Introduction

The indelible imprint of humanity on natural systems has become the hallmark of the modern age. This profound impact is such that the Holocene Epoch post 1800, when the Industrial Revolution gripped Europe, has been dubbed the Anthropocene (Crutzen 2002; Steffen et al. 2007; Syvitski 2012). The need to reverse trends of degradation towards a sustainable trajectory of social-ecological change, to enhance ecosystem resilience and human well-being, is the essence of good ‘Earth Stewardship’ (Chapin et al. 2000; Ehrlich and Kremen 2001; Chapin et al. 2011).

Nowhere are the transforming qualities of mankind more apparent than in the native temperate grassland regions of the world (Figs. 1, 2). These grasslands have been variously defined as a discrete global terrestrial vegetation ‘unit’, viz. as an International Vegetation Classification (IVC) world grassland type (Faber-Langendoen and Josse 2010; Dixon et al. 2014), a global ecoregion (Olson et al. 2001), and a global terrestrial biome, or at least a major part of one, together with temperate savannas and shrublands (Hoekstra et al. 2005). Depending on the spatial scale of the analysis, however, temperate grasslands are not always differentiated from other grassland types (see Sayre et al. 2014). Dixon et al. (2014) explicitly define temperate grassland as a non-wetland type with at least 10% vegetation cover, dominated or co-dominated by graminoid and forb growth forms, and where low-stature trees or erect shrubs form a single-layer canopy with less than 10% cover and 5 m height. They generally reflect global macroclimatic factors also heavily influenced by altitude, seasonality of precipitation, substrates, fire history, and herbivory (Bond et al. 2003; Faber-Langendoen and Josse 2010).

Fig. 1
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Global distribution of native temperate grasslands, including the four conservation priority areas where the largest and least transformed tracts of native temperate grassland remain

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Fig. 2
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a Western European grasslands of the Sistema Central, Spain © C. Carbutt; b Sub-escarpment grasslands of Ntsikeni Nature Reserve, South Africa © C. Carbutt; c Afroalpine grasslands of tropical Africa, Ethiopian Highlands © C. Carbutt; d Short alpine meadow grasslands of the Miyar Valley, northern Indian Himalayas © C. Carbutt; e High-meadow grasslands of Kanas National Geopark, north-western China © C. Carbutt; f Asian steppe grasslands of Inner Mongolia, northern China © C. Carbutt; g Low-alpine snow tussock grassland, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand © C. Carbutt; h Short-grass prairie of the Northern Great Plains, central Montana, USA © B. Henwood; i Summer-dry alpine grasslands of the Patagonian Andes Mountains above the Nothofagus pumilio tree-line, Argentina © C. Carbutt; j Patagonian steppe grasslands, Argentina © C. Carbutt

Photographic sample of representative native temperate grassland landscapes from around the world. Photographs are arranged by country increasing in latitude.

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Formerly occupying some 9 million km2, or 8% of the planet’s terrestrial surface (White et al. 2000; Henwood 2010), the native temperate grassland biome (Figs. 1, 2) is heavily predisposed to the irreversible conversion to non-natural environments. In short, native temperate grasslands have become the botanical ‘beasts of burden’ given that they are a rangeland of sorts, a working landscape most heavily utilised by the agricultural industry (Mark and McLennan 2005; Carbutt et al. 2011; Mark 2012; Carbutt and Martindale 2014), and more recently for the extraction of mineral resources and biofuel production (Wright and Wimberly 2013). Ironically, native temperate grasslands are also rich in both floral and faunal species (including many endemics), many of which are Red Data listed. Native temperate grasslands are also important breeding grounds and habitat for migratory species, and are important in the evolution of many plant foods of economic significance (Henwood 2010).

It is a great travesty how a world grassland type that has nurtured the needs of humans for millennia has received so little appreciation, attention and protection. Such contempt is short-sighted given their significantly high economic value and how they underpin the wellbeing of humanity through the provision of inter alia ecological infrastructure, carbon sinks, albedo surfaces, plant-based medicines, progenitor food plants and livestock grazing, among a wide range of ecosystem services (Mark et al. 2013). This travesty is not limited to the public domain. From a conservation perspective, many temperate grassland protected areas suffer neglect—they are generally more poorly funded than protected areas of other biomes and often less effectively managed (Carbutt and Goodman 2010). These shortcomings in native temperate grassland conservation are highlighted in Appendices A–C.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s authority on conserving biodiversity and protecting natural resources, was therefore compelled to launch the ‘Grasslands Specialist Group’, rebranded in 2008 as the Temperate Grasslands Conservation Initiative (TGCI), to redress this temperate grassland conservation crisis. The task is a weighty one, given that temperate grasslands lead the charge in terms of being at greatest risk—they are being permanently lost at a rate more than eight times greater than the rate at which they are being protected. Their dubious distinction of being the least protected and most extensively transformed terrestrial biome on the planet (Hoekstra et al. 2005; Henwood 2010), dubbed by Hoekstra et al. (2005) as a ‘biome crisis’, may contribute to global-scale shifts or ‘tipping points’ in ecological systems (Barnosky et al. 2012). Progress almost a decade later is slow and the pressures on native temperate grasslands are ever increasing—the remaining vestiges are further at risk due to heavy utilisation pressure (White et al. 2012).

The aims of this paper are threefold: (1) continue to highlight the intrinsic and applied value of native temperate grasslands to society; (2) continue to draw attention to the grave situation facing this terrestrial biome and advocate the need for further protection; and (3) emphasize the future approach of the TGCI in its quest to expand the protected area footprint and ensure sustainable management of one of the world’s great terrestrial biomes before further losses and inadequate protection further compromise ecological integrity. This includes documenting the 10 focus areas that are central to the IUCN TGCI’s revised strategic direction over the next decade, as determined at the 2014 World Parks Congress hosted in Sydney (Australia), as well as a framework outlining the approaches to securing more land in the private and public domains.

The Temperate Grasslands Conservation Initiative at the World Parks Congress 2014: an opportunity for introspection and charting a new course

The IUCN World Parks Congress is the premier global forum on protected areas, aiming to set the agenda for protected area conservation for the decade to come. Building on the theme “Parks, People, Planet: Inspiring Solutions”, the sixth congress held in November 2014 established a platform to discuss and create original approaches for conservation and development, helping to address the gap in the conservation and sustainable development agenda (Andersen and Enkerlin-Hoeflich 2015; Cullen 2015; McNeely 2015). The TGCI, taking its strength from a diverse and multi-skilled team of volunteers involved in the conservation of native temperate grasslands from around the world, capitalised on the opportunity by hosting congress delegates at a side event focussing specifically on native temperate grassland conservation. Collective thinking and endorsements were shaped through consensus into a revised strategic direction that would best serve the mandate of the TGCI in the next decade. Simultaneously, deliberations amongst temperate grassland practitioners culminated in a succinct statement as a contribution to the ‘Promise of Sydney’:

Temperate grasslands, at only 4.5% protection status (at the time), are the most threatened and least protected of global terrestrial biomes. Significantly advancing conservation requires multiple flexible strategies that embrace both critical biodiversity protection and adaptive management approaches that respect cultural and economic livelihoods. Achieving success demands innovative strategies at all scales but particularly through large landscape-scale conservation efforts.

This congress and co-event, representing the most recent gathering of the TGCI, provided an ideal opportunity to revisit the approach to the conservation and protection of the world's temperate grasslands established in 2008 (see Henwood 2010). The realisation that the current <5% protection level was nowhere near the target of 10% by 2014 was a sobering one. A strong consensus was therefore reached to amplify efforts in a bid to rectify the dire status quo—and the means by which this may be achieved would have to harness new and unchartered opportunities for protection, particularly in the community-based cultural landscape arena given the vast swathes of native temperate grassland under communal land tenure, and the host of challenges to implementing further protection in the State and private arenas (Carbutt and Martindale 2014).

The final product emanating from the World Parks Congress 2014-affiliated temperate grassland workshop was a revised mission statement:

To reverse the trend of biodiversity loss and degradation in the temperate grassland biome by pursuing the identification of opportunities for, and the creation of, new or expanded protected areas that conserve and protect areas of special importance for biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainable use, consistent with the principles as outlined in Aichi Target 11, with the short-term goal of at least doubling the current level of protection by 2020.

The conservation value of rangelands and nomadic pastoralism: central to the TGCI’s revised strategic direction (2016–2025)

Reality dictates that the protected area estate can only grow within the confines of a finite planet constrained by a steadily increasing population. The spillover of people into protected areas, once revered as ivory towers, continues to grow. Dynamic management models will therefore have to increasingly incorporate the ‘humanity factor’ to address the twin pillars of adequate protection and sustainable utilisation. It is no surprise, therefore, that the newest territories sought for protected area expansion are located in remote areas long occupied by politically marginal indigenous peoples and subsistence-based nomadic pastoralists who have co-existed with their environment for millennia and who continue to rely on the natural resources these grasslands provide (McNeely 2015). Many of these grassland environments have evolved with transhumance grazing or nomadic pastoralism. The significant shortfall in native temperate grassland protection status will have to be met in the rangeland arena—therefore securing grassland habitat within working landscapes is unavoidable. However, securing gains in a production-oriented and highly fragmented biome is very challenging. Either land is privately owned and utilised for commercial purposes; or land is of communal tenure, supporting the subsistence needs of indigenous peoples and nomadic pastoralists. The challenge is to secure the few remaining vast swathes of native temperate grassland in a way that fully integrates biodiversity conservation and sustainable use to the benefit of biodiversity, the local communities and ultimately all humanity. Good relationships between protected area management and local people are critical to the achievement of protected area objectives, particularly when local communities are demanding greater profile in how these areas are managed (Borrini-Feyerabend et al. 2014; McNeely 2015; Smyth 2015). The role of conservation not-for-profits in this arena has increased dramatically in the past two decades (Agrawal and Gibson 1999).

Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), a largely untapped and unexplored mechanism not previously considered by the TGCI, is the fourth governance type (‘D’) recognised by the IUCN and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (Borrini-Feyerabend et al. 2014; Smyth 2015). Setting a new course which considers territories under alternate management approaches, radically different from previous approaches employed by the TGCI, places a strong reliance on IUCN Protected Area Management Categories V and VI (and to a lesser extent Category IV), accompanied by an acceptance of ICCAs as legitimate and recognised protected areas (see Table 1: point #5). Here, decision-making responsibilities lie with indigenous peoples or local communities even though the emphasis is on conservation outcomes (Borrini-Feyerabend et al. 2014; Smyth 2015). The ICCA Global Support Initiative, which aims to improve the recognition, support and effectiveness of ICCAs for biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods and climate change resilience (IUCN 2015), may be the best route to follow given that sustainability is one of the most relevant issues facing society (Chapin et al. 2012) and conservation (Borrini-Feyerabend et al. 2014). The vital contribution that rangelands and sustainable pastoralism can make towards the conservation of native temperate grasslands took a major step forward through endorsement of ‘the Cancun Statement’ at the CBD Conference of Parties 13 in Mexico, December 2016.

Table 1 Strategic focus areas identified by the TGCI for the next ten years for the fulfilment of its mandate (2016–2025)
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Furthermore, the TGCI should over the course of the next 10 years also focus on nine other strategic areas that include good leadership, securing of funding, changing false perceptions, developing strategic partnerships, and assessing the potential impacts of climate change (Table 1). Although the foundations for this revised strategic direction were laid at the 2014 World Parks Congress, a leadership hiatus only recently resolved through the appointment of a new TGCI director in 2016 has meant that the revised strategic direction can only commence in 2016.

A shining light in a dark tunnel: the Daurian Steppe of Central Asia

Geographically, where should the TGCI focus its efforts to expedite its mandate? The significant shortfall in protection of native temperate grasslands means that any further interventions have to be ‘land hungry’ and good value to justify the future investment of resources such as time and finances. Given the vastness of the temperate grassland biome and poor level of formal protection, an additional ca. 930,000 km2 (or 93,000,000 ha) of effectively managed protected area estate is still required to address the Aichi Target 11 shortfall. This is probably the largest conservation target deficit in the world, equivalent in area to the size of France and Italy combined. This quantum of land can only be found in a few select regions of the world where grand-scale, landscape-level native temperate grassland regions offering tens of millions of hectares are to be found. Few greater opportunities to conserve large contiguous tracts of untransformed temperate grassland exist than in central, eastern and western Asia (Fig. 1; Tables 1, 2), where the Gobi-Steppe Ecosystem, for example, occupies some 827,000 km2 and is the largest intact steppe in the world (Batsaikhan et al. 2014).

Table 2 Approaches proposed by the TGCI for the creation or expansion of temperate grassland protected areas in a bid to address the largest conservation target deficit in the world
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An exciting and potentially viable opportunity within this ecosystem is the Dauria International Protected Area and its proposed expansion. This potential mega-reserve is located in one of the TGCI’s four priority regions, namely the Daurian Steppe Ecoregion (an international transboundary steppe region straddling the southern Russian Federation, eastern Mongolia and northern China; Fig. 1). The core conservation area of the Daurian Steppe is located in the Daursky State Nature Biosphere Reserve (Russian Federation), Mongol Daguur (Mongolia) and Dalai Lake National Nature Reserve (Inner Mongolia, China). Its inclusion on the World Heritage (WH) Tentative List, under consideration for WH listing, bears testament to its significant biological value. When concluded, this transboundary protected area will be in excess of 1,000,000 ha (or 10,000 km2, including its buffer zone) and will make a significant contribution to the protection of native temperate grassland habitat and associated biodiversity, particularly migratory species such as Mongolian Gazelle, as well as Hooded and White-naped Cranes (Natural Protection Heritage Fund 2013). Such native temperate grassland regions were once home to some of the largest animal migratory events on the planet (Henwood 2010). Threats to the steppes in this region include habitat transformation through cropping, mining and energy industries, over- and under-grazing by livestock, afforestation, hunting, climate change, inappropriate use of fire, expansion of human settlements, irrigation projects, and invasive alien species (UNDP/GEF 2015). The TGCI’s other three priority regions are the Kazakh Steppe (western Asia), Patagonian Steppe (South America), and the Northern Great Plains (North America) (Fig. 1; Tables 1, 2).

The greater of evils: croplands, gaslands and treescapes

It would be remiss to not single out some of the most current and highly topical threats posing the greatest danger to native temperate grasslands. The alarming rate of conversion to croplands, not seen since the early 20th century, is primarily due to high commodity prices for corn, soy bean, wheat, alfalfa and canola (Wright and Wimberly 2013; WWF 2016). In the Great Plains of North America, ca. 53 million acres (21.5 million ha) of intact temperate grassland have been converted since 2009—equivalent to an area the size of Kansas (WWF 2016). To put this into a conservation perspective, this area is equal to almost 50% of the global temperate grassland protected area estate (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2016).

The relatively recent phenomenon of hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) is a notable threat responsible for a host of environmental ills (Osborn et al. 2011). Furthermore, the planting of trees in the native temperate grassland biome as a means of locking up carbon (see Veldman et al. 2015), and biofuel production, are other significant threats. Recent evidence has shown that the temperature-lowering benefits of natural grassland surfaces due to their high reflectance properties (i.e., high albedo) far outweigh the carbon-fixing benefits derived from afforesting grasslands (Loranty et al. 2011; De Wit et al. 2014). Tree planting, not just for carbon financing schemes, should rather be limited to reforestation efforts where naturally occurring trees have been previously cleared (Veldman et al. 2015).

Conclusion

According to the 2016 Protected Planet Report, only 4.6% of native temperate grasslands are conserved globally within protected areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2016). This is only a slight increase from the 4.5% protection reported at the World Parks Congress in 2014 (Juffe-Bignoli et al. 2014) and falls considerably short of the Aichi Target 11 of 17% protection for all terrestrial ecosystems by 2020 (CBD 2012). Therefore, for native temperate grasslands, the profound shortfall in area under protection necessitates the need to urgently secure the largest remaining native temperate grasslands that are of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services. In other words, temperate grassland conservation is still preoccupied with where and how large parcels of land can be secured. In general terms, global efforts to conserve most other biomes are far more advanced, requiring only a modest increase in terrestrial protected areas estate to achieve the CBD Aichi Target 11 of 17% protection by 2020 (CBD 2012). This breathing space allows attention to be drawn to other issues such as management effectiveness, good governance, equity, retention of ecological services and connectivity.

The TGCI’s role should therefore be clearly focused on the identification, and where possible the facilitation, of opportunities to create new protected areas and other forms of conservation management regimes in the temperate grassland biome (Table 2). It is envisaged that with new areas under protection, the provisions for management effectiveness, good governance, equity, connectivity and other important parameters will all be developed during the establishment phase and incorporated into the management regime from the onset of the process. Such a course necessitates a strong reliance on integrating sustainable use (a central tenet to the TGCI’s mandate) and conservation by promoting concepts such as ICCAs as legitimate and recognized forms of protected areas. Secondarily, the TGCI would continue to support a wide range of other efforts on both public and private land in the other native temperate grassland regions around the world for the continued enhancement of the conservation and protection of this biome (Table 2).

The appreciation and profile of native temperate grasslands must be raised on the international conservation agenda (Table 3). Perhaps one mechanism should be an appeal to the United Nations General Assembly for the establishment of an ‘International Year of Grasslands’ or an ‘International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists’ (IYRP), as is now being actively promoted by a consortium of interested parties, including the TGCI. Such recognition would be akin to the many other international celebrations observed, such as the ‘Fascination of Plants Day’ (18 May, annually), International Mountain Day (11 December, annually) and the International Year of Soils (2015). Many more effectively managed native temperate grassland protected areas are required, hopefully managed at a suitably high standard befitting of the ‘Green List’ of protected areas—the global standard of good practice for defining success of protected areas (IUCN 2014). Equally important is the establishment of a representative sample of native temperate grassland protected areas securing some of the most iconic and biodiverse temperate grasslands landscapes of the world, and for those meeting the criteria, as World Heritage Sites with a secure conservation outlook.

Table 3 Clarifying the false perceptions and attitudes towards native temperate grasslands
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The naive and short-sighted approach to viewing native temperate grasslands merely as a palette for transformation and intensive utilisation should be weighed more objectively against an understanding of the myriad benefits they provide (see also Appendices A–C), for example: (1) grassland diversity enhancing ecosystem function, productivity, stability and sustainability (Tilman et al. 1996); (2) healthy intact ecosystems contributing to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of humanity (Parks Victoria 2015); (3) sustainably managed grasslands having immense economic value as rangelands for livestock grazing; and (4) for the carbon storage and watershed services they provide (Asian Development Bank 2014). We therefore advocate the need for improved and less biased land-use and decision support systems that take greater cognisance of these benefits upon which the long-term survival of humanity depends. Halting further losses on a grand scale, changing public and corporate opinion, and influencing governance and policy are other key areas requiring urgent interventions.