S.Sc. Holiday’s Home work

Made by Sarvesh

Class 10th

Section A2

First of all what is IUCN?

A wilderness area is a region where the land is in a natural state;

where impacts from human activities are minimal—that is, as

a wilderness. It might also be called a wild ornatural area. Especially in

wealthier, industrialized nations, it has a specific legal meaning as well:

as land where development is prohibited by law. Many nations have

designated Wilderness Areas, including Australia, Canada, New

Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

Human visitation is limited to a minimum, often allowing only those who

are willing to travel of their own devices (by foot, by ski, or by boat), but

this offers a unique opportunity to experience wilderness that has not

been interfered with. Wilderness areas can be classified as such only if

they are devoid of modern infrastructure, though they allow human

activity to the level of sustaining indigenous groups and their cultural

and spiritual values within their wilderness-based lifestyles.

Banner Peak above Thousand

Island Lake in a US

Wilderness Area come under

this category

IUCN Category II National park — this bears similar characteristics to that

of Wilderness Areas with regards to size and the main objective of

protecting functioning ecosystems, however National parks tend to be

more lenient with human visitation and its supporting infrastructure.

National parks are managed in a way that may contribute to local

economies through promoting educational and recreational tourism on a

scale that will not reduce the effectiveness of conservation efforts.

The surrounding areas of a national park may be for consumptive or non-

consumptive use, but should nevertheless act as a barrier for the defence

of the protected area's native species and communities to enable them to

sustain themselves in the long term

One or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and

occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and

habitats are of special scientific, educative, and recreative interest or which

contain a natural landscape of great beauty;

Highest competent authority of the country has taken steps to prevent or

eliminate exploitation or occupation as soon as possible in the whole area and to

effectively enforce the respect of ecological, geomorphological, or aesthetic

features which have led to its establishment; and

Visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for

inspirational, educative, cultural, and recreative purposes.

In 1971 these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and

defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. These include:

Minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes

precedence

Statutory legal protection

Budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection

Prohibition of exploitation of natural resources (including the development of

dams) qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for

management, facilities, etc.

A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or

unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic

qualities or cultural significance.

Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, natural monuments

are level III, described as:

"Areas are set aside to protect a specific natural monument, which can be a

landform, sea mount, submarine cavern, geological feature such as a cave or

even a living feature such as an ancient grove. They are generally quite small

protected areas and often have high visitor value.―

Natural monuments or features often play a smaller but key ecological role in

the operations of broader conservation objectives. They have a high cultural

or spiritual value which can be utilised to gain support of conservation

challenges by allowing higher visitation or recreational rights, therefore

offering an incentive for the preservation of the site

Bogusław Oak, a natural monument in thePolish forest named Puszcza

Wkrzańskanear Leśno Górne. [below]

Blue Hole Natural Monument, Belize Poster ^

Biotope is an area of uniform environmental

conditions providing a living place for a

specific assemblage of plants and animals.

Biotope is almost synonymous with the

term habitat, which is more commonly used

in English-speaking countries. However, in

some countries these two terms are

distinguished: the subject of a habitat is

a species or a population, the subject of a

biotope is a biological community.

Habitat or species management areas may

exist as a fraction of a wider ecosystem or

protected area and may require varying

levels of active protection. Management

measures may include (but are not limited

to); the prevention of poaching, creation of

artificial habitats, halting natural succession

and supplementary feeding practices. Amazon rain forest biotope

IUCN Category V Protected landscape and protected seascape — area

covers entire bodies of land or ocean with a more explicit management plan

in the interest of nature conservation, but is more likely to include a range of

for-profit activities.

The main objective is to safeguard regions that have built up a 'distinct

character' in regards to their ecological, biological, cultural or scenic value. In

contrast with previous categories, Category V—Protected Landscapes and

Seascapes allow a higher level of interaction with surrounding communities

who are able to contribute to the areas management and engage with the

natural and cultural heritage it embodies through a sustainable outlook.

Landscapes and seascapes that fall into this category should represent an

integral balance between people and nature, and can sustain activities such

as traditional agricultural and forestry systems on conditions that ensure the

continued protection or ecological restoration of the area.

Category V is one of the more flexible classifications of protected areas. As a

result, protected landscapes and seascapes may be able to accommodate

contemporary developments such as ecotourism at the same time as

maintaining the historical management practices that may procure the

sustainability of agrobiodiversity and aquatic biodiversity.

Black Opal Spring in Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

Yellowstone, the world's second official protected area [below]

Schweizerischer National Park in theSwiss Alps is a Strict Nature Reserve ^

IUCN category VI Protected Area with sustainable use of natural

resources — a generally more encompassing classification that is focused

on the mutually beneficial correlation between nature conservation and

sustainable management of natural resources in correspondence the

livelihoods of those who are dependent on both. A wide range of socio-

economic factors are taken into consideration in creating local, regional and

national approaches to using natural resources as a tactic to

assist sustainable development rather than hinder it.

Satellite image of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia[12]

Though human involvement is a large factor in the management of

these protected areas, developments are not intended to allow for widescale

industrial production. The IUCN recommends that a proportion of the land

mass is to remain in its natural condition – a decision to be made on a

national level, usually with specifity to each protected area. Governance has

to be developed to adapt the diverse – and possibly growing – range of

interests that arise from the production of sustainable natural resources.

Category VI may be particularly suitable to vast areas that already have a low

level of human occupation or in which local communities and their traditional

practices have had little permanent impact on the environmental health of the

region. This differs from category V in that it is not the result of long-term human

interaction which has had a transformative effect on surrounding ecosystems

Satellite image of the Great

Barrier Reef Marine

Park, Australia