How do I make the correct selection?

Classification Schemes
• IUCN has developed standard terms for documenting:
– Threats
– Conservation actions
• Uniform classification
– Allows for comparisons between taxonomic groups
• Still being developed and tested
– Your feedback is important

Threat/Conservation Action
• 1. Main Category
– 1.1 Sub category
– Definition
– Definition
• 2. Main Category
– 2.3 Sub category
• 2.3.2 Sub-sub Category
– Definition
– Definition

Threats: what to keep in mind
• Two tasks
– Write narrative describing threats
• Past, ongoing or future (3 generations or 10 years)
– Not to exceed 100 years in the future
• Be very specific in the text, assume reader has no idea what happens in the region (they probably won’t!)
– Cause of threat (driver)
– Threat itself
– Scale of threat – global population affected or only small part of population
– Stress that threat places on taxon – habitat degradation or conversion, direct mortality, species disturbance…
• Use keywords associated with threats
– Select specific threats
• Be selective – don’t choose everything (even though it may be tempting!)

Threats: the classification
1. Residential & commercial development
2. Agriculture & aquaculture
3. Energy production & mining
4. Transportation & service corridors
5. Biological resource use
6. Human intrusions & disturbance
7. Natural system modifications
8. Invasive & other problematic species & genes
9. Pollution
10. Geological events
11. Climate change & severe weather

Threats: the classification
1. Residential & commercial development
2. Agriculture & aquaculture
3. Energy production & mining
4. Transportation & service corridors
5. Biological resource use
6. Human intrusions & disturbance
Most relevant
7. Natural system modifications
8. Invasive & other problematic species & genes
9. Pollution
10. Geological events
11. Climate change & severe weather

Threats
• 1. Residential & Commercial Development
1.1 Housing & Urban areas
– Land reclamation
– Expanding human population that causes habitat degradation
• 2. Agriculture & Aquaculture
2.4 Marine & Freshwater Aquaculture
• 2.4.1 Subsistence/artisanal aquaculture
• 2.4.2 Industrial aquaculture
– Mangrove destruction for shrimp farming specifically (two scales)

Threats
• 5. Biological Resource Use
5.4 Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources
• 5.4.1 Intentional mortality (human use - subsistence/small scale)
– small scale/subsistence intentional fishery
– Aquarium trade
– Classification not based on the impact of the fishery
• 5.4.2 Intentional mortality (human use - large scale)
– large scale/commercial intentional
– Size of the fishery, not the impact

Threats
• 5. Biological Resource Use (cont.)
• 5.4.3 Incidental or accidental mortality - BYCATCH
– small scale/subsistence unintentional fishery
– small scale cyanide/dynamite fishing
(stress = ecosystem degradation)
• 5.4.4 Incidental or accidental mortality – BYCATCH
– large scale/commercial unintentional fishery
– large scale cyanide/dynamite fishing
(stress of ecosystem degradation)
• 5.4.5 Persecution/Control
– shark nets

• Intentional fisheries
– Targeted
• Family (e.g. Rhincobatidae, angel sharks) or species level
– NOT “elasmobranch…” or “skate fishery”
– Does the fishery go out to specifically target a species, or does it adjust its fishing tactics to catch the species? If so, when?
• Unintentional fishery
– All other fishing whether discarded or not
– Not just bycatch

Threats
• 6. Human intrusions & disturbance
6.1 Recreational activities
• 7. Natural System Modifications
7.2 Dams & Water management/use
• 7.2.9 Small dams
• 7.2.10 Large dams
• 7.2.11 Dams (size unknown)

Threats
• 9. Pollution
– 9.1 Domestic & urban waste water
• 9.1.1 Sewage
• 9.1.2 Run-off
• 9.1.3 Type Unknown/Unrecorded
– 9.2 Industrial & military effluents
• 9.2.1 Oil spills
• 9.2.2 Seepage from mining
• 9.2.3 Type Unknown/Unrecorded
– 9.3 Agricultural & forestry effluents
• 9.3.1 Nutrient loads
• 9.3.2 Soil erosion, sedimentation
• 9.3.3 Herbicides and pesticides
• 9.3.4 Type Unknown/Unrecorded
– 9.4 Garbage & solid waste

Threats
• 11 Climate change & severe weather
– 11.1 Habitat shifting & alteration
– 11.2 Droughts
– 11.3 Temperature extremes
– 11.4 Storms & flooding
 You have to have strong evidence to choose these
 Population consequences

Conservation Actions
• Two tasks
– Write narrative describing Conservation Actions – In Place
• Be very specific in the text, assume reader has no idea what a specific Conservation Actions implies (they probably won’t!)
• Use keywords associated with threat selections below
– Select specific Conservation Actions required to mitigate major threats
• Be selective – don’t choose everything (even though it may be tempting!)
• Be realistic
– Don’t record a full ‘wish list’
– Achieved in the next 5 years

Conservation Actions
1. Land/water protection
2. Land/water management
3. Species management
4. Education & awareness
5. Law & policy
6. Livelihood, economic & other incentives

Conservation Actions
1. Land/water protection
2. Land/water management
3. Species management
4. Education & awareness
5. Law & policy
Most relevant
6. Livelihood, economic & other incentives

Conservation Actions
• 1 Land/water protection
– 1.1 Site/area protection
– 1.2 Resource & habitat protection
• Marine Protected Area designation

Conservation Actions
• 2 Land/water management
– 2.1 Site/area management
• MPA has already been set up but implementation required (no paper parks)
– 2.3 Habitat & natural process restoration
• coral reef restoration
• mangrove replanting
• modify land use policy
(logging and sedimentation)
• dam removal
• cleaning up oil spills

Conservation Actions
• 3 Species management
3.1 Species management
• 3.1.1 Harvest management
– Management of harvest
– fishing effort controls
• 3.1.2 Trade management
– trade regulations of specific populations
– non CITES trade regulations
– aquarium trade regulations

Conservation Actions
• 4 Education & awareness
– 4.2 Training
• Species identification (fisheries observers)
– 4.3 Awareness & communications
• Shark nets

Conservation Actions
• 5 Law & policy
5.1 Legislation
• 5.1.1 International level
– CITES – a more general international agreement (than 3.1.2 – trade management) for the species itself or a group of species
(e.g. hammerheads)
• 5.1.2 National level
• 5.1.3 Sub-national level
• 5.1.4 Scale unspecified
5.2 Policies and regulations
(Salafsky)

Conservation Actions
• 5 Law & policy
5.3 Private sector standards & codes
– Marine Aquarium Council
– Marine Stewardship Council
5.4 Compliance and enforcement
– If it has CITES, for example, it would require this
• 5.4.1 International level
• 5.4.2 National level
• 5.4.3 Sub-national level
• 5.4.4 Scale unspecified

Threats and Conservation Actions