Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps
A growing number of studies seek to identify global priority areas for conservation and restoration. These studies often produce maps that highlight the benefits of concentrating such activity in the tropics. However, the potential equity implications of using these prioritization exercises to guide...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9918 |
| _version_ | 1797747289966510080 |
|---|---|
| author | Bill Schultz Dan Brockington Eric A Coleman Ida Djenontin Harry W Fischer Forrest Fleischman Prakash Kashwan Kristina Marquardt Marion Pfeifer Rose Pritchard Vijay Ramprasad |
| author_facet | Bill Schultz Dan Brockington Eric A Coleman Ida Djenontin Harry W Fischer Forrest Fleischman Prakash Kashwan Kristina Marquardt Marion Pfeifer Rose Pritchard Vijay Ramprasad |
| author_sort | Bill Schultz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A growing number of studies seek to identify global priority areas for conservation and restoration. These studies often produce maps that highlight the benefits of concentrating such activity in the tropics. However, the potential equity implications of using these prioritization exercises to guide global policy are less often explored and articulated. We highlight those equity issues by examining a widely publicized restoration priority map as an illustrative case. This map is based on a prioritization analysis that sought to identify places where restoration of agricultural land might provide the greatest biodiversity and carbon sequestration benefits at the lowest cost. First, we calculate the proportion of agricultural land in countries around the world that the map classifies as a top 15% restoration priority. A regression analysis shows that this map prioritizes restoration in countries where displacing agriculture may be most detrimental to livelihoods: countries that are poorer, more populated, more economically unequal, less food secure, and that employ more people in agriculture. Second, we show through another regression analysis that a similar pattern appears sub-nationally within the tropics: 5 km × 5 km parcels of land in the tropics that are less economically developed or more populated are more likely to be top 15% restoration priorities. In other words, equity concerns persist at a subnational scale even after putting aside comparisons between the tropics and the Global North. Restorative activity may be beneficial or harmful to local livelihoods depending on its conceptualization, implementation, and management. Our findings underline a need for prioritization exercises to better attend to the risks of concentrating potentially negative livelihood impacts in vulnerable regions. We join other scholars calling for greater integration of social data into restoration science. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:48:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d5747dcb8684c05b65c89e727558eed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:48:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d5747dcb8684c05b65c89e727558eed2023-08-09T15:17:36ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-01171111401910.1088/1748-9326/ac9918Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority mapsBill Schultz0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6180-6679Dan Brockington1Eric A Coleman2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5315-7111Ida Djenontin3Harry W Fischer4Forrest Fleischman5Prakash Kashwan6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5540-5994Kristina Marquardt7Marion Pfeifer8Rose Pritchard9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6174-3460Vijay Ramprasad10Department of Political Science, Florida State University , Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States of AmericaInstitut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , Barcelona 08193, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats , Barcelona 08010, SpainDepartment of Political Science, Florida State University , Tallahassee, FL 32306, United States of AmericaGrantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, The London School of Economics , WC2A 2AE London, United Kingdom; Department of Geography, Penn State University, State College , PA 16801, United States of AmericaDepartment of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , PO Box 7012, SE-750 07 Uppsala, SwedenDepartment of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota , St. Paul, MN 55108, United States of AmericaDepartment of Environmental Studies, Brandeis University , Waltham, MA 02453, United States of AmericaDepartment of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , PO Box 7012, SE-750 07 Uppsala, SwedenSNES, Newcastle University , NE1 7RU Newcastle Upon Tyne, United KingdomGlobal Development Institute, University of Manchester , M13 9PL Manchester, United KingdomCenter for Ecology, Development and Research , Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248006, India; Department of Environmental Studies, Ashoka University , Sonepat 131029, IndiaA growing number of studies seek to identify global priority areas for conservation and restoration. These studies often produce maps that highlight the benefits of concentrating such activity in the tropics. However, the potential equity implications of using these prioritization exercises to guide global policy are less often explored and articulated. We highlight those equity issues by examining a widely publicized restoration priority map as an illustrative case. This map is based on a prioritization analysis that sought to identify places where restoration of agricultural land might provide the greatest biodiversity and carbon sequestration benefits at the lowest cost. First, we calculate the proportion of agricultural land in countries around the world that the map classifies as a top 15% restoration priority. A regression analysis shows that this map prioritizes restoration in countries where displacing agriculture may be most detrimental to livelihoods: countries that are poorer, more populated, more economically unequal, less food secure, and that employ more people in agriculture. Second, we show through another regression analysis that a similar pattern appears sub-nationally within the tropics: 5 km × 5 km parcels of land in the tropics that are less economically developed or more populated are more likely to be top 15% restoration priorities. In other words, equity concerns persist at a subnational scale even after putting aside comparisons between the tropics and the Global North. Restorative activity may be beneficial or harmful to local livelihoods depending on its conceptualization, implementation, and management. Our findings underline a need for prioritization exercises to better attend to the risks of concentrating potentially negative livelihood impacts in vulnerable regions. We join other scholars calling for greater integration of social data into restoration science.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9918restorationmappingpriority-settingclimate changesocial equity |
| spellingShingle | Bill Schultz Dan Brockington Eric A Coleman Ida Djenontin Harry W Fischer Forrest Fleischman Prakash Kashwan Kristina Marquardt Marion Pfeifer Rose Pritchard Vijay Ramprasad Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps Environmental Research Letters restoration mapping priority-setting climate change social equity |
| title | Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps |
| title_full | Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps |
| title_fullStr | Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps |
| title_short | Recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps |
| title_sort | recognizing the equity implications of restoration priority maps |
| topic | restoration mapping priority-setting climate change social equity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9918 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT billschultz recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT danbrockington recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT ericacoleman recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT idadjenontin recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT harrywfischer recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT forrestfleischman recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT prakashkashwan recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT kristinamarquardt recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT marionpfeifer recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT rosepritchard recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps AT vijayramprasad recognizingtheequityimplicationsofrestorationprioritymaps |