DTC 2016

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Abstract

Introduction
Conservation stands for the protection of plants and animals, natural areas, and
interesting and important structures and buildings, especially from the damaging effects
of human activity. It guides us to plan a landscape keeping in consideration that biodiversity
needs to be maintained and enhanced in order to create a well functioned and structured
ecosystem, while accommodating human oriented land uses that may be determined to that goal.
The modern science of conservation planning encompasses tools and techniques from many
disciplines and it benefits from advances ranging from software to satellite and genetics to
geography. The goal of conservation planning is to keep an ecosystem functioning in the face of
human orchestrated change and this can be achieved by understanding the social and economic
context within which the plan must operate. Accurate maps of existing vegetation and other land
cover should then be used to predict the spatial occurrence of habitat for the selected animals and
species using habitat models. Additional issues which must be addressed carefully to ensure that
data at the correct resolution is matched with an appropriate analysis scale to produce a
meaningful result. Suitable habitats for the species can then be combined with the models for
other species to delineate important core habitat for a suitable species. Animals movement
between the core areas can then be assessed and routes can be mapped using connectivity
approaches. Spatial optimization approaches can be used with a conservation plan as guidelines
to determine current minimal areas that meet specific thresholds or targets in terms of number of
species protected, percentage of habitat protected or other metrics. Reserve design or
conservation areas can be assessed in light of climate change and land use trends to determine
what the habitat will look like in the future and what other areas needs to be considered to
maintain species and ecosystem. The biophysical context-topography vegetation, climate, and
wildlife- determines the appropriate data and approaches that are used.

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