Innovation for 21st century conservation

Abstract

Most indicators of species and ecological health suggest that our current efforts are inadequate to stem species losses, especially in the face of increasing threats from invasive species and climate change. This has driven a commitment to seek integrated conservation management across many tenures to support our protected areas. To make this happen we need all sectors to break down silos and explore more effective partnerships to achieve conservation at scale, with many different land managers and communities. This publication illustrates a rich variety of such innovation – new partnerships and models for the establishment, management, financing and governance of both protected areas and initiatives on other lands. Its key purpose is to illustrate that new approaches are possible and workable and to give impetus to these directions. However, the book also illustrates that the path to new approaches will not be without challenges and the occasional blockage. The period of production has seen major changes in government policies, funding cuts, change in personnel and questioning of the business models with some abandonment of the directions within this publication.