Identifying Mozambique's most critical areas for plant conservation: An evaluation of protected areas and Important Plant Areas
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Successful protected area networks must represent biodiversity across taxonomic groups. However, too often plant species are overlooked in conservation planning, and the resulting protected areas may, as a result, fail to encompass the most important sites for plant diversity. The Mozambique Tropical Important Plant Areas project sought to promote the conservation of Mozambique's flora through the identification of Important Plant Areas (IPAs). Here, we use the Weighted Endemism including Global Endangerment (WEGE) index to identify the richest areas for rare and endemic plants in Mozambique and subsequently evaluate how well represented these hotspots are within the current protected area and IPA networks. We also examine the congruence between IPA and protected areas to identify opportunities for strengthening the conservation of plants in Mozambique. We found that high WEGE scores, representing areas rich in endemic/near-endemic and threatened species, predict the presence of IPAs in Mozambique, but do not predict the presence of protected areas. We also find that there is limited overlap between IPAs and protected areas in Mozambique. We demonstrate how IPAs could be an important tool for ensuring priority sites for plant diversity are included within protected area network expansions, particularly following the adoption of the “30 by 30” target agreed within the post-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity framework, with great potential for this method to be replicated elsewhere in the global tropics.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Biotropica |
| Vol/bind | 55 |
| Udgave nummer | 6 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 1183-1194 |
| Antal sider | 12 |
| ISSN | 0006-3606 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2023 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:
The Important Plant Areas of Mozambique project was generously supported by the Oppenheimer Generations Foundation and Stephen and Margaret Lansdown. Additional pilot funding for the project was provided by the Bentham‐Moxon Trust. The GBIF Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) project BID‐AF‐2017‐0047‐NAC (2017–2019): “Mobilizing primary biodiversity data for Mozambican species of conservation concern” enabled the compilation of data on endemic and near‐endemic plants species held at the Maputo herbaria. Previous projects that have provided significant field data for this current work include the Darwin Initiative Award 15/036 “Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss in South‐East Africa's Montane Ecosystems” completed in 2009 and Award 2380: “Balancing Conservation and Livelihoods in the Chimanimani Forest Belt, Mozambique” completed in 2017; the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund Grant 63,512 “In from the cold: providing the knowledge base for comprehensive biodiversity conservation in the Chimanimani Mountains, Mozambique; botanical survey component” completed in 2016; and the Pro‐Natura International‐led project on “Coastal Forests of Mozambique”, funded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and supported by the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, completed in 2011.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Biotropica published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.
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