Research reveals overlap between protecting biodiversity and reducing landslide risk

Expanding protected areas and forest conservation into regions with a high risk of landslides could have mutual benefits for wildlife and development, according to new research.

Most landslides are the result of land degradation caused by human activity. Prioritizing vulnerable mountainous regions with high biodiversity for protection, could provide both a cost-effective solution to curbing landslides, which can have a huge economic and societal impact, and significant benefits to wildlife conservation, according to the study, published in leading scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Development and conservation are often thought of as trade-offs, but our research shows that mitigating landslide risk with protection of natural areas can actually serve both goals while saving the costs associated with disaster recovery,” said Li, assistant professor of environmental science at DKU, who co-authored the study.

Binbin Li, assistant professor of environmental science at DKU

Landslides have become more prevalent over time because of human activity such as deforestation, agricultural expansion and urbanization, causing billions of dollars of damage each year across the world and significant loss of life. From 2006 to 2015, landslides accounted for 27.6% of geological disasters worldwide killing 9,477 people and threatening the livelihood of local communities. With increasing precipitation extremes and deforestation, landslides are predicted to happen more frequently, according to the research paper, titled “Strategic protection of landslide vulnerable mountains for biodiversity conservation under land-cover and climate change impacts.”

The activities that cause them are also a threat to wildlife, which is driven out by habitat loss and fragmentation caused by human activities.

The research, which Li conducted with Clinton Jenkins, an associate professor in the department of earth and environment at Florida International University and Weihua Xu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explored links between landslide mitigation and biodiversity by mapping species richness against landslide risk.

In doing so they revealed a strong spatial correlation between landslide risk and biodiversity, identifying 247 highly vulnerable regions, representing 25.8% of mountainous areas across the globe, which are rich in biodiversity and landslide prone. An additional 31 mountains were found to be vulnerable when risk from increasing climate change and deforestation was factored in. Despite this, less than 17% of the area is protected, the study revealed.

Based on their research, Li and her colleagues are calling for 52 of the mountainous areas to be made a priority for protection and restoration, an activity that would both benefit biodiversity and curb the risk of landslides.

“We have identified a clear overlap between biodiversity and landslide susceptibility especially in mountainous regions,” said Li. “It would make sense to target these areas for conservation, such as protected areas, forest conservation and restoration, which provides a nature-based solution for disaster risk reduction. Doing so would be a win-win for mankind and the environment.”

If you are a journalist looking for information about the University or for an expert to interview for a story, our team can help.

Media Contact

Senior Editor/Writer

Gareth McPherson

Email: gareth.mcpherson@dukekunshan.edu.cn

Add our
WeChat