DD-GAP

Integrating ex- and in-situ conservation for effective protection of biodiversity

This project encompasses comprehensive conservation assessments of various animal groups-amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals-in global biodiversity hotspots such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Madagascar, and Indochina. Given the ongoing global biodiversity crisis, the overarching goal is the identification of conservation gaps and the establishment of priorities for urgently needed conservation measures, combining all available conservation resources in in- and ex situ facilities.

How can we optimise One Plan Apprach conservation?

Only in an international team! At LIB, we combine the evaluation of threat status using the IUCN Red List and national Red Lists, as well as the analysis of spatial distributions, habitat availability, degrees of endemism and protected area coverage as surrogates for in situ conservation. In close cooperation with the working group of Prof. Dr Thomas Ziegler from Cologne Zoo, our (inter-)national partners focus on the quantification of the ex situ status, which involves examining the global representation of the respective species in zoo databases to assess their representation and breeding success. Furthermore, our counterparts in the focus regions work on in situ conservation assessments and implementation of actions, often in close cooperation with national authorities.

Some key results!

Our results consistently show that endemic and threatened taxa are often insufficiently protected by existing protected area networks. Furthermore, the we frequently detect significant gaps in ex situ conservation, as the majority of the most highly threatened or endemic species are not sufficiently represented in zoos worldwide in terms of backup populations. We emphasise the urgent need for further research to close knowledge gaps (especially for "Data Deficient" (DD) and "Not Evaluated" (NE) species), protection of identified key biodiversity areas and the immediate implementation of integrated in situ and ex situ measures. A major project goal is the identification and prioritisation of the most endangered species in need of conservation actions.