Developing landscape frameworks for regional conservation planning; an approach integrating fauna spatial distributions and ecological principles DAVID SCOTTS 1 ,< and MICHAEL DRIELSMN Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are heavily implicated in the decline of biodiversity throughout the world. Numerous conservation programmes have emerged in the attempt to deal with these primary threats but they are often isolated and disparate, foregoing opportunities for integrated, cumulative approaches and benefits, This paper describes an approach that, through the integration of species' modelled distributions, and the application of landscape ecology principles, systematically considers the spatial requirements of priority forest fauna as surrogates for biodiversity across the landscape. With the aid of innovative Geographic Information System analysis tools, key habitats and corridors for priority faunal assemblages are delineated across north-east New South Wales, The mapped outputs from this study provide spatially complete, data-driven, systematically derived conservation frameworks for the region, The frameworks provide an explicit basis for regional protected area networks and a landscape context for regional conservation planning. As predicted high conservation value habitats, the mapped key habitats and corridors are also focus areas for the protection, enhancement and restoration of native vegetation, The Geographic Information System-referenced key habitats and corridors conservation frameworks have been adopted for conservation planning in north-east New South Wales, including "off-reserve" planning (e,g:, government and community-based programmes at regional, catchment and local levels), and "on-reserve" planning (e.g., national park and nature reserve management planning), The approach is applicable to other regions, wherever Geographic Information System-based spatial mapping, describing habitat quality for fauna species, can be collated. Key words: Landscape conservation framework, Fauna, Modelled distributions, Key habitats, Corridors, Connectivity. Geographic Information System. INTRODUCTION DEALING with the primary threats to biodiversity, habitat loss and fragmentation, has led to the promotion of their antitheses, habitat gain (i.e., preservation and restoration), and enhanced landscape connectivity, as conservation planning priorities (Noss and Harris 1986; Saunders et al. 1991; Bennett 1998; Dobson et al. 1999) (words or phrases in bold in the text are defined in Table 1). These conservation challenges are evident at all spatial scales and a piecemeal approach will not suffice (N oss et al. 1997; Soule and Terborgh 1999). Regional scale conservation planning, encompassing whole landscapes, can provide a framework for more localized activities (N oss et al. 1997; Mackey et al. 1998; Soule and Terborgh 1999). As in other Australian states, the New South Wales Government has introduced a series of environmental reform programmes. These regional programmes, along with more localized activities, are setting the agenda for conservation across the state's landscapes. They require practical, current and ecologically relevant information to facilitate their planning. A regional conservation framework, consolidating and reflecting state-of-the-art species infor- mation, mapped through a regional Geographic Information System and promoting the landscape ethos, is fundamental. Protection of species, or more specifically viable populations of species, and maintenance of ecological processes have emerged as primary goals of strategic conservation planning (Noss et al. 1997; Cowling et al. 1999). Species are the mediators of myriad processes and functions, while the persistence of ecological processes is ultimately responsible for the maintenance of biodiversity (Cowling et at. 1999). Formal reserve systems will never be adequate in size, nor sufficiently representative, to meet these goals (Margules and Pressey 2000). In undertaking regional conservation, we need to expand the formal reserve system, as the cornerstone of conservation strategies, and look beyond the boundaries of the reserve system to wider protected area networks extending across landscapes (Recher 1999; Margules and Pressey 2000). 'NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Northern Directorate, Locked Bag 914, ColTs Harbour, New South Wales. Australia 2450. 'NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, GIS Research and Development Unit, P.O. Box 402, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia 2460. 10 whom correspondence should be addressed. PACIFIC CONSERVATION BIOLOGY Vol. 8: 235-54 Surrey Beatty & Sons. Sydney. 2003.