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		Conservation by Design Conservation by Design The First 10 Years The Basics: A Science-Based Approach The Basics: Key Analytical Methods Conservation by Design Gateway Download PDF   En Español   Versão   em Português   in Chinese (PDF) ConserveOnline

Introduction by Steve McCormick: Touchstone and Hallmark

In the 1990s, advances in large-scale conservation planning and The Nature Conservancy’s own five decades of experience led us to create Conservation by Design, a framework through which we set out to fulfill our mission in the face of mounting assaults on the natural world. Our late president John Sawhill challenged a small group of staff to devise a new vision and approach that would help us to be as strategic, effective and efficient as possible in our work to conserve biodiversity. I was privileged to lead the team that developed Conservation by Design: A Framework for Mission Success, first printed in 1996 and updated in 2001.

In the intervening years, Conservation by Design has come to be our touchstone for action. It tells us where to work, what biodiversity to conserve, what strategies we should use, and how effective we have been.

Conservation by Design has also come to be the Conservancy’s hallmark. It embodies both our aspirations and the means by which we are committed to achieving them. It bespeaks our niche in the conservation world: representative biodiversity conservation, the "some of all" in every ecoregion and in every major habitat type, not simply a single-species or single-habitat focus. And it has garnered the respect of peers, governments and supporters alike for its scientific foundation and application.

In fact, the Chinese government is basing its new national-level conservation and development plans on Conservation by Design; and in Madagascar, all national parks are going through the 5-S planning process. In the United States, Conservation by Design has been infused into state wildlife management planning in all 50 states, with important ramifications for budgets and places on the landscape.

Two years ago, we set out to create a new goal for the Conservancy, one that would bolster our commitment to Conservation by Design, define top conservation priorities for the organization and galvanize others to advance our global mission. The 2015 Goal is built on and embraces Conservation by Design.

This fall 2004 update of “Conservation by Design: A Framework for Mission Success” includes the 2015 Goal statement and reflects some of the new principles that accompany the goal. But by and large, the remainder of the document is little changed from the 2001 version. Next year, however, we intend to produce a full revision of “Conservation by Design,” one that more accurately portrays our expanded conservation vision and the ways our conservation approach has evolved over the years. After all, when we set out to create Conservation by Design, we knew it would be one long lesson in adaptive management.

Not many have set out to save all parts of the natural world – those cogs and wheels that Aldo Leopold warned never to throw out. But equipped with Conservation by Design, I believe we have the best tool for the journey.

Steven J. McCormick
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Nature Conservancy
October 2004

Learn more about the core concepts of Conservation by Design.