 To understand this account, we need to articulate what a place prioritization procedure is (Sarkar et al. 2002; Sarkar 2005: 159–68). In the abstract, place prioritization starts with a list of places (“cells”) and a list of surrogates that must be represented at a certain target in a conservation area network. We either want to select the smallest set of cells such that every one of our surrogates meets it target, or select those cells subject to a given size, which maximizes the number of surrogates at or above the relevant target. Place prioritization is a component of a consensus framework called systematic conservation planning that we will discuss below. However, in effect, it is a procedure for prioritizing places for their “biodiversity content” for creating conservation area networks in which we incorporate information regarding the design of the area. This can include the shape of the network, its size, dispersion, and connectivity. This is typically put more formally as follows (Sarkar 2005: 161). First, suppose we begin with a set \(\Sigma\) of places or cells \(\sigma_{j}\); thus, \(\Sigma = \{\sigma_{j} \mid \sigma_{j} \in \Sigma\}\) for \(j = 1, 2,\ldots, n\). Second, we have a set \(\Lambda\) of surrogates \(\lambda_{i}\); thus, \(\Lambda = \{\lambda_{i} \mid \lambda_{i} \in \Lambda\}\) for \(i = 1, 2,\ldots,m\). Third, we have targets for the representation of their expected coverage \(\tau_{i}\) for \(i= 1, 2,\ldots., m\). Place prioritization then takes the form of two problems: