A new study co-authored by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Global Conservation Program and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Forestry introduces a classification called Resistance-Resilience-Transformation (RRT) that enables the assessment of whether and to what extent a management shift toward transformative action is occurring in conservation.
A new study co-authored by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Global Conservation Program and the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Forestry introduces a classification called Resistance-Resilience-Transformation (RRT) that enables the assessment of whether and to what extent a management shift toward transformative action is occurring in conservation. The team applied this classification to 104 climate adaptation projects funded by the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund over the past decade and found differential responses toward transformation over time and across ecosystems, with more transformative actions applied in forested ecosystems.
The RRT classification addresses a continuum from actively resisting changes – in order to maintain current or historical conditions—through accelerating ecological transitions through approaches such as translocating species to new areas. Results show a shift from more resistance-type actions to transformative ones in recent years. Most transformation-oriented projects involved translocation of trees or other plants, commonly in forest ecosystems, with exceptions including, for example, translocating seabird species to habitat where they may be more likely to survive. Other ecosystems with more transformative projects occurred in coastal aquatic and urban/suburban ecosystems.
Read more at: Wildlife Conservation Society
Transformation-oriented projects involved translocation of trees or other plants, commonly in forest ecosystems. (Photo Credit: Nicole Matson)
