Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-10 (section)

===== 10.5.2.2.4 Forests and biodiversity =====

<div id="h4-28-siblings" class="h4-siblings"></div>

Technologies and their applications to identify habitat degradation, ecosystem functions and biodiversity conservation are increasing in Asia, with many countries looking to new and improved means for forest and biodiversity monitoring and conservation. In particular, there has been an impressive use of temporal satellite data, particularly from the Landsat and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) series for widespread monitoring of forests and ecological resources. These series have provided reliable information on forests and ecosystem services at the country level, in difficult terrains, such as the mountains, cross-boundaries and otherwise inaccessible areas. For instance, [[#Yin--2017|Yin et al. (2017)]] estimated cross-boundary forest resources in Central Asia, a region which traditionally suffered from lack of reliable forest data, using remote sensing techniques. In a separate study, [[#Reddy--2020|Reddy et al. (2020)]] used long-term MODIS forest fire data from 2003 to 2017 to characterise fire frequency, density and hotspots in South Asia. Archives of scientific data, backed by state-of-the art modelling techniques, advanced-computing methods and innovations in big-data analysis, particularly helped the provisioning of scientific research. A number of studies simulated forest futures from the local to the continent scale under different socioeconomic and climate scenarios. For instance, at the local scale, Dasgupta et al. (2018) projected the future extent of mangroves in the Sundarban Delta under four local scenarios, while [[#Estoque--2019|Estoque et al. (2019)]] modelled and developed spatial maps of regional forest futures in Southeast Asia using the five SSP scenarios. Science and technology also helped the monitoring of species diversity and abundance, pivotal for sustaining an ecosystem and ecosystem-based adaptation. Digital camera traps and radio-collaring methods have largely replaced old film cameras and labour-intensive methods of photo screening to count target species ( [[#Pimm--2015|Pimm et al., 2015]] ). This enhanced scientific capacities to monitor biodiversity and facilitate better conservation in difficult terrains, control poachers and maintain steady ecological balance. [[#Umapathy--2016|Umapathy et al. (2016)]] , for example, used VHF radio collars and satellite-based tracking tools to monitor the movement of Bengal tigers over hostile island terrain. Photo recognition and other non-invasive techniques for individual identification have been rising in Asia. For example, a study by [[#Gray--2014|Gray et al. (2014)]] used faecal-DNA samples to estimate the population density of the Asian elephant in Cambodia. Furthermore, the advancement of citizen science programmes has greatly facilitated better monitoring of forest resources, including invasive floral and faunal species ( [[#Chandler--2017|Chandler et al., 2017]] ; [[#Johnson--2020|Johnson et al., 2020]] ). In Asia, citizen science has been used effectively in India ( [[#Chandler--2017|Chandler et al., 2017]] ), and also in Malaysia for the monitoring urban bird abundance ( [[#Puan--2019|Puan et al., 2019]] ).

<div id="10.5.2.3" class="h3-container"></div>

<span id="knowledge-gaps-and-future-directions-1"></span>