Fwd: [graffis-l] MIRACLE IN MADAGASCAR/ GOOD NEWS FROM SCIENCE

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>>The Miracle in Madagascar ­ a Blueprint for Saving Species

>>Posted by: " Mark Graffis " mgraffis mgraffis

>>Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:58 pm (PDT)

>>http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/11/8227/

>>

>>Published on Friday, April 11, 2008 by The Independent/UK

>>The Miracle in Madagascar ­ a Blueprint for Saving Species

>>By Steve Connor

>>A study aimed at preventing the continued destruction of wildlife in

>>Madagascar is being heralded as a scientific triumph that could act as a

>>blueprint to save many other species from mass extinction.

>>

>>Scientists believe they now have a viable road map that could be used

>>anywhere in the world to protect the many thousands of animals and plants

>>living precariously in biodiversity “hotspots”, which are increasingly

>>threatened by human activities. The findings are being seen as

>>vindication for a radical new approach to saving endangered species by

>>treating wildlife as a complex web of interacting animals and plants,

>>rather than the old idea of saving one species at a time.

>>

>>Madagascar was chosen for the experiment because it has one of the

>>richest varieties of wildlife in the world, with a high proportion of

>>endemic species living nowhere else. It has also experienced massive

>>destruction of its forests, with barely 10 per cent of its original

>>habitat surviving.

>>

>>Yet the international team of researchers who carried out the 10-year

>>study found that it was possible to compile a workable conservation plan

>>based on a detailed analysis of the whereabouts and habitats of 2,315

>>species of ants, butterflies, frogs, geckos, lemurs and plants.

>>

>>They built up a vast library of information on the exact location of

>>thousands of animals and plants across entire regions of Madagascar. They

>>then designed computer software to work out the habitat range of each

>>species and how to devise the optimum way of saving them.

>>

>>It is the first time that scientists have compiled such a detailed

>>database of wildlife from such a broad spectrum of species over such a

>>wide area of land. They believe such data is vital in deciding on

>>priorities that will save the greatest number of animals and plants in

>>the shortest possible timeframe. “Our analysis raises the bar on what’s

>>possible in conservation planning, and helps decision-makers determine

>>the most important places to protect,” said Claire Kremen of the

>>University of California Berkeley.

>>

>>“Conservation planning has historically focused on protecting one

>>species, or one group of species, at a time, but in our race to beat

>>species extinction that one-species approach is not going to be quick

>>enough,” said Professor Kremen, a co-leader of the team, whose study is

>>published in the journal Science.

>>

>>“Never before have biologists and policy-makers had the tools that allow

>>analysis of such a broad range of species, at such a fine scale, over

>>such a large geographic area,” she said.

>>

>>Life on earth has experienced five mass extinctions during the past 3.5

>>billion years but the present, sixth wave is probably the fastest. It is

>>estimated that about half of the world’s plant species and three-quarters

>>of vertebrate species are concentrated in biodiversity hotspots - such as

>>Madagascar - which make up just 2.3 per cent of the earth’s land surface.

>>

>>Some 80 per cent of the 30,000 known species of animals in Madagascar are

>>not found anywhere else: half of the world’s chameleons and all species

>>of lemurs are endemic to the island, which lies 200 miles off the

>>south-east coast of Africa and was isolated from the rest of the world

>>for 160 million years before being populated by humans about 2,500 years ago.

>>

>>The research team of 22 scientists from six countries included

>>specialists from the Natural History Museum in London, Royal Botanic

>>Gardens, Kew, and the University of York. Their work will form the basis

>>of the Malagasy government’s plans to triple the area of protected land

>>from about 5 million acres to 15 million acres, or 10 per cent of the

>>country’s land surface.

>>

>>Brian Fisher, an entomologist at the California Academy of Sciences, said

>>that a key part of the study was to include insects as well as the more

>>popular animals, such as lemurs and geckos.

>>

>>“Insects represent the bulk of terrestrial animal diversity but are often

>>overlooked in conservation assessments. This study is unique in including

>>a wide breadth of animals and plants in its conservation analysis,” Dr

>>Fisher said.

>>

>>“We are the first generation to understand the impending demise of

>>natural habitats, and we are the last generation that will have the

>>ability to do something meaningful about it,” he said.

>>

>>A land apart

>>

>>Madagascar was one of the most isolated places on earth before it was

>>first populated by humans about 2,500 years ago. Humans have destroyed

>>about 90 per cent of the island’s original forests and dozens of species

>>are thought to have gone extinct in the process. Forty-five species of

>>large animals, including 16 species of lemur, have disappeared in modern

>>times and a further 200 species are known to be at risk. In 2003, the

>>Malagasy government announced an ambitious plan to conserve what is left

>>of its pristine forests by building up the existing network of protected

>>areas so that they will eventually cover 10 per cent of the country’s

>>territory. Nearly 13,000 plants and vertebrate animals are found only on

>>Madagascar.

>>

>>© 2008 The Independent

 

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