National Forum

To explore the concept of Protected Area Networks/Conservation Management Networks (CMN) and to discuss draft national guidelines
Abstract for Kevin Thiele
Ecological Interactions VIC
Workshop - Protected Area Networks/Conservation Management Networks
3:30-4:30pm, Thursday, 22 March 2001

Conservation Management Networks are networks of sites, their owners, managers and other interested parties. They form multi-tenure, multi-site "reserve" systems created through negotiated agreements with landholders rather than acquisition. The Conservation Management Network for Grassy Box Woodlands in the wheat-sheep belt of New South Wales provides a model for how Conservation Management Networks might contribute to the conservation of other fragmented, usually endangered and always vulnerable ecological communities.

Conservation Management Networks have three important properties. Firstly, each network focuses on one or a set of related ecological communities, such as grassy box woodlands, brigalow woodlands, rainforests or heathlands. This ecological focus allows effective delivery of conservation goals for ecological communities that have, in the past, slipped through the conservation net.

Secondly, a Conservation Management Network strongly but flexibly encourages formal protection of sites using one or more appropriate protection instruments. Protection has a strong role in the networks because remnants in Australian agricultural landscapes usually face a "one-way street" of degradation - without protection a site managed well for many years may degrade quickly and irreversibly following an inappropriate change of management.

Thirdly, Conservation Management Networks encourage and support effective adaptive management of sites. Experience gained in managing one site may be efficiently communicated to other sites of the network, and the ecological focus means that appropriate information can be delivered where it's needed.