New indicator of habitat functionality reveals high risk of underestimating trade-offs among sustainable development goals: The case of wild reindeer and hydropower.

ABSTRACT: Although biodiversity is crucial for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), following the current trajectory, we risk failing SDG 15. Using a new indicator quantifying the loss of functional habitat (habitat that is simultaneously suitable and well-connected), we show that the real impact of renewable energy is far larger than previously assumed. Specifically, we estimate that the construction of hydropower reservoirs in south Norway caused a loss of ca. 222 km² of functional habitat for wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)-which is far larger than assumed based on land inundation indices (110 km²). Fully mitigating these impacts is challenging: scenario analyses reveal that the measures proposed by societal actors would yield only a fraction of the habitat lost (2-12 km<

SUBMITTER: Dorber M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9989093 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature