But today, it's not just a matter of pumps and drainage - the Levels are internationally renowned as a wildlife haven and plans have to take into account the need not only to protect the traditional landscape but also nature conservation and the needs of the local people who live and work there.
Landscape governance can be considered as a specific, spatial manifestation of EPI: it aims to balance agricultural production, nature conservation and livelihood needs at the landscape level through multi-stakeholder decision making.
Sustainable land use approaches for nature conservation are urgently needed to effectively counter these trends.
The findings could assist green space planning and nature conservation, and hinted the need to consider the pluralistic community views and expectations in relevant public policies.
The site was eventually saved by local people and, in Baines's retelling, "the penny began to drop" in nature conservation circles that they needed to connect with people, and most people lived in cities. "This is not a second-rate [version of nature]," he says, as he counts off the owls and woodpeckers that live near his home in Wolverhampton.
The paper introduces the requirements for using indicators from a perspective of nature conservation policy, in particular the need to discern the demand and supply of ecosystem services, including their potentials, actual and future use, as well as the natural contributions and human inputs to the generation of ecosystem services.
Consequences for nature conservation planning are discussed and need to be further explored.
However, additional nature conservation and restoration sites will need to be designated if the biodiversity target is to be met.
How do residents of newly established protected areas and their surroundings perceive the need for nature conservation in the context of infrastructure development and private business investment in their regions?
As urban areas continue to expand, the need to consider nature conservation objectives in planning is growing.
