Based on the Species Conservation Cycle (Assess-Plan-Act) , the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) has developed more specific Guidelines for Species Conservation Planning. According to those, any plan or strategy should fulfil certain requirements:

• Start with a specific question, i.e. What do we want to happen for a certain (sub)species within X number of years?, and progressively work back in terms of time horizons and detailed answers to the question, developing the tactics required to implement the strategy;

• Involve all organisations and individuals with interest in the (sub)species and its habitat;

• Include the social, political and cultural environments and local people in the conservation action planning and implementation;

• Consider resources, risks, priorities and other aspects in the planning and  implementation of the strategy.

A key aspect in the planning process is the SSC Species Conservation Planning Cycle. Species conservation must be a cyclical process from the initial decision to intervene for a species (the plan) through its successful and sustainable conservation (implement, learn, adapt; Fig. 1). The guidelines focus more on the planning than the implementation stages. Thorough planning is key to good implementation, but it must be emphasised that the value from planning is only obtained from implementation and follow-up.