National park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see National park (disambiguation).

An elephant safari through the Jaldapara National Park in West Bengal, India

The Teide National Park in Tenerife, Spain

A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of
natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns.
Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a
common idea: the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of
national pride.[1] An international organization, the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has
defined "National Park" as its Category II type of protected areas.

While this type of national park had been proposed previously, the United States
established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment
of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872.[2] Although Yellowstone was not
officially termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such
in practice[3] and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world.
The first area to use "national park" in its creation legislation was the US's Mackinac
Island, in 1875. Australia's Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the world's
third official national park.[4] In 1895 ownership of Mackinac Island was transferred
to the State of Michigan as a state park and national park status was consequently
lost.[5] As a result, Australia's Royal National Park is by some considerations the
second oldest national park now in existence.[5][6][7]

The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast
Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN,
6,555 national parks worldwide met its criteria in 2006. IUCN is still discussing the
parameters of defining a national park.[8]

National parks are almost always open to visitors.[9] Most national parks provide
outdoor recreation and camping opportunities[citation needed] as well as classes

designed to educate the public on the importance of conservation and the natural
wonders of the land in which the national park is located.[citation needed]

Contents [hide]
1

Definitions

History

Economic ramifications

3.1

Tourism

3.2

Staff

See also

References

5.1

Citations

5.2

Sources

External links

Definitions[edit]

Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica was listed by Forbes as one of the
world's 12 most beautiful national parks.[10]

A salt marsh in Schiermonnikoog National Park, Netherlands

In 1969, the IUCN declared a national park to be a relatively large area with the
following defining characteristics:[11]

One or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and

occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats
are of special scientific, educational, and recreational interest or which contain a
natural landscape of great beauty;
Highest competent authority of the country has taken steps to prevent or eliminate
exploitation or occupation as soon as possible in the whole area and to effectively

enforce the respect of ecological, geomorphological, or aesthetic features which

have led to its establishment; and
Visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative,
cultural, and recreative purposes.
In 1971, these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and
defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. These include:

Minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes
precedence
Statutory legal protection
Budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection
Prohibition of exploitation of natural resources (including the development of dams)
qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, facilities,
etc.
While the term national park is now defined by the IUCN, many protected areas in
many countries are called national park even when they correspond to other
categories of the IUCN Protected Area Management Definition, for example:[9][12]

Swiss National Park, Switzerland: IUCN Ia - Strict Nature Reserve

Everglades National Park, United States: IUCN Ib - Wilderness Area
Biaowiea National Park, Poland: IUCN II National Park
Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe: IUCN III - National Monument
Vitosha National Park, Bulgaria: IUCN IV - Habitat Management Area
New Forest National Park, United Kingdom: IUCN V - Protected Landscape
Etniko Ygrotopiko Parko Delta Evrou, Greece: IUCN VI - Managed Resource Protected
Area
While national parks are generally understood to be administered by national
governments (hence the name), in Australia national parks are run by state
governments and predate the Federation of Australia; similarly, national parks in the
Netherlands are administered by the provinces.[9] In many countries, including
Indonesia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, national parks do not adhere

to the IUCN definition, while some areas which adhere to the IUCN definition are not
designated as national parks.[9]

History[edit]
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The United States in 1872. When Yellowstone was established, Wyoming, Montana
and Idaho were territories, not states. For this reason, the federal government had
to assume responsibility for the land, hence the creation of the national park.
In 1810, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a[13]

sort of national property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an
eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy.

The painter George Catlin, in his travels through the American West, wrote during
the 1830s that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved[14]

(by some great protecting policy of government) ...in a magnificent park ...A
nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their
nature's beauty!

The first effort by the Federal government to set aside such protected lands was on
April 20, 1832, when President Andrew Jackson signed legislation that the 22nd
United States Congress had enacted to set aside four sections of land around what
is now Hot Springs, Arkansas, to protect the natural, thermal springs and adjoining
mountainsides for the future disposal of the U.S. government.[15][16][17] It was
known as Hot Springs Reservation, but no legal authority was established. Federal
control of the area was not clearly established until 1877.[15]

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, in California

John Muir is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" due to his work in
Yosemite.[18] He published two influential articles in The Century Magazine, which
formed the base for the subsequent legislation.[19][20]

President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on July 1, 1864, ceding the
Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (later becoming Yosemite
National Park) to the state of California. According to this bill, private ownership of
the land in this area was no longer possible. The state of California was designated
to manage the park for "public use, resort, and recreation". Leases were permitted
for up to ten years and the proceeds were to be used for conservation and
improvement. A public discussion followed this first legislation of its kind and there
was a heated debate over whether the government had the right to create parks.
The perceived mismanagement of Yosemite by the Californian state was the reason
why Yellowstone at its establishment six years later was put under national control.
[21][22]

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; Yellowstone was the
first national park in the world.

Los Cardones National Park in Salta province, Argentina

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the United States' first
national park,[23] being also the world's first national park. In some European
countries, however, national protection and nature reserves already existed, such as
Drachenfels (Germany, 1822) and a part of Forest of Fontainebleau (France, 1861).
[24]

Yellowstone was part of a federally governed territory. With no state government

that could assume stewardship of the land so the federal government took on direct
responsibility for the park, the official first national park of the United States. The
combined effort and interest of conservationists, politicians and the Northern Pacific
Railroad ensured the passage of enabling legislation by the United States Congress
to create Yellowstone National Park. Theodore Roosevelt, already an active
campaigner and so influential, as good stump speakers were highly necessary in the

pre-telecommunications era, was highly influential in convincing fellow Republicans

and big business to back the bill.

American Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wallace Stegner wrote:[25]

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely
democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.

In his book Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the
National Parks, Mark David Spence made the point that in order to create these
uninhabited spaces, the United States first had to disposess the Indians who were
living in them.[26]

Even with the creation of Yellowstone, Yosemite, and nearly 37 other national parks
and monuments, another 44 years passed before an agency was created in the
United States to administer these units in a comprehensive way the U.S. National
Park Service (NPS). The 64th United States Congress passed the National Park
Service Organic Act, which President Woodrow Wilson signed into law on August 25,
1916. Of the 413 sites managed by the National Park Service of the United States,
only 59 carry the designation of National Park.

Further information: History of the National Park Service

Following the idea established in Yellowstone, there soon followed parks in other
nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park was established just south of Sydney
on April 26, 1879, becoming the world's second official national park[27] (actually
the 3rd: Mackinac National Park in Michigan was created in 1875 as a national park
but was later transferred to the state's authority in 1895, thus losing its official
"national park" status).[28] Rocky Mountain National Park became Canada's first
national park in 1885. Argentina became the third country in the Americas to create
a national park system, with the creation of the Nahuel Huapi National Park in 1934,
through the initiative of Francisco Moreno. New Zealand established Tongariro
National Park in 1887. In Europe, the first national parks were a set of nine parks in
Sweden in 1909, followed by the Swiss National Park in 1914. Europe has some 359
national parks as of 2010.[citation needed] Africa's first national park was
established in 1925 when Albert I of Belgium designated an area of what is now
Democratic Republic of Congo centred on the Virunga Mountains as the Albert

National Park (since renamed Virunga National Park). In 1973, Mount Kilimanjaro
was classified as a National Park and was opened to public access in 1977.[29] In
1926, the government of South Africa designated Kruger National Park as the
nation's first national park, although it was an expansion of the earlier Sabie Game
Reserve established in 1898 by President Paul Kruger of the old South African
Republic, after whom the park was named. After World War II, national parks were
founded all over the world. The Vanoise National Park in the Alps was the first
French national park, created in 1963 after public mobilization against a touristic
project.

The world's first national park service was established May 19, 1911, in Canada.[30]
The Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act placed the dominion parks under the
administration of the Dominion Park Branch (now Parks Canada). The branch was
established to "protect sites of natural wonder" to provide a recreational
experience, centered on the idea of the natural world providing rest and spiritual
renewal from the urban setting.[31] Canada now has the largest protected area in
the world with 377,000 km of national park space.[32] In 1989, the Qomolangma
National Nature Preserve (QNNP) was created to protect 3.381 million hectares on
the north slope of Mount Everest in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. This
national park is the first major global park to have no separate warden and
protection staffall of its management being done through existing local
authorities, allowing a lower cost basis and a larger geographical coverage (in 1989
when created, it was the largest protected area in Asia). It includes four of the six
highest mountains Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Cho Oyu. The QNNP is contiguous
to four Nepali national parks, creating a transborder conservation area equal in size
to Switzerland.[33]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_park

Benefits of Ecotourism
There are many different benefits that can be derived from ecotourism if it is used
as a tool by local communities rather than large outside interests. However, the
results are a direct reflection of the motivation behind the project. Since these
motivations are often mixed it follows that the results are often mixed too.

The following article was originally published by USAID, an organization that helps
fund various ecotourism projects in many non industrialized nations. USAID has it's
own unique problems and challenges but it's an interesting article nonetheless.

Win Win Approaches: Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation

Whether called nature tourism or ecotourism, recreational and educational travel
based on natural attractions is a promising means of advancing social, economic,
and environmental objectives in developing countries. It offers countries new
opportunities for small-enterprise investment and employment and increases the
national stake in protecting their biological resources. However, making ecotourism
a positive economic and environmental tool requires policies that foster responsible
nature tourism development, broad-based and active local participation in its
benefits, and conservation of developing countries' biological heritage.

The Problem
Forest and marine habitats are being destroyed and some of the wildlife they
contain is being driven to extinction under the pressures of hunting, logging,
agriculture, and fishing. Where areas have been officially reserved for nature
conservation, many developing country governments lack sufficient funds to
manage and protect them. These areas are being destroyed because they are not
fully valued for their role as nature's genetic reservoirs of the world's biological
resources.

The Win Win Solution

A recent USAID evaluation has identified ecotourism as an enterprise with potential
positive contributions to the conservation of endangered biological resources. (See
Synthesis Report Stemming the Loss of Biological Diversity: An Assessment of USAID
Support for Protected-Area Management, July 1995). Contributions of ecotourism
include raising local awareness about the value of biological resources, increasing
local participation in the benefits of biodiversity conservation (through new sources

of jobs and incomes), and generating revenues toward conservation of biologically

rich areas.

Wildlife and its habitats in developing countries are becoming increasingly popular
attractions for international tourism. Many of the richest areas, biologically, are in
the developing world. Growing numbers of ecotourists are flocking to the mountains
of Nepal and Madagascar, the tropical forests of Costa Rica and Thailand, and the
beaches of Belize and Sri Lanka. Nature tourists bring with them money to spend,
money that creates jobs and incomes for households and communities in and
around national parks and other protected areas. Ecotourism enterprises, tour
agencies and guide services, lodges and private reserves as well as such satellite
activities as crafts industries and transportation and food services, also generate
revenues and foreign exchange. Governments can use this income in operating and
protecting natural habitats.

By recognizing the importance of protecting biological diversity, ecotourism is

raising appreciation for biological resources and leading to better conservation
practices by developing country populations. It must of course be properly
regulated and managed to protect against adverse environmental and cultural
effects that can come with overbuilding of tourist facilities and influx of populations
around fragile ecosystems. Assuming such oversight, nature tourism can benefit
both the environment and economic development.

The Role of USAID

USAID supports nature-based tourism activities as part of its biodiversity
conservation programs in more than a dozen countries worldwide. The Agency's
ecotourism activities include support for developing national park systems,
demarcating and equipping new national parks, recruiting and training park staff,
and encouraging government reforms that promote regulated investments in
private lodging, guide service, and other tourism ventures.

The Agency's involvement is recent, beginning in the mid-1980s, and the effect of
these activities is only starting to emerge. USAID biodiversity conservation
programs have demonstrated that potential local resistance to setting aside forest
and fishing areas for conservation can often be softened by employment and
income-producing opportunities ecotourism can generate.

In Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka, USAID support led to the creation of entirely
new wildlife parks that have begun to spawn tourism facilities around them. Tourist
demand for food, lodging, souvenirs, educational materials, and guide and
transportation services stimulates local investment, employment, and incomes.
Costa Rica has introduced revenue retention arrangements to keep earnings from
entrance fees for park operations; it awards contracts to local communities to
operate food and souvenir concessions as a means of building local involvement in
and commitment to park conservation. Costa Rica has also included a variable park
entrance fee structure (charging higher fees to international tourists than to local
visitors) to increase revenues.

In Nepal, Madagascar, and Thailand, USAID has supported integrated conservation

and development activities to promote new livelihoods including nature tourism
based employment as alternatives to encroaching into protected national parks for
hunting, logging, and farming. Engagement of local people in planning and
conducting ecotourism activities has generated a new group of stakeholders with a
vested interest in protecting parks. The new nature jobs depend on it.

USAID's Central American Paseo Pantera ("Panther Walk") project has helped
establish national nature tourism councils in Guatemala and Honduras to involve
local communities and tourism enterprises. The councils also enlist international
conservation organizations as advisers to promote green, self-sustaining tourism
activities.
In 1989 the Agency began a Parks in Peril project to improve management of 20
parks in Latin America and the Caribbean. The project also seeks to enhance
recreational and educational use of the parks. For example, in Bolivia, Parks in Peril
is working through a U.S. environmental nongovernment organization (NGO) to
assist a Bolivian NGO in providing nature tourism packages in two national parks.
The project has helped create jobs for tour guides, park rangers, educators, and the
like in several countries in the region.

These experiences suggest that ecotourism can be a constructive component of

strategies to promote, at the same time, both environmental protection and
development of private enterprise. USAID can help promote nature tourism in a way
that maximizes its contribution to both the economies and the ecologies of
developing countries. Specifically, USAID, other donors, NGOs, and developing
country governments can work together to:

1. Identify and mobilize funding for potential private nature tourism investments.
Ecotourism enterprises, like most business ventures, need operating capital. USAID
and other donors can help identify promising funding sources.

2. Formulate fiscal policies to promote nature tourism and to maximize its economic
and environmental benefits. USAID can encourage public policies (such as visitor
fees, regulations for tourism operations, and investment incentives and land-use
zones for tourist facilities) that promote environmentally sound tourism as well as
community involvement in providing services and products such as guides, lodging,
transport, and crafts.

3. Encourage international exchange of information and know-how about nature

tourism opportunities and operations. USAID can foster participation by developing
country public agencies and private service providers in international nature
tourism associations that can help them, through technical and management
training, to meet the needs and interests of international and domestic nature
tourists.

4. Monitor and certify the performance of ecotourism activities. USAID can support
emerging international movements aimed at promoting "green tourism." Green
tourism takes ecotourism a step further, promoting environmentally responsible
tourist operations that conserve energy, recycle waste, and instruct staff and
tourists on proper behavior in parks and protected areas.

5. Fund research on ecotourism's developmental and environmental impact.

Information is needed to demonstrate to decision-makers the economic
contributions nature tourism can make. Better understanding of the impact of
ecotourism (such as in resort development) is needed to regulate and enforce
against environmentally damaging investments.

Outstanding Issues
Risk: Unregulated, nature tourism can damage the environment and corrode local
cultures. Pollution from runaway resort and hotel development around fragile park
areas in Costa Rica, Nepal, and Thailand exemplifies poorly managed tourism
activity.

Distribution of benefits: Where international travel and resort chains or urban

investors control the tourism industry, the local economic effect of ecotourism may
be reduced. Early studies of ecotourism expenditures suggest that in such cases not
much perhaps 20 to 30 cents of the tourist dollar stays in the national economy;
even less reaches local communities.

Perceptions: Developing countries fear that their parks and protected areas will
become playgrounds for international tourists, with the land reserved for
conservation and no longer available for farming to feed and employ their growing
populations.

Lack of information: More and better information is need about the actual and
potential economic contributions of nature tourism ventures and practices. Inclusion
of visits to natural attractions as part of regular recreational tourism needs to be
explored along with "purer" forms of nature tourism and travel.
http://www.untamedpath.com/eco-tours/benefits-of-ecotourism.shtml

What is Ecotourism?
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/principles-importance-benefitsecotourism.php

Ecotourism (also called sustainable tourism) can be defined by a variety of travel

practices, but it all comes down to a general set of ideas. As an eco-tourist, you
decide to travel in a way that shows respect to nature and does not contribute to its
degradation.

Additionally, ecotourism is a part of environmental conservation, and understanding

what the needs of the people are who are local to the area so that you can help to
improve their quality of life. It also involves learning more about the history of other
cities and preserving the historical landmarks.

As per The International Ecotourism Society,

Ecotourism is now defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves

the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves
interpretation and education (TIES, 2015). Education is meant to be inclusive of
both staff and guests.

famous-beach-resort-town-in-Thailand,

Importance of Ecotourism

When we think of the joys that come with the adventures of traveling, we often
envision exciting trips to beautiful places fit for a perfect photograph, unique foods
you wont find at home, and encounters with people who are much different from

those we are accustomed to. Tourism allows us to do more than just learn facts
about various locations. It allows us to immerse ourselves into the cultures and
lifestyles of others and leaves lasting impressions that arent likely to be forgotten.

Ecotourism is valuable for people and the Planet

The rewards that come with the newness and the satisfying learning experiences of
travel are irreplaceable, and these benefits can be enhanced through ecotourism.
As an eco-tourist, you travel with more than personal satisfaction in mind. You help
the planet and you enable people to lead a more fulfilling life.

Local communities, especially those that do not thrive by industrial means, could
benefit greatly from tourists who respect their lands while providing additional
funding. In unspoilt regions, we are offered a touring experience that reminds us of
natures enchanting qualities and we are commonly introduced to welcoming
residents.

Sustainable tourism is a learning experience for everyone involved

The more that we know about a place, our love and admiration grows and inspires
us to protect it. Tour guides and hosts are educated on a deeper level in order to
share knowledge with visitors while tourists come to appreciate the beauty of new
surroundings. Adding to the visual appeal is the new perspective that comes with
learning the historical and environmental significance of unfamiliar lands and
buildings.

As we explore unknown places with a spirit of curiosity and kindness, we begin

important discussions with locals and other visitors. Through their stories, we have
an inside view of what the needs and desires of the people are.

Unfortunately, tourists are viewed by some as rude visitors who create

inconveniences for residents. Locals are often annoyed by the increased traffic,
unreasonable demands and the inability of tourists to understand and respect the
cultural expectations and dress codes.

When you meet people as you travel sustainably, mutual understanding allows all
parties involved to learn about one another. You are able to tell others where you
are from and to show them that you would like to tour the area without disturbing
their way of life or disrespecting their values. By showing strangers that you care
about their feelings and concerns, they view you as a representative of your home
and as an ally. This creates a sense of unity and cultural sensitivity.

Ecotourism Promotes Economic Stability

We live in a very diverse world full of eclectic people who live off the land and
depend on what nature provides. Commercial tourist attractions may be placed in a
specific area, but that doesnt mean it gives back to these communities. Instead,
large corporations tend to change the way of living for some natives depending on
what will be most profitable. When this happens, locals often relocate and are
devastated on both a physical and emotional level due to the stresses that come
with moving.

Many of these indigenous cultures have been deluded, or destroyed altogether, to

set up for tourism, but it doesnt have to be that way. Traveling to local attractions
offers exciting experiences and the funding you provide to these places is shared
amongst the community, contributing to more jobs and a boost in the local
economy.

We Become More Sensitive Through Ecotourism

Unfortunately, many of the travel experiences we take part in do not take into
consideration how it affects our planet and the well-being of people. There are many
popular attractions that are insensitive to the environment and animals. These
places continue to make a large amount of money because many people are
unaware of the harm and pain it causes, simply viewing it as amusement. On the
other hand, lesser known attractions may not be able to advertise or host a large
number of guests at once, but deserve the publicity and funding to help them move
forward. When we visit these places and tell others about the experience, we are
helping to promote eco-friendly businesses and keep them in operation.

Ecotourism Reduces our Carbon Footprint

When you travel, commuting is a major part of the experience. Some choose to rent
cars and drive while others take planes or trains. Commuting is unavoidable when
traveling, but there are adventurous ways to cut back on transport that adds to
pollution in the air. While on a trip, explore guided areas that offer tours on foot.
Have fun discovering the unique types of shared transportation that each city
provides, such as trolleys and hybrid buses that offer comfortable means of travel
for tourists and locals.

Animals Suffer When We Dont Travel Sustainably

Small companies are working to save species from extinctions and monetary
support helps them in this mission. At many major attractions, animals are unfairly
caged or forced to participate in performances that cause them stress and
discomfort. Instead of paying to view animals in captivity, go sightseeing to see
them at play in their natural habitats. There are also hiking trails waiting to be
explored that offer colorful views of nature and close encounters with diverse
species.

Planning to Travel Sustainably is Easier Than Ever Before

Tourism is amongst, if not the, most popular industry in the world. The less
sustainably we travel, the more we allow for destructive habits that negatively
impact the environment. For example, there are large amounts of litter and waste
often left behind when a large number of people congregate at events that do not
encourage the use of recycling bins, contributing greatly to pollution.

Because of its ability to attract and connect people, travel can be especially
powerful as a way to preserve the environment instead. Proper planning and
research allow tourists to find eco-friendly alternatives that are enjoyable for both
solo travelers and families. There are lots of online tools and travel companies that
can help you to book incredible experiences that are kind to the environment. With
so many advancements in technology, you can easily plan your own trips to various
destinations in a short amount of time if a travel consultant isnt a desirable option.

eco-friendly-bike

Principles of Ecotourism

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Ecotourism is about responsible travel to natural areas that promote conservation,
bring harmony among communities, and sustains well being of local people. People
who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should adopt the following
ecotourism principles:

Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts

Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and local people
Provide direct financial benefits for environmental conservation
Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry
Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity
to host countries political, environmental, and social climates
Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities
Variety of Benefits of Ecotourism

As you travel, not only do you learn about others and teach them about your ways
of life, you also learn more about yourself than you could imagine. Ecotourism gives
us a completely different view of the world and challenges us open our minds to
different ways of thinking.
Enjoy the different varieties of music and styles of dress that you will be introduced
to during your travels. People watch to see how intriguing the interactions between
locals can be. Many places have live outdoor performances where you can dance
and mingle with locals who enjoy sharing stories and meeting tourists. You can
spend the day in bathing suits and surfboards or in formal wear at opera
performances. Youll notice that no matter where you travel, there are distinctive
experiences to be had.
Everyone craves a sense of excitement in their lives and eco-travel entertains the
thrill seeker in you. There are many sustainable adventures on land and below the
water. Go scuba diving and snorkeling to explore the depths of the water without
disturbing marine life and coral, or hike and zipline through the forests.
Your vocabulary also increases as you take on different accents and learn terms that
you were unfamiliar with, making you a more well-rounded speaker. This can be
beneficial in professional settings and adds a sense of excitement when you return
home to share the long- lasting memories youve made.
History takes on a life of its own for eco-tourists. If you want to feel like youve
traveled back in time, you can tap into the feeling, the food, and the atmosphere of
past places based on where you decide to visit. Take a tour of cities with preserved
and restored buildings that have historical and religious value. Castles and
landmarks of major events that shaped the history and politics of various places can
often be toured, and the architecture and design alone will amaze you.
Keepsakes are always original and can keep you enlightened on the darkest days.
You can create your own souvenirs with photographs you take of incredible places or
show the locals that you support their talents by purchasing handcrafted items
theyve made.
The impossible doesnt seem as impossible anymore. There are so many places we
see that are beautiful and they seem so far away. When you finally reach that
dream destination, you are showing yourself that the impossible can be achieved
and you can make your wildest dreams come true

PROTECTED AREAS
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection
because of their recognized natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are
several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the
enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international organisations
involved. The term "protected area" also includes Marine Protected Areas, the

boundaries of which will include some area of ocean, and Transboundary Protected
Areas that overlap multiple countries which remove the borders inside the area for
conservation and economic purposes. There are over 161,000 protected areas in
the world (as of October 2010)[1] with more added daily, representing between 10
and 15 percent of the world's land surface area.[2][3][4] By contrast, only 1.17% of
the world's oceans is included in the world's ~6,800 Marine Protected Areas.[5]

Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat
and protection from hunting for threatened and endangered species. Protection
helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed
landscapes and seascapes.[6]

Contents [hide]
1

Definition

Protection of natural resources

IUCN Protected Area Management Categories

History

Challenges

Effectiveness

By Area

7.1

European Union

7.2

Nicaragua

7.3

United States

See also

References

10

External links

Definition[edit]
Generally, protected areas are understood to be those in which human occupation
or at least the exploitation of resources is limited. The definition that has been
widely accepted across regional and global frameworks has been provided by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in its categorisation guidelines

for protected areas. The definition is as follows:

"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."[7]

Protection of natural resources[edit]

Protected areas are designated with the objective of conserving biodiversity and
providing an indicator for that conservation's progress, but the extent to which they
defend resources and ecosystem dynamics from degradation are slightly more
complex. Protected areas will usually encompass several other zones that have
been deemed important for particular conservation uses, such as Important Bird
Areas (IBA) and Endemic Bird Areas (EBA), Centres of Plant Diversity (CBD),
Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCA), Alliance for Zero Extinction
Sites (AZE) and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) among others. Likewise, a protected
area or an entire network of protected areas may lie within a larger geographic zone
that is recognised as a terrestrial or marine ecoregions (see, Global 200), or a crisis
ecoregions for example.[8] As a result, Protected Areas can encompass a broad
range of governance types. Indeed, governance of protected areas has emerged a
critical factor in their success.

Subsequently, the range of natural resources that any one protected area may
guard is vast. Many will be allocated primarily for species conservation whether it
be flora or fauna or the relationship between them, but protected areas are similarly
important for conserving sites of (indigenous) cultural importance and considerable
reserves of natural resources such as;

Carbon Stocks: Carbon emissions from deforestation account for an estimated 20%
of global carbon emissions, so in protecting the worlds carbon stocks greenhouse
gas emissions are reduced and longterm land cover change is prevented, which is
an effective strategy in the struggle against global warming. Of all global terrestrial
carbon stock, 15.2% is contained within protected areas. Protected areas in South
America hold 27% of the world's carbon stock, which is the highest percentage of
any country in both absolute terms and as a proportion of the total stock.[9]
Rainforests: 18.8% of the world's forest is covered by protected areas and sixteen of
the twenty forest types have 10% or more protected area coverage. Of the 670

ecoregions with forest cover, 54% have 10% or more of their forest cover protected
under IUCN Categories I VI.[10]
Mountains: Nationally designated protected areas cover 14.3% of the worlds
mountain areas, and these mountainous protected areas made up 32.5% of the
worlds total terrestrial protected area coverage in 2009. Mountain protected area
coverage has increased globally by 21% since 1990 and out of the 198 countries
with mountain areas, 43.9% still have less than 10% of their mountain areas
protected.[11]
Annual updates on each of these analyses are made in order to make comparisons
to the Millennium Development Goals and several other fields of analysis are
expected to be introduced in the monitoring of protected areas management
effectiveness, such as freshwater and marine or coastal studies which are currently
underway, and islands and drylands which are currently in planning.[12]

IUCN Protected Area Management Categories[edit]

Strict Nature reserve Belianske Tatras in Slovakia.

Through its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), the IUCN has developed
six Protected Area Management Categories that define protected areas according to
their management objectives, which are internationally recognised by various
national governments and the United Nations.[13] The categories provide
international standards for defining protected areas and encourage conservation
planning according to their management aims.[14]

IUCN Protected Area Management Categories:

Category Ia Strict Nature Reserve

Category Ib Wilderness Area
Category II National Park
Category III Natural Monument or Feature
Category IV Habitat/Species Management Area
Category V Protected Landscape/Seascape

Category VI Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources

History[edit]

Black Opal Spring in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Yellowstone, the
world's second official protected area (after Mongolia's Bogd Khan Mountain), was
declared a protected area in 1872,[15] and it encompasses areas which are
classified as both a National Park (Category II) and a Habitat Management Area
(Category IV).[16]
Protected areas are cultural artifacts, and their story is entwined with that of human
civilization. Protecting places and resources is by no means a modern concept,
whether it be indigenous communities guarding sacred sites or the convention of
European hunting reserves. Over 2000 years ago, royal decrees in India protected
certain areas. In Europe, rich and powerful people protected hunting grounds for a
thousand years. Moreover, the idea of protection of special places is universal: for
example, it occurs among the communities in the Pacific ("tapu" areas) and in parts
of Africa (sacred groves). However, the modern protected areas movement had
nineteenth-century origins in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South
Africa. Other countries were quick to follow suit. While the idea of protected areas
spread around the world in the twentieth century, the driving force was different in
different regions. Thus, in North America, protected areas were about safeguarding
dramatic and sublime scenery; in Africa, the concern was with game parks; in
Europe, landscape protection was more common.[17]

Initially, protected areas were recognised on a national scale, differing from country
to country until 1933, when an effort to reach an international consensus on the
standards and terminology of protected areas took place at the International
Conference for the Protection of Fauna and Flora in London.[18] At the 1962 First
World Conference on National Parks in Seattle the effect the Industrial Revolution
had had on the world's natural environment was acknowledged, and the need to
preserve it for future generations was established.[19]

Since then, it has been an international commitment on behalf of both governments

and non-government organisations to maintain the networks that hold regular
revisions for the succinct categorisations that have been developed to regulate and
record protected areas. In 1972, the Stockholm Declaration of 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 programmes. This has become a core principle of conservation biology

and has remained so in recent resolutions - including the World Charter for Nature in
1982, the Rio Declaration at the Earth Summit in 1992, and the Johannesburg
Declaration 2002.

Recently, the importance of protected areas has been brought to the fore at the
threat of human-induced global warming and the understanding of the necessity to
consume natural resources in a sustainable manner. The spectrum of benefits and
values of protected areas is recognised not only ecologically, but culturally through
further development in the arena of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas
(ICCAs). International programmes for the protection of representative ecosystems
remain relatively progressive (considering the environmental challenges of
globalisation with respect to terrestrial environments), with less advances in marine
and freshwater biomes.

Challenges[edit]

Schweizerischer National Park in the Swiss Alps is a Strict Nature Reserve (Category
Ia).[20]

The Jaldapara National Park in West Bengal, India is a Habitat Management Area
(Category IV).[21]
How to manage areas protected for conservation brings up a range of challenges[4]
- whether it be regarding the local population, specific ecosystems or the design of
the reserve itself - and because of the many unpredicatable elements in ecology
issues, each protected area requires a case-specific set of guidelines.[22]

Enforcing protected area boundaries is a costly and labour-heavy endeavour,

particularly if the allocation of a new protected region places new restrictions on the
use of resources by the native people which may lead to their subsequent
displacement.[23] This has troubled relationships between conservationists and
rural communities in many protected regions and is often why many Wildlife
Reserves and National Parks face the human threat of poaching for the illegal
bushmeat or trophy trades, which are resorted to as an alternative form of
substinence.[4][24]

There is increasing pressure to take proper account of human needs when setting
up protected areas and these sometimes have to be "traded off" against
conservation needs. Whereas in the past governments often made decisions about
protected areas and informed local people afterwards, today the emphasis is
shifting towards greater discussions with stakeholders and joint decisions about how
such lands should be set aside and managed. Such negotiations are never easy but
usually produce stronger and longer-lasting results for both conservation and
people.[25]

In some countries, protected areas can be assigned without the infrastructure and
networking needed to substitute consumable resources and subtantiatively protect
the area from development or misuse. The soliciting of protected areas may require
regulation to the level of meeting demands for food, feed, livestock and fuel, and
the legal enforcement of not only the protected area itself but also 'buffer zones'
surrounding it, which may help to resist destabilisation.[26]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_area