Assessing the effectiveness of different approaches to species conservation

• Main Author: Santangeli, Andrea
• Other Authors: Sutherland, William J., University of Helsinki, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Department of Biosciences, Helsingin yliopisto, bio- ja ympäristötieteellinen tiedekunta, biotieteiden laitos, Helsingfors universitet, bio- och miljövetenskapliga fakulteten, biovetenskapliga institutionen, Laaksonen, Toni
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Helsingin yliopisto 2013
• Subjects: major in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Montagu; karelia*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/38675

Humans are the main cause of the on-going large-scale biodiversity crisis, mostly through processes like habitat loss and fragmentation, and habitat degradation. The recent recognition of the scale and rate of biodiversity erosion has stimulated strong political and institutional reactions, culminating in the implementation of a large number of conservation initiatives. Such efforts have been largely insufficient to revert or slow down the rapid loss of biodiversity. Commonly, conservation resources have been allocated based on decisions supported by traditional knowledge or expert opinion rather than scientific evidence. Therefore, it is relevant that interventions are evaluated, to ultimately allow learning from past actions and taking better decisions in the future. With this thesis I aim to provide evidence needed to improve the effectiveness of different approaches to conservation of some species affected by anthropogenic activities. In doing so, I considered conservation interventions implemented mostly on private land with different underlying approaches: voluntary and inexpensive (based on self-motivation of landowners); voluntary market-based (landowners are compensated); Compulsory land reservation or legislation (landowners have no choice). I first evaluate the effectiveness of a conservation program aimed at protecting raptor nests in private forests of North Karelia in eastern Finland. I show that here an inexpensive voluntary approach, based on self-motivation of landowners, may represent an effective instrument for achieving conservation with very limited financial resources. This approach was effective not only at eliciting participation of local forest owners, but it also provided ecological benefits to the raptor species considered. Relevant outcomes for practical conservation can also emerge when multiple interventions are compared. This was the case for nest protection of the Montagu s harrier breeding in cropland of Spain and France. In France, protection of nests from harvesting operations ...