Tropical Ecosystems into the 21st Century

We endorse the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) call to shift its primary focus from the study of undisturbed ecosystems to interdisciplinary studies of human-influenced ecosystems for the betterment of human societies ([1][1], [2][2]). At the 2004 annual meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) in Miami, Florida, we released a report (“Beyond Paradise: Meeting the Challenges in Tropical Biology in the 21st Century”), which also makes a plea for an interdisciplinary, participatory, and socially relevant research agenda to study and conserve human-impacted as well as pristine tropical ecosystems ([3][3], [4][4]). Here, we highlight the similarities and differences of the ESA and ATBC reports. The ATBC report, like that of ESA, recognizes the increasing impact of humans on tropical ecosystems. Since 1980, 288 million hectares (21%) of tropical forest areas have been deforested, while the population in tropical countries has nearly doubled. Rapid economic growth in sev-eral tropical areas exacerbates pressures on tropical forests. A un-ique feature of tropical regions is that millions of rural people rely on local ecosystem goods and services, often paying a high opportunity cost to maintain biodiversity. Tropical research thus must be rooted in a more inclusive set of social values. Conservation must become part of the larger agenda of sustainable and equitable development, with the development needs of local communities receiving the same consideration as preservation goals. At the same time, interdisciplinary approaches that accord respect to alternative knowledge systems will be needed to address the effects of human activities on tropical ecosystems, the social drivers of ecosystem degradation, and the social responses to the conservation of those ecosystems. Furthermore, tropical biology will have to increasingly incorporate policy-oriented research to mitigate threats to biodiversity. The critical knowledge needed to usher tropical ecosystems through the environmental transformations of the 21st century must focus on three components. First, human impacts on tropical ecosystems will increase dramatically. Tropical forest con-version, the effects of climate change, nutrient deposition, spread of alien species, and extraction of ecosystem products on the structure and functioning of undisturbed and managed ecosystems must be understood. The second component pertains to social drivers of change and social responses to conservation. Conflicts and continued poverty around protected areas suggest that existing approaches to conservation lack understanding of links between maintenance of diversity and human well-being. The third component, understanding the structure and function of tropical ecosystems, including cataloging tropical diversity, is fundamental to comprehend and mitigate consequences of the biodiversity loss in human-impacted ecosystems. The equal emphasis in the ATBC report on the study of pristine and human-impacted systems (distinct from the “synthetic” ecosystems described in the ESA report) stems from the uniqueness of tropical ecosystems. The latter contain substantial amounts of undescribed biodiversity, especially in forest canopies and soils, and tropical ecosystems harbor 65% of the world's 10,000 endangered species. The ATBC proposes four broad recommendations for immediate action. First, research institutions, biological collections, scientific journals, and information infrastructure in the tropics must be strengthened and multiplied by forging partnerships among institutions and collaborators. Second, society must support an expanded system of field stations that are electronically linked, include relatively pristine areas and human-impacted landscapes, and generate and apply knowledge to conserve and sustainably use tropical nature through local networks or coalitions of government agencies, academic institutions, nongovernment organizations, and policy-makers. Third, completing the inventory of existing life is basic to human welfare, especially in tropical regions of mega-diversity. Traditional biology must be combined with advanced technologies to rapidly develop new ways to assemble, organize, and disseminate information about diversity of life in the tropics. Fourth, interdisciplinary research by implementing cross-disciplinary training programs in biology and social sciences should be encouraged to address complex issues that lie at the interface of science and society. Both the ESA and the ATBC statements, along with reports from other programs (e.g., Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, DIVERSITAS), demonstrate an exciting convergence of interests by tropical biologists, conservationists, and social scientists. This convergence should engender support from international environmental development agencies, national agencies, and private donors for linked studies of ecological and social systems. Such support is critical to understand tropical ecosystems and enhance the welfare of human societies that depend on them. 1. 1.[↵][5] 1. M. A. Palmer 2. et al. , “Ecological science and sustainability for a crowded planet: 21st century vision and action plan for the Ecological Society of America” (Ecological Society of America, Washington, DC, 2004) (available at ). 2. 2.[↵][6] 1. M. A. Palmer 2. et al. , Science 304, 1251 (2004). [OpenUrl][7][Abstract/FREE Full Text][8] 3. 3.[↵][9] 1. K. S. Bawa, 2. W. J. Kress, 3. N. M. Nadkarni, 4. S. Lele , Biotropica in press. 4. 4.[↵][10] ATBC's report (available at ) is based on an international effort initiated in 2000 to review the state of tropical biology and to explore opportunities for future advances in the field. We thank over 150 tropical biologists who participated in the discussions from 2000 to 2004. A. Fiala and A. Das helped in locating statistical figures and sources of information. This report has been prepared with the support of tropical research groups and funding agencies, including the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation ( ), the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment ( ), the Smithsonian Institution ( ), the National Science Foundation ( ), and the British Ecological Society ( ). 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