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Priority unfragmented landscapes identified within the National Protected

Copyright Holder CGS (Coucil for GeoScience)

Unfragmented areas play an important role in climate change adaptation as they allow relatively unrestricted movement of species across the landscape, which ensures that they can adapt naturally to climate change. Further, these large areas represent landscapes where a range of ecological processes that require extensive areas (e.g. habitat for wide ranging scavengers such as Brown Hyaena) can either currently operate or where there is reasonable potential for these processes to be reinstated. The National National Protected Areas Expansion Conservation Assessment (Holness 2008) identified high priority unfragmented areas that if protected would contribute most to meeting national terrestrial and freshwater conservation targets. The areas identified are all over 5000ha in size. Every attempt should be made to avoid an activity that results in the fragmentation of these areas. A 60% target was used for these areas to ensure preferential selection of other biodiversity features in these areas without forcing the whole area into the plan.

Available documentation: Central Karoo District Biodiversity Assessment (August 2009)

SANS 1878

FGDC-STD-001-1998