A spatial conservation plan for the UK

The current network of area-based conservation measures in the UK, and globally, is not delivering enough positive outcomes to prevent species declines. Systematic conservation planning can potentially assist in improving area-based conservation by providing a powerful tool for evaluating performance of protected areas. Here I use spatial prioritisation methods to evaluate protected area effectiveness within Britain over time; investigate the impact of a UK government pledge for biodiversity; and test how systematic approaches can be expanded to include restoration potential of landscapes, and different perspectives on conservation. I find although the existing protected area network is delivering some positive impacts on species persistence, it is not effectively buffering wider negative regional trends. I identify increasing topographic heterogeneity, as well as size and connectivity of sites, as key to improving the long-term effectiveness of the British protected area network. I also find that using British protected landscapes to meet area-based conservation targets does not deliver for nature efficiently. It is important to include a wide range of voices to make sure that area-based conservation delivers for everyone, and here I develop methods to reconcile different perspectives equitably. I find that both inclusive and pluralist approaches can deliver coherent spatial plans balancing a number of feature coverage trade-offs. Finally, I use the species pool concept to demonstrate that habitat restoration can be considered and balanced alongside existing priorities, and identify where landscape recovery can contribute most value to the existing network. Systematic conservation planning provides a powerful and, as I have shown here, versatile tool to assist policy makers to deliver effective area-based conservation. The UK, and the globe, need systematic conservation planning to efficiently deliver biodiversity outcomes. The sooner systematic conservation planning is more widely utilised in policy, the greater the benefit will be to the effectiveness of conservation efforts.