A conservation roadmap for the subterranean biome
J. Judson Wynne, Francis G. Howarth, Stefano Mammola, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira, Pedro Cardoso, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Diana M. P. Galassi, Rodrigo A. Medellín, Bruce W. Miller, David Sánchez‐Fernández, Maria Elina Bichuette, Jayant Biswas, Cory W. BlackEagle, Chaichat Boonyanusith, Isabel R. Amorim, Paulo A. V. Borges, Penelope J. Boston, Reynold N. Cal, Naowarat Cheeptham, Louis Deharveng, David Eme, Arnaud Faille, Danté B. Fenolio, Cene Fišer, Žiga Fišer, Samuel M. Gon, Forough Goudarzi, Christian Griebler, Stuart Halse, Hannelore Hoch, Enock Kale, Aron D. Katz, Ľubomír Kováč, Thomas M. Lilley, Shirish Manchi, Raoul Manenti, Alejandro Martínez, Melissa B. Meierhofer, Ana Z. Miller, Oana Teodora Moldovan, Matthew L. Niemiller, Stewart B. Peck, Thaís Giovannini Pellegrini, Tanja Pipan, C. M. Phillips-Lander, Celso Poot, Paul A. Racey, Alberto Sendra, William A. Shear, Marconi Souza‐Silva, Stefano Taiti, Mingyi Tian, Michael P. Venarsky, Sebastián Yancovic Pakarati, Maja Zagmajster, Yahui Zhao
Abstract
Abstract The 15th UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (COP15) will be held in Kunming, China in October 2021. Historically, CBDs and other multilateral treaties have either alluded to or entirely overlooked the subterranean biome. A multilateral effort to robustly examine, monitor, and incorporate the subterranean biome into future conservation targets will enable the CBD to further improve the ecological effectiveness of protected areas by including groundwater resources, subterranean ecosystem services, and the profoundly endemic subsurface biodiversity. To this end, we proffer a conservation roadmap that embodies five conceptual areas: (1) science gaps and data management needs; (2) anthropogenic stressors; (3) socioeconomic analysis and conflict resolution; (4) environmental education; and (5) national policies and multilateral agreements.