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South Africa has the world's richest temperate flora, with 20,456 indigenous vascular plant taxa recorded. With the current estimate of the global flora at 379,881 taxa, 5% of the world's plant diversity is represented within South African borders. Between 2004 and 2008, South African botanists completed a comprehensive assessment of the status of the South African flora using the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List categories and criteria, version 3.1. South Africa is the first floristically megadiverse country to fully assess the status of its entire flora and to achieve Target 2 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC): \"[a]n assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species, as far as possible, to guide conservation action.\" Herein, we discuss the critical success factors that allowed an assessment of such a megadiverse flora within five years. Establishing a centralized team of ecologists to develop Red Lists, collaborating with a wide range of botanical experts, streamlining the assessment process via automation, and establishing a data management system that served local conservation needs were crucial to the success of the project. Utilizing the IUCN categories and criteria proved to be, and is suggested as, the most cost-effective measure for other megadiverse countries wanting to achieve Target 2. Quantitative assessments can be done with minimal data, and comprehensive assessments of all known taxa ensure conservation attention for a greater proportion of a flora. The example of South Africa demonstrates that conservation assessments can be done relatively cheaply in developing megadiverse countries (less than $30 per taxon for South Africa). As megadiverse countries have high numbers of endemic plant taxa, it is well worth the investment by IUCN and conservation donors to support continued and future assessment projects.

We assess progress toward the protection of 50% of the terrestrial biosphere to address the species-extinction crisis and conserve a global ecological heritage for future generations. Using a map of Earth’s 846 terrestrial ecoregions, we show that 98 ecoregions (12%) exceed Half Protected; 313 ecoregions (37%) fall short of Half Protected but have sufficient unaltered habitat remaining to reach the target; and 207 ecoregions (24%) are in peril, where an average of only 4% of natural habitat remains. We propose a Global Deal for Nature—a companion to the Paris Climate Deal—to promote increased habitat protection and restoration, national- and ecoregion-scale conservation strategies, and the empowerment of indigenous peoples to protect their sovereign lands. The goal of such an accord would be to protect half the terrestrial 2050 to halt the extinction crisis while sustaining human livelihoods.

An essential foundation of any science is a standard lexicon. Any given conservation project can be described in terms of the biodiversity targets, direct threats, contributing factors at the project site, and the conservation actions that the project team is employing to change the situation. These common elements can be linked in a causal chain, which represents a theory of change about how the conservation actions are intended to bring about desired project outcomes. If project teams want to describe and share their work and learn from one another, they need a standard and precise lexicon to specifically describe each node along this chain. To date, there have been several independent efforts to develop standard classifications for the direct threats that affect biodiversity and the conservation actions required to counteract these threats. Recognizing that it is far more effective to have only one accepted global scheme, we merged these separate efforts into unified classifications of threats and actions, which we present here. Each classification is a hierarchical listing of terms and associated definitions. The classifications are comprehensive and exclusive at the upper levels of the hierarchy, expandable at the lower levels, and simple, consistent, and scalable at all levels. We tested these classifications by applying them post hoc to 1191 threatened bird species and 737 conservation projects. Almost all threats and actions could be assigned to the new classification systems, save for some cases lacking detailed information. Furthermore, the new classification systems provided an improved way of analyzing and comparing information across projects when compared with earlier systems. We believe that widespread adoption of these classifications will help practitioners more systematically identify threats and appropriate actions, managers to more efficiently set priorities and allocate resources, and most important, facilitate cross-project learning and the development of a systematic science of conservation.

Recent expansion of the scale of human activities poses severe threats to Earth’s life-support systems. Increasingly, protected areas (PAs) are expected to serve dual goals: protect biodiversity and secure ecosystem services. We report a nationwide assessment for China, quantifying the provision of threatened species habitat and four key regulating services—water retention, soil retention, sandstorm prevention, and carbon sequestration—in nature reserves (the primary category of PAs in China). We find that China’s nature reserves serve moderately well for mammals and birds, but not for other major taxa, nor for these key regulating ecosystem services. China’s nature reserves encompass 15.1% of the country’s land surface. They capture 17.9% and 16.4% of the entire habitat area for threatened mammals and birds, but only 13.1% for plants, 10.0% for amphibians, and 8.5% for reptiles. Nature reserves encompass only 10.2–12.5% of the source areas for the four key regulating services. They are concentrated in western China, whereas much threatened species’ habitat and regulating service source areas occur in eastern provinces. Our analysis illuminates a strategy for greatly strengthening PAs, through creating the first comprehensive national park system of China. This would encompass both nature reserves, in which human activities are highly restricted, and a new category of PAs for ecosystem services, in which human activities not impacting key services are permitted. This could close the gap in a politically feasible way. We also propose a new category of PAs globally, for sustaining the provision of ecosystems services and achieving sustainable development goals.

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits the rugged mountains in 12 countries of Central Asia, including the Tibetan Plateau. Due to poaching, decreased abundance of prey, and habitat degradation, it was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1972. Current conservation strategies, including nature reserves and incentive programs, have limited capacities to protect snow leopards. We investigated the role of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in snow leopard conservation in the Sanjiangyuan region in China's Qinghai Province on the Tibetan Plateau. From 2009 to 2011, we systematically surveyed snow leopards in the Sanjiangyuan region. We used the MaxEnt model to determine the relation of their presence to environmental variables (e.g., elevation, ruggedness) and to predict snow leopard distribution. Model results showed 89,602 km² of snow leopard habitat in the Sanjiangyuan region, of which 7674 km² lay within Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve's core zones. We analyzed the spatial relation between snow leopard habitat and Buddhist monasteries and found that 46% of monasteries were located in snow leopard habitat and 90% were within 5 km of snow leopard habitat. The 336 monasteries in the Sanjiangyuan region could protect more snow leopard habitat (8342 km²) through social norms and active patrols than the nature reserve's core zones. We conducted 144 household interviews to identify local herders’ attitudes and behavior toward snow leopards and other wildlife. Most local herders claimed that they did not kill wildlife, and 42% said they did not kill wildlife because it was a sin in Buddhism. Our results indicate monasteries play an important role in snow leopard conservation. Monastery‐based snow leopard conservation could be extended to other Tibetan Buddhist regions that in total would encompass about 80% of the global range of snow leopards. Papel de los Monasterios Budistas Tibetanos en la Conservación del Leopardo de las Nieves

Background Paeonia decomposita , endemic to China, has important ornamental, medicinal, and economic value and is regarded as an endangered plant. The genetic diversity and population structure have seldom been described. A conservation management plan is not currently available. Results In the present study, 16 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure. A total of 122 alleles were obtained with a mean of 7.625 alleles per locus. The expected heterozygosity ( H e ) varied from 0.043 to 0.901 (mean 0.492) in 16 primers. Moderate genetic diversity ( H e  = 0.405) among populations was revealed, with Danba identified as the center of genetic diversity. Mantel tests revealed a positive correlation between geographic and genetic distance among populations ( r  = 0.592, P  = 0.0001), demonstrating consistency with the isolation by distance model. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that the principal molecular variance existed within populations (73.48%) rather than among populations (26.52%). Bayesian structure analysis and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) supported the classification of the populations into three clusters. Conclusions This is the first study of the genetic diversity and population structure of P. decomposita using SSR. Three management units were proposed as conservation measures. The results will be beneficial for the conservation and exploitation of the species, providing a theoretical basis for further research of its evolution and phylogeography.

Amphibians across the planet face the threat of population decline and extirpation caused by the disease chytridiomycosis. Despite consensus that the fungal pathogens responsible for the disease are conservation issues, strategies to mitigate their impacts in the natural world are, at best, nascent. Reducing risk associated with the movement of amphibians, non-amphibian vectors and other sources of infection remains the first line of defence and a primary objective when mitigating the threat of disease in wildlife. Amphibian-associated chytridiomycete fungi and chytridiomycosis are already widespread, though, and we therefore focus on discussing options for mitigating the threats once disease emergence has occurred in wild amphibian populations. All strategies have shortcomings that need to be overcome before implementation, including stronger efforts towards understanding and addressing ethical and legal considerations. Even if these issues can be dealt with, all currently available approaches, or those under discussion, are unlikely to yield the desired conservation outcome of disease mitigation. The decision process for establishing mitigation strategies requires integrated thinking that assesses disease mitigation options critically and embeds them within more comprehensive strategies for the conservation of amphibian populations, communities and ecosystems. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience’

Emphasizing the economic and environmental benefits of conservation is business‐as‐usual for environmental organizations seeking to influence conservation behavior, but these message frames are rarely tested. We embedded a large message framing experiment into the recruitment for a conservation agriculture program targeting farmland owners in the Mississippi River Basin. We found that framed messages do not increase enrollment in the agricultural program—the desired conservation behavior—compared to an informational message (control) and may decrease enrollment among farmland owners not already using conservation practices (i.e., cover crops).

Background The Italian peninsula is a widely recognised genetic diversity hotspot and one of the main glacial refugia for European temperate trees, which are now increasingly threatened by climate change, anthropogenic pressure, and pathogens. This study, focusing on the wych elm ( Ulmus glabra ) in its Italian range, integrated plastome phylogeography with lineage-based ecological niche modelling (ENM) and protected area gap analysis, aiming at: (1) reconstructing the evolutionary history of the species and identifying main phylogenetic lineages; (2) assessing habitat suitability and evaluating the impacts of climate change on each lineage; (3) performing a spatially explicit conservation assessment, incorporating genetic and ecological information. Results Phylogeographic analyses of 75 trees revealed 42 haplotypes and a deep separation between Alpine (ALP) and Apennine (APE) lineages, with the latter showing higher nucleotide diversity and substructuring into two haplogroups, corresponding to north-central and south-central Apennines. The deep separation between ALP and APE was confirmed by significant N ST and G ST statistics (N ST  > G ST , p ≤ 0.01). Our findings suggest a multiple refugia scenario for the species in the Italian peninsula, with the Apennines supporting a ‘refugia-within-refugia’ model. Niche analysis highlighted significant ecological differentiation between ALP and APE (niche overlap D = 0.18). ENMs for the two lineages predicted a future decrease in habitat suitability, mainly in the arid regions of south-central Italy; however, while APE lineage was found to be well represented within protected areas, often coinciding with potential climatic refugia, most ALP populations are not protected. Conclusions The strong genetic and ecological divergence between U. glabra lineages underscores the need for lineage-specific conservation. Priority actions should include expanding in situ conservation in the Alps, establishing Genetic Conservation Units in the identified climate-refugia and enhancing connectivity in south-central Italy. As a complementary measure, ex situ conservation should maximize genetic diversity, preserving all identified haplogroups.

Northern Morocco’s community has long relied on aromatic and medicinal plants in traditional folk medicine to treat various illnesses. However, this local knowledge has only recently been well documented. Ethnobotanical investigations into the medicinal benefits of these plants play a crucial role in advancing drug development and treatment modalities, as well as in safeguarding plant species. The purpose of this study was to present the results of an ethnobotanical survey conducted in the region to collect information on the therapeutic uses of medicinal plants practiced by the local people. Thus, the data was collected through field visits using semi-structured ethnobotanical interviews with 130 native informants from the four communes (13 locations) in the study area. The study enabled us to identify 50 species across 30 different families, mainly represented by Lamiaceae (21.54%), plant leaves accounted for the highest usage (32%) among plant parts, with decoction being the most prevalent method for traditional drug preparation (34%). Furthermore, most of the prepared recipes are orally prescribed (72.31%). Regarding diseases treated digestive tract disorders rank first (30.6%). The results obtained will be a database for future phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological studies.