Connecting science, policy, and implementation for landscape‐scale habitat connectivity

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.

Applying network theory to prioritize multispecies habitat networks that are robust to climate and land‐use change

“…; Brodie et al. ). In the case of Montreal, stakeholders have been engaged at many levels (e.g., governments, environmental nongovernmental organizations, agricultural unions, and private landowners) (Mitchell et al.…”

“…; Brodie et al. ). There is thus a need for a general framework to support the design of multispecies global‐change‐proof habitat networks.…”

Protected area complexes: a new approach to connectivity in Thailand

“…Conservation corridors can connect protected areas, expanding their effective size, but they require agreements to be negotiated with the owners of the land that provides the necessary links between protected areas (Brodie et al, 2016). These corridors enable the movement of plants and animals between protected areas, as well as physically linking the habitats.…”

Assessing Structural Connectivity of Urban Green Spaces in Metropolitan Hong Kong

“…Connectivity is a key characteristic of the ecological network [1] and is the basic principle for regional, urban, land use and infrastructure plans at the strategic and landscape levels [2,3]. Landscape connectivity, which was firstly introduced in 1984 by G. Merriam [4], is defined as "a functional parameter that measures the processes of sub-populations of organisms' interconnection to a functional demographic unit" [5].…”

“…Previous researches have addressed the definition and application of landscape connectivity especially structural connectivity [7,10]. They focus on forming ecological network [10], analyzing the effects of connectivity on focal species or biodiversity [8,11]; increasing ecosystem services [12], factors influencing connectivity [3,13], relationships between connectivity and urban green infrastructure [14], etc. However, few studies touched on the assessment of structural connectivity of green spaces and the underlying factors in extremely dense cities such as Hong Kong, using people as the target population moving among the green patches.…”