Connecting science,policy, and implementation for landscape‐scale habitat connectivity |
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| Authors: | Jedediah F Brodie Midori Paxton Kangayatkarasu Nagulendran G Balamurugan Gopalasamy Reuben Clements Glen Reynolds Anuj Jain Jason Hon |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departments of Zoology and Botany, 3529–6270 University Blvd, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada;2. United Nations Development Programme, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Bangkok Regional Hub, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok, Thailand;3. Faculty of Science, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Broga, Malaysia;4. ERE Consulting Group, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia;5. Rimba, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia;6. Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia;7. Kenyir Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia;8. South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership, Danum Valley Field Centre, Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia;9. Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore;10. World Wildlife Fund Malaysia, Sarawak, Kuching, Malaysia |
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| Abstract: | We examined the links between the science and policy of habitat corridors to better understand how corridors can be implemented effectively. As a case study, we focused on a suite of landscape‐scale connectivity plans in tropical and subtropical Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, and Bhutan). The process of corridor designation may be more efficient if the scientific determination of optimal corridor locations and arrangement is synchronized in time with political buy‐in and establishment of policies to create corridors. Land tenure and the intactness of existing habitat in the region are also important to consider because optimal connectivity strategies may be very different if there are few, versus many, political jurisdictions (including commercial and traditional land tenures) and intact versus degraded habitat between patches. Novel financing mechanisms for corridors include bed taxes, payments for ecosystem services, and strategic forest certifications. Gaps in knowledge of effective corridor design include an understanding of how corridors, particularly those managed by local communities, can be protected from degradation and unsustainable hunting. There is a critical need for quantitative, data‐driven models that can be used to prioritize potential corridors or multicorridor networks based on their relative contributions to long‐term metacommunity persistence. |
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| Keywords: | deforestation extinction habitat loss Malaysia metacommunity metapopulation persistence Southeast Asia tropical forest wildlife corridor bosque tropical corredor de vida silvestre deforestació n extinció n Malasia metacomunidad metapoblació n pé rdida de há bitat persistencia sureste de Asia |
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