Extending the Roles of Ecological Networks in a Sustainable Landscape

Abstract

The ecological network concept has emerged in the past three decades
in response to growing expectations of a balance between conservation
and development in human-altered environments. This spatial concept
has developed to facilitate the connection of critical ecosystems to the
protection and restoration of biodiversity. As the concept is a societal
construct, it is important to frame the roles and functions of spatial
conservation tools within a socio-cultural point of view in order to fully
realize
the benefits of such kinds of landscape structures. This paper
reviews and critiques literature across disciplines landscape ecology,
conservation biology, landscape and urban planning and nature conservation
published between 1995 and 2012. It places an emphasis on
the viability of the multiple services needed in the planning and implementation
process. Included is a commentary on whether ecological
services, as an indicator of value, sufficiently capture the socio-cultural
dimension. A range of challenges and issues remain however, about how
to integrate biodiversity conservation with other sustainable uses of the
landscape. Examining this issue in the context of a socio-ecological system
serves to promote a better understanding of such an intricate relationship.
This paper suggests potential research directions that could
help address these challenges.