Special Conservation Sites (SCS)
Several organizations have declared as important areas for biodiversity. For example, Plantlife International has highlighted the importance of Important Plant Areas (IPAs), BirdLife International has given special emphasis to site protection through Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs). Buglife International is dedicated to special sites for invertebrate life, MacArthur Foundation has declared various nature-rich geographic regions, Conservation International has declared large geographic areas as biodiversity hotspots and on a smaller scale, Key Biodiversity Areas (IBAs, IPAs, Ramsar Sites – all qualify to be KBAs but not vice-versa), WWF has identified the world’s most important eco-regions for biodiversity and so on. Many of these are complimentary to each other and important conservation activities are ongoing to safe guard these sites and species therein.
At a much reduced scale and a new area for conservation, Himalayan Nature has initiated the Special Conservation Sites (SCS) program. Sites will identify plants or places that support or may support a wealth of other forms of life. A single tree or a very small area (as for Plantlife International) can be designated as SCS. If spread to many sites, this idea will save a significant amount of biodiversity and will mostly be implemented outside protected areas and close to human settlements.