The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), once abundant, has become increasingly threatened due to the combined effects of capture for the global pet trade and habitat loss. Although grey parrots are well studied in captivity, effective conservation efforts require a better understanding of their ecological requirements in the wild. The aim of this paper is to quantify grey parrot behaviours across the annual cycle. To do that, we studied groups of grey parrots gathering in a natural forest clearing in the Nkuba Conservation Area, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Using parrot counts and focal sampling, combined with descriptive statistics, we found that an average of 40 grey parrots visited the clearing each day, following a regular pattern in which they first perched in the trees surrounding the clearing, vocalizing loudly, until the group landed in the clearing to feed, drink and interact with each other. Generalized linear models (GLMs) and generalized additive models (GAMs) showed that the time at which parrots arrived, landed at, and left clearings was influenced by the weather, seasonality and the month of the year. We also found that parrots shortened their visits when disturbed by predators or the presence of humans. Although the underlying mechanisms for grey parrot visits to forest clearings remains unclear, the consistency of this behaviour observed elsewhere in Africa and the feeding observed in the clearing in this study suggest that these area support important foraging habitat for the wild grey parrots. Therefore, ensuring the availability of such clearings is paramount to the long-term survival of the species. We suggest that future efforts to protect grey parrots in their native habitats focus on identifying clearings visited by parrots, monitoring these clearings and allowing parrots to visit them without disturbance or risk of capture.

Ambitious area-based conservation targets are at the forefront of the post-2020 biodiversity conservation agenda. However, implementing such targets cannot be done without accounting for the increasing demand for farmland products, the main driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Here, we analyze the expected conservation gains and farming opportunity costs of three alternative global conservation strategies under business-as-usual demand in farmland products by 2030. We find that integrated spatial planning can reach the same species conservation objectives at 25%–40% of the opportunity cost for food production, or 400%–600% the biodiversity benefit for similar opportunity costs as opposed to planning for each objective separately. This requires managing over 60% of land in ways that are compatible with biodiversity conservation, which includes restoring 8%–11% of land surface. Achieving global conservation targets can be compatible with protecting biodiversity and ensuring food security but only with efforts to negotiate land governance strategies across multiple stakeholders and their objectives.

Sustainable land-use management must account for the potential trade-offs between biodiversity conservation, productive land uses and ecosystem services. In this study, we used Marxan with Zones to generate land use plans that optimize conservation, farming and forestry land uses to reach biodiversity targets while minimizing the opportunity cost for local communities in an inhabited but data-poor National Park in the Andes of Bolivia. Based on six alternative land-use plans, we identified the synergies and trade-offs between the biodiversity benefits achieved in the different plans and the delivery of four locally important water-related ecosystem services modeled with the web-based tool AguAAndes. Although we find synergies between the conservation of high altitude Polylepis woodlands and their associated avifauna and three of the ecosystem services investigated, soil erosion levels were actually higher in scenarios with higher achieved biodiversity benefits. Our study shows how systematic conservation planning and ecosystem service delivery modelling can be used to solve land-use conflicts and identify trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services in a data-poor tropical area.

Montane forests worldwide are known centers of endemism and biodiversity but are highly threatened by fragmentation processes. Using data collected in 15 Polylepis forest remnants covering 2000 hectares, we investigated how bird species richness and bird community composition, particularly for species of conservation concern, are influenced by habitat quality and topography in the Tunari National Park in the High Andes of Bolivia. Bird species richness was highest in topographically complex, low-elevation Polylepis patches located in areas with a high potential to retain rainwater. Bird communities differed strongly between Polylepis lanata and P. subtusalbida remnants, each supporting different threatened and endemic species. Within the P. subtusalbida forest, high-elevation fragments characterized by high amounts of sunlight and low anthropogenic disturbance were more likely to contain threatened species. Surprisingly, we found no effect of fragment size on the diversity or composition of bird communities or the presence of bird species of conservation concern. The presence of exotic plantations ( Pinus and/or Eucalyptus spp.) in or outside forest remnants was negatively associated with the number of bird species as well as with occurrence of the endangered Cochabamba-mountain finch ( Compsospiza garleppi ). To support the different communities found in Polylepis forests, these results suggest that conservation efforts should be directed towards both forest types ( P. subtusalbida and P. lanata ) present in the area. For an efficient management of avian diversity, exotic plantations should be established away from native remnants while existing patches should be managed to maintain or increase habitat quality. Finally, the importance of local topography in determining avian species richness and community composition in forest fragments, mainly through topographic controls on moisture distribution and the amount of sunlight received by the fragments, should be considered when planning conservation and reforestation schemes.

The United Nation’s goal of preventing species extinction by 2020 (Aichi Target 12) almost certainly will not be achieved and the plan to protect 17% of the land (Aichi Target 11) will be a wholly insufficient response to mitigate biodiversity loss. With conservationists calling to protect 30% of Earth by 2030 and 50% by 2050, ambitious area-based conservation targets are now at the forefront of the post-2020 biodiversity conservation agenda. However, given the growing human population, implementing such conservation goals cannot be done without accounting for the increasing need for agricultural land, the main driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Here we analyse the expected conservation gains and agricultural opportunity costs of three alternative global conservation strategies under business-as-usual demand in agricultural products by 2030. We show that, to minimize the extinction risk of terrestrial birds and mammals alone, these global strategies would require managing over 60% of the Earth’s land surface for conservation, which includes restoring 8%-11% of land surface. Achieving global conservation targets can be compatible with protecting biodiversity and ensuring food security but only with holistic planning.

Over a quarter of species assessed by the IUCN Red List are threatened with extinction. A global commitment to protect 17% of land and 10% of the oceans by 2020 is close to being achieved, but with limited ecological impacts due to its inadequacy and poor enforcement. Here, we reverse-engineer IUCN Red List criteria to generate area-based conservation targets and spatial conservation priorities to minimize the extinction risk of the world terrestrial mammals. We find that approximately 60% of the Earth’s non-Antarctic land surface would require some form of protection. Our results suggest that global conservation priority schemes, among which the Aichi targets, will be inadequate to secure the persistence of terrestrial mammals. To achieve this goal, international cooperation is required to implement a connected and comprehensive conservation area network, guided by high priority regions outlined in this study.

In light of continuing global biodiversity loss, one ambitious proposal has gained considerable traction amongst conservationists: the goal to protect half the Earth. Our analysis suggests that at least one billion people live in places that would be protected if the Half Earth proposal were implemented within all ecoregions. Taking into account the social and economic impacts of such proposals is central to addressing social and environmental justice concerns, and assessing their acceptability and feasibility.

We determine which socioeconomic pathways and policies are required post-2020 to achieve goals for biodiversity conservation and ensure food security worldwide. We use optimization algorithms and targets for species conservation and food production under alternative socio-economic scenarios to 2030 to plan at the same time for both biodiversity and food security. We integrated both Half-Earth and Aichi targets 11 and 12 with different scenarios aiming to reduce habitat loss by increasing agricultural efficiency, changing diets and reducing human population growth. We highlight the key socio-economic changes needed for achieving future visions for biodiversity conservation to be feasible and the areas of the world where most protection and restoration are needed to achieve these visions.