Functional Conservation Areas Across Ecoregions (polygon)

The Nature Conservancy’s vision is to conserve portfolios of functional conservation areas within and across ecoregions. Through this portfolio approach, we will work with partners to conserve a full array of ecosystems and viable native species . An ecoregional portfolio, the end product of ecoregional planning, is a selected set of places that represents the full distribution and diversity of native species, natural communities and ecosystems in an ecoregion. Designing ecoregion-based portfolios is a complex, iterative process based on five steps: * Identifying the species, communities and ecosystems in an ecoregion; * Setting specific goals for the number and distribution of these conservation targets to be captured in the portfolio; * Assembling information and relevant data on the location and quality of conservation targets; * Designing a network of conservation areas that most effectively meets the goals; and * Identifying the highest priority conservation areas, wide-ranging targets and pervasive threats for conservation action.