Tropical Forest Conservation and Industry Partnership: An Experience from the Congo Basin (Conservation Science and Practice)

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Historically, the conservation of forests and wildlife has focused on the creation of national parks and reserves. However, only 9% of protected areas are larger than 14,000 hectares, likely making them too small to conserve ecosystem services and prevent loss of wide-ranging keystone species such as elephant and leopard. New approaches are needed that extend conservation beyond protected area boundaries into areas where economic considerations prevail.The book describes one such emerging model of conservation: the integration of the private sector into partnerships to protect biodiversity and improve forest management. While such partnerships are being created in nearly every sector of resource extraction, detailed analyses of how such partnerships work and whether they benefit biodiversity conservation are rare. Using a case study from the Congo Basin, the book examines principles of conservation and partnership, and provides technical and methodological details to replicate an innovative conservation model. It presents concrete solutions for expanding conservation across multi-use landscapes, a necessary action as industry expands to all the corners of the globe.

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Connie Clark is a Research Associate of the Gabon National Parks Agency, Research Scientist at Duke University, and former Research Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Congo.  As a tropical ecologist and conservationist, she has over 15 years of experience in research, conservation, and training in Central Africa, including Cameroon, Gabon, and Republic of Congo. John Poulsen is an Assistant Professor of Tropical Ecology at Duke University.  He worked as the Director of two conservation projects for the Wildlife Conservation Society.  A forest ecologist and conservationist with over 15 years of research and management experience in the African tropics, he has published scientific articles and policy papers on forest and biodiversity conservation, private-sector partnerships, and bushmeat.