ASSESSING AND FILLING ECOLOGICAL GAPS

 

What is an ecological gap assessment?  

An ecological gap assessment analyzes the extent to which focal biodiversity features (species, natural communities and ecological systems and the ecological processes that sustain them), are sufficiently represented within a protected area network.  The planning, establishment, management, and financial needs of a protected area system are all predicated on a comprehensive and fully functioning protected area network. 

 

What are the guiding principles of an ecological gap assessment?

 

The following are some basic principles for conducting ecological gap assessments (Dudley and Parrish, 2006; Day and Roff, 2000): 

• Ensure full representation of focal biodiversity features across multiple spatial and biological scales and across multiple realms (e.g., terrestrial, freshwater, marine). 
• Aim for redundancy of examples of species and ecosystems within a protected area network in order to capture genetic variation and protect against unexpected losses.  
• Design for resilience by including large, intact and well-connected examples of biodiversity features to buffer stresses such as climate change.  
• Include both representation gaps (absent or under-represented features) and ecological gaps (features too small or degraded to persis over time) in the assessment.  
• Combine ecological gaps with management gaps (protected areas that area either inappropriately designated or ineffectively managed) in the assessment. 

 

What are the major steps in conducting an ecological gap assessment?

 

Assess biodiversity status

Identify focal biodiversity features, including terrestrial, freshwater and marine systems, and irreplaceable and vulnerable species.  Assess the viability and threat status of these features, and determine the optimal number, distribution, and design for each biodiversity feature to ensure long-term persistence.   

Assess protection status

Map the the boundaries and designation of protected and other conserved areas.  Map the results of management effectiveness assessments by creating a gradient from well-managed to poorly-managed areas.  

Analyze results

Identify ecological gaps, including biodiversity features that are absent or under-represented, or are of insufficient viability to ensure long-term persistence.  Identify management gaps, including protected areas that require improved management effectiveness or stronger legal designation. 

Fill ecological gaps

Prioritize ecological gaps based on threat, urgency and irreplaceability.  Develop strategies and estimate costs to fill ecological gaps.  Prioritize these strategies based on opportunities and feasibility.  Develop an action plan with timelines, budgets, responsibilities and indicators of success.

 

What are major strategies for filling ecological gaps?  

• Revise protected area designations:  The IUCN categorization system ranges from strict protection (Category I) through multiple use areas (Category VI).  Changing protected area designation can be an efficient way of filling critical ecological gaps and increasing protection levels. 
• Explore alternative governance:  When creating new government protected areas is difficult because of financial or political constraints, governments may want to encourage community conserved areas, tribal and indigenous areas, co-managed areas and private protected areas. 
• Encourage ‘other conserved areas:’  Areas that have long-term conservation status, but are not legally designated as protected areas (e.g., certified forestry operations, wetland reserve areas, organic farms), can help fill critical gaps within the protected area network. 
• Expand existing protected areas:  Even a small change to the design of a protected area, such as expanding the boundaries to include more elevational gradients, can make a major contribution to filling ecological gaps and meeting critical breeding, feeding and migration needs of species. 
• Create ecological corridors:  In many cases it may be necessary to create corridors that allow species movement and ecological processes to occur.  Although the overall area of these corridors may be small, the benefits to the overall protected area system can be substantial. 
• Create new protected areas: Governments should consider the most critical, irreplaceable, under-represented species and ecological systems – typically areas of high productivity that have already been largely transformed across the landscape – as priority candidates for new reserves.  
• Restore protected areas:  The restoration and expansion of remnant patches of fragmented ecosystems, the rehabilitation of ecological structures and processes within a partly functioning system, and the reintroduction of extirpated species can help fill ecological gaps.

References and resources on assessing and filling gaps