Open AccessConservation in Brazil needs to include non‐forest ecosystems
Author(s) -
Overbeck Gerhard E.,
VélezMartin Eduardo,
Scarano Fabio R.,
Lewinsohn Thomas M.,
Fonseca Carlos R.,
Meyer Sebastian T.,
Müller Sandra C.,
Ceotto Paula,
Dadalt Letícia,
Durigan Giselda,
Ganade Gislene,
Gossner Martin M.,
Guadagnin Demetrio L.,
Lorenzen Katrin,
Jacobi Claudia M.,
Weisser Wolfgang W.,
Pillar Valério D.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
diversity and distributions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.918
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1472-4642
pISSN - 1366-9516
DOI - 10.1111/ddi.12380
Subject(s) - biodiversity , ecosystem , conservation biology , sustainability , geography , subsidy , environmental resource management , agroforestry , ecology , biology , political science , environmental science , law
In the past decades, Brazil made important progress in the conservation of forest ecosystems. Non‐forest ecosystems ( NFE ), in contrast, have been neglected, even though they cover large parts of the country and have biodiversity levels comparable to forests. To avoid losing much of its biodiversity and ecosystem services, conservation and sustainable land use policies in Brazil need to be extended to NFE . A strategy for conservation of Brazil's NFE should encompass the following elements: (1) creation of new large protected areas in NFE ; (2) enforcement of legal restrictions of land use; (3) extension of subsidy programs and governance commitments to NFE ; (4) improvement of ecosystem management and sustainable use in NFE ; and (5) improvement of monitoring of land use change in NFE . If Brazil managed to extend its conservation successes to NFE , it not only would contribute significantly to conservation of its biodiversity, but also could take the lead in conservation of NFE world‐wide.