What is a Critical Habitat Protection Indicator?

What is Critical Habitat Protection? The Critical Habitat Protection indicator for the 2014 EPI measures the percentage of the key sites recognized by the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) that are located in protected areas. What Qualifies as an AZE Site? The Alliance for Zero Extinction , a joint initiative of biodiversity conservation organizations from around the world, aims to prevent extinctions by identifying and safeguarding key sites, each one of which is the last remaining refuge of one or more Endangered or Critically Endangered species. EN Endangered (EN) An AZE site must contain at least one Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR) species, as listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Endangerment or CR Critically Endangered (EN) Red List. More than 95% known An AZE site should only be designated if it is the sole area where an EN or CR species resident population occurs, contains the overwhelmingly significant known resident population (>95%) of the EN or CR species, or contains the overwhelmingly significant known population (>95%) for one life history segment (e.g. breeding or wintering) of the EN or CR species. Irreplaceability >95% or More than 95% known resident population for one life segment Habitats The area must have a definable boundary within which the character of habitats, biological communities, and/or management issues have more in common with each other than they do with those in adjacent areas. Discreteness Biological Communities Management Issues 595 794 AZE scientists working in collaboration with an international network of experts identified 595 sites that must be effectively protected to prevent the extinction of 794 of the world's most threatened SITES SPECIES species. Many sites contain more than one AZE "trigger species." AZE 2005 15 23 131. Mammals Birds 217 408 Reptiles Amphibians Conifers Corals AZE Species by Taxonomic Group How do we know? 595 794 587 920 The AZE last updated its site list, totaling 587 sites and 920 species in 2010. The 2014 EPI uses the 2005 AZE sites to give countries time to establish protected areas and other conservation actions to protect these endangered species. SITES SPECIES SITES SPECIES AZE 2005 AZE 2010 AZE 2005 Sites The AZE Sites Worldwide AZE 2010 Sites Protected vs Unprotected AZE Sites an a Nationally Protected Area a Nationally Protected Area 1 km an AZE a Nationally Protected Area >1 km an AZE AZE OR Site Site Site Protected AZE Sites Unprotected AZE Sites For a country The 2014 EPI uses the 2005 AZE site designations to create a percentage, within a 1-km radius of a protected area, of the number of sites that fall within the protected area. So if an AZE area is within 1 km of a protected area, we give its status as "protected." Protected AZE Sites AZE indicator Unprotected AZE Sites Environmental Performance References • "AZE Overview", Alliance for Zero Extinction, http://www.zeroextinction.org/overviewofaze.htm Index