Biodiversity conservation of a new protected area ‘Al-Arqoub’, South Jerusalem Hills, Palestine

Q1 Environmental Science

Parks Pub Date : 2023-05-01 DOI:10.2305/iucn.ch.2023.parks-29-1mbq.en

M. Qumsiyeh, Roubina Bassous-Ghattas, E. Handal, Mohammed A. Abusarhan, M. Najajreh, I. Albaradeyia

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Palestine is part of the Fertile Crescent and known to be rich in faunal and floral biodiversity relative to its latitude. The South Jerusalem hills with their ancient villages (collectively called the Al-Arqoub cluster) provide ideal areas for conservation within the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot. The area was listed on an emergency basis as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. This study assessed the biodiversity and threats, and the data was used to designate it a protected area by the Environment Quality Authority (EQA). We documented 417 plant species, 15 fungi, 105 birds, 3 amphibians, 12 reptiles and 31 mammals. Threats to this rich biodiversity included harmful agricultural practices, overexploitation, construction of Israeli settlements, urbanisation, habitat loss, land fragmentation and limited enforcement of laws. Management plans were established and began to be implemented for the site with the aim of biocultural conservation. Four marginalised communities around the valley system (Al-Walaja, Battir, Husan and Beit Jala) benefited through: a) environmentally friendly agricultural production for 81 farmers, b) developing and empowering women in eco-friendly production and marketing, c) enhancing ecotourism, d) implementing an ecosystem restoration model and e) education and capacity building leading to behaviour change. Based on IUCN criteria, we consider ‘Al-Arqoub’ as a vulnerable ecosystem worthy of enhanced protective status and, based on our studies, the EQA designated it as a protected area category VI (protected with sustainable use of natural resources). Protected area management in Palestine follows the new National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2023–2030) in line with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This grassroots, cross-disciplinary endeavour to protect this area serves as a model for other protections in a region with economic and political instability.

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巴勒斯坦南耶路撒冷山“Al Arqoub”新保护区的生物多样性保护

巴勒斯坦是新月沃土的一部分，相对于其纬度而言，以丰富的动物和植物多样性而闻名。南耶路撒冷山丘及其古老的村庄(统称为Al-Arqoub集群)为地中海生物多样性热点提供了理想的保护区域。2014年，该地区被联合国教科文组织紧急列入世界遗产名录。本研究评估了该地区的生物多样性和威胁，并利用这些数据将其指定为环境质量管理局(EQA)的保护区。我们记录了417种植物、15种真菌、105种鸟类、3种两栖动物、12种爬行动物和31种哺乳动物。对这种丰富的生物多样性的威胁包括有害的农业做法、过度开发、以色列定居点的建设、城市化、栖息地丧失、土地破碎化和执法不力。以生物文化保护为目标的管理计划已经建立并开始实施。山谷系统周围的四个边缘化社区(Al-Walaja、Battir、Husan和Beit Jala)通过以下方式受益:a)为81名农民提供环境友好型农业生产;b)在生态友好型生产和营销中发展并赋予妇女权力;c)加强生态旅游;d)实施生态系统恢复模式;e)通过教育和能力建设促进行为改变。根据世界自然保护联盟的标准，我们认为“Al-Arqoub”是一个脆弱的生态系统，值得加强保护地位，根据我们的研究，EQA将其指定为第六类保护区(通过可持续利用自然资源进行保护)。巴勒斯坦的保护区管理遵循新的国家生物多样性战略和行动计划(2023-2030年)，与《昆明-蒙特利尔全球生物多样性框架》保持一致。这种基层的、跨学科的保护该地区的努力，为经济和政治不稳定地区的其他保护工作提供了榜样。

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来源期刊

Parks Environmental Science-Nature and Landscape Conservation

CiteScore

5.80

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

20 weeks

期刊介绍： We aim for PARKS to be a rigorous, challenging publication with high academic credibility and standing. But at the same time the journal is and should remain primarily a resource for people actively involved in establishing and managing protected areas, under any management category or governance type. We aim for the majority of papers accepted to include practical management information. We also work hard to include authors who are involved in management but do not usually find the time to report the results of their research and experience to a wider audience. We welcome submissions from people whose written English is imperfect as long as they have interesting research to report, backed up by firm evidence, and are happy to work with authors to develop papers for the journal. PARKS is published with the aim of strengthening international collaboration in protected area development and management by: • promoting understanding of the values and benefits derived from protected areas to governments, communities, visitors, business etc; • ensuring that protected areas fulfil their primary role in nature conservation while addressing critical issues such as ecologically sustainable development, social justice and climate change adaptation and mitigation; • serving as a leading global forum for the exchange of information on issues relating to protected areas, especially learning from case studies of applied ideas; • publishing articles reporting on recent applied research that is relevant to protected area management; • changing and improving protected area management, policy environment and socio-economic benefits through use of information provided in the journal; and • promoting IUCN’s work on protected areas.