Identifying and prioritising climate change adaptation actions for greater one-horned rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis ) conservation in Nepal

PeerJ

article

Ganesh Pant¹  Tek Maraseni²  Armando Apan²  Benjamin L. Allen² 

[1] Ministry of Forests and Environment;University of Southern Queensland, Institute for Life Sciences and the Environment;University of Sunshine Coast;University of the Philippines Diliman, Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology;Nelson Mandela University, Centre for African Conservation Ecology

关键词: Adaptation action;    Adaptive capacity;    Biodiversity;    Climate refugia;    Connectivity;    Protected area;    Resilience;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12795

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Climate change has started impacting species, ecosystems, genetic diversity within species, and ecological interactions and is thus a serious threat to conserving biodiversity globally. In the absence of adequate adaptation measures, biodiversity may continue to decline, and many species will possibly become extinct. Given that global temperature continues to increase, climate change adaptation has emerged as an overarching framework for conservation planning. We identified both ongoing and probable climate change adaptation actions for greater one-horned rhinoceros conservation in Nepal through a combination of literature review, key informant surveys (n = 53), focus group discussions (n = 37) and expert consultation (n = 9), and prioritised the identified adaptation actions through stakeholder consultation (n80%) reported that climate change has been impacting rhinoceros, and more than 65% of them believe that rhinoceros habitat suitability in Nepal has been shifting westwards. Despite these perceived risks, climate change impacts have not been incorporated well into formal conservation planning for rhinoceros. Out of 20 identified adaptation actions under nine adaptation strategies, identifying and protecting climate refugia, restoring the existing habitats through wetland and grassland management, creating artificial highlands in floodplains to provide rhinoceros with refuge during severe floods, and translocating them to other suitable habitats received higher priority. These adaptation actions may contribute to reducing the vulnerability of rhinoceros to the likely impacts of climate change. This study is the first of its kind in Nepal and is expected to provide a guideline to align ongoing conservation measures into climate change adaptation planning for rhinoceros. Further, we emphasise the need to integrating likely climate change impacts while planning for rhinoceros conservation and initiating experimental research and monitoring programs to better inform adaptation planning in the future.

【 授权许可】

CC BY