Biodiversity
The variety of all life on Earth underpins healthy ecosystems and the services that people benefit from. Sustaining the diversity of species, genes, and ecosystems is a key goal of conservation. In many cases, spatial analyses focus on species and ecosystems for conservation planning and prioritization. Maps and spatial data can be used for decision-making to benefit (maximize or optimize) conservation of biodiversity, often with the inclusion of many species or ecosystems in areas undergoing conservation efforts.
Principles Applied
Environmental Health
Provides for robust ecosystems, thriving wildlife populations, lower risk of disease, and more. It enables biodiversity to provide abundant and beneficial services to people.
Access to Resources
Supporting wildlife to move freely across landscapes ensures access to suitable habitat and resources and allows them to avoid areas at risk of change due to climate or environmental catastrophes.
Fundamental Needs
Providing areas that serve as safe haven for plants and wildlife and treating biodiversity with respect can help promote biodiversity health and climate adaptation.
Representation
Representing the complete variety of life ensures that we have a diverse set of evolutionary history, niches and environments to help species and natural communities adapt and persist.
Durability
Having key protections and a network of healthy, connected lands and waters allows communities to persist over the longer-term. In return, biodiverse communities tend to have greater capacity to resist disturbances.
Recovery
Allows communities to recover to a point where they no longer need protection, and provide a sustainable future for irreplaceable wildlife and ecosystems.