Antarctica and the strategic plan for biodiversity

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2001656
• Publication Date: 2017-03-28T14:21:48Z
• Authors: Steven L. Chown; Cassandra M. Brooks; Aleks Terauds; Céline Le Bohec; Céline van Klaver...; Jason D. Whittington; Stuart H. M. Butc...; Bernard W. T. Coe...; Ben Collen; Peter Convey; Kevin J. Gaston; Neil Gilbert; Mike Gill; Robert Höft; Sam Johnston; Mahlon C. Kennicutt; Hannah J. Kriesell; Yvon Le Maho; Heather J. Lynch; Maria Palomares; Roser Puig-Marcó; Peter Stoett; Melodie A. McGeoch
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Conservation of Natural Resources; 330; QH301-705.5; 577; TOOTHFISH; Antarctic Regions; VARIABLES; 03 medical and health sciences; APPROPRIATE; TARGETS; MANAGEMENT; 14. Life underwater; Biology (General); Biology; SOUTHERN-OCEAN; 0303 health sciences; Science & Technology; AREA; SCIENCE; Biodiversity; 15. Life on land; POLICY; 13. Climate action; Perspective; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; EXPERT KNOWLEDGE

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, adopted under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides the basis for taking effective action to curb biodiversity loss across the planet by 2020-an urgent imperative. Yet, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, which encompass 10% of the planet's surface, are excluded from assessments of progress against the Strategic Plan. The situation is a lost opportunity for biodiversity conservation globally. We provide such an assessment. Our evidence suggests, surprisingly, that for a region so remote and apparently pristine as the Antarctic, the biodiversity outlook is similar to that for the rest of the planet. Promisingly, however, much scope for remedial action exists.