Effectiveness of conservation lands in Mexico for safeguarding terrestrial endemic species from the human‐induced extinction crisis

Abstract

The conservation of endemic species requires identifying areas within their range affected by human‐modified landscapes, an unresolved challenge across Mexico, one of the world's most biodiverse countries. Although formally protected areas are the backbone of biodiversity conservation, there are often substantial gaps in their overall effectiveness. Here, we conducted a comprehensive national‐scale analysis to assess the effectiveness of conservation lands in mitigating cumulative human impacts on endemic species of plants and animals. We processed national distributional maps for 1639 endemic species, showing the overlap of conservation lands with cumulative human impacts. We quantified overlap between species distributions, conservation lands, and human‐pressure categories and evaluated differences among groups statistically. Our findings reveal that 56% and 26% of all endemic species' distribution ranges overlap ecoregions experiencing medium and high human pressure, respectively, while only 18% occur in regions with low human pressure. Biome‐level analysis shows that 87% of endemic species' ranges overlap with biomes under medium human pressure, with just 13% persisting in low‐impact biomes. Despite this, Protected Natural Areas overlap ∼ 10% of these species' ranges, while Voluntary Conservation Use Areas and other effective Area‐Based Conservation Measures overlap with ∼ 1% and 3%, respectively. Our results indicate that existing conservation lands are insufficient to safeguard Mexico's endemic species, including those most at risk of extinction, thereby foreshadowing localized extirpations and potential species loss. This underscores the urgent need for a substantial expansion of conservation networks to secure biodiversity in a rapidly human‐dominated landscape; however, achieving this goal will be politically, economically, and socially demanding without substantial national and international support. Our study advances understanding of these conservation challenges and, despite the potential difficulties, highlights the necessity for immediate, proactive measures to ensure the long‐term persistence of Mexico's endemic species.