Leaving Space for Nature: The Critical Role of Area-Based Conservation

This book provides the first contemporary assessment of area-based conservation and its implications for nature and society.

Now covering 15 per cent of the land surface and a growing area of ocean, the creation of protected areas is one of the fastest conscious changes in land management in history. But this has come at a cost, including a backlash from human rights organisations about the social impacts of protected areas. At the same time, a range of new types of area-based conservation has emerged, based on indigenous people’s territories, local community lands and a new designation of ＂other effective area-based conservation measures＂. This book provides a concise overview of the status and possible futures of area-based conservation. With many people calling for half the earth’s land surface to remain in a natural condition, this book taps into the urgent debate about the feasibility of such an aim and the ways in which such land might be managed. It provides a timely contribution by people who have been at the centre of the debate for the last twenty years. Building on the authors’ large personal knowledge, the book draws on global case studies where the authors have firsthand experience, including Yosemite National Park (USA), Blue Mountains National Park (Australia), Bwindi National Park (Uganda), Chingaza National Park (Colombia), Ustyart Plateau (Kazakhstan), Snowdonia National Park (Wales) and many more.

This book is essential reading for students, academics and practitioners interested in conservation and its impact on society.

Nigel Dudley is a consultant ecologist who has worked with international organisations, including WWF International, IUCN and UNESCO. He is co-founder of Equilibrium Research and an Industry Fellow in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Queensland, Australia. Nigel is the author/editor of numerous titles, including Arguments for Protected Areas (Routledge, 2010) and Authenticity in Nature (Routledge, 2011).

Sue Stolton set up Equilibrium Research with Nigel Dudley thirty years ago. She works mainly on issues relating to protected areas, including management of protected areas and the wider values and benefits that protected areas offer. Sue is vice chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) specialist group on privately protected areas and nature stewardship.