More than 100 000 protected areas have been established to date across the world, according to the United Nations 2003 List of Protected Areas report, released on Tuesday at the fifth World Parks Congress in Durban.
“Crucial progress is being made towards conserving the world’s most spectacular habitats and wildlife,” states the report, compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the World Conservation Union.
It says between 10% and 30% of some of the world’s vital natural features, such as the Amazonian rain forests, the Arctic tundra and the tropical savannah are now in these protected areas.
But the report sounds a warning on progress towards conserving other biologically and ecologically important landscapes, saying that in some cases this “is proving more sluggish”.
“Less than 10% of the world’s large lakes are protected, and temperate grasslands typical of Central Asia and the North American prairies are similarly poorly protected.
“The rate at which the planet’s marine world is gaining protection causes even greater concern. Less than half a percent of the world’s seas and oceans are within protected areas.
“This is despite the importance of fisheries and habitats such as coral reefs as sources of protein and employment for billions of people across the developed and developing world,” the report says.
Protected areas listed in the report range from the biggest, the vast 97-million hectare Greenland National Park, to thousands of sites smaller than 10m², many of which are in private hands.
None of the top 10 areas listed are in Africa, though.
The Greenland park is followed by the Ar-Rub’al-Khali wildlife management area in Saudi Arabia and the third biggest is the 34,5-million hectare Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia. Fourth is the northwestern Hawaiian island’s coral reef ecosystem reserve and fifth largest is the Amazonia forest reserve in Colombia.
Number six is China’s Qiang Tang nature reserve; seventh the Cape Churchill wildlife management area in northern Canada and eighth the 10-million hectare Northern Wildlife Management Zone in Saudi Arabia.
Number nine and ten are, respectively, the Alto Orinoco-Casiquiare biosphere reserve in Venezuela and Bolivia, and the Valo do Javari indigenous area in Brazil.
The report also lists 14 so-called terrestrial biomes, areas classified according to the predominant vegetation, and characterised by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment.
The fourth World Parks Congress — held in Caracas, Venezuela in 1992 — set a target calling for at least 10% of each of these biomes to be protected. Currently, the target for nine out of the 14 has been met.
The area of the world’s protected areas is now larger than the area of land under permanent, arable crops.
Speaking at a media conference marking the launch of the report, Unep executive director Klaus Toepfer said the global environment movement could be justifiably proud of the growth in protected areas.
“Since 1962, the year of the first World Parks Congress, the number of [protected] sites has really mushroomed, rising from an area of some two million square kilometres to over 18-million today,” he said.
However, numerous challenges remained.
“Put simply, we cannot pat ourselves on the backs if we end up with islands of well-protected wildlife, habitats and ecosystems in a sea of environmental degradation.
“Listing areas of land and sea cannot be an end in itself. Nor can protected areas be the privilege of the rich and well-heeled.
“The genetic and natural resources they hold, the ‘ecosystem’ services they provide, and their income-generating potential from activities like sustainable tourism, can, if properly focused, be vital instruments in fighting poverty and delivering sustainable development,” he said.
The congress, which has the theme Benefits Beyond Boundaries, ends on September 17. It is being held in Durban’s International Convention Centre. ‒ Sapa
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