Evaluating the capacity of Canadian and American legislation to implement terrestrial protected areas networks

摘要

Coarse and fine scale ecological criteria were derived that represent vital features of protected area networks for biodiversity conservation. The criteria were used as a blueprint to assess the capacity of legislation to create an ecologically functional Algonquin-Adirondack protected area network in Ontario and New York State. International treaties, national laws, and provincial and state laws and their regulations, were analyzed to determine if they contained provisions for incorporating the ecological criteria into conservation networks.