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DETERMINING RESERVE PLACEMENT
After taking note of high-diversity areas and species at greatest risk of extinction, park designers must consider
other factors before designating a protected area. It is always important to monitor human use of forest lands
before the designation of a national park. The presence of trails, the location of current and predicted human
settlement, and land and resource use are all consequential in determining whether the forest land is suitable
for protection. If local people are unhappy with restricted access to parklands, chances are they will not respect
park boundaries. Along these same lines, planners generally attempt to measure the economic potential of natural
forest management of the area as an alternative to deforestation. Also of great importance is the spatial distribution
and quality of habitat, Clearly, when given a choice between degraded and natural habitat, it is better to protect
the higher-quality area. Researchers also look at species distributions when determining what areas to declare
off-limits.
TYPES OF PROTECTED AREA
Studies of isolated forest reserves have shown (Lovejoy experiment, Barro Colorado Island, and others) that it will
not be possible to conserve all or even some of their species diversity, genetic resources, and ecological processes.
Thus, new approaches to linking protected areas to surrounding lands (buffer zones) are required. Land management
must not be only planned for the reserve, but also the land surrounding it. If the land around a reserve is stripped,
locals will have no choice but to seek out game, fuelwood, and more fertile soils in the reserve. Therefore it
is quintessential for protected areas to accommodate the local populations. The best approach for accommodation
is to design and manage a range of protected areas, known as a multipleuse reserve.
A multiple-use reserve consists of several zones with varying degree of human occupation. The outermost zones,
known as buffer zones, are areas to be used sustainably by the inhabitants. Here they can practice sustainable
harvesting of fuelwood, animals, and native plants and even practice a degree of small-scale agriculture. The outermost
zone could be the site of commercial activities like low-impact logging. The area beyond the buffer zone could
serve as the site of reforestation projects with seeds and seedlings provided from the reserve. Eventually the
outer regions would again support forest and the expanded area could be used for further sustainable practices.
The inner zones could be set aside for indigenous peoples, who could continue their traditional way of life, without
interference from outsiders. Also in this zone could be an area for forest-friendly eco-tourism with indigenous
peoples (if they so desired) serving as guides. The core area should have access restricted to all but research
scientists and could serve as the base for forest study. The core area would only make up a small portion of the
total protected area, but be placed so as to protect the forest "hot-spots."
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has devised eight
categories of protected area, in order to protect biodiversity,
yet contribute to sustainable development. These follow a structure like the one mentioned above with buffer zones
around the park slated for partial development and two small, strictly protected categories (I and II) set aside
for research only. Such a core area is exemplified by Manu National Park in the Manu Biosphere Reserve which serves as a reserve base for scientists and as a storehouse for information on the rich biodiversity
of the Amazon Basin. In the surrounding buffer zones are areas for tourist activities and local use.
Rainforest Education & Research Centre (Manu, Peru)
Tambopata Reserve Society (Tambopata, Peru)
Review questions:
- What is a multiple-use reserve and how does it help save rainforests while providing economic benefits to local people?
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
INTERACT
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Recent news
Tropical ecologist: Australia must follow U.S. and EU in banning illegally logged wood
(02/09/2012) Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.
Majority of protected tropical forests "empty" due to hunting
(02/08/2012) Protected areas in the world's tropical rainforests are absolutely essential, but one cannot simply set up a new refuge and believe the work is done, according to a new paper in Bioscience. Unsustainable hunting and poaching is decimating tropical forest species in the Amazon, the Congo, Southeast Asia, and Oceana, leaving behind "empty forests," places largely devoid of any mammal, bird, or reptile over a few pounds. The loss of such species impacts the whole ecosystems, as plants lose seed dispersers and the food chain is unraveled.
New rainforest and indigenous reserve established in Peru
(02/07/2012) On February 4th, the Peruvian government and a small indigenous group created a new Amazon reserve, dubbed the Maijuna Reserve. Located in northeastern Peru, the 390,000 hectare (970,000 acres) reserve is larger than California's Yosemite National Park and over three times the size of Hong Kong.
Guyanese tribe maps Connecticut-sized rainforest for land rights
(02/07/2012) In a bid to gain legal recognition of their land, the indigenous Wapichan people have digitally mapped their customary rainforest land in Guyana over the past ten years. Covering 1.4 million hectares, about the size of Connecticut, the rainforest would be split between sustainable-use regions, sacred areas, and wildlife conservation according to a plan by the Wapichan tribe that will be released today. The plan says the tribe would preserve the forest from extractive industries.
Supernatural beliefs keep hunting sustainable on Indonesian island
(02/02/2012) How do indigenous communities hunt without pushing target species to local extinction? In other words, how have communities retained sustainable practices over countless generations. One answer is given in a new study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Center for International Research in Agronomy and Development (CIRAD): supernatural beliefs. Looking at a community of indigenous people on the Indonesian island of Seram, researchers found that supernatural hunting beliefs ensured animals never vanished for good.
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