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| Saving What Remains |
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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) Review questions:
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