From insular protected areas to prioritised biodiversity networks at a landscape level

On National Parks….they… "have not drawn us into a more thoughtful relationship with our habitat, They have not taught us that land is to be used frugally and with good sense. They have encouraged us to believe that conservation is merely a system of trading environmental write-offs against large protected areas. They more than failed; in fact they have become a symptom of the problem" (Van Tighem 1986). This approach was paralleled by an approach where a single umbrella, or charismatic species, was identified, and natural areas put aside for its conservation

Ecosystems are now seen as producing indispensable benefits for the economy, public health and general welfare of human beings

 An initial set of 886 remnants were identified from high resolution imagery  This study identified a set of 261 remnants (32 262ha) – C-Plan analysis  This complemented an existing protected areas representing about ha  Corridors were then identified, which linked the following significant areas; Zandvlei, Macassar, Gordons Bay, Cape Point, Noordhoek Wetlands, West Coast, Mamre and Paardeberg  Ecological gradients are conserved, and to account for the predicted impacts of global climate change  Nineteen corridors were identified, along with 18 nodes  Nodes were originally seen as areas where the corridors intersect but has been re-interpreted as remnants or groups of remnants (“biodiversity  Nodes were originally seen as areas where the corridors intersect but has been re-interpreted as remnants or groups of remnants (“biodiversity hubs”)

Critical Vegetation Types  Initial prioritisation of the selected remnants was based on remnant size and the conservation of three critical vegetation types  Secondary prioritisation on whether the remnants were located in nodes or corridors 1.Sand plain fynbos on inland 2.Older non-marine derived acid sands, 3.West coast renosterveld on shale west coast renosterveld on granite 1.71 sites identified that were larger than 10ha 2.97 sites identified conserving at least one of the three critical vegetation types 3.69 sites identified to include remaining remnants greater than 10ha 4.25 sites left over from the selected set of 261 sites 5.86 selected sites in corridors