Conservation Geography: Case Studies in GIS, Computer Mapping, and Activism

In nature, location means everything. Ecology consists of many factors -- species, soils, water resources, history -- interacting across a landscape to create rich and varied patterns among natural communities and processes. The most powerful tool for conservation is one that allows the integration of knowledge from taxonomy, hydrology, demography, economics, and other fields into a single analytical framework.

That framework is geography; the tool is geographic information systems, or GIS.

Conservation Geography: Case Studies in GIS, Computer Mapping, and Activism tells of the ways GIS is revolutionizing the work of nonprofit organizations and conservation groups worldwide as they rush to save the earth's plants, animals, and cultural and natural resources. Their endeavors, as described in these pages, portray conservation in its broadest sense, including efforts for environmental justice, land preservation, indigenous rights, and species preservation. Their work encircles the globe, from New York City to Kenya to Borneo to Puget Sound. Their efforts touch living creatures of every size and description, from ocean-traversing sea turtles to elephants lumbering across the African plain. Their labor helps bring legal challenges to corporate polluters, and full access to environmental information for any citizen who needs it.

As these pages show clearly, the power of computers and GIS is transforming the way environmental problems and conservation issues are identified, measured, and ultimately, resolved.

About the editor:

Charles L. Convis, Jr., is ESRI's Conservation Program coordinator, and a founder and former director of the Society for Conservation GIS. He received degrees in biology and natural history from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has edited many conservation journals, including Land Trust Geography and Native Geography.