Engaged conservation planning and uncertainty mapping

The goal of this research is to improve the§implementation of systematic conservation planning§while maintaining quality. A theoretical framework§for engaged conservation planning and management§(ECPM) is provided. Under ECPM, scientists,§stakeholders, and citizen scientists would be able to§engage in reciprocal knowledge-sharing, thereby§building institutional capacity to achieve§socio-ecological resilience. ECPM would increase§participation by utilizing a novel blend of§geospatial technology, decision support systems, and§the emerging culture of Web 2.0. But broad public§release of conservation plan maps has traditionally§been controversial. These maps have created§much conflict, or in many cases, been held back,§resulting in a lack of knowledge-sharing. A§hypothesis is developed: if the uncertainty involved§with implementation of conservation plans was§quantified and mapped, this would decrease the§volatility of the maps and improve implementation. A§conservation assessment is performed and a method for§quantifying and mapping this implementation§uncertainty is developed, applied, and evaluated. §The findings provide initial support for the hypothesis.