Using Tools for Species Conservation Planning

Species are complicated systems, as are the environments they inhabit. Their protection and management can also be complex, involving multiple and competing human interests. Integrating the varied concerns and contributions of all interested parties into the planning process can be key to success; however, it can also add further layers of difficulty to an already challenging task.

Tools can help practitioners navigate through these challenges provided that each tool’s strengths and weaknesses are understood. The following provides general advice about what tools can and cannot do, and what issues to consider before selecting tools for a specific task or project. 

What tools can do when used in an effective process:

• Help groups visualize problems more clearly.
• Help incorporate a wider array of ecosystem and human considerations into decision making for species.
• Help guide planning participants from information to decision making more quickly and effectively.
• Help build collaboration and trust among diverse project participants by creating a forum where they learn about and are encouraged to account for each other’s goals and concerns.
  
   

What tools cannot do:

• Make decisions. 
• Eliminate the need for project-specific analyses and discussions. 
• Eliminate conflict
• Replace the need for intensive human interaction and collaboration.

Poor incorporation of tools into a planning process may inadvertently increase confusion and sometimes conflict.

All of the tools in the CPSG Tools Library have been used successfully in multiple species conservation planning projects, the details of which can be found in examples and case-studies associated with each tool.