Ecological Corridors as a Complementary Conservation Tool beyond Protected Areas: Translating Ecological Knowledge Gaps into Evidence-Based Policy

Increasing exploitation of natural resources has led to an unprecedented ecological crisis. Habitat loss and fragmentation are widely recognized as major threats to biodiversity. Traditionally, conservation efforts have focused on the establishment of protected areas to protect biodiversity. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly clear that this approach alone is insufficient, and that effective conservation must also take place in unprotected human-dominated landscapes such as agricultural areas that globally cover over 38% of terrestrial land. In this lecture I will present a comprehensive research program examining how socio-ecological knowledge can inform the planning and policy of ecological corridors that facilitate wildlife movement across human-dominated landscapes. I will briefly present studies that integrate analyses of key stakeholders’ perspectives, particularly farmers, regarding the adoption of corridor-supportive practices, alongside ecological-economic assessments that link theory with spatial planning practice. The lecture will further introduce research based on cutting-edge technologies for tracking wildlife movement, enabling high-resolution insights into corridor functionality and landscape barriers. I will conclude with findings from studies on wildlife–vehicle collisions, highlighting how planning and infrastructure characteristics influence mortality rates and ecological connectivity. Together, these studies demonstrate how research rooted in real-world implementation challenges can provide a robust empirical foundation for policies and planning of functional ecological corridors, extending beyond formal spatial designs and supporting effective conservation outside protected areas.