1b. viability assessment and goals
DESCRIPTION
Conservation Coaches Network Workshop Presentation. 1B. Viability Assessment and Goals. Adaptive Management Workshop Presentations. 1A-1B. Team, Scope, Vision 1B. Conservation Targets 1B. Viability Assessment. 2A-1. Strategy Selection 2A-2. Results Chains 2A-3. Goals and Objectives. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
1B. Viability Assessment and Goals
Conservation Coaches Network Workshop Presentation
Adaptive Management Workshop Presentations
1A-1B. Team, Scope, Vision1B. Conservation Targets1B. Viability Assessment 2A-1. Strategy Selection
2A-2. Results Chains2A-3. Goals and Objectives
2B. Monitoring Plan
1C. Threat Rating
1D. Conceptual Models
Conceptualize Viability Assessment
This Presentation
• What is viability assessment?• How to do viability assessment• Additional examples of viability assessment• Advice for doing viability assessment
Viability Assessment
Viability AssessmentWhat is it?
ViabilityViability (ecological integrity) of a conservation target is the measure to which the target is…….
resistant to change in its structure and composition in the face of external stresses and
resilient – able to recover upon experiencing occasional severe stress
Viability Assessment
Viability assessment helps teams answer important questions:
Bog frog
Bog frog• What key characteristics define a
healthy target?
• How do we physically measure those characteristics? (indicators)
• How is our target doing now?
• What do we want to achieve? (ultimate, measurable goals)
Viability Assessment
Viability AssessmentWhat is it?
This Presentation
• What is viability assessment?• How to do viability assessment• Additional examples of viability assessment• Advice for doing viability assessment
Viability Assessment
Adapted from WWF Australia’s WeltlandsWatch Project
Viability Assessment
Our Example – Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands
Swan Coastal Plain
Conservation Targets
• Seasonally flooded wetlands• Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands • Fringing shrublands• Permanent lakes• Blue-billed ducks
Viability Assessment
The Basics Viability Assessment
1) Define “key ecological attributes” (KEAs) of your target.
KEA: Aspects of a target’s biology or ecology that- If present, define a healthy target
- If missing or altered, would lead to the loss or extreme degradation of that target over time.
Examples: Tropical hardwood forest target: size, connectivity among systems,
presence of key species Migratory fish target: population status, access to spawning
habitat, quality of spawning habitat
The Details Viability Assessment
Consider the following categories:Size:
•Geographic extent (ecosystem or habitat)
•Abundance &/or demographics of the population/community (species)
Condition:
•Composition, structure, & biotic interactions
Landscape Context:
•Landscape-scale ecological processes, connectivity
The Details
1) Define “key ecological attributes” of your target.
Viability Assessment
Target Category KEA Indicator
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
The Details
1) Define “key ecological attributes” of your target.
Viability Assessment
The Details
2) Identify an indicator(s) for your KEA
Target Category KEA Indicator
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
Viability Assessment
Indicators are measurable aspects of the Key Ecological Attribute that inform us of its status or “health”
Indicators
Indicators are what you measure
Key Attribute: Circulatory system Indicator: Blood pressure
Viability Assessment
The Details
3) Describe what would constitute “good” status of the indicator.
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Threshold line
The Details Viability Assessment
The Details
What is an “acceptable range of variation?”
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Threshold line
The Details Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
1000 or more
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Threshold line
The Details Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
<10001000 or
more
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Threshold line
The Details Viability Assessment
The Details
4) Define the current state and desired future state for your target
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
<10001000 or
more
Current Status<1000 (~900)
Desired Future Status >1000
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
700 – 999
1,000 – 2,000
Threshold line
The Details Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
< 700 700 – 999
1,000 – 2,000
> 2,000
Threshold line
The Details Viability Assessment
Viability in Miradi Viability Assessment
Viability Assessment
Preview of Goals
From the Viability Assessment…
Indicator Ratings
Target Category Characte
r-istic Indicator Poor Fair Good
Very Good
Blue billed ducks
SizePopulation
size
# adult birds of
reproductive age
700 – 999
1,000 – 2,000
> 2,000 700 – 999
Current Status 900
Desired Future Status 1,500
Goal: By ~2025, there are at least 1,500 adult
blue-billed ducks of reproductive age in the
Swan Coastal Plain
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Target Category KEA
Seasonally flooded
wetlandsCondition
Community architecture
Another Example Viability Assessment
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Target Category KEA Indicator
Seasonally flooded
wetlandsCondition
Community architecture
Native plant species richness
Another Example Viability Assessment
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
Seasonally flooded
wetlandsCondition
Community architecture
Native plant species richness
Mostly native
vegetat-ion
Native vegetat-ion only
Another Example Viability Assessment
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
Seasonally flooded
wetlandsCondition
Community architecture
Native plant species richness
Predom-inantly
invasive exotics
Some invasives
Mostly native
vegetat-ion
Native vegetat-ion only
Another Example Viability Assessment
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
Seasonally flooded
wetlandsCondition
Community architecture
Native plant species richness
Predom-inantly
invasive exotics
Some invasives
Mostly native
vegetat-ion
Native vegetat-ion only
Current StatusSome
invasives
Desired Future StatusMostly native
Another Example Viability Assessment
Very Good: Ecologically desirable status; Requires little
intervention for maintenance
Good:Indicator w/in
acceptable range of variation; Some
intervention required for maintenance
Poor: Restoration
increasingly difficult; May result in extirpation
Fair:Outside acceptable range of variation; Requires human
intervention
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
Seasonally flooded
wetlandsCondition
Community architecture
Native plant species richness
Predom-inantly
invasive exotics
Some invasives
Mostly native
vegetat-ion
Native vegetat-ion only
Current StatusSome
invasives
Desired Future StatusMostly native
By ~2030, the seasonally flooded
wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain are
composed of at least 95% native species.
Another Example Viability Assessment
This Presentation
• What is viability assessment?• How to do viability assessment• Additional examples of viability assessment• Advice for doing viability assessment
Viability Assessment
FocalTarget
CategoryKey
Attribute
Mangrove Forest
SizeHabitat
Size
KEA for Mangrove Forest
Viability Assessment
FocalTarget
CategoryKey
Attribute
Indicator
Mangrove Forest
SizeHabitat
Size
% of original forest
Indicator for Mangrove Forest
Viability Assessment
Indicator RatingsBold=Current Italics=Desired
FocalTarget
CategoryKey
Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Mangrove Forest
SizeHabitat
Size
% of original forest
51-75
Viability Ratings for Mangrove Forest
Viability Assessment
Indicator RatingsBold=Current Italics=Desired
FocalTarget
CategoryKey
Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Mangrove Forest
SizeHabitat
Size
% of original forest
< 25 25-50 51-75 > 75
Viability Ratings for Mangrove Forest
Viability Assessment
FocalTarge
t
Category
Key Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Coral Reef
ConditionSpecies
Composition
Viability Ratings for Coral Reef
Viability Assessment
FocalTarge
t
Category
Key Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Coral Reef
ConditionSpecies
Composition
# of Crown of thorns per transect
Viability Ratings for Coral Reef
Note that in this case the indicator is a
threat to the target. That is OK, but
always state the KEA is positive terms – as
an attribute of the target.
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
FocalTarge
t
Category
Key Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Coral Reef
ConditionSpecies
Composition
# of Crown of thorns per transect
Some None
Viability Ratings for Coral Reef
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
FocalTarge
t
Category
Key Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Coral Reef
ConditionSpecies
Composition
# of Crown of thorns per transect
Some None
Current Status Some
Desired Future Status None
Viability Ratings for Coral Reef
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
FocalTarge
t
Category
Key Attribute
Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Coral Reef
ConditionSpecies
Composition
# of Crown of thorns per transect
4+ 1-3 0
Current Status 2
Desired Future Status 0
Viability Ratings for Coral Reef
Viability Assessment
From Viability Assessment in Indonesian Village
Indicator RatingsBold=Current Italics=Desired
FocalTarget
Category Key Attribute Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Catches from the
Sea
• Catches from the Sea identified as a focal target for fish caught for local consumption and sale
• Key attribute & indicator selected• Fisherman observe that catch is much less than they
remember in recent times• Current status considered not viable (Fair)
XPopulation size
Fish catch per day
Size
Viability Assessment
From Viability Assessment in Indonesian Village
Indicator RatingsBold=Current Italics=Desired
FocalTarget
Category Key Attribute Indicator Poor Fair GoodVery Good
Catches from the
Sea
11-30 strings of fish
Population size
Fish catch per day (# of strings of fish over min size)
Size
• Interviews indicate current harvest < 30 strings of fish over minimum catch size
• Ten years ago, harvest yielded up to 200 strings of fish over minimum catch size
• > 100 considered Very Good
• 31-100 considered Good
> 100 strings of fish
31-100 strings of fish
<10 strings of fish
Viability Assessment
This Presentation
• What is viability assessment?• How to do viability assessment• Additional examples of viability assessment• Advice for doing viability assessment
Viability Assessment
CONDITIONSIZE
LANDSCAPECONTEXT
CONDITIONSIZE
LANDSCAPECONTEXT
Target A Viability
Target B Viability
Target C Viability
Target D
Viability
CONDITIONSIZE
LANDSCAPECONTEXT
CONDITIONSIZE
LANDSCAPECONTEXT
Biodiversity Health or Landscape Functionality
Overall “Picture” of Project Viability
Viability Assessment
Key Words for This Process
“Representative & Encompass”
Indicators → Key Attributes →Conservation Targets →
Biodiversity at Site
Viability Assessment
Tips for Selecting KEAs
• Pick factors that are critical for long-term viability – characteristics that, if degraded, would seriously jeopardize the target’s ability to persist for 100+ years
• When in doubt, pick characteristics that are likely to be affected by human activities
• Look for a few really key ecological attributes… versus many desirable or descriptive characteristics
Key ecological attributes are what’s important…
Viability Assessment
Tips for Selecting Indicators
Look for indicators that:•Strongly relate to the status of the key ecological attribute•Are efficient & affordable to measure•Can reasonably define what constitutes “Good”
Desirable indicators ...•Might provide an early warning to serious stresses•Might assess two or more key ecological attributes
e.g. Presence of young cypress in a floodplain forest as an indicator for both hydrological regime & reproduction of dominant species
Viability Assessment
Be Prepared to Accept Uncertainty!!
• The main purpose of viability assessment is capturing the current state of knowledge
• Don’t worry about information gaps• Don’t focus on filling out all indicator ratings!• Viability assessment is an iterative process with
successive approximations. You can return during later planning stages to add more detail (if necessary)
Viability Assessment
Target Category KEA Indicator
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regime fire frequency
1st Pass Table
• Grassland target identified• Fire regime = Key Attribute (Landscape Context)• Fire frequency = Indicator• Dense woody cover suggests not enough fire
Be Prepared to Accept Uncertainty!!
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regime fire frequency
not
enough fire
1st Pass Table
• Grassland focal target identified• Fire regime = Key Attribute (Landscape Context)• Fire frequency = Indicator• Dense woody cover suggests not enough fire• Current status deemed not viable - assigned “Fair”
Be Prepared to Accept Uncertainty!!
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regime fire frequency
not
enough fire
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regimefire frequency
> 10 years
5-10 years
2nd Pass Table
Phone call to local grassland expert indicates natural fire frequency of 5-10 years
Be Prepared to Accept Uncertainty!!
Viability Assessment
Indicator Ratings
Target Category KEA Indicator Poor Fair Good Very
Good
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regime fire frequency
not
enough fire
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regimefire frequency
> 10 years
5-10 years
grassland - Type X
Landscape Context
fire regime
% grassland w/ 5-10 yr fire return
<25% 25-50% 51-75% >75%
3rd Pass Table
% area burned at acceptable frequency is key
Be Prepared to Accept Uncertainty!!
Viability Assessment
Incomplete is OK!
Indicator RatingsBold=Current Italics=Desired
FocalTarget
Category Key Attribute Indicator Poor Fair Good Very Good
grassland - Type X
Size
Size/extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems
aerial extent in acres
> 100,000
acres
How important is it to fill out all ratings in this case
where Current & Desired status is Very Good?
Probably Not Important!- Unless grassland area is threatened by large-scale habitat destruction. - In this case, determining the Fair rating might guide efforts to determine how much to save
Viability Assessment
Where to get more info…
• Examples: TNC Conpro database (TNC) - http://conpro.tnc.org
Viability Assessment
This Presentation
• What is viability assessment?• How to do viability assessment• Additional examples of viability assessment• Advice for doing viability assessment
Viability Assessment
• Key Ecological Attributes – important characteristics of targets
• Indicators – what you actually measure
• “Reduce, reuse, recycle” KEAs if one will work for more than one target
• Rating is important (especially Good versus Fair)
• Viability assessment is iterative - if in doubt, just try it...
ViabilityKey Points