of ecoregions. Critical attributes of ecoregional measures include: (i)

tracking progress toward quantitative goals set for each conservation target during ecoregional assessments, (ii) informing whether current management is sufficient to protect the viability and persistence of conservation targets in the long run, (iii) providing a gauge of conservation priorities and whether they should shift as environmental conditions change over time, and (iv) measuring threat status within an ecoregion to provide an ‘early warning system’ to detect changes more quickly than relying solely on biodiversity health measures. After completing the YGRP ecoregional assessment, we developed a monitoring framework of 28 prioritized indicators—nine being health indicators (e.g., size, erosion, fragmentation) for conservation targets and 19 being threat indicators (e.g., unsustainable collection of fuelwood and non-timber forest products, over-grazing, mining). This ecoregional photo-monitoring methodology is designed to assess several of these threat and target health indicators that are observable from examining photographs of landscapes. These were tested for usefulness based on earlier work using historical photographs by Moseley (2004). Additional land cover, landuse, development infrastructures, geopolitical and conservation classifications were developed based on experience in the study area. Combined, all were used as ‘keywords’ for classifying images taken during the 2003 field season. 16.3.3 Sampling design A unique feature of the work presented is the development of a sampling methodology that accurately represents the diversity inherent across extensive

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ecoregions. Even stratified randomization is inoperable here owing to the extent of the areas involved, challenges of accessibility in rugged landscapes, and the need to gain a landscape perspective that is often distant from the indicator(s) under consideration. Our approach was to stratify the study area by features central to the analytical framework and then to use TNC’s GIS database to determine the area represented by each. This work was carried out during the summer of 2004 in preparation for the fall field season. The features examined were: (i) WWF ecoregions, (ii) conservation areas of biodiversity significance identified during the ecoregional assessment, (iii) distribution of key conservation targets from the ecoregional assessment, (iv) principle ethnic minority present (a surrogate for culturally based land-use practices), and (v) modeled climatic zones (B. Baker, Climate Change Scientist, TNC; personal communication) (Table 16.1). Next, we designed transects for obtaining ‘baseline’ photographs. The scheme devised sampled each feature proportional to its distribution within each stratum. For example, if the mixed forest target covers 34 percent of the Baima Conservation Area, then about

Table 16.1: Features used to stratify Yunnan Great Rivers Project area for determining photo-monitoring sampling design

FEATURE

ELEMENTS

Ecoregions (n = 5) e.g. Hengduan Mountains, NujiangLancang Gorge, Yunnan Plateau Conservation Areas (n = 19)

e.g., Baima, Nushan, Zhongdian Highlands

Conservation Targets

CEO: cold evergreen oak; EBF: evergreen broadleaf forest; MF: mixed forest; SAF: subalpine forests; AM: alpine mosaic (shrub, meadow, scree)

Ethnic Minorities e.g., Lisu, Naxi, Tibetan (n = 14) 1: hot summers, cool winters, very wet; 2: Climatic Zones cool summers, cold winters, moderate (Clusters) precipitation; 3: warm summers, cool winters, moderate precipitation; 4: warm summers, warm winters, moderate precipitation; 5: warm summers, cool winters, dry

34 percent of the photographs in this area should be taken of this target. Each feature was examined in relation to one another to gain a qualitative assessment of the sampling needs. Since the location of roads and/or trails is critical logistically, accessibility also was addressed when designing transect locations. 16.4 Results and discussion 16.4.1 Workflow development The workflow process was designed to yield images and their supporting metadata that could be used in the analysis of indicators of landscape change over time (discussed later). It consisted of four interrelated steps: (i) initial image capture, metadata collection, and temporary storage; (ii) imaging processing; (iii) image and metadata management; and (iv) storage of working and archival data files. It is presented in generic fashion, but specifications for all equipment and software are available from the senior author. Although the entire process could be conducted under field conditions, it was found that inclement weather conditions and the lack of AC power over long periods of time made computer processing difficult, thus making all but the image capture step better suited for the office. Image capture The system was built around a professional quality, high resolution, digital single lens reflex camera capable of accepting exchangeable lenses. Such cameras offer many options for capturing, modifying, and storing images. For this study, settings were selected to maximize the quality of resulting images, which simplifies to holding the camera steady and striving for the highest quality captures possible. A sturdy tripod matched with a ball head was used to precisely position the camera enabling level, overlapping images typically representing views o of 180-360 and, as necessary, to hold it steady during long exposures. A low effective ISO rating (125 – 200) was used to reduce digital noise (similar to grain in film cameras). Images were taken in the RAW 12-bit data file format yielding uncompressed files approximately 8 MB in size. When storage capacity in the field was limited, RAW files were compressed by 50 – 60 percent using a proprietary process reported to cause only a minor loss in image quality (Cardinal and Peterson 2002). The RAW format yields unadjusted data from the camera’s CCD

sensor, thus providing the greatest amount of image information possible while also allowing the greatest amount of post-exposure manipulation (Cardinal and Peterson 2001). Lens quality is an important variable in photography and various high quality professional zoom lenses representing digital camera focal lengths from 30 to 600 mm were tested during the 2003 field season. Based on this work, two new lenses designed for the digital camera were purchased for the 2004 field season. These yield an effective focal length range of 18 to 180 mm, which is well suited to expansive landscapes typical of NWY. In-camera image capture and temporary storage capacities must be relatively fast and large owing to the large files involved. Although we found that carrying two 512 MB cards provided enough storage capacity for two or three days of intensive photo-sampling, there was a need to have a portable image storage unit during longer trips into remote areas. A number of rechargeable storage devices are available, the most useful and expensive being those capable of image display. However, because of a concern over battery longevity, we used a relatively inexpensive (about US$200), 220-volt rechargeable, 20 GB Chinese unit that lacked image display capabilities. The major considerations when deciding to rely on such devices are their battery life, durability under adverse conditions, and their cost relative to purchasing multiple, in-camera storage cards. For this project, having three or four 1 GB cards would be sufficient storage for a field trip lasting two weeks, thus forgoing the uncertainty of an additional piece of battery-powered equipment. The use of multiple cards is recommended because of the possibility of malfunctioning of a single, large-capacity card. The rechargeable proprietary battery used in our camera proved to be long lasting under the conditions of this study (approximately 100 images/day, no flash, and limited use of the camera’s LCD screen), and two were sufficient for trips lasting up to two weeks. However, digital cameras, and most of their modern film counterparts, are totally inoperable without battery power. Hence, adequate back up is a must – this project used a 30-watt, 220-volt rechargeable unit during long periods in the field. The auxiliary battery also allowed greater use of the camera’s LCD screen to examine tonal

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histograms in the field leading to improved exposures (Cardinal and Peterson 2001). Metadata associated with each image arose from two sources. First, the camera tags an EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format; see: http://www.exif.org/) text file to all images that provides a record of shooting information (for example, date, time file format, lens, focal length, shutter speed, etc.). In addition, when properly connected to a GPS unit (Cardinal and Peterson 2002), longitude, latitude, and elevation are added to this file. Comments also can be added at the time of downloading images to the computer. The second source of metadata was a written record of location; transect, stop, and view numbers; weather conditions; and camera compass and tilt orientations. This information was added to each image’s IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council; see: http://www.iptc.org/ metadata/) file during the image processing stage. Imaging processing Once in the office, RAW images from the camera’s storage cards (or the storage unit) were transferred to a high capacity laptop computer using proprietary transfer software. These were opened using 12-bit RAW software and adjusted as needed (for example, tonal range, color balance, sharpening, white balance, etc.) to provide the high quality images possible. Camera data from the EXIF files were automatically added to the IPTC files while written information had to be added manually. These images can be opened in any professional image processing software and further manipulated as needed. All images were numbered consecutively from 00000 and stored in folders by transect. Image and metadata management A high capacity, versatile professional software package was used for image and data management. This program uses low-resolution ‘thumbnail’ images linked to original files, which are rapidly searchable using a system of predetermined keywords and custom fields (for example, date/time, numbers, text, etc.). Each thumbnail also carries general information that is not searchable (for example, title, IPTC data, information about the image file and when it was catalogued, etc.). The linchpin for any searchable database is the development of standardized framework for cataloging

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individual pieces of stored information. For this study, such characterizations had to describe visible or otherwise discernable indicators of impacts or threats on key conservation targets. Custom fields were designed for this study primarily to identify photo-monitoring locations in relation to geographical, ethnic, conservation, and political boundaries (Table 16.2), while keywords focused on identification of ecoregional conservation targets, land cover, land-use, infrastructure, and disturbance (Table 16.3). Data storage Great care was taken in developing and utilizing a multiple storage/archival system owing to the large investment of time and money that was required to obtain the original images. Original RAW images and resulting processed images were backed up on the laptop computer’s secondary hard disk and a portable hard disk, as well as archived on a desktop workstation’s hard disk and on high quality DVDs. The final image database catalogue was backed up on the portable hard disk and archived on a high quality CD-R. 16.4.2 Analytical framework The YGRP ecoregional monitoring framework identified indicators for discerning trends in key conservation targets and related threats. As illustrated in Table 16.4 for the Evergreen Oak Forest Target in the Hengduan Mountains Ecoregion, this information was used to generate related indicators of changes in target health that could be visually detected from landscape images. These were in turn either tied to specific keywords used to catalogue landscape images in the database (Table 16.3) or were detectable from examining changes in the target over time (for example, structural changes in canopy, extent of burning or clearing, etc.). Figure 16.2 illustrates how a few of these indicators appear in an image from about 3900 m in one conservation area in the Hengduan Mountains Ecoregion. When accessing the image database, custom fields are used to restrict the search to certain ecoregions, specific conservation areas, and/or other geopolitical units (Table 16.2), and then keywords (Table 16.3) are used to further sort for conservation concerns. For example, all photographs of dark needle forests (with

Table 16.2: Custom fields used for cataloging images in database management system

CUSTOM FIELD NAME

DEFINITION

Camera Orientation

Direction (degrees) camera is pointed for image

County

County where image is located (n =16)

Ecoregions

Ecoregion where image is located (multiple entries possible) (N = 5)

Ethnic Groups

Ethnic groups found in area image is located (multiple entry possible) (N = 14)

Focal Length

Lens focal length (mm) used for image

GPS

Latitude (UTM), Longitude (UTM), and Altitude (m)

Image Repeat # (0=original)

Identifies whether image is original, 1st retake, 2nd retake, etc.

Location/Directions

Description of the location and directions to photo-stop

Miscellaneous

Other information including whether telephoto lens is used, whether camera is tilted up or down, whether there was a mistake in the shot, or whether the image is linked to other projects (e.g., Alpine Ecosystem Project, Historical Repeat Photography Project, etc.)

Conservation Areas

TNC identified Conservation Areas where image is taken in (multiple entries possible) (n = 19)

Prediction/Significance

Comments on whether we predict any changes or see any significant impacts worth mention

Prefecture

Prefecture that image is taken

Protected Area

If applicable, government protected area where image is taken

Stop Code

The photo-stop number along the given transect

TNC Conservation Action Area

If applicable, TNC Conservation Action area where image is taken (N = 5)

Transect Code

Transect number (e.g., 1-15 for 2003 field season)

View Code

View number for a given photo-stop number

Weather, Air/Light Quality

Description of weather and air/light quality when image is taken.

Table 16.3: Selected list of keywords used in image database

ECOREGIONAL TARGETS

• • • • • •

alpine mosaic evergreen broad-leaf forest mixed forest dark needle conifer forest deciduous broadleaf forest cold evergreen oak forest

LAND USE

LAND COVER

• • • • • •

warm conifer forest warm scrub upper/lower timberline humid shrub arid grassland lacustrine aquatic

• • • • • •

INFRASTRUCTURE

commercial logging crop fields grazing horticulture fuelwood harvesting mines & mining

.

• • • • • •

bridges roads trails public utilities seasonal houses towns & villages

DISTURBANCE

• • • • • •

disturbed forest human caused fire logging roads natural forest disturbance skid trails soil erosion


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Table 16.4: Example of indicator matrix for Evergreen Oak Forest Target in the Hengduan Mountains Ecoregion

Threat

Target

Target Health Category Size

clearing

Condition

structural changes extraction methods

Livestock Bedding

Condition

structural changes

Tourism & Infrastructure

Size (loss of native habitat) Condition (erosion, pollution) Landscape context (fragmentation)

Roads, Buildings/structures for tourism, trails, cableways, billboards Roads, Buildings/structures for tourism, trails, cableways, billboards Roads, Buildings/structures for tourism, trails, cableways, billboards

Mining

Size (loss of native habitat) Condition (erosion, pollution) Landscape context (fragmentation)

mines, roads, waste material, buildings, impacts to hydrology, evidence of soil erosion mines, roads, waste material, buildings, impacts to hydrology, evidence of soil erosion mines, roads, waste material, buildings, impacts to hydrology, evidence of soil erosion

Fuelwood

Evergreen Oak Forest

their respective ICPT information), in Baima Conservation Area and also Deqin County, that show commercial logging, logging roads, and soil erosion can be quickly located from a catalogue of thousands of images from across the entire YGRP area. The power of the system as a search engine is obvious, but its real value to this project arises from its use as an analytical framework for assessing changes in conservation targets and threats over time. This project has developed a new methodology that will be used for an initial survey to document ‘baseline’ conditions of the YGRP. Hence, comparison photographs will not be available until some time in the future. However, Moseley’s (2004) historical repeat photography work makes it possible to test the potential interpretative value of having an extensive set of paired and welldocumented photographs for all conservation targets across all ecoregions and conservation areas in the YGRP area. For example, Moseley (2004) presented two photographs separated by almost 80 years looking

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Visual Indicators

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Figure 16.2

into a Tibetan alpine valley in the Nushan Conservation Area (Figure 16.3).

Figure 16.3

This comparison illustrated marked increases in the ecological impacts of yak grazing on the Alpine Mosaic Conservation Target: increased number of trails through meadows and rhododendron shrublands, increased number of herder camps, and reduced cover of juniper shrublands due to burning. The conclusion was, at least for this area, that there has been an increase in grazing pressure by yaks during the past 80 years. Moseley (2004) went on to analyze 115 paired photographs basically assessing whether they showed an increase, decrease, or no change in area or density of various land cover (for example, settlements, glaciers, lower and alpine treelines) and vegetation (for example, crop fields, subalpine forests, alpine meadows) types, drawing ecological and conservation conclusions based on the changes observed. This ‘qualitative’ assessment of temporal ecological change has been a common and useful approach to interpreting repeated historical photographs (for example, Meagher and Houston 1998).

However, the high quality images resulting from this methodology offer more options for interpretation. Figure 16.4 illustrates the same valley just discussed, but taken in the fall of 2003. The ability to digitally ‘stitch’ multiple images together into panoramas greatly enhances the landscape perspective over single images, and the use of highresolution color strikingly improves the ability to discern vegetation, landscape, and land-use features over using black and white images, which is necessary when comparing them to historical photographs. In addition, the high image quality means that post-capture digital enlargements or telephoto images in the field of portions of a landscape can provide excellent details for fine-scale interpretations.

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Figure 16.4

Table 16.5: Comparison of photo-monitoring coverage of five conservation targets relative to their geographical extent for three conservation areas Conservation Targetsb EBF Conservation Total for all Areaa Areas Images Area Imagesc Aread % % % %

CEO Images Area % %

SAF Images Area % %

MF Images Area % %

AM Images Area % %

Baima

14

18

2

1

5

6

41

47

25

4

42

28

Nushan

20

18