Green Corridors Identification, Design and Preparation of Guidelines

Abstract

Increasing loss and fragmentation of natural ecosystems continue to threaten biodiversity at a global scale. Among measures taken to counter the threat is the establishment of corridors to reconnect fragments. Corridors are a conservation model developed in the 1970s and have been applied since then with the broad aim of maintaining the integrity of environmental processes at landscape scale. They have been increasingly included in biodiversity conservation programs worldwide. The term “corridor” is used to describe many different kinds of measures to create linkages among fragmented habitats. Many terminologies are used interchangeably to describe it, alt hough most of them may not exactly mean the same thing. Some of the terminologies widely used include: linkage, wildlife corridor, green corridor, ecological corridor, biological corridor and landscape connectivity. These terms are used to indicate the general principle of maintain ing or enhancing ecological coherence or connectivity across landscape of variable spatial scale; i.e. local to regional. In this and subsequent documents, the phrase “green corridor” will be ap plied consistently. Green corridors are defined as linear vegetated features, either continuous and non-continues, established to ensure functional linkages between sites to maintain or restore a degree of co herence/connectivity in fragmented ecosystems (Bennett & Mulongoy, 2006)