Table3_Determining High Conservation Values in Production Landscapes: Biodiversity and Assessment Approaches.docx

Conversion of natural, heterogenous tropical forests to intensively managed, monoculture-production landscapes is a major threat to biodiversity. This phenomenon is driven by global demand for commodities such as wood, palm oil, sugar, and soybean. The economies of many countries in tropical areas depend on these commodities, and there is a need to ensure economic welfare while protecting biodiversity. Certification schemes such as those developed by the Forest Stewardship Council and Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil are intended to provide incentive to companies to employ environmentally and socially sustainable production practices. One element of these certification schemes is the concept of High Conservation Values (HCVs) which fall into six categories that encompass ecological indicators and human dimensions. The HCV process has expanded beyond production landscapes to include long-term conservation planning. Despite expansion, implementation of the HCV process as it pertains to biodiversity is challenged, in part, by a lack of specificity regarding target metrics. Another challenge is that, in practice, there is a short time period for assessment, resulting in limited collection of primary data and a reliance on secondary data sources for interpolation. HCV guidance advances a precautionary approach to assessment, but in some regions, there is not enough known about the biology, behavior, or interspecific associations of species to effectively assess what is not observed. In this paper, we assess environmental HCVs in a well-studied timber production system in Sarawak, East Malaysia. Using an original long-term multi-method dataset of avifaunal surveys as well as published datasets of other taxa, we 1) assess biodiversity metrics at the site including presence of Rare, Threatened, and Endemic species, 2) assess change over time at assessment locations, and 3) evaluate costs and benefits of the various methods and provide best practice recommendations for HCV assessment and long-term monitoring. Finally, we recommend transparent data-archiving and sharing for improved accuracy and efficiency in the HCV process. Managed landscapes are important areas for ecological research that are beneficial not only to the restoration and conservation of species and ecosystems but also to well-informed certification and long-term sustainability.

天然异质热带森林向集约化经营的单一作物生产景观的转换，是生物多样性面临的主要威胁之一。这一现象的背后驱动力为全球对木材、棕榈油、蔗糖与大豆等大宗商品的需求。诸多热带国家的经济依赖此类大宗商品，因此需要在保障经济福祉的同时保护生物多样性。森林管理委员会（Forest Stewardship Council）、可持续棕榈油圆桌会议（Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil）等机构制定的认证计划，旨在激励企业采用环境与社会可持续的生产实践。此类认证计划的核心要素之一是“高保护价值（High Conservation Values，HCV）”概念，其涵盖六大类别，囊括生态指标与人文维度。HCV流程已从生产景观领域拓展至长期保护规划范畴。尽管范围有所扩大，但HCV流程在生物多样性相关实施环节仍面临多重挑战：其一，缺乏针对目标指标的明确规范；其二，实际评估周期较短，导致一手数据收集有限，需依赖二手数据源进行插值推算。HCV指南倡导采用预防性评估方法，但部分区域对物种的生物学特性、行为模式或种间关联的认知不足，无法有效评估未被观测到的对象。本研究针对马来西亚东砂拉越州一处研究充分的木材生产系统，开展环境类HCV评估。我们采用原创的长期多方法鸟类调查数据集，结合其他生物类群的已发表数据集，完成三项核心工作：1）评估该区域的生物多样性指标，包括珍稀、受威胁与特有物种的存在情况；2）分析评估点位随时间的变化趋势；3）对比各类评估方法的成本与收益，为HCV评估与长期监测提供最佳实践建议。最后，我们建议建立透明的数据归档与共享机制，以提升HCV流程的准确性与效率。集约化经营景观是生态研究的重要场域，其不仅有助于物种与生态系统的修复与保护，也可为科学合理的认证工作与长期可持续发展提供支撑。