Our first important activity with the Cockpit Country Parks-in-Peril programme over the next three months is to develop
an integrated conservation and ecosystem management plan, which will be guided by our desire to protect this globally
important karst limestone landscape and the biological diversity it contains.
To guide us in our planning efforts, we will be using a methodology known as Site Conservation Planning (SCP).
The Nature Conservancy initially developed the SCP approach, which is based on decision-making matrices, for
bioreserve and landscape-scale (ecoregional) conservation with the objective of maintaining biodiversity: the
individual species, the ecological communities in which populations interact, the
ecological systems, and the ecological processes that sustain them.
Briefly, SCP is a method for making strategic decisions regarding appropriate conservation actions and maximizing the utility of scarce conservation resources. We will build on a simple, yet robust, and logical framework:
Step 1. Identify Conservation Targets that are selected to provide maximum representation of the biodiversity of Cockpit Country, with the recognition that biodiversity exists at many levels of biological organization and functions at various spatial and temporal scales. At other sites where SCP has been implemented, a maximum of 8 Conservation Targets has proven to be manageable, but sites certainly may have fewer Targets. We will evaluate, with the best of our knowledge, the viability ("health") of our Conservation Targets as a function of their size, condition, and landscape context. Step 2. Identify Threats to the Conservation Targets and rank these Threats based on their scope, severity, degree of contribution, and irreversibility. Each Conservation Target is evaluated and by "rolling-up" what you may feel are "coarse" assessments, a clear distinction becomes salient between high-ranked, critical threats and low-ranked threats. The integrative aspect of SCP allows us a greater ability to identify those threats which affect multiple Conservation Targets. As a final step in this first stage of planning, we will identify 5-6 ecological and socio-economic indicators of each Conservation Target and Threat Abatement so as to monitor the efficacy of our conservation efforts. Step 3. Identify the relevant Stakeholders (individuals or organizations which are involved in the Threat component or which will be able to assist in mitigation and management) and design and implement strategies to mitigate the Threats to Conservation Targets. Step 4. Finally, using the SCP method as an iterative process and one in which our judgments and decision-making strategies are recorded, we can monitor and evaluate efficacy of conservation strategies and adapt our strategies as required through time.
The SCP process is usually carried out in a workshop setting with people who have a high level of familiarity with the site. Scheduling constraints precluded us from getting all our experts together in the near-term, but, to move forward in our planning, we have organized a "Virtual Workshop". While it will lack the direct interactions of a "live" workshop setting, we believe we will still have a productive exchange of ideas through the electronic medium. We look forward to your feedback throughout this process.
Because the SCP process builds on the outputs from preceding steps, we have set deadlines for completing the discrete activities:
April 15: Conservation Targets and associated Biological Indicators identified April 22: Viability of Conservation Targets assessed; May 1: Threats to Conservation Targets identified and assessed for their contribution to Conservation Target viability; preliminary Socio-economic Indicators selected.
The first activity, identifying Conservation Targets will be conducted via e-mail, though there is a worksheet available on line. The remaining activities, assessing Target Viability and Threats, will require your inputs in electronic form for assessing viability and stresses and sources of stress.