Conserving tropical nature: current challenges for ecologists
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Volume
19
Issue
1
Publication Date
1-1-2004
First Page
12
Last Page
17
Abstract
Tropical biodiversity continues to erode unabated, which calls for ecologists to address the problem directly, placing less reliance on indirect interventions, such as community-based development schemes. Ecologists must become more assertive in providing scientifically formulated and adaptively managed interventions, involving biodiversity payments, to serve local, regional and global interests in tropical nature. Priorities for tropical ecologists thus include the identification of key thresholds to ecological resilience, and the formulation of clear monitoring protocols and management strategies for implementation by local resource managers. A particular challenge is to demonstrate how nature reserves contribute to the adaptive capacity of regional land-use matrices and, hence, to the provision of sustainable benefits at multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Recommended Citation
du Toit, J.T., Walker, B.H. & Campbell, B.M. 2004. Conserving tropical nature: current challenges for ecologists. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19(1):12-17