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IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors

WCPA Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 30.

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CCSG published the IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors in July 2020 as part of the IUCN WCPA Best Practice Guidelines Series. This groundbreaking tool serves as the leading resource for advancing best-practices to protect the interconnections of protected and conserved areas, and restore degraded or fragmented ecosystems that are critical to the health of biodiversity.

A webinar was held on 2 September 2020 to publicly present the Guidelines for the very first time. The full recording is available online at this link.

Originally published in English, translations have now been completed in French, Spanish, Mongolian, Korean, and Chinese

These Guidelines are the culmination of over two decades of effort by IUCN, and the result of contributions from more than 100 experts in 30 countries contributing directly toward fulfillment of IUCN Resolution WCC-2016-Res-087, ‘Awareness of connectivity conservation definition and guidelines’. They provide managers, policy-makers, and experts across the globe with best-practices and recommendations for achieving more connected terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

Of note, the Guidelines include authoritative definitions for ecological corridors and ecological networks for conservation, the spatially-defined areas that enable structural and functional ecological connectivity. They provide guidance for governments and conservation practitioners to plan and implement ecological corridors, including considerations for their delineation, governance, tenure, management, and long-term monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. In addition, the Guidelines detail the many ways in which ecological corridors and networks can provide communities with social and economic value. Twenty-five case studies complement the Guidelines by illustrating projects from around the world.

Key messages:

The Guidelines define the spaces meant to maintain, enhance, and restore connectivity; summarize best-available science; and recommend ways to formalize ecological corridors and networks with the following key messages:

  • Science overwhelmingly shows that interconnected systems of protected and conserved areas are necessary for species and natural processes to persist in the face of climate change;
  • Communities and countries around the world are working to protect ecological connectivity, and more consistent global practices can advance legislation, policy, and action; and
  • A coherent global approach to connectivity conservation allows for measuring, monitoring, and assessing the effectiveness of efforts to enhance biodiversity conservation.

A conceptual representation of an ecological network for conservation. Terrestrial protected areas are in dark green and depicted as surrounded by human activities. Marine protected areas are in dark blue. Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measure (OECMs) are represented in orange. Ecological corridors, both those that are continuous and those that function as stepping stones, are outlined with dashed lines. The ecological network for conservation is the entire network of protected areas, OECMs, and ecological corridors. (Designed by Kendra Hoff, CLLC)

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