**1. Introduction**

#### **1.1 Recent history of biodiversity loss**

Biodiversity is declining globally at an unprecedented rate, a trend that has proceeded unabated since the early 20th century [1–3]. Recognition of the importance and conservation needs of global biodiversity resulted in the proposal of

the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 [4]. More than 190 nations have since ratified the treaty. At the turn of the millennium, several international initiatives were started with the aim to change the trajectory of biodiversity conservation. Through the United Nations (UN) Millennium Ecosystem Assessment initiative (2001–2005), research was conducted with the goal to identify conservation priorities and set benchmarks for future actions [5]. At the time, the initiative provided a comprehensive summary of ecosystem changes and their effects on human well-being and linked to economic activities. The UN Millennium Development Goals (2000–2015) aimed to mitigate the extent of biodiversity loss. These goals are now addressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) containing benchmarks for marine and terrestrial biodiversity [6]. In 2012, at the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, a strategic plan for the protection of biodiversity was formulated. The plan included 20 so-called Aichi targets to be addressed during the period 2011–2020. Ultimately, none of the Aichi targets were met on time (**Figure 1**) [7].

Looking forward to 2030, the SDGs provide a global framework toward sustainable development on economic, social, and environmental levels [8]. SDGs 14 and 15 are particularly relevant for biodiversity conservation. Goal 14 aims to protect life below water with a focus on marine pollution, protection, and restoration of ecosystems, reduction of ocean acidification, and sustainable fishing. Goal 15 targets terrestrial biodiversity, with a focus on protection, restoration, and promotion of sustainable forest management while reversing land degradation. To track evidence-based achievement of SDGs, far-reaching state-of-the-art monitoring capacities must be advanced.

#### **1.2 Drivers of biodiversity loss**

Despite the formation of the CBD, biodiversity has continued on a downward trajectory for vertebrate and insect species, while trends for many other taxa are unquantified [9, 10]. At least 900 species have gone extinct since 1500, and to date 1,145 species are listed as critically endangered or possibly extinct [11]. Given the considerable knowledge gap, these numbers are likely higher. The Living Planet Report noted a global decline in vertebrate abundance by 60% from the period 1970–2014 [12]. Main causes of biodiversity loss in the past century were associated with human population growth and economic development [13]. In its recent Global Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on

#### **Figure 1.**

*Global conservation trends over the past 500 years (blue bars) and implementation of conservation treaties (orange bars). MA = millennium ecosystem assessment; MDGs = millennium development goals; SDGs = sustainable development goals; YNP = Yellowstone National Park established in 1872 (yellow bar). Timeline not drawn to scale.*

#### *Novel Technologies and Their Application for Protected Area Management: A Supporting… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99889*

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) highlighted that terrestrial biodiversity losses were primarily linked to land-use changes caused by agricultural practices, whereas in maritime ecosystems overexploitation of fisheries caused major declines of biodiversity [14]. Other threats for biodiversity include climate change and proliferation of invasive alien species (IAS).

Biodiversity is under pressure due to human activities, and species extinctions will have severe negative feedbacks on human society in the future [15]. The impacts of biodiversity loss on global environmental change are comparable to climate change and need urgent attention. In its recent assessment, IPBES identified major drivers for current biodiversity losses: human-induced land-use changes, climate change, and IAS [16]. A separate study found that climate change, biodiversity loss and biogeochemical flows have already exceeded safe operating space [17]. Rising mean annual temperatures are linked to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Temperatures have increased globally by about 0.2°C per decade since the 1970's [18], and climate change-driven impacts on biodiversity are documented across the globe [14]. Projections forecast further changes in the future [19–22].

#### **1.3 Protected areas and biodiversity**

The concept of protected areas (PA) may be as old as civilization itself [23]. Throughout the 20th century until today, the number of PAs has grown considerably to over 265,000 sites [24]. The CBD emphasized the importance of PAs for conservation of biodiversity and encouraged further PA establishment to mitigate ongoing biodiversity losses [4].

Some 76 years following the establishment of the world's first national park, Yellowstone, USA, the establishment of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) occurred in 1948 and marked a landmark change in global biodiversity conservation [25]. Today, six commissions within the IUCN, including the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and Species Survival Commission (SSC), actively address environmental and socioeconomic issues related to conservation [23]. The importance of PAs is well-documented, but sufficient data on effectiveness of governance and management status for a majority of PAs are still lacking [26]. Recent studies additionally emphasize that biodiversity is on the decline in many PAs due to persistently high human pressures [27–29]. However, the advent of new technologies, with the possibility to provide fast and highly automated species identification and analysis across large spatial areas, points toward new perspectives in nature conservation [30].

True measurement of conservation outcomes requires effective and meaningful biodiversity monitoring systems (BMS). To foster best practice standards in governance and management of PAs, the WCPA released the Green List in 2016 [31]. In it, four components to evaluate the performance of PAs are described: good governance; sound design and planning; effective management; and successful conservation outcomes [32]. The SSC provides updated information on species and the status of ecosystem conservation in the IUCN Red List [11]. In 2009, the Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas was established by the WCPA and SSC. Their work focuses on two major objectives, determining best predictors of success for biodiversity conservation in PAs, and evaluating of key standards to identify sites that contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation.

#### **1.4 Approaches to biodiversity monitoring**

Monitoring of biodiversity is a challenge for many reasons, including deficits in the conception, methodologies, and technologies of BMS. Monitoring is expensive

and demands significant human effort. Multiple species may require monitoring, but within the framework of data collection only a limited set of indicators can be selected. A sufficient number of specialists must be available to document taxa of expertise. Human resources can be limited by scheduling conflicts, poor weather, and inaccessible or hazardous field sites. BMS must additionally be reliable, reproducible, flexible, and comparable across sites, as well as applicable to different management questions. Perhaps most importantly, BMS should reflect the current state of the habitat or an organism group, providing key metrics to the manager in a timely and comprehensive manner. Solutions should take these limitations into consideration through application of effective technologies.

Novel approaches are now available to complement, or in some cases replace, classical monitoring methodologies. These exciting approaches are in different stages of maturity. In the following sections, we review digital monitoring techniques that are still under development or have become increasingly standardized in PA management in recent years.

Advances in computational technology over the past half century have revolutionized scientific capacity for monitoring of biodiversity. Digital methodologies that seemed unfathomable just a few years ago are now practical to enable rapid and automated collection of species data [33]. Primary among these state-of-the-art approaches are metagenomics through environmental DNA (eDNA) collection, camera trapping (CT) using digital trail cameras, environmental sampling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using digital sensors, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), and earth-based remote sensing (RS) approaches [34]. In the field of biodiversity conservation, digital collection of big data is accomplished through use of data storage platforms such as GBIF; a lagging element is adequate analysis of these often-unstructured data [33, 35].
