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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.
Deforestation emissions should be shared between producer and consumer, argues study
(11/19/2009) Under the Kyoto Protocol the nation that produces carbon emission takes responsibility for them, but what about when the country is producing carbon-intensive goods for consumer demand beyond its borders? For example while China is now the world's highest carbon emitter, 50 percent of its growth over the last year was due to producing goods for wealthy countries like the EU and the United States which have, in a sense, outsourced their manufacturing emissions to China. A new study in Environmental Research Letters presents a possible model for making certain that both producer and consumer share responsibility for emissions in an area so far neglected by studies of this kind: deforestation and land-use change.
Oil palm workers still below poverty line, despite Minister's statements
(11/19/2009) On October 19th, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok told parliament that oil palm harvesters and rubber tappers are living above Malaysia's national poverty line, according to a story in the Malaysian Insider. But now representatives of the workers are saying Dompok lied.
Coastal habitats may sequester 50 times more carbon than tropical forests by area
(11/16/2009) Highly endangered coastal habitats are incredibly effective in sequestering carbon and locking it away in soil, according to a new paper in a report by the IUCN. The paper attests that coastal habitats—such as mangroves, sea grasses, and salt marhses—sequester as much as 50 times the amount of carbon in their soil per hectare as tropical forest. "The key difference between these coastal habitats and forests is that mangroves, seagrasses and the plants in salt marshes are extremely efficient at burying carbon in the sediment below them where it can stay for centuries or even millennia."
DNA uncovers nearly extinct Siamese crocodiles in captivity
(11/15/2009) The Critically Endangered Siamese crocodile, once believed to be extinct in the wild, received some uplifting news this week. DNA testing of 69 rescued crocodiles at Phnom Tama Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC) in Cambodia found 35 purebred Siamese crocodiles.
New report: boreal forests contain more carbon than tropical forest per hectare
(11/12/2009) A new report states that boreal forests store nearly twice as much carbon as tropical forests per hectare: a fact which researchers say should make the conservation of boreal forests as important as tropical in climate change negotiations. The report from the Canadian Boreal Initiative and the Boreal Songbird Initiative, entitled "The Carbon the World Forgot", estimates that the boreal forest—which survives in massive swathes across Alaska, Canada, Northern Europe, and Russia—stores 22 percent of all carbon on the earth's land surface. According to the study the boreal contains 703 gigatons of carbon, while the world's tropical forests contain 375 gigatons.
