Reconciling biodiversity conservation and flood risk reduction: The new strategy for freshwater protected areas

Aim Natural disaster risk reduction (DRR) is becoming a more important function of protected area (PAs) for current and future global warming. However, biodiversity conservation DRR have been handled separately their interrelationship has not explicitly addressed. This mainly because, due prevailing strategies criteria PA placement, large proportion PAs are currently located far from human-occupied areas, habitats in areas largely ignored as potential sites despite high biodiversity. If intensely developed lowland with flooding overlap conservation, it would be reasonable to try harmonize human development human-inhabited areas. Here, we examined whether extant can conserve macroinvertebrate freshwater fish flood management might suitable designate (FPAs). Location Across Japan. Methods We analysed the relationship between candidate new FPAs land use intensity at national scale across Japan based on distribution data 131 species 1395 species. Results found that overlapped approximately 30% conservation-priority grid cells (1 km2) both taxa. Particularly red-listed species, only one three achieved representation target within PAs. Moreover, than 40% were Main conclusions Floodplain provides habitat many organisms helps control floodwaters, so establishing could win-win strategy conserving enhancing ecosystem-based (eco-DRR).