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ECOSYSTEM INSIDER The Ecosystem Insider brings you news from the Commission on Ecosystem Management

December 2017- Edition 4

Dear CEM member,

We are pleased to bring you the Forth issue of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) Newsletter for 2017.

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CEM HIGHLIGHT

CEM was very present at the UNFCCC COP 23 in various events. In this newsletter edition, we are only highlighting those of CEM direct involvement in the IUCN Pavilion and those of FEBA since CEM is one of its active members.

Enhancing Adaptive Resilience through Forest Landscape Restoration: Bridging Gaps between Theory and Practice

IUCN Pavilion side-event IUCN hosted a panel on enhancing resilience through forest landscape restoration practice. Radhika Murti (GEMP interim director) moderated and Mike Jones (CEM SC member) began by introducing a theoretical approach on the nexus of social ecological systems and forest restoration practice. This was followed by a discussion of practical implementation, and how this is related to the theoretical components. Speakers agreed upon the importance of a cross-sectoral approach, emphasizing the inseparability of human society and ecosystems. Only through this holistic method will the world be able to accomplish the Bonn Challenge of restoring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. With this ambition in mind, case studies were presented from Asia, Africa and South America.

ZEF-EHS-IUCN Seminar Series: EbA Standards, Criteria, and Linkages FEBA side-event IUCN’s Ali Raza Rizvi featured as keynote speaker at a talk on establishing standards and criteria for ecosystem-based adaptation projects. The talk as well as the panel which followed introduced methods for developing criteria which can help quantify valuations for EbA projects, and produce a shift from project based solutions to a process based solution. Katherine Blackwood presented her recent project, which has identified 20 specific criteria which can be used to evaluate EbA projects. Dr. Raza Rizvi concluded his discussion by reminding the audience that climate change is a moving target, and adaptation can never be the goal, but only a means towards sustainable development.

Watch the session and view the photo gallery>>

Friends of EbA (FEBA) members’ meeting - Biannual meeting, held at BMUB offices FEBA is an informal network of EbA actors, conceived in 2014, with the purpose of coordinating activities and knowledge sharing in the community. CEM is an active member of FEBA. 29 participants, representing 20 FEBA member institutions, attended this FEBA meeting. Discussions centered on how the EbA community can share bad practices (and ideas for how not to reproduce them) as well as good practices; how we can practically engage with non-traditional, non-“green” partners, especially on grey infrastructure and hybrid approaches; M&E priorities; ideas to strengthen information sharing among FEBA members in between biannual meetings, etc. Read more about FEBA here>>

Adaptation under the Global Stocktake: the role of Adaptation Communication (AC) considering EbA experiences and others

Some of the key conclusion on adaptation communications include:

• AC should contribute to strengthen implementation of actions in the field.

• AC have to be aligned with NDC and NC.

• Adaptation is a complex process, in this regard it is proposed to develop concepts such as dynamic “Adaptation strategies”, which should be monitored on a permanent basis with the appropriate scientific support.

• AC should include concepts included in the Paris agreement such as Ecosystem

This side event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, TNC, WWF and IUCN-CEM with support of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The discussion reflected a diversity of views on this subject. A main topic is the need to strengthen local research to identify processes that allow countries to address compliance with the proposed adaptation goals and deepen local implementation to the best decision making.

Regarding the global stocktake, 3 main topics were discussed: i) NDCs indicators have to include adaptation; ii) Adaptation actions have to be evaluated at territorial level, beyond frontiers; and

integrity. This concept should be further developed accordingly.

• EbA provides a good basis to link Adaptation and Mitigation, considering community participation.

iii) Flexibility and innovation have to be considered in NDCs, and especially in AbE

LEADERSHIP CORNER

Business and Ecosystem Management

The speech is now available in English and you can download the full English text here>>

On 5 September, Willem Ferwerda our B&EM TGL was asked to speak out the so called "Royal Address on Sustainability". The Royal Address on Sustainability is a speech held every year to Dutch Parliamentarians, journalists and public at the Dutch Parliament in The Hague. It is given by the number one of the Dutch 100 Sustainability List, which Dr. Ferwerda received that position in 2016, it was his turn to speak out.Dr. Ferwerda’s speech was a plea for ecology as part of the Ecosystem Restoration Economy. It was very well received by the press, government and corporate world.The importance of the work of IUCN CEM was mentioned by the organizers. A summary was published in the Dutch newspaper Trouw>> The full video of the speech in Dutch now also on the web now>>

Cultural Practices Workshop Results On 29 November 2017, the Cultural Practices and Ecosystem Management (CPEM) thematic group held its first in-person meeting at the University of Maryland-College Park. The workshop was a chance to begin working towards the main proposed output of CPEM’s four-year workplan: a compendium of case studies of cultural practice in ecosystem management and publication of guidelines and criteria for best practices in recognizing and incorporating cultural practices, to be presented at the next IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2020. Indicators for selecting relevant studies were explored, and a potential list was put together of over 30 existing case studies comprising both positive and negative approaches to integrating cultural practices. CPEM also committed to participating in a session regarding cultural practices in relation to climate change for the May 2018 International Conference on Conservation, Cultures and Livelihoods in Halifax, and discussed introducing a resolution for 2020 as well as forming an agenda based around this post-2020.

The workshop was also an opportunity to liaise with other groups, including the CEM North American Regional Group, the Commission on Environment, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) Culture, Spirituality and Conservation thematic group, and the Global Programme on Governance and Rights (GPGR). CPEM welcomes the opportunity to further collaborate with other groups in CEM and the IUCN. Please contact Pam McElwee>> of Rutgers University for more information on the group and our work plan.

CEM member’s involvement in IPBES partnership in Regional Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is currently undertaking five Major New IPBES Assessment Reports. Madhav Karki CEM Deputy Chair, is co-chairing the Asia-Pacific, also more than five members of the CEM are engaged in the IPBES assessment in the capacity of Coordinating, Lead and Contributing authors. In the Asia-Pacific region, apart from Dr. Karki, CEM leaders Judy Fisher, Shalini Dhyani and P.C. Abhilash are involved as authors in different Chapters. The reports are scheduled for public launch in Medellín, Colombia at the 6th annual session of the IPBES Plenary (#IPBES6) in March 2018. A fifth IPBES assessment report, also due to be approved and launched at the same meeting, examines land degradation and restoration, both regionally and globally.

For more information, please visit>>

The assessment reports will also evaluate lessons learned and progress (or the lack thereof) on the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the implications for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The reports will also provide vital information for setting biodiversity targets for the period after 2020.

THEMATIC AREAS

Sustainable Use and Management

SUME manages three multilingual outreach networks in 27 languages for conserving species and ecosystems through sustainable use, namely naturalliance>> ;sakernet>> and perdixnet>>

The regional meeting of the TG on Sustainable Use and Management of Ecosystems (SUME) was held in Lima, Peru on the 27th September. The meeting was led by Robert Kenward (TGL-SUME) and was accompanied by Angela Andrade and Alessandra Lobo-Peredo CEM’s regional co-chair for South America. This was the 4thmeeting of SUME members. Thanks to support for this meeting and from hosts in Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru (PUCP), IUCN-CEM, IAF and Guira Oga in Argentina, two further networks are in planning: 1) a falconry and conservation net (AmFalCon>>) and 2) for mapping/(managing) ecosystem services at community level in South America. SUME members are managing two sorts of network for reaching from global level to local communities. Two of the strategies are: 1) Best-practice linking & dissemination (e.g. naturalliance); and 2) Multilingual Online Research/Restoration Project Hostings (e.g. perdixnet). System-maintenance and hosting (for further translation or training meetings) require funding. Some of the funding mechanisms mentioned during the meeting are a “freemium” model, with SYCL partly free and partly pay-per-use; a sponsorship approach where a large tourist company might find it useful to sponsor a network of local community sites, in exchange for use of the page on the SYCL sites ‘classified’ for advertisements. Also, government, or private water suppliers, are potential sponsors for community management of aquatic ecosystem services.

SUME Thematic Group has close to 400 members from some 90 countries and established a sume website>>.

Red List of Ecosystems

A half-day workshop on the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) was recently held at IUCN HQ in Gland, Switzerland, facilitated by CEM members, the IUCN French National Committee, and Global Ecosystems Management Programme staff. The event was designed to strengthen linkages and explore new opportunities for engagement with other IUCN Programmes and initiatives, particularly in the context of recent RLE advancements and application of the IUCN RLE for conservation and sustainable planning and decision-making. Rebecca Miller represented IUCN at the CBD-WHO Regional Capacity-building Workshop on Biodiversity and Health for the Europe Region (Helsinki, Finland, 23-25 October), to further knowledge and uptake of IUCN Red List of Ecosystems and Nature-based Solutions among national representatives from Ministries of Health and Environment from 30 countries. The workshop aimed to assist policy makers in mainstreaming biodiversity-health linkages in national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national health strategies. For further information, contact Rebecca Miller>> The IUCN RLE team has made considerable progress on several tools that were developed to assist assessors with RLE assessments.This week the RLE team is launching a new spatial tool, REMAP during the CBD event (SBSTTA), in Montreal. A. Remote sensing application Our online remote sensing application>> has undergone it’s final stages of testing and is now ready for use.

Remap (the remote ecosystem monitoring and assessment pipeline) enables volunteers, managers, and scientists with little experience in remote sensing to develop accurate, high-resolution classified maps of land cover and change over time. We developed remap to enable you to quickly map and report the status of ecosystems, contributing to a global effort to assess all ecosystems on Earth under the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems. See the REMAP website for further information>> and our scientific paper>> for a technical description of the application. We thank the Google Earth Engine team for supporting this project. For further information contact: Nick Murray>> B. R package The Red List of Ecosystem R package(redlistr) is now available for download>>.

Redlistr is an open-source R package aimed at volunteer assessors regardless of their background in the analysis of spatial and temporal data.It ingests spatial data (raster and shapefile data) calculates four key variables required to complete an assessment under Criteria A and B of the Red List criteria: (i) the area of an ecosystem, (ii) the estimated area of an ecosystem in the future or past by extrapolation, (iii) the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and, (iv) the Area of Occupancy (AOO). The use of redlistr will ensure consistency in assessment, enable assessors to automate their analysis workflows and is free and available to users worldwide. For further information contact: Calvin Lee>>

Eco-Disaster Risk Reduction PEDRR launches new Eco-DRR expert network! Are you an expert or scientist in the Nature-based Solutions (NbS) field of Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR)? Are you experienced in researching or working with Eco-DRR for resilience building? Come and join the Eco-DRR-4-NbS - Experts Network! In October 2017, the Partnership for Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (PEDRR) established a new expert network: Eco-DRR-4-NbS. PEDRR seeks to expand our community of practice to ensure our advocacy work is grounded in the latest science and technology. We will work together to help raise awareness and understanding of Eco-DRR across governments, businesses and the community. For more information

or to join the Eco-DRR-4-NbS Experts Network, email us>>> and visit the 'Eco-DRR-4-NbS Experts Network’ group on Linkedin>>>

REGIONAL NEWS

South Asia Region

The 4th of December, the South Asia Region led by Shalini Dhyani organized a Workshop on Ecosystem Management, Nature Based Solutions and SDGs -Perspectives from South Asia, in New Delhi. The event was co-organized with IUCN Leaders for Nature India and it was a multi-stakeholder dialogue to bring together SouthAsia's leading researchers, scientists, practitioners, educators and managers to exchange and share ideas and experiences about different aspects of the workshop topics and discuss the practical challenges on the field.

IUCN Nepal in collaboration with CEM led an interaction meeting on sharing Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC) experiences.

EPIC is a global project that aims to demonstrate the multiple benefits and effectiveness of environmental management as a potentiality important "Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR)" strategy in reducing climate risks and enhancing resilience of vulnerable communities especially through practical action. The meeting was organized in order to share the project results, achievements, challenges and way forward among the different commission members (CEM, CEESP, CEC) of IUCN Nepal and Institutional members in Nepal.The objective of this meeting was to share the project outputs, generate awareness about Eco-DRR concepts and practices, and inform about the policy importance among the IUCN commission members, government officials so as to facilitate the replication of the best practices of the project in analogous areas of Nepal. EPIC Nepal began in 2012 and has been recently completed.

MesoAmerica Region

CEM in the Water and Resilience stream in Central

America... A Regional Forum. CEM was part of the Central America Regional Water Forum: Actions for Resilience. This was a high-level forum for this region that took place 30 October, 1 and 2 November 2017 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It was organized by IUCN ORMACC, the Ministry of Environment of Honduras and the Central America Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD). The objective of this event was to analyze good practices and tools and to establish dialogues for enhancing water resources governance and address the challenges that the region has and will have on water and climate variability, from the local level to shared watersheds.

Representatives from Ministries of Environment from

several countries as well as from the Central American

CEM´s Regional Chair for Meso America (Mexico, Central America and Spanish Speaking Caribbean), was facilitating a high-level panel on Effective Water Governance as well as a lecture on Ridges to Reefs approach during the forum. More than 100 people from different countries in Central America attended the event.

Integration System (SICA) were also present at the

forum.More details on the forum please visit>>

Central America had a voice in UNFCCC COP23 side events. CEM Regional Chair to Meso America, Rocío Córdoba was invited by the IUCN’s Environmental Law Centre to be part of two side events that took place in the framework of the COP23 in Bonn, Germany (10 and 12 November 2017).

The first side event: Strengthening legal and institutional frameworks for EbA counted with the participation of several specialists from different parts of the world including Angela Andrade IUCN CEM Chair.Rocío Córdoba talked about what are the main legal and institutional challenges for EbA in Mesoamerica stressing the need of empowerment of local communities as well as enforcement of the existing legal frameworks. The second side event: Keep it Legal. Innovation Towards Climate Change dealt with the main legal challenges for water resources management and sustainable development. A presentation was made on the “historical journey” of water and climate change in Mesoamerica, starting from 2003 with the Water and Nature Initiative from IUCN to COP 15 in Cancun, Mexico up to 2017 with a set of initiatives taking place in Central America on water and EbA. The vulnerability of Central America to climate change was stressed as well as the progress done by several organizations and governments in the region on including water, governance and climate change in the national and regional development agendas. A webstory on the whole events during this “Legal Day” that took place 12 November 2017 in the COP23 in Bonn, Germany can be found here>>

South America Region

Virtual Talks: Virtual talks are meeting spaces created to get to know practical experiences developed by Commission members related to the use of instruments and approaches promoted by CEM. They also promote discussion and exchange among the CEM regional members of South America. In September, the first virtual talk was done about Red List of Ecosystems. The talk was given by Dr. Irene Zager, a Venezuelan ecologist who presented the concept of RLE, its criteria, categories and potential applications in the region. In November a second virtual talk was done by Dr. Roberto Vides who analyzed the opportunities and conservation needs at ecosystemic and transboundary

International Symposium on Forest Ecology and Management: Exchanging Knowledge and experiences for the sustainable management of forestry resources. This event took place the 10th of November in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The symposium responded to the objective of promoting a knowledge and experience exchange about conservation and sustainable management of forestry resources in different socio-ecological and biogeographical conditions, in order to boost research-action in the scale of tropical, subtropical and temperate forests. Specialists of Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina and Spain participated.

scales, referencing the experience of ZICOSUR in South America as an opportunity to establish transboundary connectivity actions and ecoregional management.

Mayra Milkovic, Cristina Casavecchia y Doris Cordero, members and South America Regional Chair of CEM led the course which was organized by Vida Silvestre Argentina Foundation and CEM with the support of WWF.

Course on Professional Updating on Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change. The 16 and 17 of November a Course on professional updating on adaptation and mitigation to climate change was conducted in the National University of Misiones, directed to professionals working in conservation and territorial development in the Argentinian Atlantic Forest. This space allowed participants to understand the basis of the ecosystem approach for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, as tools for the construction of resilience that allows to approach global changes. Professionals who participated are from the National University of Misiones, the Tropical Biology Institute of CONICET, the Development Agency for the Misionero North, the Argentinian Network of Private Nature Reserves, the Provincial Family Agriculture Secretary and the private sector.

SPOTLIGHT ON ECOSYSTEMS

Ecosystem Management and Deep-Sea Mining Specialist Group

The Ecosystem Management and Deep-Sea Mining Group has been involved in evaluating and reviewing the International Seabed Authority’s “Draft Regulations on Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area”. These have a strong environmental element, and feedback is being provided through members’ involvement with the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative, national governments, and the Legal and Technical Commission of the ISA. Engagement with the ISA on seabed mining issues has also involved participation in a workshop held in Germany in September which looked at the role and design of management zones associated with moving from exploration to exploitation. Impact References Zones (IRZ) and Preservation Reference Zones (PRZ) are required by the ISA, but their scientific objectives, design, and monitoring were unclear. Hence the workshop focused on preparing recommendations on these aspects for the three main mineral resources (seafloor massive sulphides, polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich crusts) to be considered by the ISA in 2018. Deep-sea mining technology is another aspect that has involved the group. There was a Norwegian-German seminar on deep-sea mineral resources hosted in Germany, also in September, about pilot test-mining technology for seafloor massive sulphides. A small working group will be formed to follow up this work.

(photo of DOSI members during the ISA Berlin meeting in March 2017)

For more on the DOSI Mineral working Group see>>

Group members were also associated with deep-sea exploration activities undertaken by the NOAA vessel Okeanus Explorer in its 2017 campaign surveying seamounts and deep-sea habitats in the Pacific Ocean.

This programme undertook ROV dives in regions of nodule and crust habitat, with up to 8-hour long transects with fantastic video footage, as well as targeted sampling of geology and biology.

A close-up of a soft coral, flanked by bamboo and precious corals, attached to ferromanganese crust

substrate on a deep ridge (2,240 m) north of the Cook Islands

The ROV from the vessel Okeanos Explorer collects a manganese-crusted rock sample from a 2,400 m site near the Manihiki Plateau north of the Cook Islands.

Wetlands IUCN One Programme Strategy for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation: Putting to work first actions

In October 2017, the IUCN Secretariat organized a workshop to start developing a detailed framework for an IUCN One Programme Strategy for Freshwater Biodiversity. 19 experts -among them CEM Wetlands SGL Claudio Baigun- were invited to address topics such as: a) Lack of data on freshwater ecosystems, b) The need to integrate ecosystem conservation into the water agenda – including water supply, climate change and poverty, and implementation on a range of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement; c) Protected areas; d) Dams and water infrastructure; e) Multi-level water governance; f) Innovative finance and investment and ecosystem services. The workshop identified 4 main outcomes: 1) Legal framework, laws and governance; 2) Habitats conservation, restoration and species conservation;

3) Sustainable water use related to man-made impacts, 4) Major economic drivers impacts on biodiversity (dredging, agriculture, mining, etc.). Freshwater biodiversity is considered a complex issue, since its integrity is affected by the basin effect. The workshop recognized that in transboundary basins the problem could be exacerbated under lack of common management policies. In this context, dams received a great attention as a main source of fragmentation and biodiversity changes. The “smart dam concept” was discussed. Small dams are becoming more numerous and mostly oriented to irrigation and estuary management rather than to hydro-electricity. In this context, several cons were identified related to the lack of environmental studies and fund support to assess their impacts, but recognizing that small dams can be sometimes easily modified to become more “fish friendly”. As noted, even dams of less than 2 m height are able to stop a fish migration or promote species alopatry. Outputs from the workshop could represent a first step to guide the work of the Union on freshwater biodiversity and water resource management and to promote the dialogue with the IUCN Council on the strategy and on IUCN’s role in promoting renewal of global commitments to freshwater biodiversity conservation. The workshop recognized the need to conserve and restore what we want to protect, tackle the impacts of existing and planned water infrastructures, consider the development sectors represented by agriculture, mining, urban, etc., and promote better legislation frameworks and governance systems.

WHAT'S ON THE CALENDAR?

Call for Case Studies on EbA in Biosphere Reserves

This call for case studies focuses on examining how ecosystem-based adaptation is being implemented in biosphere reserves that have key biodiversity areas and what type of ecosystem governance is being used to implement such an approach. The abstract should be describing the case study, including (1) the general climatic, ecological, socio-economic and cultural context; (2) risks associated with climate change and the need for adaptation; (3) type of EbA tools/methods used; (4) governance considerations, e.g. role of communities and stakeholders; (5) social, economic and ecological outcomes; and (6) lessons learned. The deadline for the abstract is January 5, 2018 and it should be 250-300 words. For further information, you can contact Angela Boag The complete call for abstracts with all the details can be found here>>>Or here: Biosphere reserves page>>

ii) Call for case studies: Ecosystem Governance and Urban & Rural Linkages During the first WFEG in Beijing, several participants were discussing the challenges of urban – rural ecosystems and the disconnect that exist. There is a need to better understand the connections and how this can be optimized in the future. To do so, the thematic group aims to produce for the next World Forum on Ecosystem Governance a document that analyses case studies from various ecosystems and regions of the world on this aspect of rural-urban linkage and how ecosystem governance can support it. This compilation of case studies will initiate a discussion regarding commonalities, lessons learned, and good practices that can be replicable in other circumstances regarding issues related to ecosystem governance in the context of rural-urban linkages. The compilation will include an analytical approach for each case study. The call for abstracts is due the 15th of January 2018 and should be sent to Liette Vasseur. For details about what the abstract should include, please visit this page and download the full call for abstracts>>

iii) Call for papers: Adaptation to Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Mountains Mountains and mountain people are critically affected by climate change. MRD is looking for papers that assess novel adaptation practices and present well-researched insights into implications of climate change that are relevant to adaptation. Synthesis papers comparing case studies are of particular interest, as MRD aims to contribute to the IPCC's 6th Assessment Report as well as to inform development policies. Extended abstracts are due by 19 January 2018, full papers by 15 August 2018. Interested? Read the detailed call for papers here>>

iv) Call for papers: Food Security and Sustainable Development in Mountains Food security is a key concern for sustainable development in mountain areas. MRD is looking for papers that present validated insights into development solutions for reducing malnutrition and increasing food security for mountain people; that analyze food systems in mountains against the background of global trends and the need for conserving ecosystems; or that offer agendas for research or policymaking aimed at increasing the sustainability of food systems in mountains. Full papers are due by 28 February 2018; we welcome a prior notice of intent. Interested? Read the detailed call for papers here>>

PUBLICATIONS

1. Murray, N.J., Keith, D.A., Bland, L.M., Ferrari, R., Lyons, M.B., Lucas, R., Pettorelli, N., Nicholson, E. (in press)

The role of remote sensing in structured assessments of ecosystem status. Science of the Total Environment

Reviews the use of remote sensing data in ecosystem risk assessment, giving guidance on the types of remote sensing suitable for use in IUCN Red List of Ecosystems assessments. Due out in two weeks.

2. Keith, D.A., Akçakaya, H.A., Murray, N.J. (in press) Towards robust predictions of risks to biodiversity: scaling range sizes to threats. Conservation Biology>>

The first comprehensive assessment of scale-sensitivity in AOO as a predictor of risks to biodiversity. Uses simulation models to confirm the value of Area of Occupancy as an indicator of risks to biodiversity and show how the performance of AOO as a risk indicator varies with the spatial scale at which it is estimated and, most importantly, the spatial features of the threat regimes.

3. Bland, L.M., Rowland, J., Regan, T.M., Keith, D.A., Murray, N.J., Lester, R.E., Linn, M., Rodriguez, J.P., Nicholson, E. (in press) Defining and diagnosing ecosystem collapse for risk assessment. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Red List of Ecosystems assessments require explicit definition of endpoints of ecosystem degradation (ecosystem collapse), but defining collapses remains challenging. To bridge the gap between theory and practice we systematically review evidence on ecosystem collapses and provide recommendations to support robust ecosystem risk assessments at national and global scales.

4. Murray, N.J., Keith, D.A., Simpson, D., Wilshire, J.H.*, Lucas, R.M. (2017) remap: A cloud-based remote sensing application for generalized ecosystem classifications. bioRxiv>>

Describes a free and globally accessible online remote sensing application remap>> that enables users develop classified maps from vast archives of satellite data collected by government agencies. Remap was funded by Google.

5. Bland, L.M., Keith, D.A., Murray, N.J., Regan, T.M., Ferrari, R., Mouillot, D., Lester, R., Nicholson, E. (2017) Model-based ecosystem risk assessment under multiple threats: the case of Meso-American reefs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.284:1863>>

We applied the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems criteria to quantify the risk of collapse of the Meso-American Reef, a unique ecosystem containing the second longest barrier reef in the world. We collated a wide array of empirical data (field and remotely-sensed), and used a stochastic ecosystem model to backcast past ecosystem dynamics, as well as forecast future ecosystem dynamics under 11 scenarios of threat. Our case study provides a template for assessing risks to coral reefs, and is among the first applications of an end-to-end ecosystem model in the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems.

6. Pettorelli,N., Schulte to Buhne, H., Tulloch, A., Dubois, G., Macinnis-Ng, C., Queirós, A.M., Keith,D.A., Wegmann, M., Schrodt, F., Stellmes,M., Sonnenschein, R., Geller,G., Roy, S., Somers, B., Murray, N.J., Bland, L., Geijzendorffer, I., Kerr, J.T., Broszeit, S., Leitão, P.J., Duncan, C., El Serafy, G., He, K.S., Blanchard, J.L., Lucas, R., Mairota, P., Webb, T.J., Nicholson, E. (2017) Satellite remote sensing of ecosystem functions: opportunities, challenges and way forward. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation>>.

This paper proposes the adoption of a set of definitions and a typology for ecosystem functions, and reviews current opportunities and potential limitations for satellite remote sensing technology to support the monitoring of ecosystem functions worldwide. By clearly defining ecosystem processes, functions and services and their interrelationships, we

provide a framework to improve communication between ecologists, land and marine managers, remote sensing specialists and policy makers, thereby addressing a major barrier in the field.

7. Murray, N.J., Keith, D.A., Bland, L.M., Nicholson, E., Regan, T.M., Rodriguez, J.P., Bedward, M. (2017) The use of range size to assess risks to biodiversity from stochastic threats. Diversity and Distributions. 23(5):474-483>>

We investigate the performance of alternative range size metrics including the two most widely used, extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO), as predictors of ecosystem collapse in landscapes subject to stochastic threats. Our study is the first to quantitatively assess the range-size metrics employed in biodiversity risk assessment protocols and showed that the current methods for measuring range size are the best spatial metrics for estimating risks from stochastic threats.

8. Lee, C., Murray N.J. (2017) Redlistr: Tools for the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems and Species. R package version

0.1.0>>

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