Vulnerability and fragility risk indices for non-renewable resources

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Conservation Biology
• Resource Management

Background:

• Protected areas face challenges in monitoring and managing diverse resources due to funding and staffing limitations.
• Prioritization frameworks are crucial for effective resource management, but existing methods are often qualitative or semi-quantitative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To modify an international vulnerability framework to quantitatively assess resource vulnerability and fragility.
• To develop a six-step process for prioritizing sites for mitigation efforts in protected areas.

Main Methods:

• A modified, internationally standardized vulnerability framework was used to quantify resource vulnerability and fragility.
• A six-step process was implemented: identifying resources and objectives, indicators, scoring criteria, data collection, index calculation, and site prioritization.
• The methodology was applied to cave and fossil sites in Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA).

Main Results:

• The majority of cave and fossil sites in GRCA exhibited moderate to low vulnerability and fragility.
• 5.5% of fossil sites and 21.9% of cave sites were identified as high-priority for management interventions.
• Results align with the known condition of these resources within the park.

Conclusions:

• The developed quantitative framework provides a valuable tool for protected area managers to prioritize monitoring and management actions.
• This method enhances resource protection by enabling data-driven allocation of limited conservation resources.
• The study demonstrates the framework's applicability to diverse resource types like caves and fossils.