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。应该为解决全球问题提供洞察力的科学学科，包括生态学、保护生物学和恢复生态学，通常都从过去寻找未来的指导。然而，人们越来越认识到，当前的高变化率需要新的视角和更广阔的视野。不幸的是，几乎没有人努力将有关管理未来变化的已知知识与由此带来的保护挑战结合起来。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，以美国东南部为案例研究制定区域保护计划，以应对当前和预期的未来保护和管理挑战。该地区生物多样性显著，人口迅速增长，城市化进程迅速，商品生产历史悠久，大部分为私有土地，拥有极其重要但稀少的公共土地。未来的区域保护努力必须包括不同的利益，以经济和生态福祉相结合的共同目标。这次会议以琼斯中心的使命为基础，旨在了解、展示和促进东南部地区在自然资源管理和保护方面的卓越表现。它是该中心、美国农业部林业局南方研究站、佐治亚大学奥德姆生态学院和国防部战略与环境研究发展项目之间的跨学科合作伙伴关系。与会者将确定现有知识的差距，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。重点将放在综合区域到国际层面的理解、将科学应用于区域规划以及确定应对区域保护挑战的优先事项上。会议的成果和预期产品将反映与会者的广度并从中受益。

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.