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Research article, 2005

Sustainability and biodiversity: from policy to implementation, with example from Swedish forests

Niklasson M, Nilsson SG, Hedin J, Caldiz MS, Bobiec A

Abstract

The implementation of the Rio protocol and the preservation of biodiversity at the national and regional levels is an important step in achieving sustainable forestry. This is indeed a challenging task since our knowledge of the ecology and habitat demands for but a few species is severely restricted. Research in the last years showed that forest species have very different qualitative and spatial demands on their environment, which require complex and broad solutions. This poses a great problem for conservation and often forces societies/decision-makers to make decisions based on assumptions rather than on empirical data. With assumptions follow uncertainty, a factor that is necessary to control. We identify and discuss the uncertainties of steps that are considered to be important for preserving biodiversity on a regional level and exemplify this with cases from southern Sweden. We argue that there is no universal solution for the conservation of biodiversity. In strongly fragmented and transformed regions like southern Sweden, a mix of species approaches and ecosystem approaches is necessary for biodiversity conservation. Programmes for preserving biodiversity should be flexible, not rigid, allowing for modifications due to a constantly increasing body of knowledge and environmental changes. Prominent gaps in our knowledge include species dispersal ability and propensity, extinction rates and the species dependence on fragmentation and landscape history. It is possible that the question of responsibility species (a species for which a region has an explicit conservational responsibility) may gain in importance, an issue with far-reaching implications for economy and inter-regional compensatory systems

Published in

Journal of Sustainable Forestry
2005, Volume: 21, number: 2/3, pages: 213-226
Publisher: Food Products Press