Most land and water conservation initiatives in the United States are reactive not proactive; haphazard not systematic; piecemeal not holistic; single-scale not multi-scale, single-purpose not multi-functional. Current conservation efforts often focus on individual pieces of land, limiting their conservation benefits to the environment and human health.

Green infrastructure is a strategic approach to conservation that addresses the ecological, social and economic impacts of sprawl and the accelerated consumption and fragmentation of open land.

A city, county or state would never build a road, water and electrical system piece by piece, with no advanced planning or coordination between different system components and jurisdictions.

These built infrastructure systems are planned, designed and invested in far in advance of their actual use. GreenInfrastructure.Net and a large coalition of public and private organizations are advancing the concept of Green Infrastructure nationwide.

They say we should plan, design and invest in our Green Infrastructure following the same principles and approaches that are used for built infrastructure.

The mission of GreenInfrastructure.Net, a collaboration of The Conservation Fund and the U.S. Forest Service, is to illustrate that identifying and planning for Green Infrastructure - multi-purpose green space networks - provides a framework for smart conservation and smart growth.

To find out more, visit the GreenInfrastructure.Net webpage. See and hear more about green infrastructure from Dr. Mark A. Benedict and Edward T. McMahon of The Conservation Fund. (requires RealPlayer)

1/14/2005