scholarly journals Incorporating Established Conservation Networks into Freshwater Conservation Planning Results in More Workable Prioritizations

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Sievert ◽  
Craig P. Paukert ◽  
Joanna B. Whittier
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Habitat Integrity ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Wadeable Streams ◽  
Conservation Networks ◽  
Blank Slate

Resources for addressing stream fish conservation issues are often limited and the stressors impacting fish continue to increase, so decision makers often rely on tools to prioritize locations for conservation actions. Because conservation networks already exist in many areas, incorporating these into the planning process can increase the ability of decision makers to carry out management actions. In this study we aim to identify priority areas within established networks to provide an approach which allows managers to focus efforts on the most valuable areas they control, while identifying areas outside of the network, which support species with minimal representation within the network, for acquisition or conservation partnerships. The goal of this approach is to prioritize sites to achieve high levels of species representation while also developing workable solutions. We applied a methodology incorporating established networks into a systematic conservation planning process for fish in temperate wadeable streams located in Missouri, USA. We compared how well species were represented in our approach with two commonly used alternatives: A blank slate approach which used the same systematic conservation planning technique but did not incorporate established networks, and a habitat integrity approach based solely on anthropogenic threat data. Relative to the blank slate approach, our approach required 210% more segments for representation of all species, and contained an average of 0.5 additional occurrences for the least well-represented species. Although the blank slate solution was more efficient in achieving species representation, 77% of segments in this solution were not already protected. This would likely pose a challenge for implementing conservation actions. Relative to habitat integrity-based priorities, our approach required only 38% of the number of stream segments to achieve representation of all species and contained an average of 5 additional occurrences of the least represented species, representing a substantial gain in representation. Incorporating established networks may allow managers to focus resources on areas with the greatest conservation value within established networks and to identify the most valuable areas complementary to the established networks, resulting in priorities which may be more actionable and effective than those developed by alternative approaches.

scholarly journals Systematic conservation planning and adaptive management

Koedoe ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Holness ◽  
Harry C. Biggs
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
Functional Elements ◽  
Adaptive Approach ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Effective Conservation

This article argues that systematic conservation planning (SCP) is an intrinsic part of the adaptive management approach within SANParks and should not be seen as a separate or different initiative. SCP operates within a complex environment that requires a deliberately adaptive approach. The similarities in philosophy, structure and functional elements of the planning process and approach between adaptive management and SCP, as applied within SANParks, are highlighted. The article distils requirements for ensuring that SCP remains strategically adaptive in its approach.Conservation implication: A deliberately adaptive approach to SCP improves its effectiveness in guiding the implementation of conservation actions and is a requirement for effective conservation planning in a complex environment.

scholarly journals From principles to practice: a spatial approach to systematic conservation planning in the deep sea

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1773) ◽  
pp. 20131684 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. Wedding ◽  
A. M. Friedlander ◽  
J. N. Kittinger ◽  
L. Watling ◽  
S. D. Gaines ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Socioeconomic Impacts ◽  
Ocean Management ◽  
International Seabed Authority ◽  
Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone ◽  
Nodule Mining

Increases in the demand and price for industrial metals, combined with advances in technological capabilities have now made deep-sea mining more feasible and economically viable. In order to balance economic interests with the conservation of abyssal plain ecosystems, it is becoming increasingly important to develop a systematic approach to spatial management and zoning of the deep sea. Here, we describe an expert-driven systematic conservation planning process applied to inform science-based recommendations to the International Seabed Authority for a system of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs) to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in an abyssal Pacific region targeted for nodule mining (e.g. the Clarion–Clipperton fracture zone, CCZ). Our use of geospatial analysis and expert opinion in forming the recommendations allowed us to stratify the proposed network by biophysical gradients, maximize the number of biologically unique seamounts within each subregion, and minimize socioeconomic impacts. The resulting proposal for an MPA network (nine replicate 400 × 400 km MPAs) covers 24% (1 440 000 km 2 ) of the total CCZ planning region and serves as example of swift and pre-emptive conservation planning across an unprecedented area in the deep sea. As pressure from resource extraction increases in the future, the scientific guiding principles outlined in this research can serve as a basis for collaborative international approaches to ocean management.

scholarly journals Systematic conservation planning in the eastern English Channel: comparing the Marxan and Zonation decision-support tools

2011 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Delavenne ◽  
Kristian Metcalfe ◽  
Robert J. Smith ◽  
Sandrine Vaz ◽  
Corinne S. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Decision Support Tools ◽  
English Channel ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
Support Tools

Abstract Delavenne, J., Metcalfe, K., Smith, R. J., Vaz, S., Martin, C. S., Dupuis, L., Coppin, F., and Carpentier, A. 2012. Systematic conservation planning in the eastern English Channel: comparing the Marxan and Zonation decision-support tools. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: 75–83. The systematic conservation approach is now commonly used for the design of efficient marine protected area (MPA) networks, and identifying these priority areas often involves using specific conservation-planning software. Several such software programmes have been developed in recent years, each differing in the underlying algorithms used. Here, an investigation is made into whether the choice of software influences the location of priority areas by comparing outputs from Marxan and Zonation, two widely used conservation-planning, decision-support tools. Using biological and socio-economic data from the eastern English Channel, outputs are compared and it is shown that the two software packages identified similar sets of priority areas, although the relatively wide distribution of habitat types and species considered offered much flexibility. Moreover, the similarity increased with increasing spatial constraint, especially when using real-world cost data, suggesting that the choice of cost metric has a greater influence on conservation-planning analyses than the choice of software. However, Marxan generally produced more efficient results and Zonation produced results with greater connectivity, so the most appropriate software package will depend on the overall goals of the MPA planning process.

scholarly journals Research advances and gaps in marine planning: towards a global database in systematic conservation planning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Gabriel Álvarez-Romero ◽  
Morena Mills ◽  
Vanessa Adams ◽  
Georgina G. Gurney ◽  
Robert L. Pressey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Geographic Coverage ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Marine Applications ◽  
Marine Planning

Systematic conservation planning (SCP) has increasingly been used to prioritize conservation actions, including the design of new protected areas to achieve conservation objectives. Over the last 10 years, the number of marine SCP studies has increased exponentially, yet there is no structured or reliable way to find information on methods, trends, and progress. The rapid growth in methods and marine applications warrants an updated analysis of the literature, as well as reflection on the need for continuous and systematic documentation of SCP exercises in general. To address these gaps, we developed a database to document SCP exercises and populated it with 155 marine SCP exercises found in the primary literature. Based on our review, we provide an update on global advances and trends in marine SCP literature. We found accelerating growth in the number of studies over the past decade, with increasing consideration of socioeconomic variables, land-sea planning, and ecological connectivity. While several studies aimed to inform conservation decisions, we found little evidence of input from practitioners. There are important gaps in geographic coverage and little correspondence with areas most threatened. Five countries lead most studies, but their networks suggest potential for capacity building through collaborations. The varying quality and detail in documentation of studies confirmed the limited opportunities to develop and assess the application of best practice in conservation planning. A global database to track the development, implementation, and impact of SCP applications can thus provide numerous benefits. Our database constitutes an important step towards the development of a centralized repository of information on planning exercises and can serve several roles to advance SCP theory and practice: it facilitates assessing geographic coverage and gaps; scientists and practitioners can access information to identify trends in the use of data, methods, and tools; reviewers and editors of journals can assess whether studies have covered important literature and developments; donors and non-government organizations can identify regions needing further work; and practitioners and policy-makers can learn from previous plans.

A New System Takes Shape

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Guiney
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Legal Effect ◽  
Parole System

The chapter examines the legislative planning process that gradually refined the early release framework eventually given legal effect by Part Two of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. The chapter begins with a review of the post-election planning process that gathered pace following the 1987 General Election. It examines the Home Office strategic awayday held at Leeds Castle in September 1987 and goes on to consider the Green Paper, Punishment, Custody and the Community and an unprecedented conference at Ditchley Park which brought together senior decision-makers from across the criminal justice system. The chapter then examines the passage of the Criminal Justice Bill 1990/91 and reflects upon the dramatic backlash against the new parole system in the mid-1990s. The chapter concludes with a critical appraisal of the underlying tensions that defined the development of criminal justice during this transitional period.

scholarly journals Integrated Impact Assessment for Sustainable Hydropower Planning in the Vjosa Catchment (Greece, Albania)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1514
Author(s):  
Rebecca Peters ◽  
Jürgen Berlekamp ◽  
Ana Lucía ◽  
Vittoria Stefani ◽  
Klement Tockner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Hydropower Plants ◽  
Hydropower Planning

Mitigating climate change, while human population and economy are growing globally, requires a bold shift to renewable energy sources. Among renewables, hydropower is currently the most economic and efficient technique. However, due to a lack of impact assessments at the catchment scale in the planning process, the construction of hydropower plants (HPP) may have unexpected ecological, socioeconomic, and political ramifications in the short and in the long term. The Vjosa River, draining parts of Northern Greece and Albania, is one of the few predominantly free-flowing rivers left in Europe; at the same time its catchment is identified an important resource for future hydropower development. While current hydropower plants are located along tributaries, planned HPP would highly impact the free-flowing main stem. Taking the Vjosa catchment as a case study, the aim of this study was to develop a transferable impact assessment that ranks potential hydropower sites according to their projected impacts on a catchment scale. Therefore, we integrated established ecological, social, and economic indicators for all HPP planned in the river catchment, while considering their capacity, and developed a ranking method based on impact categories. For the Vjosa catchment, ten hydropower sites were ranked as very harmful to the environment as well as to society. A sensitivity analysis revealed that this ranking is dependent upon the selection of indicators. Small HPP showed higher cumulative impacts than large HPP, when normalized to capacity. This study empowers decision-makers to compare both the ranked impacts and the generated energy of planned dam projects at the catchment scale.

Applying systematic conservation planning to improve the allocation of restoration actions at multiple spatial scales

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben L. Gilby ◽  
Andrew D. Olds ◽  
Christopher J. Brown ◽  
Rod M. Connolly ◽  
Christopher J. Henderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Multiple Spatial Scales

A Systematic Planning Tool for Environmental Characterisation

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Wilcox ◽  
Richard Wilkins ◽  
Martin Lyons
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Cost Effective Approach ◽  
Systematic Planning ◽  
Sample Plan

Many organisations are currently dealing with long standing legacy issues in clean up, decommissioning and demolition projects. Industry is required to ensure that all bulk articles, substances and waste arisings are adequately characterised and assigned to the correct disposal routes in compliance with UK legislation and best practice. It is essential that data used to support waste sentencing is of the correct type, quality and quantity, and that it is appropriately assessed in order to support defensible, confident decisions that account for inherent uncertainties. AMEC has adopted the Data Quality Objectives (DQO) based methodology and the software package Visual Sample Plan (VSP) to provide a better, faster, and more cost effective approach to meeting regulatory and client requirements, whilst minimising the time spent gathering data and assessing the information. The DQO methodology is based on a scientific approach that requires clear objectives to be established from the outset of a project and that there is a demonstration of acceptability of the results. Through systematic planning, the team develops acceptance or performance criteria for the quality of the data collected and for the confidence in the final decision. The systematic planning process promotes communication between all departments and individuals involved in the decision-making process thus the planning phase gives an open and unambiguous method to support the decisions and enables the decision-makers (technical authorities on the materials of concern) to document all assumptions. The DQO process allows better planning, control and understanding of all the issues. All types of waste can be sentenced under one controllable system providing a more defensible position. This paper will explain that the DQO process consists of seven main steps that lead to a detailed Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP). The process gives transparency to any assumptions made about the site or material being characterised and identifies individuals involved. The associated calculation effort is reduced using the statistically based sampling models produced with VSP. The first part of this paper explains the DQO based methodology and Visual Sample Plan and the second part shows how the DQO process has been applied in practice.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATING CROSS CONGRUENCE BETWEEN BUTTERFLY TAXA AND ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF SYSTEMATIC CONSERVATION PLANNING: A CASE STUDY FROM LESSER CAUCASUS ECOREGION OF TURKEY

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Banu Kaya özdemirel
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
Ecological Community ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Lesser Caucasus

Cross taxa congruence was investigated between butterfly taxa and ecological community for fine spatial scale (10 × 10 km² UTM grids) in north-eastern part of Turkey. The study area was evaluated within the scope of systematic conservation planning, and analyses were performed for sets of priority protected areas composed using complementarity-based site selection software Marxan. Cross taxa congruence was subsequently examined both in species richness and ecologic complementarity. Accordingly, it has been observed that the cross-taxon congruence between butterfly taxa and ecological community was relatively better than the results of previous studies. Another remarkable finding is that ecological community was a more robust surrogate than butterfly taxa. Although the results are valuable for conservation studies, they highlight the fact that a simple surrogate-based site selection would be inadequate to represent overall biodiversity.  The weakness of congruence patterns among surrogates would also lead to gaps in biodiversity conservation. These findings therefore draw attention to the necessities of incorporating surrogates of distinct ecology or some other surrogates like environmental parameters into conservation planning. Otherwise, there may be mistakes regarding species representation and the vast majority of species may be misrepresented in protected areas and protected area plans. At this point, it should be emphasized that understating cross taxa congruence and/or relationships is a key component for efficient biodiversity conservation.

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