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A Tough Choice: Approaches Towards the Setting of Global Conservation Priorities

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Biodiversity Hotspots

Abstract

Owing to limited funding and time, non-governmental organisations, research institutes and intergovernmental conventions developed different approaches to highlighting those regions on earth that most urgently require conservation efforts. The geographic location of these global conservation priorities is to some extent similar or overlapping, and partly contradictory depending on the underlying selection criteria, namely vulnerability, irreplaceability and representativeness; recently, carbon content of ecosystems has evolved as an additional criterion. It is crucial to understand the rationale behind area selection because the setting of priorities is per se a normative issue. This study, therefore, has the objective to compare the selection criteria of the present approaches as a basis for informed decision-making in the field of global nature conservation. While global analyses are important for guiding international conservation strategies, more detailed and specific conservation planning needs to take place at smaller spatial scales considering ecological as well as socio-economic and political factors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Landscape Management, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Christine B. Schmitt

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  1. Christine B. Schmitt
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Correspondence to Christine B. Schmitt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Mammal Collection, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, Vienna, 1010, Austria

    Frank E. Zachos

  2. Naturelle, Luxembourg, Musée National de Histoire, rue Münster 25, Luxembourg, 2106, Luxembourg

    Jan Christian Habel

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Schmitt, C.B. (2011). A Tough Choice: Approaches Towards the Setting of Global Conservation Priorities. In: Zachos, F., Habel, J. (eds) Biodiversity Hotspots. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20992-5_2

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