engleski

The management of ungulates in protected areas

“Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation. They are the cornerstones of virtually all national and international conservation strategies, set aside to maintain functioning natural ecosystems, to act as refuges for species and to maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes”. This is the opening sentence of the Guidelines for Applying Protected Areas Management Categories of the IUCN (2008). From the beginning of the document it is clear that the IUCN experts recognise to protected areas a fundamental role for the conservation of species and ecosystems in the past, in the present and in the future. First of all, the IUCN defines a protected area (“A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”) and identifies six categories: I Strict protection [Ia) Strict nature reserve and Ib) Wilderness area]. II Ecosystem conservation and protection (i.e., National park). III Conservation of natural features (i.e., Natural monument). IV Conservation through active management (i.e., Habitat/species management area). V Landscape/seascape conservation and recreation (i.e., Protected landscape/seascape). VI Sustainable use of natural resources (i.e., Managed resource protected area). Awareness about the need to manage the protected areas is rapidly increased through the years. The IUCN used the verb “managed” in the definition of protected area and explains it as follow: assumes some active steps to conserve the natural (and possibly other) values for which the protected area was established ; note that “managed” can include a decision to leave the area untouched if this is the best conservation strategy. The protected areas were often established without a careful analysis of the skills and abilities needed to maintain them, thus causing several difficulties in the daily management or even endangering the existence of the protected area itself. Also with regard to the nomenclature, disagreement emerges about the names for the protected areas chosen by the stakeholders and the categories defined by IUCN. For example, it is worth of mentioning that if a government has called, or wants to call, an area as National Park (NP) does not mean that it has to be managed according to the guidelines under category II. On the contrary, the most suitable management system should be identified and applied (IUCN 2008). Following the IUCN definition, the protected areas of category II are large natural or near natural areas that protect large-scale natural biodiversity and promote education and recreation. The size and the ecological quality of protected areas of category II should be as sufficient as to maintain ecological functions and processes required from the native species and communities to persist for the long term with minimal management intervention. Moreover, managers of NP must take into account the needs of local people, including subsistence resource use, in so far as these will not adversely affect the primary management aim.

Protected areas, biodiversity conservation, conservation strategies

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