“Conservation mosaics” as a paradigm for the planet

In this context, a new “Whole-Earth” conservation planning paradigm offers a transformative vision for the future of conservation. The authors argue that simply expanding the footprint of traditional protected areas will not meet the challenges of a rapidly changing climate, shifting species distributions, and growing human needs.

Instead, they call for coordinated “conservation mosaics”: landscapes and seascapes that combine multiple levels of protection and human use. These mosaics integrate protected areas, Indigenous territories, community-managed lands, and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) into a single, connected system designed to support both biodiversity and people.

The paper identifies three key limitations of the traditional “fortress conservation” model: 1) it isolates protected areas from the human-dominated matrix; 2) it lacks the flexibility needed to accommodate climate-driven species movements; and 3) it often perpetuates social inequities through land exclusion. Climate change is driving species to shift their ranges faster than existing reserves can accommodate, yet only about 10% of the world’s protected areas are structurally connected. To sustain biodiversity under future conditions, conservation planning needs to move beyond discrete reserves and focus instead on whole landscape permeability.

The authors propose that conservation mosaics can simultaneously enhance connectivity, support sustainable livelihoods, and promote environmental justice. For example, managed forests, regenerative farms, and green urban spaces can all contribute to permeability and ecosystem resilience if coordinated strategically. Such mosaics would also reduce conflicts between conservation and human development by aligning biodiversity goals with local needs for food, energy, and cultural continuity. Central to this approach is collaborative governance, where local communities, Indigenous nations, and multiple levels of government work together to manage large landscapes as socio-ecological systems rather than isolated ecological reserves.

The spatial framework for designing these mosaics includes protecting climatic refugia, restoring degraded areas, managing for ecological transitions, and incorporating geophysical diversity. It emphasizes that equitable implementation requires recognizing Indigenous land rights, promoting co-management, and using incentives, zoning, and policy tools to encourage stewardship across the full range of land uses.

Ultimately, the Whole-Earth paradigm reframes conservation as a collective responsibility extending across all lands and waters, not just those set aside for protection. It envisions a future in which connectivity planning integrates ecological, social, and climatic resilience within multifunctional landscapes. For connectivity planning, this paradigm represents an important conceptual leap from designing corridors that link conserved lands to managing entire planetary mosaics that sustain life under a changing climate.

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