Nature conservation

Collection of papers drawing on insight from over 50 case studies and synthesising them into lessons to guide park management in transitional economies where the challenges of poverty and governance can be severe. The central message is that parks are common property regimes that should serve society. It analyses and sheds light on the crucial questions arising from this perspective.

Australia's rich and distinct biodiversity is under multiple threats including loss of habitat to human settlement, agriculture and grazing, introduction and spread of alien invasives, pollution, altered fire regimes and landclearing. The landclearing rate of c. 500,000 hectares p.a. is comparable to the worst African, South American and Asian de-forestation rates, much occurring on private lands.

Until well into recent times, a high level of connectivity existed among ecosystems. Through the ever-increasing extent and intensity of human exploitation of natural resources, however, the pattern of human activities as islands in a sea of nature has become reversed in most of the world’s regions. Habitat fragmentation is now one of the most important causes of the decline in biodiversity.