A definition of terms...
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Protected Area The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines a protected area as: "An area of land and /or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural resources and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means", (IUCN, 1994). |
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National Park According to international understanding, national parks are large, natural landscapes of national importance. They protect ecosystems which have not been materially altered by human exploitation. In national parks, nature is allowed to develop freely, largely undisturbed by human influence. These parks serve educational and recreational purposes, enabling visitors to encounter and experience nature and relax in unspoilt surroundings. Economic exploitation of natural resources such as minerals, hydroelectric power generation, forestry, agriculture and hunting are inadmissible in national parks. In national parks, plants and animals are able to live according to their own laws, even trees are allowed to die a natural death - in short, nature is left to be nature. |
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Regional or Nature Park
Regional or nature parks on the other hand are large cultural landscapes, areas of particular aesthetic appeal, the result of man's interaction with nature over the centuries. They serve as recreation areas and are maintained through the continuation of traditional, low-intensity methods of cultivation and care of the land. Further aims of these parks include the protection of historical sites as well as local folklore and traditions.
Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserves protect areas in which stretches of natural and cultural landscape occur next to one another. They generally comprise a core zone, which is protected as a nature reserve or national park, and buffer zones in which environmentally sustainable forms of land-use are practised.
World Heritage Sites
The concept of World Heritage Sites (WHS) originated in 1972 out of UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, (The World Heritage Convention). To date 172 countries have ratified the Convention making it one of the most universal international legal instruments for protecting cultural and natural heritage. The primary purpose of the Convention is to define and conserve the world's heritage by identifying sites considered to be of outstanding universal value. These are to be preserved for all of humanity through the facilitation of close cooperation between nations. Many protected areas of outstanding universal value have been recognised under the Convention. For more information see www.unesco.org
Definitions of the IUCN protected area
management categories
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