CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY & DELIVERING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

In 2011, an expert consultation indicated that the supply
of harvested wild goods, including food, fibre, fuelwood
and natural medicines, was likely to be decreasing at over
half of the IBAs that deliver these as one of the most
important services. Around one-third of sites showed an
increase in this service. Recreation and tourism is
reportedly on the increase at 95% of IBAs where it occurs.
There is also a reported increase in supply of cultivated
foods at some sites although this is likely to be at the
expense of other services. Global climate regulation is
believed to be stable or increasing across most of the sites,
as is water provision (see figure).
Proportion of IBAs delivering ecosystem services with increasing,
stable or decreasing trends over the past five years
Numbers in brackets represent the number of sites at which the service was recorded as
being the 5 most important. Only these sites are included in each column, and only
services that were important at >5 sites are presented.
SOURCE Based on information provided at an expert consultation workshop.
Local stakeholders discuss the changes to habitats and impacts
on ecosystem services occurring at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
over recent years (Jenny Birch)
A similar exercise with local stakeholders at Rara National Park
(David Thomas)
An example from Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve IBA
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is an IBA and Ramsar site in the Terai of south-east Nepal. A mosaic of open water, riverine
habitats and seasonally flooded grasslands, it supports tens of thousands of waterbirds and is also important for the
globally threatened Ganges River Dolphin and home to Nepal’s last population of wild Asian Water Buffalo. However, since
the 1990s the number of waterbirds visiting the reserve has dropped dramatically.
“Wetland species undoubtedly face the greatest threats in Nepal. One example is Black-bellied tern which occurs on lakes and
rivers in the lowlands, and which has all but disappeared from Koshi, as a result of widespread food shortages” says Top Khatri,
National Programme Manager for the ‘Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Nepal’
project. “The food of the tern—fish—is also an important resource for people, particularly those from
poorer communities, and the birds are indicating that this important resource is diminishing. To reduce the
conflict between livelihood needs and conservation objectives, we need to develop sustainable options that
can deliver material benefits to local people whilst preserving the ecological integrity of the wetlands”.
For more details of this study, see p.29.