title: Conservation businesses and conservation planning in a biological diversity hotspot.
abstract: The allocation of land to biological diversity conservation competes with other land uses and the needs of society for development, food, and extraction of natural resources. Trade-offs between biological diversity conservation and alternative land uses are unavoidable, given the realities of limited conservation resources and the competing demands of society. We developed a conservation-planning assessment for the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which forms the central component of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biological diversity hotspot. Our objective was to enhance biological diversity protection while promoting sustainable development and providing spatial guidance in the resolution of potential policy conflicts over priority areas for conservation at risk of transformation. The conservation-planning assessment combined spatial-distribution models for 646 conservation features, spatial economic-return models for 28 alternative land uses, and spatial maps for 4 threats. Nature-based tourism businesses were competitive with other land uses and could provide revenues of >US$60 million/year to local stakeholders and simultaneously help meeting conservation goals for almost half the conservation features in the planning region. Accounting for opportunity costs substantially decreased conflicts between biological diversity, agricultural use, commercial forestry, and mining. Accounting for economic benefits arising from conservation and reducing potential policy conflicts with alternative plans for development can provide opportunities for successful strategies that combine conservation and sustainable development and facilitate conservation action.
authors.affiliation: School of Anthropology and Conservation, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, CT2 7NR Canterbury, United Kingdom. enrico.di.minin@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Minin
authors.forename: Douglas Craig
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Macmillan
authors.forename: Peter Styan
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Boyd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Escott
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Slotow
authors.forename: Atte
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moilanen
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D003710:Demography; D005843:Geography; D008954:Models, Biological; D010934:Planning Techniques; D013019:South Africa; D013045:Species Specificity; D014195:Travel / Q000191:economics
keywords: Zonation software; biological diversity hotspot; costos de oportunidad; desarrollo sustentable; inversión; investment; land uses; opportunity costs; sitios de importancia para la biodiversidad; software para zonación; sustainable development; usos de suelo