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Thematic : Ecological Economics
Language : English
Note
The establishment of ecological networks (ENs) has been proposed as an ideal way to counteract
the increasing fragmentation of natural ecosystems and as a necessary complement to the establishment of
protected areas for biodiversity conservation. This conservation tool, which comprises core areas, corridors, and
buffer areas, has attracted the attention of several national and European institutions. It is thought that ENs
can connect habitat patches and thus enable species to move across unsuitable areas. In Europe, however,
ENs are proposed as an oversimplification of complex ecological concepts, and we maintain that they are
of limited use for biodiversity conservation for several reasons. The ENs are species specific and operate on
species-dependent scales. In addition, the information needed for their implementation is only available for
a handful of species. To overcome these limitations, ENs have been proposed on a landscape scale (and for
selected “focal†species), but there is no indication that the structural composition of core areas, corridors, and
buffer areas could ensure the functional connectivity and improve the viability of more than a few species. The
theory behind ENs fails to provide sufficient practical information on how to build them (e.g., width, shape,
structure, content). In fact, no EN so far has been validated in practice (ensuring connectivity and increasing
overall biodiversity conservation), and there are no signs that validation will be possible in the near future. In
view of these limitations, it is difficult to justify spending economic and political resources on building systems
that are at best working hypotheses that cannot be evaluated on a practical level.
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Keywords : Aethalops aequalis
Encoded by : Pauline Carmel Joy Eje
