Mapping of biodiversity hubs and key ecosystem services as a tool for shaping optimal areas for conservation

in the previous 2 weeks, 38% of children were stunted, and 2% of children were lost. Water quality is linked to diarrhoea through multiple pathways, the surveys also associate the time to get to water source and source of drinking water with the prevalence of childhood diarrhea in Rwanda [75, 76]. Given that mapping ES is becoming a key tool to guide decision making, the quality of such ES maps is important in order to be able to provide the most accurate information [77]. Our results corroborate the outcomes of the assessment that was conducted on China ecosystems which showed that improving ES can as well benefit the economic growth. Ouyang et al [78] provided more supporting cases from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Australia to reiterate that improvement of the provision of key ES can coexist with economic growth through intelligent policy design, although ES can decline without proper policies in place. Although the provision of ES has great value and benefits for local community and those living far away, it is unfortunate that these communities do not necessarily understand how much they benefits from them. The assessment of the contribution of ES to human wellbeing in western Rwanda reveals that the majority of services valued by forest-adjacent Rwandan inhabitants are not provided by tropical forests but by other habitats [19]. The method used for creating the maps for major groups of vertebrates and invertebrates has limitations as the method only identify the existence of the species in a given district but

do not provide any information about specific species density, occupancy, threat and territo- rial range. 4.3 The delineation of PA vs biodiversity hubs & priority area for ES provision Rwandan territory visibly contains numerous biodiversity hubs in which are concentrated exceptional level of endemic biodiversity. These zones are mainly but not limited to the offi- cially established PAs (NNP, GMNP, VNP, ANP). On those can be added regions that had enjoyed some degree of protection against human intrusion during the last decades, but also remote & inaccessible areas (Lake Kivu, Burera-Ruhondo Lake & Rugezi wetland, Nyabarongo River wetlands, Rweru-Mugesera wetland complex, Muvumba wetland, etc.). Before enjoying a certain level of stability, it is important to mention that Landscape features (sinkholes, bed- rock outcrops, water bodies, etc.), climatic conditions (temperatures, rainfall, etc.), and soil conditions (fertile soil, pH level, etc.) have in the first place combined to make them ‘ecological islands’ by giving them natural advantages allowing them to provide a convenient habitat, food, and nutrient to an exceptionally high number of biodiversity and provide high levels of ES. These precious regions are limited, fragile, and irreplaceable, anthropologic pressure and climate-driven may undermine the competitive advantage of these regions over others, hence the desperate need for protection. Rwanda’s NP system has been able to save many species that most probably wouldn’t survive until today. The expansion of the NP system to include the

biodiversity hubs & priority area for ES provision would save the latter from further depletion and help the previous to achieve the PA’s modern time mission of nature conservation which does no longer only includes responsibilities on biodiversity protection but also upon ES. 5 Conclusion Achieving the goal of protecting the optimal fractions of biodiversity in the high densely popu- lated Rwanda, desperately requires tools that enable the existing NP system to support the most species at the least cost. In addition, the NP system needs to reform and embrace new modern conservation responsibilities that have significantly increased compared to those they were required to deliver to at their establishment a century ago. Including biodiversity hubs PLOS ONE How do old national parks cope with regenerating conservation mission? PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253151 August 17, 2021 15 / 20