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Practical actions for applied systematic conservation planning |
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| Authors: | Emily A Botts Genevieve Pence Stephen Holness Kerry Sink Andrew Skowno Amanda Driver Linda R Harris Philip Desmet Boyd Escott Mervyn Lötter Jeanne Nel Tammy Smith Fahiema Daniels Samuel Sinclair Warrick Stewart Jeffrey Manuel |
| Institution: | 1. Independent Consultant, P.O. Box 85, Rosetta, KwaZulu-Natal, 3301 South Africa;2. CapeNature, Private Bag X29, Gatesville, Cape Town, 7766 South Africa;3. Nelson Mandela University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa;4. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X101, Silverton, 0184 South Africa;5. Department of Zoology, Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031 South Africa;6. Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, P.O. Box 13053, Cascades, 3202 Pietermaritzburg, South Africa;7. Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, Private Bag X 11338, Mbombela, 1200 South Africa;8. Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan, 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;9. Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ U.K.
University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 2JD U.K. Biodiversify, 31 Catharine Street, Cambridge, CB1 3AW U.K.;10. Resilience Environmental Advice, 14 Andrew Avenue, Rexford, Knysna, 6571 South Africa |
| Abstract: | Systematic conservation planning is intended to inform spatially explicit decision making. Doing so requires that it be integrated into complex regulatory and governance processes, and there are limited instances where this has been achieved effectively. South Africa is a global leader in the application of conservation plans, the outputs of which are widely used for spatial planning and decision making in many spheres of government. We aimed to determine how conservation planning in the country progressed from theory to implementation, and to identify practical actions that enabled this transition, by assessing temporal trends in the characteristics of conservation plans (1990–2017, n = 94). Since 2010 conservation planning has entered an operational period characterized by government leadership of plans, administrative rather than ecological planning domains, decreasing size of planning units, increasing emphasis on end-user products, and scheduled revision of plans. Key actions that enabled this progression include transitioning leadership of plans from scientists to practitioners, building capacity within implementing agencies, creating opportunities to integrate plans in legislative processes, establishing a strong community of practice, adopting implementation-focused methods, and balancing standardization with innovation. Learning from this model will allow other countries, particularly those with a similar megadiverse, developing context, to operationalize conservation planning into spatial planning and decision making. |
| Keywords: | biodiversity mainstreaming community of practice decision making implementation science-policy interface South Africa spatial planning systematic conservation planning implementación integración de la biodiversidad interfaz ciencia-política omunidad de práctica planeación espacial planeación sistemática de la conservación Sudáfrica toma de decisiones |