Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Climate change is a major threat to biodiversity. Many ecosystems will undergo significant changes with dramatic effects on species distribution and biotic interaction. Species unable to move or adapt in response to climate change will face local or global extinction. Conservation management in the face of such extensive transformation is a challenging task. The thesis “Conservation management in times of climate change – Problems and solutions exemplified for the Hardangervidda National Park” analysed options available for addressing climate change in nature conservation. The main objective was the climate proofing of conservation management of endangered species in protected areas. Building on a review of different theoretical approaches a procedure for the climate proofing of conservation management was developed. This planning process was tested and verified for the Hardangervidda National Park in southern Norway. The alpine arctic plateau of the Hardangervidda harbours Europe’s largest population of wild barren ground reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and is of particular importance for the preservation of this species. The location and its conditions make it especially sensitive to the negative effects of climate change. Consequentially, the work focused on the adaptation of reindeer management. A past to present analysis of the last four decades allowed several driving forces with major impact on the population to be identified. It could be shown that the population and its environment form a Complex Adaptive System where one driving force is rarely active in isolation. The interaction of climate related drivers with other environmental impacts is a major obstacle for the identification of simple cause-and-effect-chains. Different scenarios for climatic development until 2050 were used to identify the most likely effects on the driving forces for the population. Even though there is a wealth of information about the biology of barren ground reindeer, its reaction to climate changes is still an open question. Due to the lack of information, conservation management for future climate impacts faces major uncertainties. The development of robust conservation strategies in the face of uncertainty must be the focus of the climate proofing process. A risk management approach was used to join the scenario based impact assessment and the past to present analysis. The classification of future changes into different types of risks allowed the identification of suitable measures and no-regret strategies for conservation management in a changing climate. The rules of Adaptive Management helped to make these measures specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. The testing of a concept based in decision and planning theory on the example of the Hardangervidda reindeer population was effectively applied. Based on this experience the concept was further developed. A guideline for the climate proofing of conservation management was outlined. It joins aspects of a risk management approach to Adaptive Management. The guideline is built on seven principles for climate proofing and describes a planning process in five steps. For every step the relevant methods and data requirements are characterised. In this way an approach to climate proofing was developed that can be applied to the conservation management of endangered species.
Author: Rannow, Sven
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W586001760