IUCN, Protected Areas Programme

This work stems from the Inter-American Development Bank's support to Latin American and Caribbean participation in the IVth World Parks Congress. The region's experts who contributed to the Congress workshops focused on four specific areas: expanding the system of protected area wildlands, economic and ecological valuation of protected areas, financing the protected wildlands systems, and investment opportunities in protected areas.

This plan sets out the policies and actions needed to ensure an adequate, effective and well-managed network of protected areas in Europe. It outlines how potential areas should be integrated with other sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and tourism; sets out priorities at European, sub-regional and national level; proposes actions to strengthen the legal framework, planning and management of Europe's protected areas, and explains how to create the public support necessary for success.

This plan sets out the policies and actions needed to ensure an adequate, effective and well-managed network of protected areas in Europe. It outlines how potential areas should be integrated with other sectors, such as agriculture, forestry and tourism; sets out priorities at European, sub-regional and national level; proposes actions to strengthen the legal framework, planning and management of Europe's protected areas, and explains how to create the public support necessary for success.

Almost half the world's people live in cities and this proportion is steadily growing. Protected areas provide important benefits to cities; conversely, conservationists depend on support from voters, leaders, and opinion-shapers largely concentrated in urban centres. This book's message is that conservationists' success will depend increasingly on taking these urban connections seriously.

Four case studies of European protected areas are presented illustrating particular themes of management practice. The National Park of Abruzzo, Latium and Molise (Italy) serves as a model for zoning; the Bialowieza National Park (Poland) for monitoring; participatory management is exemplified in the Minorca Biosphere Reserve in Spain; and the Austrian Hohe Tauern National Park is a good example for visitor management.

The system of protected area management categories lies at the centre of IUCN's work and its mission; their effective use is of fundamental concern to the Union and its members. This project has looked at the successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses of the categories after a decade of use, with the intention of giving guidance on steps needed to improve their future effectiveness in response to changing needs and conditions.

Australia's rich and distinct biodiversity is under multiple threats including loss of habitat to human settlement, agriculture and grazing, introduction and spread of alien invasives, pollution, altered fire regimes and landclearing. The landclearing rate of c. 500,000 hectares p.a. is comparable to the worst African, South American and Asian de-forestation rates, much occurring on private lands.

IUCN, WWF and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed this guidebook to assist marine protected area (MPA) managers in assessing the performance of their MPA. Based on this assessment, it shows how necessary changes can be made to improve management measures.

Protected areas are conservation instruments created to protect a country’s natural resources. But, protected areas also constitute important tools for equity development among the populations settled within and around protected areas. This publication provides tools, techniques and recommendations to facilitate protected areas planning, management and administration to seek greater social equity, particularly among women and men. Also available on a CD-ROM : IUCN-CD-016

Protected areas are conservation instruments created to protect a country’s natural resources. But, protected areas also constitute important tools for equity development among the populations settled within and around protected areas. This publication provides tools, techniques and recommendations to facilitate protected areas planning, management and administration to seek greater social equity, particularly among women and men.