The importance of connectivity for protected area planning under climate change has been understood since the early classic papers of Rob Peters and Tom Lovejoy in the 1980s. However, the exact nature of connectivity and how it should be implemented remains controversial. Because species range dynamics unfold on regional or continental scales, and because protected areas are local conservation mechanisms, there is a widespread perception that protected areas are inadequate to meet the challenges of climate change.

Results/Conclusions

Because the term "corridor" is often used to frame discussions of connectivity, the notion of individual protected areas connected by linear conservation areas dominates the climate change conservation planning literature. This concept is of limited utility, because the actual need for connectivity is between present and future populations of species, not between land management units. Analysis conducted in the Cape Floristic Region and several other regions of the world shows that connectivity between populations (present and future) often occurs on finer scales than would connectivity between protected areas or land-use management units. In fact, the most cost-effective form of connectivity in landscapes bridges present populations of a species that are near a protected area, with future climatic strongholds within the protected area. This linking of present and future populations while capitalizing on existing protection requires far less land than large-scale linking of protected areas with corridors. It is also often far more practically feasible, both because of lower area requirements, and because habitats near protected areas are more likely to be intact than in more distant areas spanned in an inter-protected area corridor. These considerations lead to the conclusion that "corridor" connectivity should be replaced by the concept of "population bridges".  This new local conceptual context can be used to frame much-needed international mechanisms for trans-boundary conservation planning for climate change.