Appendix 5: Vulnerability Index
93
BBOP Pilot Project Case Study – Ambatovy Project
Note that the results of the Biodiversity Assessment in relation to intrinsic
NON-USE VALUES
and
USE VALUES
are
presented in the KBCM sheet of the April 2008 report.
December 2008 iteration:
the Project believes that the use of the Vulnerability attributes still requires more in
depth analysis, which will be conduced in 2009: the justifications for excluding the vulnerability index in the
December 2008 calculations are that:
This attribute should be calculated by taxonomic group not by single species as was done in the April 2008
report: this index is a product of the combination of the IUCN status and that of relative abundance;
Abundance is already considered in the other attributes for each species. Calculating the vulnerability
index by taxonomic group (not single species) will give a greater ‘overall scope’ of the vulnerability and
irreplaceability:
– The index will provide a more scientific approach to determining the group requiring most effort for on-
site conservation relative to other selected species.
– It gives first same value (weight) for the various taxonomic groups. In fact not only species must avoid
EXTIRPATION
, but also the overall ecosystem characteristics should be offset. Among the latter is the
community composition that can be tackled through a biodiversity vulnerability index. Furthermore, a
gain on the vulnerability index by a taxonomic group will be more significant for biodiversity and
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
than a gain for a single species.
