Assessing the Impact of Village Development on the Habitat Quality of Yunnan Snub-Nosed Monkeys Using the INVEST Model

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey is one of the most endangered species on the IUCN Red List. The study of its population and habitat quality is important in identifying opportunities for balancing socio-economic development against species conservation in the area’s villages. Such balances are important to protecting and improving habitat diversity and biodiversity. Our habitat quality analysis indicates that increases in socio-economic developments in the villages around the habitat area have decreased both the habitat area and the habitat quality over time. This has resulted in a decline in biodiversity persistence, resilience, and breadth. It also has exacerbated the risk of declining species populations, potentially to extinction. Though focused on the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, our approach toward the assessment of habitat quality based on species habitat suitability introduces a new perspective for assessing village development impacts on the habitat quality for the conservation of other species. ABSTRACT: The habitats of the already endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) are degrading as village economies develop in and around these habitat areas, increasing the depopulation and biodiversity risk of the monkey. The paper aims to show the areas of these monkeys’ high-quality habitats that are at highest risk of degradation by continued village development and hence be the focus of conservation efforts. Our analysis leveraged multiple tools, including primary component analysis, the InVEST Habitat-Quality model, and GIS spatial analysis. We enhanced our analysis by looking at habitat quality as it relates to the habitat suitability for the monkey specifically, instead of general habitat quality. We also focused on the impact of the smallest administrative scale in China—the village. These foci produced a clearer picture of the monkeys’ and villages’ situations, allowing for more targeted discussions on win–win solutions for both the monkeys and the village inhabitants. The results show that the northern habitat for the monkey is currently higher quality than the southern habitat, and correspondingly, the village development in the north is lower than in the south. Hence, we recommend conservation efforts be focused on the northern areas, though we also encourage the southern habitats to be protected from further degradation lest they degrade beyond the point of supporting any monkeys. We encourage developing a strategy that balances ecological protection and economic development in the northern region, a long-term plan for the southern region to reduce human disturbance, increase effective habitat restoration, and improve corridor design.