This presentation by Shahid Naeem from Columbia University focuses on the three central biodiversity issues: 1. Ecosystem services and biodiversity 2. Functional biodiversity and climate change 3. Bio-ecological adaptation

1. Beyond IPCC Scenarios:
Synergies Between Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
at Management- and Policy- Relevant Scales.
Biodiversity
Global Landscapes Forum | Warsaw 2013
Shahid Naeem
Columbia University in the City of New York

2. Three Central Biodiversity Issues
1. Ecosystem services and biodiversity
2. Functional biodiversity and climate change
3. Bio-ecological adaptation
(in 12 minutes)

3. Why Does Biodiversity Matter?
The Millennium Assessment
Perspective
Biodiversity →
Ecosystem Function →
Ecosystem Service →
Human Well-being

4. Over 20 years of research.

7. 1 of 5: Native vegetation has greater capacity to provide
ecosystem services under changing environmental conditions..
Lin, B. B., D. Flynn, D. Bunker, M. Uriarte, &S.
Naeem 2011 J. Applied Ecology

8. 0
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Addition to Community FTV
0.12
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Addition to Community FTV
2 of 5: Rare species can substitute for common
species: Biological insurance.
40
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Geographic Range Rank
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0.12
0.08
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Addition to Community FTV
0.08
0.04
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Maximum Abundance Rank
0.00
Addition to Community FTV
Mean Abundance Rank
10
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Habitat Specificity Rank
Meha J., C. M. Prager, D. F.B. Flynn, G. M. Hart, C. M. DeVan, M. I.
Palmer, F. S. Ahrestani, D. E. Bunker, & S. Naeem. (In Press 2014)
Evolutionary Ecology

9. 3 of 5: Biodiverse systems, on average, store more
carbon and do so more reliably.
Bunker, D. E., F. DeClerck, J. C. Bradford, R. K. Colwell, I.
Perfecto, O. L. Phillips, M. Sankaran, and S. Naeem. 2005.
Species Loss and Aboveground Carbon Storage in a Tropical
Forest. Science 310:1029-1031.

10. 4 of 5: Biodiversity is multidimensional.

11. 5 of 5: More functions and
services need more species.
Zavaleta et al. PNAS 2009

12. If you keep loosing spices, eventually curry is just salt

13. If you keep loosing parts, eventually all you have is junk

14. If you keep loosing species, eventually ecosystems collapse
http://blog.ecoagriculture.org/2012/10/03/broa/

15. If you keep losing biodiversity, eventually
ecosystems (farms, forests, grasslands,
rangelands, gardens,…) collapse
•
•
•
•
become less efficient,
exhibit lower levels of functioning,
deliver fewer services,
become less reliable (more unpredictable, more
variable),
• less resilient,
• and eventually the pillars of human well-being decline
• with the poor and vulnerable being the first to
experience the adverse consequences biotic
impoverishment.

16. UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Thematic Group 8
Forests, Oceans, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
http://unsdsn.org/thematicgroups/tg8/

17. Synergies Between Climate Change and
Biodiversity at the Landscape Level
• The Message: Diverse systems are more efficient
and resilient
– 20 years of research
– scientific consensus
– not a hypothesis; a guiding principle

18. Synergies Between Climate Change and
Biodiversity at the Landscape Level
• Biodiversity" is not about species richness
• nor is it just about conservation biology
• clarify what biodiversity is
• focus on functional, genetic, and landscape
diversity

19. Synergies Between Climate Change and
Biodiversity at the Landscape Level
• The Convention on Biological Diversity and the
UNFCCC create confusion. Countries sign on
to international agreements that lack
integration and miss opportunities for synergy
– Generate a set of coherent guidelines
– the CBD, IPCC, REDD+, SDSN, CDM, and
SDGs create a complex landscape that is
difficult to navigate – let’s provide a
roadmap.