Bioregionalisation: some key questions and considerations

Bioregionalisation is a process to classify data on a range of environmental, biological and ecological attributes, resulting in a spatial framework that can be used as a planning tool for conservation and sustainable resource use. The success of this process will be dependent on establishing clear principles and objectives, focused at relevant spatial scales. Bioregionalisation analysis must address a range of technical questions relating to the development and use of appropriate methods and data, however it is important to establish in advance the framework within which this analysis will take place – why it is being undertaken, how and by whom it is intended to be used, and requirements of resolution and scale. This discussion paper outlines some key questions and considerations relating to the context, focus and products of a bioregionalisation analysis.