Conservation and resource-use relations: Analysis for protected area expansion feasibility in the Western Cape

Abstract

It is assumed that expanding the size and/or number of protected and conservation areas can contribute to more effective conservation, ecosystem services and environmental protection. Expansion is normally a response to continuous environmental threats and subsequent needs to enhance the protection and conservation of valuable biodiversity, geodiversity and heritage assets. Targets for global, regional and country-based protected area expansion are set and driven by conservation authorities across different geographical scales – from the global International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the local-level protected area.