Agnese and her blog

  The Invisible Consequence of a New Shopping Centre in Our Community We are living in the heart of one of the most biodiverse and protected areas of the Italian Alpine region and our local council is considering the potential benefits as well as consequences of building a new commercial centre on our land. Even though the direct commercial advantages are clear, it is vital to consider as well the long-term invisible costs on nature which would derive from such development. All involved stakeholders should collaborate to draft a possible sustainable and inclusive solution for both the profits of local communities as well as the maintenance of the ecosystem services. KEY POINTS: Land use is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss: it takes 80 years to recover 70% of species richness compared to virgin land Economic and social impact of shopping mall to local communities: even though shopping centres might positively impact the level of employment, investment, tourism and infrastruc...

El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve is the largest protected area in Mexico situated on the Californian peninsula and touching both the waters in the Gulf of California as well as the North Pacific Ocean. The area is mostly covered by desert soil, however it comprises also some key marine area, coastal lagoons of Ojo de Liebre and San Ignacio, known as important breeding sites for the grey whale and a number of other seabirds (UNESCO). Several threats are looming over this reserve, among which intensive fishing, over tourism in core areas as well as climate change. The impacts on the climate are increasing vulnerability not only for the ecosystems but also for human communities (i.e. ecosystem services and resources). Hence, such phenomenon represents as well a driver of social tensions arising from the contrasting ownership and leadership between the national government and local communities (World Heritage Datasheet). "Thus, a socioecological approach for land and biodiversity use pla...

Island biodiversity represents one of the highest hotspots in the world and yet it is also a epicentre for biodiversity loss with 1% of known extinctions and 37% of critically endangered species (Spatz 2017).  Such regions are a target for disproportionally more rapid ecological degradation as they are specifically threatened by the expansion of invasive species (Spatz 2017). This phenomenon is exacerbated by unique characteristics of islands' simplified ecosystems, which contain highly adapted and unique species with typically small population sizes, low reproductive rates, and a lack of predator defences compared with continental counterparts (Spatz 2017). Another important consequence of such environmental dispositions is that they are more prone to human related impacts therefore reinforcing the effects on biodiversity loss (Spatz 2017).  Furthermore, a relevant result of island-breeding loss lies in the alteration of soil fertility and thus plant and below ground communit...