A Brave New World: Managing for Biodiversity Conservation under Ecosystem Transformation

Jennifer L. Wilkening (), Dawn Robin Magness, Laura M. Thompson and Abigail J. Lynch
Additional contact information
Jennifer L. Wilkening: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, Natural Resource Program Center, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
Dawn Robin Magness: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK 99669, USA
Laura M. Thompson: U.S. Geological Survey, National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA
Abigail J. Lynch: U.S. Geological Survey, National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Traditional conservation practices have primarily relied on maintaining biodiversity by preserving species and habitats in place. Many regions are experiencing unprecedented environmental conditions, shifts in species distribution and habitats, and high turnover in species composition, resulting in ecological transformation. Natural resource managers have lacked tools for identifying and selecting strategies to manage ecosystem transformation. A recently formalized decision support framework provides a way for managers to resist, accept, or direct (RAD) the trajectory of change. We begin by identifying how historical conservation practices are built into the RAD framework. Next, we describe how RAD can be used to implement climate change adaptation actions, using examples from the Mojave Desert to provide ecological context. Third, we discuss how the RAD framework can assist with the creation of conservation portfolios, facilitating the maintenance of overall biodiversity across a landscape. Preserving species assemblages in their current state, or restoring them to historical conditions, will not always be possible, and RAD allows for explicit deliberation about when and where to prioritize scarce resources. We conclude with a set of guidelines for conservation practitioners or managers moving forward. Although operating under an increasingly uncertain future is daunting, managers can utilize RAD to conserve biodiversity and effectively handle ecosystem transformation.

Keywords: biodiversity; conservation; natural resource managers; RAD; Mojave Desert; conservation portfolios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1556/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1556/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:8:p:1556-:d:1211400

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().