The six HCVs - HCV Resource Network

The Six
High Conservation Values
www.proforest.net

• Definitions
• Traditions
Conservation
• Ethic of Resource Use
– Fundamental aim is to maintain the
health of the natural world

Conservation values
• Conservationists have different
priorities:
– Biodiversity
– Species
– Ecosystems
– Sustainable multi-functional landscapes
or ’Ecosystem approaches’
– Ecosystem services
– Sustainable development

High Conservation Values
• Core of HCV approach is six HCVs
• Encompass range of conservation priorities
shared by diverse stakeholder groups
• Includes social & cultural values as well as
biodiversity & environmental values
• Experience demonstrates HCV is an
effective framework for identifying
conservation priorities in diverse settings

What are the HCVs?
• Six categories of HCV identified in
generic definition:
– HCV 1: Species
– HCV 2: Landscapes
– HCV 3: Ecosystems
– HCV 4: Environmental Services
– HCV 5: Local Community Livelihoods
– HCV 6: Sites of Cultural Importance

Scope & Use
• Global HCV definitions are generic
• Applicable across sectors & countries
• Proper use requires local adaptation and
development of National Definitions:
– National interpretation process
– Assessment by assessment (interim solution)

Global HCV Definitions

HCV 1
• Globally, regionally or
nationally significant
concentrations of
biodiversity values.
– 1.1 Protected areas
– 1.2 Concentrations of threatened or endangered species
– 1.3 Concentrations of endemic species
– 1.4 Seasonal concentrations of species

HCV 2
• Large landscape level
ecosystems, where
viable populations of
most if not all
naturally occurring
species exist in natural
patterns of
distribution and
abundance.

HCV 3
• Rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems

HCV 4
• Areas that provide
basic services of nature
in critical situations
– 4.1 Areas critical to water
catchments
– 4.2 Areas critical to erosion
control
– 4.3 Natural barriers to destructive
fire

HCV 5
• Areas fundamental to meeting the basic
needs of local communities (e.g. food,
water, health, materials).

HCV 6
• Areas critical to local
community traditional
cultural identity:
Areas of cultural,
ecological or religious
significance identified
in cooperation with
such local
communities.

The HCV process
Identify
• What are the potential HCVs in this region?
• Which values occur in the area?
• Where are these values located?
Manage
• What are the existing threats to the values?
• Habitat area needed to maintain the values?
• How should habitat be managed?
Consultation
Monitor
• What needs to be monitored?
• How will monitoring be done?
• How will the results of monitoring be used?

Which HCVs occur in the
assessment area?
• Unusual for all HCVs to be present
• May be able to exclude some a priori:
– If the forest is fragmented then HCV 2 is absent
– If no indigenous or forest dependent communities present,
then HCV 5 & 6 are probably absent
• What information is needed to decide which
others are present?
– Existing information (studies, consultation)
– Information which needs to be collected

Which HCVs occur in the
assessment area?
• Unusual for all HCVs to be present
• May be able to exclude some a priori:
– If the forest is fragmented then HCV 2 is absent
– If no indigenous or forest dependent communities present,
then HCV 5 & 6 are probably absent
• What information is needed to decide which
others are present?
– Existing secondary data (literature, reports, consultation)
– Primary (original) data that must be collected

Location and extent of HCVs
• Location & extent of some HCVs is static
– Water courses supplying drinking water
– Location of rare ecosystems
• Some values extend over large areas
– Home ranges of large mammals
– Hunting areas of indigenous people
• Understanding the location and extent of an
HCV is crucial to delineate the area over
which management is required to maintain it

HCV Case Study 1
-
Concentrations of biodiversity values
(HCV 1)
in a Cameroon forest*
*Maps courtesy Pallisco

Location of the forest

Images ©Pallisco 2008

HCV Case Study 2
-
Endangered ecosystems (HCV 3)
in Indonesia *
*Maps courtesy Daemeter Consulting, Indonesia

West
Kalimantan

Past & present forest cover
Ecosystem maps

• Rare or threatened
ecosystems defined using a
repeatable, transparent
method based on national
HCV toolkit definitions (rarity,
% loss of historical area,
threat)
• Process can be transposed to
other regions
• Large scale map provides
valuable landscape context
for site-level decisions

Site-level mapping of HCV 3
Landsat 7 (30 m) Actual on the ground (0.2 m)

HCV Case Study 3
–
Critical livelihood resources (HCV 5)
in Komi Republic, Russia*
*Maps courtesy Silver Taiga Project, Russia

30 E 60 E 90 E
Finland
#
Arkhangelsk
Polar circle
~ 66.5 N
Komi
Republic
#
Syktyvkar
#
Kirov
60 N
Ukraine
#Y Moscow
Russia
• Priluszky Leskhoz - Model
Forest for SFM (800,000 Ha)
• State and NGO-driven initiative
for FSC certification
• Pioneered interpretation and
management of HCVs in
Russian forests
Kazakhstan

Areas critical for subsistence (HCV5)
identified through public hearings
Komi Main Directorate of Natural Resources
granted legal status to
- Consultation process
- NTFP collection areas in State Forests
villa g e
Lo im a
#
r ive r
L e kh ta
v il la g e
Ko z lo vs ka ya
#
mushrooms
Boletus edulis
Lactarius resimus
#
villa g e
Ga r
riv er
L u z a
riv er
K o rz h a
berries
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Oxycoccus quadripetalus
Rubus chamaemorus
Vaccinium myrtillus
#
villa g e
Ko r zh in s k y