Review of Experience with Ecological Networks, Corridors and Buffer Zones.

The unprecedented increase in the human use of natural resources over the last century has adversely affected ecosystems, leading to their fragmentation and loss of biological diversity. Protected areas that remain as isolated units, surrounded by a radically altered habitat, almost always face serious viability problems over the long term. The importance of strengthening ecological coherence and resilience as necessary conditions for both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development has been echoed in conservation and development fora for some time.