Protected Areas

Introduction:

Marine Protected Area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their environmental value, or environmental plus cultural values. Examples include parks, nature reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries. Not included in the term are historic sites such as buildings that do not include natural environmental aspects, but some are "cultural landscapes" which reflect interaction of humankind and nature. The term protected area includes Marine Protected Areas, which refers to protected areas whose boundaries include some area of ocean. A large number of kinds of protected area exist, which vary by level of protection and by the enabling laws of each country or rules of international organization. There are over 108,000 protected areas in the world with more added daily, representing a total area of 30,430,000 km2 (11,750,000 sq m), or over 12 percent of the world's land surface area, greater than the entire land mass of Africa. By contrast, as of 2 February 2009, only 0.8 of one percent of the world's oceans are included in the world's ~ 5000 Marine Protected Areas.

More precisely it can be defined as, "A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”.

1

Protected Areas

Types:

There are six IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Protected Area categories:

I. Strict nature reserve/wilderness area: Protected area managed mainly for science or wilderness protection.

II. National park: Protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation.

III. Natural monument: Protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features.

IV. Habitat/Species Management Area:Protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention.

V. Protected Landscape/Seascape:Protected area managed mainly for landscape/seascape protection and recreation.

VI. Managed Resource Protected Area:Protected area managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems.

2

Protected Areas

Strict Nature/Wilderness Area:

Giant Panda in Wolong Nature Reserve, China.

Natural Reserve are strictly protected areas set aside to protect biodiversity and also possibly geological/geomorphological features, where human visitation, use and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure protection of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring.

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To conserve regionally, nationally or globally outstanding ecosystems, species (occurrences or aggregations) and/or geodiversity features.

To preserve ecosystems, species and geodiversity features in a state as undisturbed by recent human activity as possible.

To secure examples of the natural environment for scientific studies, environmental monitoring and education, including baseline areas from which all avoidable access is excluded.

To minimize disturbance through careful planning and implementation of research and other approved activities.

To conserve cultural and spiritual values associated with nature.

3

Protected Areas

Serengeti National Park Wilderness Area

Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with roads, pipelines or other industrial infrastructure."

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To protect the long-term ecological integrity of natural areas that are undisturbed by significant human activity, free of modern infrastructure and where natural forces and processes predominate, so that current and future generations have the opportunity to experience such areas.

To provide for public access at levels. To enable indigenous communities to maintain their traditional wilderness-

based lifestyle and customs, living at low density and using the available resources in ways compatible with the conservation objectives.

To protect the relevant cultural and spiritual values and non-material benefits to indigenous or non-indigenous populations, such as solitude, respect for sacred sites, respect for ancestors etc.

To allow for low-impact minimally invasive educational and scientific research activities, when such activities cannot be conducted outside the wilderness area.

4

Protected Areas

National Park:

Hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, USA

National Parks are large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities.

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To protect natural biodiversity along with its ecological structure and supporting environmental processes, and to promote education and recreation.

To maintain viable and ecologically functional populations and assemblages of native species at densities sufficient to conserve ecosystem integrity and resilience in the long term.

To contribute in particular to conservation of wide-ranging species, regional ecological processes and migration routes.

To manage visitor use for inspirational, educational, and recreational purposes. To contribute to local economies through tourism.

5

Protected Areas

Natural Monument:

Uros Petrovic - Devil's town, natural monument in the south of Serbia

A natural monument is a natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. These areas are set aside to protect a specific natural monument, which can be a landform, sea mount, submarine cavern, geological feature such as a cave or even a living feature such as an ancient grove. They are generally quite small protected areas and often have high visitor value.

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To protect specific outstanding natural features and their associated biodiversity and habitats.

To provide biodiversity protection in landscapes or seascapes that has otherwise undergone major changes.

To protect specific natural sites with spiritual and/or cultural values where these also have biodiversity values.

To conserve traditional spiritual and cultural values of the site.

6

Protected Areas

Habitat/Species Management Area:

Galapagos tortoise in the Galapagos, Ecuador.

Habitat/Species Management areas aim to protect particular species or habitats and management reflects this priority. Many of these protected areas will need regular, active interventions to address the requirements of particular species or to maintain habitats, but this is not a requirement of the category.

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To maintain, conserve and restore species and habitats. To protect vegetation patterns or other biological features through traditional

management approaches. To protect fragments of habitats as components of landscape or seascape-scale

conservation strategies. To develop public education and appreciation of the species/ habitats

concerned.

7

Protected Areas

To provide a means by which the urban residents may obtain regular contact with nature.

Protected Landscapes/Seascapes:

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

A protected area where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant ecological, biological, cultural and scenic value: and where safeguarding the integrity of this interaction is vital to protecting and sustaining the area and its associated nature conservation and other values.

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To protect and sustain important landscapes/seascapes and the associated nature conservation and other values created by interactions with humans through traditional management practices.

To maintain a balanced interaction of nature and culture through the protection of landscape and/or seascape and associated traditional management approaches, societies, cultures and spiritual values.

To contribute to broad-scale conservation by maintaining species associated with cultural landscapes and/or by providing conservation opportunities in heavily used landscapes.

To provide opportunities for enjoyment, well-being and socio-economic activity through recreation and tourism.

To provide natural products and environmental services. To provide a framework to underpin active involvement by the community in

the management of valued landscapes or seascapes and the natural and cultural heritage that they contain.

To encourage the conservation of agrobiodiversity6 and aquatic biodiversity.

8

Protected Areas

To act as models of sustainability so that lessons can be learnt for wider application.

Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources:

Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda

These protected areas conserve ecosystems and habitats, together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems. They are generally large, with most of the area in a natural condition, where a proportion is under sustainable natural resource management and where low-level non-industrial use of natural resources compatible with nature conservation is seen as one of the main aims of the area.

The main objectives of these areas declared by IUCN are:

To protect natural ecosystems and use natural resources sustainably, when conservation and sustainable use can be mutually beneficial.

To promote sustainable use of natural resources, considering ecological, economic and social dimensions.

To promote social and economic benefits to local communities where relevant;

9

Protected Areas

To facilitate inter-generational security for local communities' livelihoods – therefore ensuring that such livelihoods are sustainable.

To integrate other cultural approaches, belief systems and world-views within a range of social and economic approaches to nature conservation.

To contribute to developing and/or maintaining a more balanced relationship between humans and the rest of nature.

To contribute to sustainable development at national, regional and local level (in the last case mainly to local communities and/or indigenous peoples depending on the protected natural resources).

To facilitate scientific research and environmental monitoring, mainly related to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

To collaborate in the delivery of benefits to people, mostly local communities, living in or near to the designated protected area.

To facilitate recreation and appropriate small-scale tourism.

History:

International commitments to the development of networks of protected areas date from 1972, when the Stockholm Declaration from the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment endorsed the protection of representative examples of all major ecosystem types as a fundamental requirement of national conservation programs. Since then, the protection of representative ecosystems has become a core principle of conservation biology, supported by key United Nations resolutions - including the World Charter for Nature 1982, the Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit (1992), and the Johannesburg Declaration 2002.

Globally, national programs for the protection of representative ecosystems have progressed with respect to terrestrial environments, with less progress in marine and freshwater biomes.

Criticism:

Some countries such as China, Madagascar, Namibia and Venezuela place a protection category over lands, but provide little enforcement, such that the areas are not substantively protected from development or misuse.

Protected areas often involve the exclusion of resources users from the protected area. As such they have been criticized for the displacement of local

10

Protected Areas

population. Much of the new protected areas are in developing countries which makes the local population vulnerable.

In some places, wildlife is protected by armed guards, killing 'poachers' looking for subsistence.

Protected Areas – Protecting Mother Earth:

Nature has always helped in flourishing the mankind. But this isn't about what nature gives to us, it’s what we, as a human being give back in return. Are we concerned about nature? Does saving the endangered species and taking necessary actions for those who are on the brink of extinction means something to us? Then let’s join hands with the nature and the wildlife organizations to save mother Earth!

The natural projects and programs started by the Indian government such as Project Tiger, Nature Camps and Jungle Lodges have been organized to promote wildlife awareness among the people. These projects not only help in preserving our natural heritage but also encourage eco-tourism.

11