Toward a Framework for Conducting Ecoregional Threats Assessments

Abstract

Assessing threats to biodiversity is widely recognized as a critical step in conservation planning. While there have been recent advances in understanding how to assess threats at a site level, there has been relatively little consensus on how threats can be meaningfully assessed at an ecoregional scale. Drawing from numerous threat assessment studies, this paper offers a five-step framework for understanding the scope, purpose and components of a comprehensive, ecoregional-level threat assessment. The proposed framework includes the following components: 1) identifying threats within an ecoregion; 2) assessing the impact of current threats to biodiversity; 3) assessing the impact of future threats; 4) analyzing the root causes of these threats; and 5) integrating threat-related information into conservation planning.

Parent Publication

• Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere

Citation

Ervin, Jamison; Parrish, Jeffrey. 2006. Toward a Framework for Conducting Ecoregional Threats Assessments. In: Aguirre-Bravo, C.; Pellicane, Patrick J.; Burns, Denver P.; and Draggan, Sidney, Eds. 2006. Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere Proceedings RMRS-P-42CD. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 105-112