Many of the greatest threats to species and ecosystems–such as climate change and habitat fragmentation–occur on large scales. Recognizing that conservation and management actions also need to be on broad scales, federal agencies have adopted the concept of landscape-scale conservation (LSC) as a best practice. It has grown in prominence over the last several years, and been promoted through numerous initiatives in which NOAA is engaged. These include Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, the President’s Climate Action Plan, and America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.
Landscape-scale conservation is closely related to the concept of ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) approaches have a long and evolving history at NOAA, and are currently being applied throughout the agency. Landscape-scale conservation and ecosystem-based management share the same key elements and their differences (such as a primary focus on terrestrial vs. marine environments) have largely disappeared over time.
Common Elements of Landscape-Scale Conservation & Ecosystem-Based Management
- Holistic—considers ecological, social, economic, cultural, and institutional perspectives
- Place-based—focused on a specific geography; addresses a range of scales, activities, and cumulative impacts
- Interconnected—recognizes the importance of interactions within and among different systems
- Multi-stakeholder—depends on collaboration of diverse stakeholders for success
- Adaptive—approach that evolves in response to needs and conditions
- Multiple Applications—can be applied to terrestrial, coastal, and marine environments
NOAA is implementing these approaches in several areas. Click the photos below to see examples of each.
