Conservation feature indicators: A methodology for presenting natural resources information for conservation management

There is substantial evidence suggesting that nature reserves by themselves should not be relied upon to fulfill conservation goals and protect biodiversity for the long-term. Strategies are being considered that extend conservation management beyond reserve boundaries and more reliance is being placed on cooperation among agencies to conserve important resources and features. This cooperative strategy requires planning tools that present conservation information in a simplified manner. The objective of this project is to design the Conservation Feature Indicator (CFI) system methodology as a tool to present conservation information. The CFI system uses a series of symbols to form notations that describe features of interest and their related concerns or threats and gives the feature a significance rating. The CFI map can display many notations and the accompanying Annotation Report is provided to present details of the features and recommended actions for conservation. The CFI methodology is designed to present information about all biotic and abiotic features as well as heritage features. This project describes how the CFI system can increase the effectiveness of conservation management, discusses how the system was designed, how it is applied, and how it should be implemented. During the design of the CFI methodology various agencies were consulted to determine their respective information needs for conservation management. BC Parks is identified as the first agency which should implement the CFI system, but other agencies would also benefit from implementing this system. Monitoring processes are also described in this project so that the effectiveness of the CFI system can be measured.