Download DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA A clearly defined

Making sense of protected areas
The role of the IUCN category systems
Nigel Dudley, for Conservation International
This presentation
introduces the IUCN
protected area
categories and
explains how they can
be used to record
national protected
area data and to plan
protected area
systems
Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia
Protected areas
cover ~11.3% of the
world’s land surface
and a growing
amount of ocean –
most have been set
up in the last fifty
years. This is the
largest and fastest
conscious change
in management
objective in history.
But protected areas differ greatly in their
management objectives – ranging from those
focusing almost entirely on conservation…
Serengeti National Park and World Heritage site, Tanzania
… to protected landscapes or protected areas
with sustainable use, where conservation takes
place alongside other land uses
Jirisan National Park, South Korea
Protected areas also vary with respect to who
is in charge…ranging from government
employees to local communities
Nyika National Park, Malawi, plus stakeholders in Senegal and Madagascar
… they differ in size from huge to tiny
[statistics to come]…
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania and (inset) proposed strict nature reserve, Madagascar
…in the effectiveness with which they
conserve biodiversity…
Kaziranga National Park in India, has built its population of rhino from a handful to over 1600
…and in the range of values that they contain,
from ecosystem services, through geodiversity
and ecotourism…
Avalanche control Switzerland; inset Dorset World Heritage Site UK and private reserve Namibia
…to cultural and spiritual values
Montserrat National Park, Spain: (2nd inset) Rilla National Park, Bulgaria; (3rd inset) Japan
IUCN and the UNEP World Conservation
Monitoring Centre have developed a typology of
protected area management objectives to help to
distinguish different approaches and aid reporting
in the World Database on Protected Areas
The system includes a definition of a protected
area and six management categories, one of
which is divided into two subsections
Namib Desert National Park, Namibia
DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA
A clearly defined geographical space,
recognised, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to
achieve the long-term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem
services and cultural values
DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA
A clearly defined geographical space,
recognised, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to
achieve the long-term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem
services and cultural values
DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA
A clearly defined geographical space,
recognised, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to
achieve the long-term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem
services and cultural values
DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA
A clearly defined geographical space,
recognised, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to
achieve the long-term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem
services and cultural values
DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA
A clearly defined geographical space,
recognised, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to
achieve the long-term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem
services and cultural values
DEFINITION OF A PROTECTED AREA
A clearly defined geographical space,
recognised, dedicated and managed,
through legal or other effective means, to
achieve the long-term conservation of
nature with associated ecosystem
services and cultural values
To be recognised as a protected area, a site
must first fit the definition of a protected area;
it can then be assigned a category
Twelve Apostles marine protected area, Victoria, Australia
Fitting within the definition, the protected area
categories encompass the full range of
accepted management models
Strict nature reserve: mainly for science or wilderness protection
Ia
Wilderness area: mainly for wilderness protection
Ib
National park: mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation
II
Natural monument: mainly for conservation of specific natural features
III
Habitat / species management area: mainly for conservation of species
and habitat
IV
Protected landscape / seascape: mainly for landscape/seascape
conservation or recreation
V
Managed resource protected area: mainly for the sustainable use of
natural resources
VI