Seminar: Spatial Planning for Nature Conservation and Restoration. Opportunities and Challenges
Datum:
Ort:
WSL Birmensdorf, Englersaal
Organisiert von:
Biodiversity Center and WABIO, WSL
Vortrag:
Alejandra Morán Ordóñez, University of Basel
Moderation:
Silvia Tobias and Catherine Graham, WSL
Sprache(n):
English
Veranstaltungstyp:
Vorträge und Kolloquien
Zielpublikum:
Anyone interested in the topics
This a joint seminar co-organized by the WSL Landscape Center and the WSL-Eawag Biodiversity Center.
Abstract ¶
Spatial conservation planning tools were originally developed and widely adopted to identify priority areas for biodiversity conservation and support the designation of protected areas. Today, however, conservation and nature restoration must be integrated into broader territorial planning to help achieve the 30×30 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This presents a major challenge: balancing biodiversity objectives with competing land-use priorities and limited space and resources.
In this talk, I will introduce the underlying principles of spatial conservation planning and explore how these tools can be extended to support effective, biodiversity-inclusive, multi-objective territorial planning. Such approaches can help bridge the gap between conservation planning and the broader challenge of creating landscapes that support both biodiversity and human well-being. I will also present our current Swiss project, in which spatial planning approaches will be used to identify biodiversity hotspots in glacier forelands and evaluate potential trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity conservation and the development and expansion of “green infrastructure” in these areas.
About the speaker ¶
Alejandra Morán Ordóñez is an Associate Professor of Ecosystem Ecology at the University of Basel (Switzerland), where she leads a research group in Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Conservation and coordinates and lectures the Master’s program in Sustainable Development. Her research lies at the interface between ecological science and conservation action, combining ecological modelling, spatial analysis, and field data to understand how biodiversity and ecosystems respond to land-use and climate change. Her work focuses on landscape ecology, ecological connectivity, ecosystem services, systematic conservation planning, and biodiversity conservation and restoration, with a strong emphasis on translating scientific knowledge into practical strategies for decision-makers and practitioners.
Alejandra has extensive international research experience across different systems including Mediterranean and Neotropical forests, mountain ecosystems, and drylands. She has contributed as lead author to major science-policy assessments, including the First Mediterranean Assessment Report on Climate and Environmental Change (2020) or the ongoing IPBES Assessment on Spatial Planning and Connectivity, focusing on methods and approaches for implementing global biodiversity targets for ecosystem restoration and area-based conservation.
How to join ¶
Our public seminars are hybrid, with the option to attend in person or online.
The Teams link will be published closer to the date.
Biodiversity Seminars ¶
The WSL Biodiversity Seminar Series are organized by the WSL-Eawag Biodiversity Center. Every two weeks, we aim to host a seminar speaker who presents research or outreach on topics relevant to the biodiversity community at WSL. The seminars are public and are usually broadcast online.
To find out more about the WSL-Eawag Biodiversity Center and a complete list of events, please visit our website.
Please send an email to events-biodiversity(at)wsl.ch if you would like to be updated on the activities of the WSL-Eawag Biodiversity Center.