Transcript ppt

Ecological Integrity : what is it?
How do we measure it? And why
it is important!
Nik Lopoukhine and Jeffrey Parish
A beyond borders presentation
Presentation outline
• What compels us to measure, report and manage
• What is it that we need to measure for purposes of
biodiversity conservation
• Review “Ecological integrity”
• Concepts of goal setting
• Objectives of seminar and how we will achieve these
The human
ecologicalRealities
footprint
Park
Management
Edmonton, AB
Elk
Island
NP
Islands in a greater landscape
FUNDY NP BORDER
PAs - the Mine Canaries of
land/seascapes
• Protected Areas are embedded in their surrounding
sea/landscapes – the greater ecosystem.
• The state of a Protected Area is influenced by the
condition of and thus the land/water use activities within
that greater ecosystem.
• Hence, the Protected Area is a barometer (the canary in
the mine)of its greater ecosystem.
• Hence,the value of measuring and reporting on the EI of
a PA extends beyond park management interests.
Institutional drivers and
Response
• Biodiversity Convention (SBSTTA, COP 7)
• Other conventions (WHS, Ramsar) and protocols
• Legislation and policies
• Donors (GEF) results and indicators of such
Response:
Setting Goals, Objectives - criteria and indicators
Measurement and reporting of management effectiveness
Biodiversity Convention
The BDC Article 8 clauses c, e, f challenge
(c) Regulate or manage biological resources important for the conservation
of biological diversity whether within or outside protected areas, with a
view to ensuring their conservation and sustainable use;
(e) Promote environmentally sound and sustainable development in areas
adjacent to protected areas with a view to furthering protection of these
areas;
(f) Rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery
of threatened species, inter alia, through the development and
implementation of plans or other management strategies;
Biodiversity conservation
Increasingly, Ecological Integrity is becoming the focus of
PA management where biodiversity conservation is a
goal
e.g. Canada’s national parks have the maintenance or restoration
of ecological integrity as a first priority in meeting its
obligations of assuring unimpaired parks under the dedication
clause that speaks to assuring enjoyment, benefits and
education of present and future Canadians.
Ecological principles to help us
understand EI
Ecosystems are human constructs
Ecosystem based management or the Ecological Approach
is also a societal choice or policy
Ecosystems are nevertheless describable or characterized
because they do have organization, structure and
definable trajectories over time
Clues to Understanding Ecosystems
• There are clear patterns to how life works, but not all patterns
are clear.
• Ecosystems have interrelated structure, composition and
function, at a range of scales.
• Ecosystems are not stable or in balance, they are dynamic and
changing. The constant is Change – and it is occurring at many
scales.
• System is greater than the sum of its parts
• People are a part of the ecosystem
A web based sample of
Ecological Integrity definitions
Ecological Integrity (Siry)
Ecological integrity is understood as a
series of interdependent ways of
thinking and describing the world we
observe. Thus an imaginative faculty is
used for conceptualizing the physical
and biological conditions of existence.
(Siry’s Ecology Home Page)
Ecological Integrity (EPA)
Ecological (or Biological) Integrity. The
condition or "health" of an area, as defined
by comparison of community structure
and functions to those of unimpacted,
least-impacted, or representative
("reference") areas.
(EPA, Bioindicators for Assessing Ecological Integrity of
Prairie Wetlands Report # EPA/ 600/ R-96/ 082 September
1995)
Ecological Integrity (Maine
Audubon)
Ecological Integrity is the ability of an ecosystem to support
and maintain biological communities (assemblages of
species) comparable to those found in unmanaged or
relatively undisturbed habitats of the region. Ecological
integrity includes both organisms as well as the physical
elements of the ecosystem (soils, air, water, etc.) and
ecological processes, such as forest succession and nutrient
cycling within the forest.
Ecological integrity (Bradford and
Maude)
Ecological integrity, which includes hydrological integrity,
means the condition of ecosystems in which,
(a) the structure, composition and function of the
ecosystems are unimpaired by stresses from human
activity,
(b) natural ecological processes are intact and self
sustaining, and
(c) the ecosystems evolve naturally.
Ecological Integrity (Westra)
In essence, it is an umbrella concept that includes
the following components: the ecosystem must
retain the ability to deal with outside interference
and, if necessary, regenerate itself following upon
it; the systems’ integrity reaches a peak when the
optimum capacity for the greatest number of
possible ongoing development options, within its
time/location, is reached; and, lastly, it should
retain the ability to continue its ongoing change
and development, unconstrained by human
interruptions, past or present.
(Westra
1994).
Ecological Integrity (from Kay and Regier)
Ecological integrity is about three facets of self-organization
of ecological systems: (energy based)
a) current well being,
b) resiliency,
c) capacity to develop, regenerate and evolve.
Ecological Integrity
Canada National Parks Act Definition
“ecological integrity” means, with respect to a park,
a condition that is determined to be characteristic
of its natural region and likely to persist, including
abiotic components and the composition and
abundance of native species and biological
communities, rates of change and supporting
processes.
Key Points:
• Keep all working parts – abiotic elements as much
as the need to keep native species at viable
population levels
• Manage at the right scale - managing for integrity
must consider the larger ecosystems of which they
are part, and long time horizons
• Maintain good vital signs - Ecosystems with
integrity do not exhibit the trends associated with
stressed ecosystem
.
Setting goals and objectives
Park management Plan
Goals, objectives and
indicators
Goals are defined as a set of future
conditions that are relatively more general
and broad based
Objectives are concrete expressions of the
broader goals
Indicators are well defined (preferably
numerically specific) targets for the goals
Examples of Goals
• Maintain viable populations of all native
species
• Restore ecological processes, such as fire,
that have been modified or eliminated
from the ecosystem
Adaptive management
T. Nudds
Key Themes of today’s workshop
• Importance of Ecological Integrity Measurement for Protected
Area Management
• Advances in tool development to facilitate measuring
ecological outcomes
• Challenges of limited data and resources
• Experiences in measuring ecological integrity and using
results for adaptive management.
Housekeeping
• Revised Agenda
• Materials Available
• Change of Rooms in the Afternoon … to
4-2
• Question and Answer Panel