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Protected Areas for the Benefits of Communi- Place on Them BY PEDRO ROSABAL The idea of putting aside areas to be main- mention should be made of the hima system, political commitment to conserve the Earth’s tained over time for the protection of nature drawn up under Islam as a legal framework remaining biological diversity but also the or some of its components, such as wildlife, with continues to rule the management of high social and cultural values that societies is in fact an old concept. In 1240, under protected areas for the benefits of communi- place on them. the reign of Abou Zakaria, a member of the ties (Rosabal 2003). However it is correct to Hafside dynasty, a number of game reserves say that the protected areas1 movement in its were created and protected in Lake Ichkeul, modern form is associated to the establish- 1 IUCN, The World Conservation Union, adopted the following definition “Area of land and/or sea especially Tunis, which continued to be managed during ment of the firsts National Parks in the United dedicated to the protection and maintenance of the times of the Ottoman Empire in the States of America, particularly Yosemite biological diversity, and of natural and associated Twentieth Century, and that today form part National Park, which origins go back to 1864, cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means” (IUCN, 1994). of Ichkeul National Park. The Greeks and and Yellowstone National Park, established Romans were, perhaps, the first to formally in 1872 and considered as the “father” of Pedro Rosabal is geographer and M.Sc on establish protected areas. In the Natural many National Parks worldwide (Phillips Environmental Planning and Management. He has over 22 years of experience on History, written by Caius Plinius Secundus, 2002). protected areas issues. His experience actions are described which were taken by The global network of protected areas has includes: evaluation of terrestrial and the Roman Empire to control special areas grown from over 1,000 protected areas in submarine landscapes; management of PAs; tourism and ecotourism; teaching with a view of preserving wildlife. Special the 60’s to an impressive number of 102,102 and research, and; work with FAO and UNEP’s Caribbean sites in 2003, covering 18.8 million km² Environment Programme. He joined the IUCN Programme on Protected Areas in 1994. His work in IUCN includes support to The establishment of marine protected areas are receiving (IUCN and UNEP-WCMC, 2003) an area the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA); involvement increased attention in a number of regions such as in the in protected areas projects worldwide; strategic analysis, and; Caribbean as a mechanism to address the conserva- larger than that of India and China combined. advice to a number of international conventions. He is at tion of marine biodiversity from threats such This total area represents 11.5% of the present Senior Programme Ofcer of IUCN. as pollution and over exploitation global land surface but only includes 0,5% Email: [email protected] of fisheries. of the world’s oceans. This impressive growth reflects and increasing 20 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ISLAND AFFAIRS 21 Another important issue was also evident aries of nation-states, across societies, genders have been prepared by almost all countries during the Vth IUCN’s World Parks Congress, and generations” (IUCN 2003). signatories of the CBD. Moreover the role held in Durban, South Africa, 8-17 September Protected areas play an important role in of protected areas is particularly important 2003: the increasing recognition of the many biodiversity conservation, as recognised in when considered in the context of Islands benefits provided by protected areas to society. article 8 of the Convention on Biological as they have to respond to key challenges The theme of the Congress “Benefits beyond Diversity (CBD), but also they contribute to associated to islands ecosystems such as: (a) Boundaries” focused the debate on the contri- the achievement of globally agreed goals, isolation; (b) high vulnerability to natural and bution of protected areas to people through the such as the targets agreed by the World human-induced disturbances; (c) dynamic provision and maintenance of environmental Summit on Sustainable Development and environments; (d) high demand for limited goods and ecological services. As noted in the the Millennium Development Goals, particu- available resources, mainly for land and Durban Accord “…we see protected areas as larly goal 7 on ensuring environmental water; (e) species diversity is generally low a vital means to achieve the synergy between sustainability. Protected areas are also a and species turnover may be high, making conservation, the maintenance of life support key component of National Biodiversity them vulnerable to accelerated extinctions; systems and sustainable development. We see Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) that (f) normally they are rich in endemic spe- protected areas as pro- cies which increase their conserva- viders of benefits beyond tion values, and (g) high ratio boundaries –beyond of shoreline to total land area, their boundaries on a particularly in small islands (Salm map, beyond the bound- and Clark, 1984). Indeed islands ecosystems deserve particular attention in rela- Scuba diving is a major rec- reational activity in many tion to conservation priorities. Just island’s protected areas, being few facts: (a) from the 234 Centres in some cases a key source of Plant Diversity and Endemism of income for the economy. (Photo of Pedro Rosabal taken 19 (8% of the total) are located in by José Martins in Fernando Small Islands States (WWF and de Noronha Marine Park, Brazil). IUCN, 1997); (b) some islands have remarkable high percentage of endemism of vascular plants, such as the island of Saint Helena and the Hawaiian islands, each with 83.3% of endemism, quite remarkable considering that Australia has the highest percentage (95.4%) of endemism (WWF and IUCN, 1997); (c) from the top 50 countries with highest number of global threatened species of birds 7 (14%) are in Small Islands States, and some islands have high percentage of threatened species in relation to their total birds population, such as Pitcairn Islands (42%), French Polynesia (38%) and Cook Islands (26%) (Birdlife International, 2000); (d) from the total number (76) of Endemic Birds Areas of the World of critical priority for conservation, 22 (29%) are in islands (Stattersfield and Crosby 1998); (e) from the global 200 ecoregions more important for biodiversity conservation 22 (11%) are associated to islands (Olson and Dinerstein 1998), and; (e) coral reef ecosystems, one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth and the second after The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, Bahamas, in replenishing fish stocks in waters around the park thus playing a rainforests in species richness, are associated crucial role to maintain sustainable fisheries. The Park also attracts a number of visitors, many of them willing to contribute to its conservation through donations. to islands, for example only the Insular Carib- 22 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ISLAND AFFAIRS bean Region contains over 11% of the world’s reefs (Spalding et al 2000). Recognising the importance of protected areas national governments, NGOs and other stakeholders, have made great efforts in establishing them over the years. When looked at the evolution in the establishment Environmental edu- of protected areas in Small Islands States over cation and awareness campaigns are deliv- the past decade (see Table 1) it is extremely ered to people visiting encouraging to see that the total number of many of the protected areas and other natural protected areas have increased from 137 to environments in the the impressive number of 1037. The extension Bahamas. covered by those areas has increased 300% from that existing in 1993. This is an impres- sive achievement of Small Islands States and represents a strong commitment to conserva- tion. It is also important to note the shifting in priorities in the establishment of different categories of protected areas. While in 1993 emphasis was given to the establishment of Nature Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks (according to 1978’s IUCN Categories for Protected Areas). Since then more attention has been giving in establishing Managed Resource Protected Areas (Category VI, IUCN 1994) which allows for the multiple use of natural resources within those areas. When considering that establishing and managing protected areas demand important In the Pacific Island of Samoa consultation with village’s council was essential to promote the establishment of small fish reserves to address the decline in catches of seafood from coastal areas. financial and human resources the key question is whether or not is it worthy, par- Protected Areas and their factors associated with global change? ticularly considering other pressing socio- Benefits to Islanders Expanding population, growing resource economic and development priorities faced Humanity is facing one of the most important consumption, climate change and globaliza- by national governments. Some examples challenges of all times: how to deal with the tion are among the forces altering the may help to address this key question. socio-economic, cultural and environmental context within which society develops. All these changes require adequate long-term responses that, in addition to priorities associated with economic development, poverty alleviation, health and education, placed additional burden on national govern- ments. While for some people investments in protected areas can be seen as a “luxury” these investments are in fact of paramount importance if we acknowledge that our social, economic and ecological long-term well-being depends upon the continued ability of protected areas to deliver ecosys- tem goods and services for the benefit of people. There are a number of cases that can substantiate that investing in island’s protected areas would result in the delivery a variety of benefits, not only to islanders Saltworks areas (Las Salinas) of Ibiza are of international importance for migratory birds and also used for environmental research, education and awareness programmes.
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