13 - Trajectories in wetland condition: Setting limits of acceptable change

Abstract

Limits of acceptable change (LAC) are an important component of Ramsar wetland descriptions, allowing management authorities to assess for changes in ecological character, commence notifications of change, and initiate management requirements. A major difficulty in the determination of LAC lies in the separation of adverse, human-induced change from natural variability. Another difficulty in deriving LAC is the often-encountered paucity of monitoring data at Ramsar sites. This chapter provides a practical solution to these difficulties through the use of a 3-level process to derive LAC, based on the availability of, and confidence in, relevant data. This chapter also discusses problems associated with environmental trajectories impacting the ecological character of Ramsar wetlands and provides management options ranging from defending current ecological character, through building resilience and developing new LAC, to accepting inevitable losses. Trajectories are categorised on the basis of magnitude and gradient of change, and management considerations are present for each category.