Evidence-based solutions to prevent biodiversity loss

UCL experts are studying some of world’s most precious ecosystems to understand how conservation interventions can help reduce the impacts of human activity on the world’s biodiversity.

Biomes are large areas of interconnected ecosystems, ranging from aquatic to desert to tropical forest, which can be characterised by local climate and environmental conditions. Protecting these natural ecosystems is vital for a sustainable and resilient future planet. 

 “Complex ecosystems of vegetation and wildlife around the world are under pressure from human influences such as climate change and land management,” explains Professor Kate Jones (UCL Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, CBER), who is leading the Biome Health Project, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. The project is exploring the effects of human activities on four distinct biomes around the world: sub-tropical dry forest in Nepal; coral reefs in Fiji; tropical forest in Malaysian Borneo; and savanna grassland in Kenya. 

In collaboration with local partners, the team is designing a field-based study system that will help uncover how biodiversity responds to human influence, and how conservation activities can help reduce the impacts of these pressures. 

““Complex ecosystems of vegetation and wildlife around the world are under pressure from human influences such as climate change and land management.”  

“We’re using a range of technologies, such as camera traps, audio recordings and videos of underwater habitats, to monitor indicators of biodiversity at each location,” says Guilherme Braga Ferreira (UCL CBER), who is overseeing the data collection and analysis from the four field sites.  

The team chooses sites within each biome where the levels of human pressure vary and where conservation efforts are underway, to monitor how different species are responding to human activity at each field site.  

For example, preliminary data from the Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, where the team are using a grid of camera traps and acoustic recording devices, suggest that grazing cattle have a negative impact on the number of buffalo and eland in the area, but beneficial effects on the number of smaller herbivores. 

“We are developing a framework that will help identify tipping points, where dramatic declines in biodiversity occur and offer evidence-based solutions to help halt biodiversity loss at these precious sites,” Professor Jones adds.