Conservation in human-modified landscapes

Abstract

Lian Pin Koh and Toby A. Gardner discuss the challenges of conserving biodiversity in degraded and modified landscapes with a focus on the tropical terrestrial biome in this chapter. Given that approximately one quarter of the world's threatened species live outside protected areas, and that the integrity of protected areas where they exist is often threatened, we need to integrate conservation efforts with other human activities. Partially modified landscapes are an important and valuable asset for biodiversity conservation and should not be overlooked by biologists and conservationists. Recent studies demonstrate there are important opportunities for conserving biodiversity within the dominant types of human land-use, including logged forests, agroforestry systems, monoculture plantations, agricultural lands, urban areas, and regenerating land. It is the local people that ultimately decide the fate of their local environments, even if the decisions they make fall within a wider political, social, and economic context. Key to achieving success and developing sustainable management strategies is the ability to build participatory and multidisciplinary approaches to research and management that involve not only conservation biologists, but also agroecologists, agronomists, farmers, indigenous peoples, rural social movements, foresters, social scientists, and land managers.