Categories

according to IUCN.

S.Sc. Holiday’s Home work Made by SarveshClass 10th Section A2

First of all what is IUCN?IUCN protected area categories or IUCN

protected area management categories — are categories used to classify protected areas, in a system developed by the IUCN—International Union for the Conservation of Nature.The enlisting of such areas is part of a strategy being used toward the conservation of the world's natural environment and biodiversity. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature—IUCN has developed the protected area management categories system to define, record and classify the wide variety of specific aims and concerns when categorising protected areas and their objectives.This categorisation method is recognised on a global scale by national governments and international bodies such as the United Nationsand the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Ia. Strict Nature ReserveA strict nature reserve or wilderness area is the

highest category of protected area recognised by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), a body which is part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These category I areas are the most stringently protected natural landscapes.Strict nature reserves and wilderness areas are protected areas that are created and managed mainly for the purposes of research or for the protection of large, unspoiled areas ofwilderness. Their primary purpose is the preservation of biodiversity and as essential reference areas for scientific work and environmental monitoring.

In some cases strict nature reserves are of spiritual significance for surrounding communities and the areas are also protected for this reason. The people engaged in the practise of their faith within the region have the right to continue to do so providing it aligns with the area's conservation and management objectives.Human impacts on strict nature reserves are increasingly difficult to guard against as climate and air pollution and newly emerging diseases threaten to penetrate the boundaries of protected areas. If perpetual intervention is required to maintain these strict guidelines

Ib. Wilderness areas.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

II. National park.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

Requirement to be a national park.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; andVisitors 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 precedenceStatutory legal protectionBudget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protectionProhibition of exploitation of natural resources (including the development of dams) qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, facilities, etc.

Images of national parks.

III. Natural monuments or features.

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 ^

Habitat management area.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

Protected landscapes/seascapes.

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  ^

Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources.

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

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