Integrating Agricultural Landscapes with Biodiversity Conservation in the Mesoamerican Hotspot, Harvey et al. 2007

The fate of biodiversity within protected areas is therefore inextricably linked to the broader landscape context, including how the surrounding agricultural matrix is designed and managed [Harvey 2007: 8].

Rather than discussing ecological corridors per se, this article emphasizes the importance of a whole-landscape approach to biodiversity conservation. Pointing out that protected nature reserves are weakened when isolated, these authors focus on the role of the entire surrounding agricultural matrix for restoring connectivity.

In contrast to the prevailing trend of managing protected areas and productive lands separately, we propose integrated landscape management in which conservation and production units within the agricultural matrix are managed jointly for long-term sustainability. We do not advocate agricultural intensification to spare further forest conversion because this approach is unlikely to have the intended outcome, for reasons discussed. Instead, conservation efforts should be based on the recognition that how agriculture is conducted and how different land uses are distributed spatially and temporally determine the region’s biodiversity. Lasting conservation will therefore require alliances among conservation biologists, farmers, and land managers to actively plan the future of Mesoamerican landscapes [Harvey 2007: 9].

The sections of the agricultural matrix the authors prioritize for biodiversity conservation include areas near riparian and other key ecological corridors, and they recommend leveraging support for the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor to spur regional action. Priority conservation areas are also more likely to encompass landscapes with a high diversity of indigenous and traditional cropping systems than those dedicated to industrial agriculture because “the chances of reconciling farming and biodiversity conservation there [agro-industrial systems] are slim” [Harvey 2007: 10].

The authors argue that, in contrast to large-scale, export-oriented industrial production, small-holder and indigenous agricultural systems are more compatible with biodiversity conservation, increased food production and rural income. The authors propose economic and regulatory instruments and greater regional collaboration to enhance native tree cover on farms, promote traditional, ecologically based farming practices, and to protect remaining intact habitat and restore degraded lands. The overarching vision is to accomplish conservation and agricultural production objectives for the region in mutually reinforcing ways.