Protecting Nature by Making Conservation Management Plans

THE RATIONALE

The rationale of a management plan is the factual context of the issue it is designed to control.  

The rationale of a management plan is an argument based on facts in favour of implementing the proposed plan by an organisation. It gives a detailed explanation of why the plan is required. In other words, it describes the issues and problems the organisation is facing and how the proposed plan will address them.  The issues and problems are described as factors, positive and negative, that the plan has to control in order to meet the plan's objectives.

For example, the collection of reliable data, has demonstrated the ecological benefits of establishing marine nature reserves.  The rational for a management plan to establish a marine reserve is that :  the populations of organisms within them areastonishing. An evaluation of data from over 200 studies carried out on 120 marine reserves across the globe, Page 2 of 3showed that on average, biodiversity increases by 21% and biomass by 446%, inside reserves boundaries .Furthermore, the same study showed some organisms were up to 161% more abundant and 28% larger withinMarine Reserves. This kind of increase in size and number has been documented in the UK, in lobsters (Homarusgammarus L.) within the Lundy Island no-take zone (North Devon, England8), and in king scallops (Pectenmaximus) within the Isle of Man closed area. 

This section of the plan can be very crucial because it is here that the plan has to make a case for resources to implement the plan.