Doyle, CAT, Abeli, T, Albrecht, MA, Bellis, J, Colas, B, Dalrymple, SE, Ensslin, A, Espejo, J, Erftemeijer, PLA, Julien, M, Lewandrowski, W, Liu, H, Moehrenschlager, A, Ooi, MKJ, Reynolds, DM, Schatz, B, Sild, M, Wills, TJ and Papuga, G (2023) Achieving conservation outcomes in plant mitigation translocations: the need for global standards. Plant Ecology. ISSN 1385-0237

Preview

Text Achieving conservation outcomes in plant mitigation translocations the need for global standards.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Many countries have legislation intended to limit or offset the impact of anthropogenic disturbance and development on threatened plants. Translocations are often integral to those mitigation policies. When translocation is used exclusively to mitigate development impacts, it is often termed a ‘mitigation translocation.’ However, both the terminology and processes vary regarding interpretation and application, resulting in inconsistent standards, often leading to poorly planned and implemented projects. These mitigation projects rarely achieve the intended ‘no net loss’ of protected species due to issues with timelines and procedures that result in the mortality of translocated individuals. Instead, such projects are often process driven, focused on meeting legislative requirements which enable the development to proceed, rather than meaningful attempts to minimise the ecological impact of developments and demonstrate conservation outcomes. Here, we propose to reframe mitigation translocations as conservation driven, ensuring best practice implementation and hence, a quantified no net loss for impacted species. These methods include redefining the term mitigation translocation to include conservation objectives and outlining issues associated with the mitigation translocation processes worldwide. We also nominate global standards of practice to which all proposals should adhere, to ensure each project follows a trajectory towards quantified success, with genuine impact mitigation. These proposed standards focus on building efficient translocation plans and improving governance to facilitate a transition from project centred to ecology-driven translocation. Employment of these standards is relevant to development proponents, government regulators, researchers, and translocation practitioners and will increase the likelihood of conservation gains within the mitigation translocation sector.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0602 Ecology; 0607 Plant Biology; Ecology
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Divisions:	Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	Springer
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	22 May 2023 11:43
Last Modified:	22 May 2023 11:45
DOI or ID number:	10.1007/s11258-023-01310-8
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/19548

View Item