2021 ESA Annual Meeting (August 2 - 6)

The contribution of corporate protected areas to biodiversity conservation in tropical commodity crop landscapes

On Demand
Kimberly M. Carlson, New York University;
Background/Question/Methods

Private environmental governance of commodity supply chains that endanger tropical forests has grown rapidly over the last ten years. Participation in these governance initiatives, including sustainability certification systems and zero-deforestation commitments, requires that commodity producers avoid clearing forests. While definitions and methods for identification of such forests vary widely, the High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) methodologies are often used to identify lands designated for protection. However, the extent, distribution, and characteristics (e.g., percent forest cover) of areas protected under these initiatives has been largely unknown. Therefore, it remains uncertain to what extent HCV and HCS areas contribute to the conservation goals of these governance initiatives, and whether such “corporate protected areas” offer additional conservation benefits beyond public protected areas. Here, we ask: What are the extent, distribution, and characteristics of corporate protected areas, and how do these attributes compare to those of public protected areas? To address these questions, we analyze digitized HCV and HCS areas within oil palm and pulp and paper plantations across Indonesia, a major producer of both commodities. We then quantify key attributes of these areas related to conservation of biodiversity (e.g., forest cover) and risk of deforestation (e.g., slope) and compare them to attributes of nearby protected areas.

Results/Conclusions

Results suggest that total HCV and HCS extent is only a small fraction of public protected area extent. Compared to public protected areas, corporate protected areas have less forest cover, although they tend to be located in wetter, hotter, and flatter areas. These findings imply that at their current scale of implementation, corporate protected areas do not yet contribute substantially to conservation goals. However, our finding that HCV and HCS potentially target different ecosystems than public parks provides hope that if scaled up, these initiatives could complement traditional conservation policies. This research provides insight into the spatio-temporal footprint of supply chain conservation policies and informs efforts to adapt these policies to more effectively conserve ecosystems in commodity production landscapes.