A Workshop on Conservation and Natural Resource Management in an Uncertain Future: Using the Southeastern U.S. as a Model for Managing Change

人类有很大的能力在全球范围内影响生态变化，但在管理或预测结果方面取得的成功有限。随着人口的增长和生态资源和服务的极限，这种失败令人担忧。包括生态学、保护生物学和恢复生态学在内的科学学科应该为解决全球问题提供洞察力，但它们通常都是从过去寻求未来的指导。然而，人们日益认识到，当前的高变化率需要新的观点和更广阔的视野。不幸的是，很少有人努力综合了解如何管理未来的变化以及由此带来的保护挑战。本次会议将汇集来自相关管理和科学界的国际、国家和地区领导人，以美国东南部为例研究制定区域保护计划，以解决当前和预期的未来保护和管理挑战。该地区具有显著的生物多样性、快速增长的人口、快速的城市化、悠久的商品生产历史，以及大部分私人拥有的土地和极其重要但稀少的公共土地。未来的区域保护工作必须包括各种利益，其共同目标是融合经济和生态福祉。这次会议建立在琼斯中心的使命上，即了解、展示和促进东南地区自然资源管理和保护的卓越性。这是该中心、美国农业部林业局南方研究站、乔治亚大学奥达姆生态学院和国防部战略与环境研究发展计划之间的跨学科合作伙伴关系。与会者将确定当前知识中的差距，并制定管理社会、政治、经济和生态系统的战略，以应对关键的保护挑战。重点将放在区域和国际尺度的综合理解，科学在区域规划中的应用，以及应对区域保护挑战的优先方法。会议的成果和预期产品将反映并受益于与会者的广度。

Humans have great ability to affect ecological changes at global scales, yet have had limited success in managing or predicting the outcomes. This failure is worrisome as human populations grow and press the limits of ecological resources and services. Scientific disciplines that should provide insight into solving global problems, including ecology, conservation biology and restoration ecology, have generally looked to the past for guidance about the future. However, it is increasingly recognized that high rates of current change require new perspectives and broader vision. Unfortunately, there have been few efforts to synthesize what is known about managing change into the future and the conservation challenges that result. This conference will bring together international, national and regional leaders from the relevant management and scientific communities to address current and anticipated future conservation and management challenges, using the southeastern United States as a case study for developing a regional conservation plan. This region has noteworthy biological diversity, rapidly increasing human populations, rapid urbanization, long history of commodities production, and mostly privately owned land with critically important, but sparse public land.Future regional conservation efforts must include diverse interests with the common goal of blending economic and ecological well-being. This conference builds on the Jones Center mission to understand, demonstrate and promote excellence in natural resource management and conservation in the southeast. It is an interdisciplinary partnership between the Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southern Research Station, The Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, and the Department of Defence Strategic and Environmental Research Development Program. Participants will identify gaps in current knowledge and develop strategies for managing social, political, economic and ecological systems to deal with critical conservation challenges. Focus will be on the synthesis of understanding at regional to international scales, applications of science to regional planning, and prioritization of approaches to meet regional conservation challenges. Outcomes and anticipated products of the conference will reflect and benefit from the breadth of the participants.