Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.3 Protected karst areas in South-East Asia, 2000
Karst area (km
2
)
Protected karst area (km
2
)
Country
Protected karst area (%) Number of protected areas
Cambodia
20,000
0
0
0
Indonesia
145,000
22,000
15
44
Laos
30,000
3,000
10
10
Malaysia
18,000
8,000
45
28
Myanmar (Burma)
80,000
650
1
2
Papua New Guinea
50,000
0
0
0
Philippines
35,000
10,000
29
14
Thailand
20,000
5,000
25
41
Vietnam
60,000
4,000
7
15
Total
458,000
53,150
12
154
Source:
Adapted from Day and Urich (2000)
mining operations continue outside the protected area,
where the landscape is badly scarred.
The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
recognizes karst landscapes as critical targets for
protected area
status. The level of protection given in
different countries is highly variable, despite the almost
universal aesthetic, archaeological, biological, cultural,
historical, and recreational significance of karst land-
scapes. Take the case of South-East Asia, one of the
world's outstanding carbonate karst landscapes, with a
total karst area of 458,000 km
2
, or 10 per cent of the
land area (Day and Urich 2000). Karstlands in this region
are topographically diverse and include cockpit and cone
karst, tower karst, and pinnacle karst, together with
extensive dry valleys, cave systems, and springs. They
include classic tropical karst landscapes: the Gunung
Sewu of Java, the Chocolate Hills of Bohol, the pinna-
cles and caves of Gunong Mulu, and the karst towers of
Vietnam and peninsular Malaysia. Human impacts on
the South-East Asian karst landscapes are considerable:
less than 10 per cent of the area maintains its natural
vegetation. About 12 per cent of the regional karst
landscape has been provided nominal protection by des-
ignation as a protected area, but levels of protection
vary from country to country (Table 8.3). Protection is
significant in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and
Thailand. Indonesia, for instance, has forty-four pro-
tected karst areas, which amount to 15 per cent of its
total karst area. In Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), and
Papua New Guinea, karst conservation is minimal, but
additional protected areas may be designated in these
countries as well as in Vietnam and in Laos. Even so,
South-East Asia's karstlands have an uncertain future.
It should be stressed that the designation of karst as
protected areas in South-East Asia is not based on the
intrinsic or scientific value of the karst landscapes, but
on unrelated contexts, such as biological diversity, timber
resources, hydrological potential, or archaeological and
recreational value. Nor, it must be said, does the conferral
of a protected area status guarantee effective protection
from such threats as forest clearance, agricultural inroads,
or the plundering of archaeological materials.
The conservation of karst in the Caribbean is in a
similar position to that in South-East Asia (Kueny and
Day 1998). Some 130,000 km
2
, more than half the land
area of the Caribbean, is limestone karst. Much of it is
found on the Greater Antilles, with other significant areas
in the Bahamas, Anguilla, Antigua, the Cayman Islands,
the Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Trinidad and
Tobago, and the Netherlands Antilles. Features include
cockpits, towers, dry valleys, dolines, and caves. Humans
have impacted on the karst landscapes and the necessity
for protection at regional and international level is rec-
ognized. However, karst is in almost all cases protected
by accident - karst areas happen to lie within parks,
reserves, and sanctuaries set up to safeguard biodiversity,
natural resources, or cultural and archaeological sites.
Very few areas are given protected area status because
