Management Planning for Nature Conservation

Mike Alexander’s Management Planning for Nature Conservation brings a new dimension to the modern literature on conservation management. Combining key theories with real practice it fills a critical gap which has often hindered in-depth understanding of the planning process. The book provides historical and rational background which helps to explain what makes a really effective management plan, and it presents a detailed practical guide to developing such a plan. It concludes with a series of case studies which clearly illustrate the underlying principles drawn out in the text, while highlighting the different approaches demanded by very different sites.

Drawing on the expertise of leaders in both conservation research and wildlife management, and with a combined experience from around the world, this book is essential reading for professional conservation managers and any student studying management planning for conservation within a range of degree and postgraduate courses. The book will be equally important for those attending professional training programmes and courses for practitioners in the statutory and voluntary environment and wildlife conservation sector.

Mike Alexander has been at the forefront of developing systems and methods in the field of management planning for conservation, with experience ranging from Uganda to Estonia, and from Costa Rica to Wales. He was a member of the team responsible for developing the current management planning guidelines for the international Ramsar (Convention on Wetlands) sites located around the world.

From the reviews:

"By writing this book, Alexander, a professional with wide-ranging experience in planning for nature conservation, makes a major contribution to the field. … the author presents concepts and principles that are applicable to nature conservation planning worldwide. This book is an essential resource for those involved in any aspect of planning for and management of nature conservation from academia, government agencies, and private and public conservation organizations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals." (R. L. Smith, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (10), June, 2008)

"The author’s own passion for nature, fired up on Skomer, his sense of cynefin, and his continuing journey of understanding, kick-start the guide and mark it out as a work of genuine substance. … The book is aimed at students and practitioners … . It is for people engaged in the study or practice of site management for nature conservation. … this volume is a welcome addition to the literature, which should become a valued text for students and land managers in the future." (James Robertson, Natur Cymru, Issue 28, 2008)

Mike Alexander has been at the forefront of developing systems and methods in the field of management planning for conservation, with experience ranging from Uganda to Estonia, and from Costa Rica to Wales. He was responsible for developing the current management planning guidelines for the international Ramsar (Convention on Wetlands) sites located around the world.