Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CLCC)

Overview

The Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CLCC)’s mission is to develop and provide the best available conservation science and strategies to agencies, decision-makers, organizations, researchers, and the general public, in order to conserve, restore and sustain natural and cultural resources in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean LCC is part of a national network of 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). A Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) is an applied conservation science partnership among state and federal agencies, regional organizations, tribes, NGOs, universities and other entities within a geographic area. LCCs are designed to inform resource management decisions in an integrated fashion across landscapes – at a broader scale than any individual partner’s responsibility.

The Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CLCC) aims to be a catalyst for collaboration and a primary source for science-based information to sustain natural and cultural resources in Caribbean land and seascapes. The CLCC provides a regional context to carry out conservation planning and management at several scales, from making decisions on site management, to understanding the implications of management actions at the regional, national and global levels. It offers a platform for partners working to integrate information, perform regional assessments of conservation status, assess future scenarios, and collaborate in applied conservation science. The CLCC supports site level conservation initiatives and complements other landscape conservation strategies to restore, manage, and conserve the natural resources of the region in the face of climate change and development pressure.

Adaptation Work:

Monitoring

This theme includes two aspects that are important for the success of the conservation science and actions of the CLCC: monitoring environmental characteristics and monitoring the effectiveness of conservation actions. Environmental characteristics include aspects such as sea level rise, coastal wetland elevation response to sea level rise, salt water intrusion, water quality, sedimentation, animal populations, fire occurrence, climate, habitat conditions, and others. Assessing conservation effectiveness includes monitoring response to management actions or treatments, and revisiting decision-making processes (informing the adaptive management process).

Conservation and Society

This theme relates to the links between society, decision-makers, and conservation actions and effectiveness. It includes any aspects where people and conservation intersect. Sub-themes and working groups include laws and regulations, ecosystem services, perceptions and expectations, adaptive management, and land use.

Cultural Resources

This theme broadly includes cultural resources that may be vulnerable to climate change and land use changes. It ranges from geographic features such as archeological sites, parks, and special natural areas designated by society, to communities defined either by place (e.g. coastal) or activity (e.g. subsistence fishermen, coffee growers, subsistence farmers).

Land and Seascapes

This theme includes the physical aspects of land and seascapes, issues of water quality and pollution, development and habitat distribution and quality, the biological cover of landscapes, the ecosystem services provided by land and seascapes, and interactions of different components of the landscape. Sub-themes and working groups may be organized around the protected area network, forests, the coastal zone, estuaries, coral reefs, mangroves, ecosystem services, and special habitats.

Wildlife

This theme focuses on the conservation of fish and wildlife, with the goal of developing and providing the best available conservation science and strategies in order to conserve, restore and sustain individual species, groups of species (e.g. migratory birds, sea turtles), habitats, or biodiversity. The theme is inclusive in the sense that it includes terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments, and encompasses endemic, endangered, common, rare, native, exotic, naturalized, and invasive species. The theme also includes interacting drivers that may have direct or indirect effects on wildlife, both in the present and the future. Sub-themes include terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species and environments. Working groups may choose to develop on a wide range of topics within the theme.

Working Lands

This theme encompasses the conservation aspects of working landscapes, which include farmland, timber lands, pastures, woody agriculture, hay and row crops, coffee-growing regions, soil and water conservation, and aquaculture. The goal of activities within this theme is to develop and promote conservation science and strategies appropriate to working lands. There are four main reasons to include Working Lands and Agriculture: They comprise a major component of the terrestrial landscape, typically including the most productive soils of the region; They provide habitat for wildlife; Food produced by these lands is a resource that is affected by climate and land use change; Agriculture and farm families and communities serve as a foundation for cultural components of society.

For a list of projects, click here

Phone Number: 787-766-5335