New Year’s week is all about ecological connectivity!

PlanToConnect and Forest EcoValue, two of our new classic projects, aim to establish interactions between organisms in Alpine ecosystems. PlanToConnect focuses in particular on ecological connectivity in spatial planning systems.

Protected areas are an efficient means to protect biodiversity and the functions of ecosystems, threatened by the effects of climate change. However, their connection through ecological corridors is often insufficient. The project PlanToConnect will foster the consideration of ecological connectivity in spatial planning systems. It will develop and test a planning strategy as well as a capacity-building package to integrate biodiversity, climate and ecological connectivity in spatial planning tools and policies. This joint development will contribute to the development of a coherent network of green and blue infrastructures in the Alps by connecting rivers, wetlands, fields and forests.