Connectivity Conservation Management: A Global Guide

Description

In an era of climate change, deforestation and massive habitat loss, we can no longer rely on parks and protected areas as isolated 'islands of wilderness' to conserve and protect vital biodiversity. Increasing connections are being considered and made between protected areas and 'connectivity' thinking has started to expand to the regional and even the continental scale to match the challenges of conserving biodiversity in the face of global environmental change. This groundbreaking book is the first guide to connectivity conservation management at local, regional and continental scales. Written by leading conservation and protected area management specialists under the auspices of the World Commission on Protected Areas of IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, this guide brings together a decade and a half of practice and covers all aspects of connectivity planning and management The book establishes a context for managing connectivity conservation and identifies large scale naturally interconnected areas as critical strategic and adaptive responses to climate change. The second section presents 25 rich and varied case studies from six of the eight biogeographic realms of Earth, including the Cape Floristic Region of Africa, the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains, the Australian Alps to Atherton Corridor, and the Sacred Himalayan Landscape connectivity area (featuring Mount Everest.) The remarkable 3200 kilometre long Yellowstone to Yukon corridor of Canada and the United States of America is described in detail. The third section introduces a model for managing connectivity areas, shaped by input from IUCN workshops held in 2006 and 2008 and additional research. The final chapter identifies broad guidelines that need to be considered in undertaking connectivity conservation management prior to reinforcing the importance and urgency of this work. This handbook is a must have for all professionals in protected area management, conservation, land management and resource management from the field through senior management and policy. It is also an ideal reference for students and academics in geography, protected area management and from across the environmental and natural sciences, social sciences and landuse planning. Published with Wilburforce Foundation, WWF, ICIMOD, IUCN, WCPA, Australian Alps and The Nature Conservancy.

Dr Graeme L. Worboys is Vice Chair of Mountains Biome and Connectivity Conservation, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Wendy L. Francis is director, conservation science and action, Yellowstone to Yukon Initiative, Banff, Canada Michael Lockwood is Senior Lecturer in Environment and Planning at the University of Tasmania.

'What a great effort! I found it comprehensive, easy to read and of practical value for park managers and other interested conservationists and professionals.' Dr Fausto Sarmiento, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Georgia, USA 'This is an important practical contribution to connectivity conservation. It will be a valuable resource text for practitioners and for those studying connectivity..' Professor Roger Crofts, Former Vice Chair Europe, IUCN WCPA and Chief Executive Officer, Scottish National Heritage; Honorary Professor, Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, UK 'This book provides a highly practical guide for designing, implementing and managing Connectivity Conservation Areas. It addresses the full suite of challenges that conservation management professionals are currently facing, from climate change adaptation to development pressures in fragmented landscapes. This valuable new book is more than innovation. It describes a new paradigm for conservation management for the 21st Century.' Cyril Kormos, Regional Vice Chair for North America and the Caribbean, IUCN WCPA; Vice President for Policy, The WILD Foundation 'This book provides a high quality, timely and welcomed insight into the theory and practice of connectivity conservation. This global guide serves as a valuable handbook, drawing key lessons from the case studies, identifying priorities and tasks for management and the challenges and opportunities for advancing connectivity conservation as the best hope for nature and people in the 21st Century.' Dr Brendan Mackey, Professor of Environmental Biogeography, Environmental Conservation, and Cross-disciplinary Studies in Sustainability, Australian National University 'This book is essential for individuals and for nongovernmental and governmental organizations engaged in connectivity projects at local to international levels.' R. L. Smith, Choice, October 2010. 'This book brings together a decade and a half of practice and covers all aspects of connectivity planning and management.' In Practice