Protected areas

This workshop brought together representatives of all stakeholder groups from Namibia and Botswana to discuss key natural resource utilisation issues. IUCN sought to begin a crucial cross-border dialogue to address incompatible land and resource uses in the area. This is the first stage in addressing transboundary natural resource management in the area, and clearly focuses on both the ecosystem and the participation of all stakeholders.

Visitors to parks and protected areas impact at many levels: political, economic, social and ecological. To ensure effective park management for increasing visitor numbers, good quality global data on visitor use is necessary. This manual describes terms, approaches and techniques for gathering information about public use of parks and protected areas.

The South Asia Regional Action Plan was prepared through a collective effort by all countries in the region, and represents an agreed view of regional priorities, addressing such topics as training, transboundary protected areas and community involvements in protected areas management. The plan begins with an overview of protected areas in the region, including numbers, coverage, policies and legislation, administration and threats.