Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
MANAGING THE GLOBAL PROTECTED AREAS
ESTATE IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Most.protected.areas.(national.parks,.wilderness.areas,.nature.reserves,.etc.).were.
established. in. the. second. half. of. the. twentieth. century,. creating. what. is. almost.
certainly.the.largest.and.fastest.conscious.change.in.land.management.in.history..
These.protected.areas.now.cover.over.10%.of.the.world's.land.surface.and.a.small.
but.rapidly.increasing.proportion.of.marine.and.coastal.habitats..They.exist.under.
a.number.of.management.regimes,.ranging.from.strict.no-access.areas.to.protected.
landscapes. that. include. human. settlements. and. cultural. management. (Dudley.
2008)..Although.most.are.primarily.established.to.protect.biodiversity,.their.poten-
tial.role.in.addressing.climate.change.is.being.recognized.(Dudley.et.al..2009)..Yet.
protected.areas.are.themselves.under.threat.from.climate.change,.and.risk.losing.
the.values.that.they.were.originally.established.to.conserve.(Hannah.et.al..2002)..
Protected.area.planners.therefore.need.to.look.simultaneously.at.options.for.main-
taining. protected. area. integrity. and. values. under. rapidly. evolving. environmental.
conditions.and.for.maximizing.the.climate.beneits.from.protected.areas—two.new.
major. areas. of. policy. and. practice. that. remain. poorly. understood.. There. appear.
to. be. seven. options. available. for. increasing. the. role. of. protected. area. systems. in.
contributing. to. climate. change. response. strategies. (each. of. which. is. discussed. in.
greater.detail.in.the.following)..The.irst.three.focus.mainly.on.the.need.to.expand.
areas. under. protection,. and. the. last. four. on. management. responses. within. indi-
vidual.protected.areas:
.
1..
More and larger protected areas
.
and buffers
:. to. improve. ecosystem.
resilience.particularly.where.stored.carbon.is.likely.to.be.lost.without.pro-
tection.or.where.important.ecosystem.services.are.under.threat,.such.as.in.
tropical.forests,.peat,.mangroves,.freshwater.and.coastal.marshes,.and.sea.
grass.
.
2..
Connecting protected areas within landscapes/seascapes
:. using. eco-
system. management. outside. protected. areas.. This. can. include. buffer.
zones,.biological.corridors,.and.ecological.stepping-stones,.to.build.con-
nectivity. both. to. increase. resilience. to. climate. change. at. the. landscape/
seascape. scale. and. to. increase. the. total. amount. of. habitat. under. some.
form.of.protection.
.
3..
Recognition and implementation of the full range of protected area gov-
ernance types
:.to.encourage.more.stakeholders.to.become.involved.in.declar-
ing. and. managing. protected. areas. as. part. of. community. climate. response.
strategies.
.
4..
Increasing the level of protection within protected areas
:.by.recognizing.
protection.and.management.aimed.at.speciic.features.that.have.high.carbon.
storage. values,. for. example,. to. maintain. old-growth. forest,. avoid. ground.
disturbance.or.drying.out.of.peat,.and.also.restore.degraded.ecosystems.
.
5..
Improving management within protected areas
:.to.ensure.that.protected.
ecosystems.and.the.services.they.provide.are.not.degraded.or.lost.through.
illegal. use. or. unwise. management. decisions. such. as. illegal. logging. and.
