Resilience means getting through something — tough, messy, with losses, but surviving. So said Andrew Whitworth, executive director of Osa Conservation in Costa Rica, summing up a growing shift in conservation thinking.

As the planet hurtles toward a future 3-5° Celsius (5.4-9° Fahrenheit) warmer by 2075, holding the line is no longer enough. The goal now is to help nature endure what’s coming, reports Jeremy Hance in a feature published on Mongabay News.

Gone is the illusion that ecosystems can be preserved in their historical state. Climate change has entered the frame as a dominant ecological force, and the conservation toolbox is being reshaped in response. Size, structure and connectivity are now guiding principles.

“Large, connected, well-managed ecological systems” are key for climate resilience, Jean Labuschagne of NGO African Parks told Hance.

Big landscapes offer species room to move — across distances, elevations and seasons — when crisis strikes.

In the Peruvian Amazon, Manu National Park provides a case in point. Spanning from lowland rainforest to high Andes, it offers a natural staircase for species fleeing rising heat.

“Those are the climate lifeboats,” Whitworth said. But most tropical forests aren’t connected enough to serve this function. A 2019 analysis found that 62% of tropical forests lack the linkages species will need.

Rewilding, once the domain of romantics, is now strategic. In Europe, bison, wild horses and cattle are being restored to shape fire-resistant, biodiverse landscapes. In Malawi, reintroducing lions and wild dogs has brought back vultures, closing vital ecological loops. These species are not just symbols — they’re engineers of resilience.

Large, connected landscapes are vital, but so is the quality of management, Labuschagne said. She emphasized that conservation areas must be co-managed with local people. From Nicaragua to the Central African Republic, communities are central to land-use decisions, habitat restoration, and long-term viability.

“Local people are the ones who actually have the on-the-ground knowledge,” said Annamaria Lehoczky of the NGO Fauna & Flora International.

The 30×30 initiative, meant to conserve 30% of Earth’s land and seas by 2030, may offer the scaffolding for a global response. But fragmentation persists. Conservation lacks the cohesion of industries like oil or agriculture, lamented Christopher Jordan, Latin America director of the nonprofit Re:wild: “There’s never been an entity that tries to be a unifier.”

In the end, resilience is about realism. The African oystercatcher nesting ever closer to human homes in South Africa is not just a bird in retreat — it’s a signal.

“We must learn to manage for change,” said Nik Sekhran, chief conservation officer at WWF.

The future will be hotter, drier and more chaotic. Whether nature can survive it may depend on how well we prepare for it now.

Read “How is conservation preparing for a much hotter world? Experts share” by Jeremy Hance here.

Banner image: Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.