Landscape management - Ecological Applications: Toward a Sustainable World - page 292

Fig. 10.13 Coastline of
Western Australia
divided into 100-km
lengths and showing
the results of comple-
mentarity analysis to
identify the minimum
number of sites needed
to include all the fi sh
biodiversity for the
region. Analyses were
performed using all fi sh
species, and separately
for species endemic to
Australia (found
nowhere else) or those
endemic to Western
Australia. In the case of
total fi sh biodiversity,
21 areas were needed if
all 1855 fi sh species
were to be incorporated
(black circles) but only
six areas (stars) would
be needed to incorpo-
rate more than 95% of
the total. (After Fox &
Beckley, 2005.)

Sections selected for:

All species
All endemics
Western Australian endemics

of targets including, among others, the minimum acceptable number of species of
Protacea plants to be safeguarded (for which the region is famous), the minimum
number of ecosystem types and even the minimum number of individuals (or popu-
lations) of large mammal species. At step 3 they assessed the extent to which targets
were being met by the current set of nature reserves and then at step 4 they used
an irreplaceability approach to guide the choice of areas to add to existing reserves
that would best achieve the conservation targets (Figure 10.14). This is an excel-
lent example of a systematic approach to conserving biodiversity in one of the
world's most diverse biological regions. The ambitious aim is to achieve their goal
by 2020.

10.7 Multipurpose
reserve design

The design and implementation of a plan to achieve a single aim is problematic
enough. Imagine how much more diffi cult it is to cater to the diverse goals of dif-
ferent groups in the community. To illustrate the problems, and the means to solve
them, I discuss examples involving exploitation, recreation and conservation goals
in marine settings (Section 10.7.1, 10.7.2) and agricultural production, water quality
and conservation goals in a terrestrial landscape (Section 10.7.3).

10.7.1 Marine zoning
- an Italian job

Villa et al. (2002) used a systematic approach to design one of the fi rst marine zoning
plans in Italy. They took pains to involve all the different interest groups (fi shing,
recreation, conservation) in defi ning priority areas for different uses and degrees of
protection. Italian law recognizes reserves with three levels of protection: 'integral'
reserves (only available for research), 'general' reserves and the less restrictive
'partial' reserves. Villa's team recognized the need to split 'integral' reserves into
two categories: no-entry, no-take zones (where only nondestructive research is
permitted) and public entry, no-take zones that allow visitors a full experience of
the reserve, other than fi shing. Permitted activities for the four categories are shown
in Table 10.3.
The next step was to produce maps of 27 factors important to one or more of the
interest groups. These included pollution status, fi sh diversity, fi sh nursery areas,