Spatial Strategies of Conservation

Geographers have had plenty to say about the spatial strategies of conservation. Their contributions can be loosely categorized into two main approaches. The first has origins in resource management and draws strongly from biogeography, while the second has origins in critical approaches to the study of human-environment relations (e.g., political ecology). While their differences and distinct contributions are outlined in this entry, it is clear that both groups agree that conservation is an inherently spatial process. The conservation of targeted flora and fauna as well as entire ecosystems is often accomplished through policies that are explicitly spatial: land use zoning, protected areas, buffer areas, and wildlife corridors. These strategies require the delineation of boundaries that separate the protected from the not protected. Furthermore, those conservation ...