Using the landscape species approach to focus conservation action: data from Congo, Ecuador and Bolivia

Citation

Coppolillo P, Sanderson EW, Vedder A, Wallace R, Painter LE, Gomez H, Jorgensen JP, Jorgensen AB, Curran B, Maisels F, Elkan P & Elkan S (2001) Using the landscape species approach to focus conservation action: data from Congo, Ecuador and Bolivia. Society for Conservation Biology Conference 2001, University of Hawaii; Hilo, 29.07.2001-01.08.2001. https://conbio.org/images/content_conferences/2001abstracts.pdf

Abstract
The landscape species approach provides a wildlife-based framework for site-based conservation in heterogeneous landscapes. Conservation actions are prioritized by identifying spatially and temporally explicit intersections (and 38 _ conflicts) between human activities and the requirements of landscape species. Suites of landscape species were selected for three sites: Madidi National Park in northwestern Bolivia, Yasuní National Park in eastern Ecuador, and Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo Republic. At each site, the spatial distributions of requirements for each landscape species were mapped at appropriate temporal scales and overlaid on distributions of human activities for the same periods. Based on these analyses, `focal landscapes' were identified for conservation action at each site. In all three cases the landscapes identified for conservation action differed from those predicted by a traditional `core- buffer-corridor' model. The subset of threats identified as `critical' was also substantially smaller than the suite of all threats identified for each of the three landscapes. While the ultimate tests of the long-term utility of the landscape species approach will be ecological and performance monitoring data, the approach appears to be an effective way to focus site-based conservation efforts in large and heterogeneous landscapes.