ABSTRACT
There is a quiet revolution underway in nature conservation. After decades of operating off the back foot, protecting and conserving a ‘nature’ perceived as under threat, conservationists are becoming proactive and creative. It is not that the threats have become less – indeed, losses have been continuous, particularly of once-common species in the broader countryside. The shift has arisen in part because of these losses and the realization that the current network of small isolated reserves will not cope with a greater acceleration of intensive agriculture around them, especially in the face of impending climate change, and in part because conservation organizations have grown sufficiently powerful in their own finances and political impact to be able to act creatively. There has been a significant movement towards land acquisition to enlarge reserves, and the promotion of strategies for linking reserves with wildland corridors.
