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Research by Oxford University has led to the development of a biodiversity assessment tool based on three biological indices, that has been used in many parts of the world to prioritise and protect biodiversity hotspots, particularly in landscapes that are at major threat from logging or conversion to agriculture. In Ghana these methods have led to the protection of ~2,300 km2 of forest reserves (13% of the total forest network) and were codified in a simple field guide. In Liberia a multinational mining company made important conservation decisions based on the application of these methods. Use of the tool has led to the retention of substantial areas of high biodiversity forest in West Africa, despite competing economic and political drivers, and amidst a continuing general decline in forest condition across the region.
Scientists at the Institute of Zoology (IOZ) led the development of the IUCN Red List, the foremost tool for assessing species extinction risk. We further developed systems to evaluate the status of biodiversity at the national level (National Red Lists), quantify population changes (Living Planet Index) and robustly measure changing biodiversity (Sampled Red List Index), and global indicators of the status of biodiversity for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These are used to drive conservation policy and public engagement by Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations, and national governments, and underpin measurement of adherence to CBD Targets for 2010 and 2020.
Research on the population biology of the stag beetle at Royal Holloway has created impact on the environment (species conservation through an increase in available habitat and in known breeding sites), impact on public policy (production of a species action plan and an EU Directive and the management of woodland habitats), and impact on society (change in public understanding). Using a `Citizen Science' approach, over 250 volunteers have engaged with this research in population surveys and over 1,000 have helped to create breeding sites. The research has helped to implement conservation policy decisions in the UK and EU and has produced many public information guides. It also has resulted in a radically revised Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) national Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for the species. Furthermore, the research has created impact on practitioners (through enhancement of teaching practices) and brought practical conservation biology into schools, improving the teaching of the National Curriculum at KS2 and 3.
Impacts: I) Improved provision of environmental services in Belize, including the creation of plant reference collections / databases and the training of conservation professionals and students. II) Land-management policy formation by the Government of Belize and NGOs.
Significance and reach: Over the period 2009 - July 2013 there has been a step-change in the quality of biodiversity monitoring carried out by NGOs and the Government of Belize; including the latter being better able to meet international reporting requirements. Over the same period, 40 conservation professionals have been trained in Belize.
Underpinned by: Research into savanna plant diversity, led by the University of Edinburgh (1996 - 2012).
Identification of rare plant species on nature reserves at Malham (Yorks.) and Morvich (W. Scotland) led to site managers developing sympathetic management approaches to ensure the species' conservation. These are detailed in management plans and include reduction in grazing and introduction of population census to assess management success. In addition, incorporation of the discoveries into plant guides has led to increased awareness of the two species which in turn has drawn naturalists to view and photograph them. Thus the research at Edge Hill has led to the conservation of and increased awareness of a rare component of the UK flora.
Preziosi and his research group have taken a leading role in conducting biodiversity research in the Ecuadorian Amazon, working in collaboration with national and local governments and indigenous communities. It is critical to monitor and conserve biodiversity in the Ecuadorian Amazon and preserve this unique habitat for local, national and international benefit. Preziosi's research group have demonstrated that indigenous people can be trained to monitor biodiversity accurately. The impact of introducing these new skills to local people in the Payamino community is that they have been empowered to locally monitor and adaptively manage their own resources. By educating local people about the importance of biodiversity, Preziosi's research group have changed the behaviours and attitudes of the community, leading to reduced participation in environmentally harmful practices.
A research programme in the Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield from 1993 to the present has developed radically new types of designed urban plant communities that support a rich native biodiversity, embody low carbon, and contribute to storm-water infiltration into soils, reducing urban flooding. These communities are simple to maintain, cost-effective, and highly attractive. This combination of factors has led to wide application in practice by government agencies, local authorities, and by the public in private gardens. We were invited to apply our approach in full at the London 2012 Olympic Park, the largest and most high profile Landscape Architecture project in the world in 2012, and this in itself has had great impact on international thought and practice.
Research from the Department of Zoology has been instrumental in identifying residues of the veterinary painkiller diclofenac in cattle carcasses as responsible for catastrophic declines in vulture populations across the Indian subcontinent. As a result, the drug has been banned for veterinary use in the relevant countries, and an international conservation effort (SAVE) to Save Asia's Vultures from Extinction has been set up. Declines have since slowed, captive breeding programmes have been introduced, and local people have been trained in monitoring work and advocacy. There has also been inter-government collaboration to support conservation efforts, the first example of such collaboration on the subcontinent.
We set up one of Britain's first online recording projects (www.harlequin-survey.org) to track the spread and study the effects of an invasive alien species (IAS), the harlequin ladybird. We used this as a model to develop a recording programme for other IAS (www.nonnativespecies.org/recording/). The main areas of impact are: (i) Informing conservation policy through collecting and analysing wildlife data (e.g. GB non-natives surveillance and monitoring system stemmed from our work; long-term trends data used to address Convention on Biological Diversity targets); (ii) Utilizing `citizen science' and (iii) Changing public attitudes to IAS (e.g. by engaging the public, changing the way that IAS are recorded; educating and training the public).
The Large Blue butterfly, formerly extinct in the UK, was successfully reintroduced over two decades to sites in south-west England. New research at the University of Oxford has greatly improved its conservation status and identified key factors that determine the ability of this extreme specialist to survive, especially in the context of climate change. Since 2008 this has led directly to new, larger and more stable populations, to significant expansion of the butterfly's range into cooler regions, and to new `races' with greater environmental tolerance. The research has thus contributed directly to the positive upgrading of this species' global conservation status.