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BNPP/ASB Functional Value of Biodiversity Project – Phase II |
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1. Introduction
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2. Implementation Plan for Activity 1 (see full version here) |
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Appendices |
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Note: Section 3, figures and appendices are in separate webpages. |
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This
Implementation Protocol is for ACTIVITY 1 of two interrelated sets of
activities comprising the second phase of a collaborative research project
entitled “Functional Value of Biodiversity (FVOB)”.
The general background to the overall project is described in
Appendix 1. This project will
assist the World Bank and its clients in project development and policy
analysis by: ·
providing systematic assessments, for significant areas of the
humid tropics, of the hydrological
value of forests with biodiversity significance in promoting local
livelihoods and resilience to economic and environmental shocks; and ·
assessing the nature, magnitude, geographical scope, and relation
to poverty of these hydrological values and processes. The
present ACTIVITY 1, entitled “Pantropic/meso Scale Analysis and
Synthesis”, builds on preliminary work on biophysical and human
geography undertaken in Phase I of this project.
Phase I results demonstrated the feasibility of this approach for
specific ecologically-based categories (viz., the humid and subhumid moist
broadleaf forest zone – the tropical rainforest biome -- of the WWF
Global 200 Ecoregions) and of combining these with complementary data on
human population distribution. The project has benefited from publication
of new datasets, especially those compiled for the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, in which several key project partners are active participants. New spatial tools produced by a University of New Hampshire
(UNH) team were identified that could provide the basis for a coarse
pantropic analysis of human vulnerability
to degradation of certain hydrological functions.
In
Phase II, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which
led Phase I work on this activity, has been joined by the UNH team.
IFPRI, UNH, and other FVOB team members are applying these new
tools and state-of-the-art datasets to “pantropic” mapping of three
distinct problem domains: (1) biodiversity loss, as represented by
globally-significant ecosystems, (2) relationship between land cover
change and specific hydrological functions, with particular attention to
flooding risk, represented using coarse scale synoptic models, and (3)
human population densities. The
overall goal of these activities is to identify locations within the humid
tropics where the hydrology/biodiversity/poverty nexus is likely to be
important; and to assess the size of the human population of these areas. The specific research activities, which include
major efforts in data assembly, development of pantropic land cover
change scenarios, synoptic
modeling and simulation, and overlay of the problem domains are described
in detail in Part 2 of this protocol. It
is anticipated that a number of multi-authored research articles will be
produced as a result of these activities, including at least one
manuscript based on results from Activity 1 before the end of Phase II in
December 2003 and others subsequently.
The contents of those research papers depend, of course, on the
research results. However,
some indicative outlines of these papers are presented in Part 3 of this
protocol. Appendix 2 of this implementation protocol describes the links and flow of key results between ACTIVITIES 1 and 2. Tables 3 and 4 of Appendix 2 list a number of possible issues in the ASB Policybriefs series and show how these activities contribute to those issues. Among the candidate ASB Policybriefs listed, the text for at least two will be completed by the end of Phase II and additional potential issues will be covered as technical notes to be refined further as policybriefs in 2004. |
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1 Introduction1.1 IFPRI’s role & project activities [1] IFPRI is the partner working on Activity 1, the pantropic/meso scale analysis and synthesis. We are tasked with providing an improved spatial characterization of the focus area at the pantropic scale (Activity 1A). This involves the following sub-activities: · Assemble more detailed information on biodiversity-rich tropical habitats · Integrate improved data on human population distribution · Develop scenarios for areas of rapid land cover change · Undertake synoptic modeling of hydrological impacts of land cover change (lead by UNH). In close collaboration with UNH, ICRAF and the World Bank, we will also perform a pantropic assessment of areas of hydrological disturbance and impact (Activity 1B). This involves the following sub-activities: · Characterize areas vulnerable to changes in hydrological function · Identify ‘hydrological hotspots’ areas of disturbance · Characterize the hydrological hotspot areas in terms of biodiversity and population 1.2 Deliverables · Implementation protocols for all sub-activities under Activity 1 · Technical report covering all activities, detailing data sources, methods and models applied, substantive outputs, and policy or methodologically relevant conclusions. · Spatial datasets and analyses, with appropriate metadata, in archival form (e.g. CD-ROM) available by ftp from a public website covering the humid pantropics and impact areas, including an integrated global gridded dataset incorporating key variables from Activity 1a (population, biodiversity, land use change scenarios, hydrological impact areas & hydrological hotspot areas) · Collaborative work on 1-2 manuscripts/policybriefs corresponding to activity 1. |
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2. Implementation Plan for Activity 1 (see full version here) |
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Activity 1A Improved spatial characterization of the focus area at the pantropic scale |
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i Assemble more detailed information on biodiversity-rich tropical habitats (IFPRI lead initiative) |
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iv Undertake synoptic modeling of hydrological impacts of land use change |
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Last updated: 04 March, 2004 ©2004 ASB. All rights reserved. |
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