Protected Areas EVS Project 001

8/10/2019 Protected Areas EVS Project 001

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Protected Areas

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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.


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Types:

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

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.


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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/geomorphologic 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 oraggregations) 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.


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Serengeti National Park Wilderness Area

Wilderness or wild land 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."


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.


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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.


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

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

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

To manage visitor use for inspirational, educational, and recreational purposes.

To contribute to local economies through tourism.


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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, and 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.


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.


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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.


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.

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


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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.


To protect and sustain important landscapes/seascapes and the associated nature conservation andother 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.

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


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Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources:

Ruwenzori 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.


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;

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).


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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 ofconservation 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 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:


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Conclusion:Nature has always helped in flourishing the mankind. But this isn't about what nature gives to us, its 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 lets

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.

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Protected Areas EVS Project 001