Earth’s Natural Heritage’

For professionals tasked with managing protected areas, it is imperative that they have a broad understanding of the intrinsic natural values of our planet. In this chapter we provide this overview. We describe some of Earth’s natural processes, and its exceptional geodiversity and biodiversity. Then we briefly introduce, at a global scale, the impacts that humans are having on Earth’s natural heritage early in the 21st Century. This helps to emphasise why protected areas of all types, including government, non-government, private, indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs), are needed and why the efforts of each individual manager or ranger working in support of their local protected area or protected area system is so critical. Fundamentally it is the sum total of these individual and local conservation efforts that is contributing to the retention of life on Earth.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen

Protected Area Governance and Management

Protected Area Governance and Management presents a compendium of original text, case studies and examples from across the world, by drawing on the literature, and on the knowledge and experience of those involved in protected areas. The book synthesises current knowledge and cutting-edge thinking from the diverse branches of practice and learning relevant to protected area governance and management. It is intended as an investment in the skills and competencies of people and consequently, the effective governance and management of protected areas for which they are responsible, now and into the future. The global success of the protected area concept lies in its shared vision to protect natural and cultural heritage for the long term, and organisations such as International Union for the Conservation of Nature are a unifying force in this regard. Nonetheless, protected areas are a socio-political phenomenon and the ways that nations understand, govern and manage them is always open to contest and debate. The book aims to enlighten, educate and above all to challenge readers to think deeply about protected areas—their future and their past, as well as their present

Concept, purpose and challenges

Protected areas are the places where we aim to retain the extraordinary beauty and richness of the Earth and all its benefits to humanity—the evolutionary heritage of more than four billion years and for all we know unique in the vastness of the universe. They may include grand scenery; remarkable animals and plants; precipitous mountains; spectacular formation-rich caves; grand towering forests; dramatic plunging waterfalls; immense wetlands and lakes; vast deserts; and untouched coastlines, deep ocean mounts and expansive coral reefs. They can also hold landscapes of great beauty and cultural values, created by human communities over time and through traditional management practices