Protected Areas and World Heritage Programme
Protected Areas and World Heritage Programme |
|
|
| Protected Areas and World Heritage Programme |
Guidelines for Protected Area Management Categories |
|
Applying the Categories The application of the new categories must take place within an historical context. Over 9000 protected areas now meet the criteria for inclusion in the UN List and all of them have been assigned to Categories I to V of the 1978 system (the UN List does not include Categories VI-VIII, though it does list natural World Heritage sites and Biosphere Reserves, as well as Ramsar sites). The categories system has been widely applied in many parts of the world, and has been used as the basis for national legislation. Moreover, the terminology - and the thinking - associated with the categories has begun to take root and be more widely adopted. For these reasons, an evolutionary approach has been used in these guidelines rather than making a clean break from the previous system. However, the experience of using the 1978 system has been that the criteria in particular are rather too prescriptive to meet the varied conditions which prevail in different parts of the world. Therefore, while these guidelines have been drawn up to provide a world-wide framework, they also contain somewhat greater flexibility than previously. For example, the advice on zoning or classification, management authority and ownership of land is somewhat less prescriptive than previous guidance. In assigning areas to the categories, the emphasis must be placed on clarifying the objectives for management and ensuring that the right conditions exist for their achievement. If the guidelines are applied properly and consistently, the result should be a grouping of areas within categories that is logical and globally consistent. Issues which have emerged in the interpretation of the 1978 system are:
This chapter briefly considers each of these topics in turn in relation to categories (IUCN has, of course, issued much other more detailed guidance on these topics - see, for example, Managing Protected Areas in the Tropics, 1986 and Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 1985). The definitions which follow touch further on several of these points from the perspective of each individual category. Size of Protected Areas The size of a protected area should reflect the extent of land or water needed to accomplish the purposes of management. Thus, for a Category I area, the size should be that needed to ensure the integrity of the area to accomplish the management objective of strict protection, either as a baseline area or research site, or for wilderness protection. Or, in a Category II area, for example, the boundaries should be drawn sufficiently widely that they contain one, or more, entire ecosystems which are not subject to material modification by human exploitation or occupation. For practical purposes, the UN List includes only areas of at least 1,000ha, or 100ha in the case of entirely protected islands, but these are somewhat arbitrary figures. It also follows that the authorities designating a protected area incur obligations to see that its management is not negated by pressures from adjacent areas. Supplementary and compatible management arrangements may be needed for these areas even if they are not designated as part of the protected area. Zoning within Protected Areas Though the primary purposes of management will determine the category to which an area is assigned, management plans will often contain management zones for a variety of purposes which take account of local conditions. However, in order to establish the appropriate category, at least three-quarters and preferably more of the area must be managed for the primary purpose; and the management of the remaining area must not be in conflict with that primary purpose. Cases where parts of a single management unit are classified by law as having different management objectives are discussed under the heading of multiple classifications. Management Responsibility Governments have a fundamental responsibility, which they cannot abdicate, for the existence and well-being of national systems of protected areas. They should regard such areas as important components of national strategies for conservation and sustainable development. However, the actual responsibility for management of individual protected areas may rest with central, regional or local government, non-governmental organizations, the private sector or the local community. These guidelines, therefore, contain considerable flexibility in the advice given on the form of managing authority for each category of protected area. The test, after all, is whether the designated authority is capable of achieving the management objectives. In practice, however, protected area categories I-III will usually be the responsibility of some form of governmental body. Responsibility for categories IV and V may rest with local administrations, albeit usually working within the framework of national legislation. Ownership of Land As with the question of the managing authority, the key test is whether the type of ownership is compatible with the achievement of the management objectives for the area. In many countries ownership by some form of public body (whether nationally or locally based), or an appropriately constituted non-governmental body with conservation objectives, facilitates management and is therefore to be favoured in Categories I-III in particular. However, this is not universally true, and - in the remaining categories - private ownership will be much more common, often being the predominant form of land ownership. Moreover, whatever the ownership, experience shows that the success of management depends greatly on the good will and support of local communities. In such cases, the managing authority will need to have good consultative and communications systems, and effective mechanisms which may include incentives, to secure compliance with management objectives. Regional Variation The categories system is intended to operate in the same way in all countries so as to facilitate the collection and handling of comparable data and to improve communication between countries. IUCN does not therefore favour different standards being applied in different parts of the world. However, the conditions for the establishment and management of protected areas vary greatly from region to region, and from country to country. For example, regions like Europe with long-settled, long-managed landscapes in multiple ownership are not, on the whole, as suited to the establishment of Category II areas as are some other regions - but on the other hand, their circumstances are more conducive to the establishment of Category IV and V areas. The greater flexibility which is inherent in these guidelines should help in their application to the conditions in different regions and countries. The range of examples set out in Part III shows how an international categories system can, in fact, be applied to countries with widely differing needs. Multiple Classifications Protected areas of different categories are often contiguous; sometimes one category 'nests' within another. Thus many Category V areas contain within them Category I and IV areas; some will adjoin Category II areas. Again, some Category II areas contain Category Ia and Ib areas. This is entirely consistent with the application of the system, providing such areas are identified separately for accounting and reporting purposes. Although there are obvious benefits in having the entire area within the responsibility of one management authority, this may not always be appropriate; in such cases, close cooperation between authorities will be essential. Areas around Protected Areas Protected areas are not isolated units. Ecologically, economically, politically and culturally, they are linked to the areas around them. For that reason, the planning and management of protected areas must be incorporated within regional planning, and supported by the policies adopted for wider areas. For the purposes of the application of the categories system, however, where one area is used to 'buffer' or surround another, both their categories should be separately identified and recorded. International Designations The 1978 system identified separate categories for World Heritage sites (natural) and Biosphere Reserves. However, these are not categories in their own right but international designations. In practice, nearly all World Heritage/Natural Sites are nationally designated and will therefore be recorded under one of the categories. The same will apply to many Biosphere Reserves, Ramsar sites, and other areas designated under regional agreements. Therefore the following principle will continue to apply: providing the area is identified under national arrangements for special protection, it should be appropriately recorded under one of the standard categories. Its special international status will be recorded, for example, in the UN List and in all other appropriate IUCN publications. |
| Employment | Collaborate with Us | Our Experience | What We Do | Contact Us |