There are many different approaches to the process of species conservation planning. These approaches differ depending on the strategic goals of the planning effort, the various tools required to achieve those goals, and the manner in which those tools are used most effectively to produce the desired outcome. While some tools are often considered to be closely tied to specific planning methods, such as the use of population viability analysis in CPSG’s Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) workshop process, many tools can be used in a variety of planning methods.
Abruzzi Table 2 identifies well-known and commonly-applied methods for species conservation planning, and the tools (from Abruzzi Table 1) that are most commonly associated with any given approach. There is always a level of flexibility that can be applied to these methods, in terms of the specific tools that are used to achieve a given planning outcome. In a similar fashion, any given tool can be adapted as necessary to maximize its utility within a given planning method. This flexibility is vital to successful conservation planning across a broad range of taxonomic diversity and human socio-cultural planning environments.
Planning Method | Lead Agency | Key Reference | Tools Closely Associated with this Planning Method |
IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group
| CBSG 2010. Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) Workshop Process Reference Packet. CBSG, MN. | ||
Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation | Conservation Measures Partnership
| Concept Mapping and identifying conservation actions Setting Goals in an Adaptive Management Framework Setting Objectives and Indicators in an Adaptive Management Framework | |
IUCN Species Conservation Strategic Planning |
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Structured Decision Making | See http://www.structureddecisionmaking.org/ and http://nctc.fws.gov/courses/programs/decision-analysis/ | Gregory et al. 2012, Structured Decision Making: a practical guide to environmental management choices. Wiley-Blackwell, UK | |
E.W., Redford, K.H., Vedder, A., Coppolollo, P.B., and S.E. Ward (2002). A conceptual model for conservation planning based on landscape species requirements. Landscape and Urban Planning 58:41-56 |
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Sanderson, E.W., Redford, K.H., Chetkiewicz, C.B., Medellin, R.D., Rabinowitz, A.R., Robinson, J.G., Taber, A.B. (2002). Planning to Save a Species: the Jaguar as a Model. Cons. Biol. 16(1):59-72 |
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