Integrating past and present ecologies, and traditional knowledge for effective biodiversity management into the future-IPPET

Despite conservation and management efforts, global biodiversity continues to decline due to climate change and growing human impact. Existing biodiversity management frameworks are limited by a lack of robust baseline data and a narrow focus on short-term ecological observations, potentially leading to flawed long-term outcomes. Terrestrial ecosystems require centuries to millennia to respond to external forces, highlighting the need for long-term datasets.

Also, many current management approaches are rooted in colonialism and overlook Indigenous people's expertise and long-term connections to nature. The concept of wilderness, for instance, has excluded Indigenous stewardship from landscapes, resulting in negative consequences in various ecosystems. Incorporating Indigenous knowledge and understanding their historical land management practices is crucial for effective biodiversity management and cultural security.

Additionally, it is crucial to address the current gap between long-term ecological (palaeoecological) studies and on-ground management actions. One of the primary reasons land managers predominantly rely on present (short-term) ecology rather than palaeoecology as the foundation for management is the historical focus of the interpretation of existing palaeoecological records.

Bridging this gap requires a contextual design and interpretation of palaeoecological studies for the purpose of ecosystem management.

Project IPPET aims to integrate local/Indigenous perspectives and past and present ecological methods to establish robust palaeoecological baseline knowledge to refine current management strategies, as well as bridge the gap between palaeoecological research and on-ground management practices by working closely with land managers. The project will focus on wetland ecosystems, including understudied areas like The Great Fen in the UK, Ramsar sites on Alderney and Island, King Island in Australia, as well as coastal wetlands in southern Nigeria and Principe Island.

Wetlands are vital for carbon storage, habitat provision, freshwater quality, and flood mitigation, but they face threats from climate change and human impact.

Project IPPET will generate a detailed palaeoecological dataset of long-term wetland dynamics in these regions, combining different lines of evidence, including proxies, surveys, existing data, and Indigenous perspectives, providing the understand of the complex interactions between wetland ecosystems, surrounding vegetation communities, climate, fire, sea-level change, and human activities in recent and ancient times. The outcomes will inform the protection of threatened and endangered species, detect undesirable ecological outcomes associated with existing management actions, and provide recommendations to refine management frameworks.

These diverse wetland types (freshwater and coastal) across different climates (temperate and tropical) captured in this project will also help us to understand the role of climate heterogeneity in global wetland development.