Protected Areas Sustainable Land

Protected areas, such as nature reserves, national parks and marine conservation areas, are the main tool of nature conservation policies and are increasing on a worldwide scale. They are one of the main forms of environmental planning, and conservation institutions have increasing means at their disposal. At the same time, the goals of protected areas have become more diverse, with the involvement of more stakeholders and complex institutional frameworks. Giving an account of the extension and diversification of protected areas, this book determines whether these two processes constitute a breakdown in conservation policies. Economists, ecologists, lawyers, anthropologists and geographers analyse the various trends which are fundamental to the future of protected areas to reveal a conflicting scene where narrative around cooperation and integration hides competition between different interests. This book shows how protected areas are emerging as zones of divergent experimentations of sustainable development rather than lasting forms of integrative environmental management.

A system plan is the design of a total reserve system covering the full range of ecosystems and communities found in a particular country, identifying the range of purposes of protected areas and the relationships among the system components (i.e., individual areas, protected areas and other land uses), and different sectors and levels of society. Highlighting key linkages with other aspects of economic development, it shows how various stakeholders can interact and cooperate to support effective and sustainable management of protected areas, and help to establish priorities. A valuable resource for all those involved with national system planning.

IUCN's Protected Areas Management Categories, which classify protected areas according to their management objectives, are today accepted as the benchmark for defining, recording, and classifying protected areas. They are recognized by international bodies such as the United Nations as well as many national governments. As a result, they are increasingly being incorporated into government legislation. These guidelines provide as much clarity as possible regarding the meaning and application of the Categories. They describe the definition of the Categories and discuss application in particular biomes and management approaches.

In the context of sustainable development, recent land debates tend to construct two porous camps. On the one side, norms of land justice and their advocates dictate that people’s rights to tenure security are tantamount and even sometimes key to successful conservation practice. On the other hand, biodiversity protection and conservation advocates, supported by global environmental organizations and states, remain committed to conservation strategies, steeped in genetics and biological sciences, working on behalf of a "global" mandate for biodiversity and climate change mitigation. Land Rights, Biodiversity Conservation and Justice seeks to illuminate struggles for land and territory in the context of biodiversity conservation. This edited volume explores the particular ideologies, narratives and practices that are mobilized when the agendas of biodiversity conservation practice meet, clash, and blend with the demands for land and access and control of resources from people living in, and in close proximity, to parks. The book maintains that while biodiversity conservation is an important goal in a time where climate change is a real threat to human existence, the successful and just future of biodiversity conservation is contingent upon land tenure security for local people. The original research gathered together in this volume will be of considerable interest to researchers of development studies, political ecology, land rights, and conservation.

Protected areas have become an increasingly important tool both in the conservation of biodiversity and in revenue generation through sustainable use. This is the only sure way to guarantee the protection necessary for many species, habitats and ecosystems in the future. Integrated Protected Area Management features contributions that consider the design, management and sustainable use of these regions. Three principal aspects are considered: the theory and practice of designation community-based conservation and the concept of sustainability identifying priorities for management. The emphasis throughout is on the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to planning and the active involvement of all stakeholders in decision-making processes as a means of ensuring long-term sustainability.

This 2007 book surveys the global experience to date in implementing land-use policies that move us further along the sustainable development continuum. The international community has long recognized the need to ensure ongoing and future development is conducted sustainably. While high-level commitments towards sustainable development such as those included in the Rio and Johannesburg Declarations are politically important, they are irrelevant if they are not translated into reality on the ground. This book includes chapters that discuss the challenges of implementing sustainable land-use policies in different regions of the world, revealing problems that are common to all jurisdictions and highlighting others that are unique to particular regions. It also includes chapters documenting new approaches to sustainable land use, such as reforms to property rights regimes and environmental laws. Other chapters offer comparisons of approaches in different jurisdictions that can present insights which might not be apparent from a single-jurisdiction analysis.

This book aims to examine the context and practice of national parks regarding a countries obligations to safeguard biodiversity through the protection and management of forest-protected areas. The book examines the wider impacts of national parks within the scope of an integrated environmental hub at the global and regional level and eventually delves into the country case. Three areas are covered: theoretical underpinnings and concepts related to national parks, exploring their various modalities and integrated concerns for the environment; an empirical review in lieu of effective management of protected areas as defined by the World Conservation Union IUCN, addressing the efficient use of human and material resources, including national/agency-protected area regulations and legislation, policies, international conventions and designations, management plans, and/or agreements associated with those areas; and evaluation of challenges underlying a countrys intention to gauge the potential of a national park and pinpoint adequate attention on exploiting new strategies for national park management.