Natural Resources, Protected Areas, and

Conservation

The Foundation of Ecotourism

The Exploitation of the Natural World

Resources are “not static, but expand and contract in response to human action

The pursuit of touristic needs occurs along a broad physical site development continuum, - substantially altered to pristine environments

Difference perceptions of what is “developed” and what is “not developed” in relation to tourist settings

Outdoor Recreation & Nature Based Tourism

Diverse Natural Resources

Geographic Location Climate and Weather Topography and Landforms Surface Materials Water Vegetation Fauna

Natural Resources Act as catalysts for facilitating and

drawing people to a tourist region or as a constraint to visitation

Humans have become the exploiter of natural resources

Humans have a fear of the unknown

Human Attitudes towards Development through

History The Creation of livable places, and

usable spaces The regarding of the wilderness areas

as waste and desolation Human activity gives significance to

the world Conquest of Wilderness as a sign of

human Achievement

The Roots of Conservation

Harmony between humankind and nature

Conservation relates to the efficient use of resources

Ideally to be attained through a standpoint of spirituality

Harmony Harmony can only be achieved

between human influences and the natural world through commitment of moral and social responsibility to future generations

Efficient Use Conservationism became a vehicle to

manipulate the new frontier at the turn of the 20th Century

Battle of how resources should be utilized- if at all

Need to acknowledge resources are finite

Spirituality Romanticism embodied deeper

spiritual awareness that a simpler life was attainable without materialism– Untouched spaces had greater

significance– These spaces had a purity that human

contact degrades– Wilderness is a place of deep spiritual

significance– Conquest of Nature is a fall from grace

The transcendentalist movement provided for a radical change in American society

Emergence of Green Movement in the 1960’s as a response to the increased use of technology in society

Parks and Protected Areas

Have a mystique to travelers interested in some of the best represented natural regions

Parks set up to protect the environment, wilderness, and wildlife, while providing a place for people to explore recreational opportunities

Debate surrounding Parks and Park Management– Ex- Banff National Park, Alberta Canada

Parks Serve a variety of purposes, but have

many pressures– Overuse of Park Resources– Overpopulation– Political Interests– Habitat Fragmentation

e.g. Yosemite National Park

National Parks Zoning:

Zone 1: Special Preservation Zone 2: Wilderness Zone 3: Natural Environment Zone 4: Outdoor Recreation Zone 5: Park Resources

Critics of Zoning Zoning is resource based and does

not outline levels of recreational opportunities that can occur in such regions (Rollins, 1993)

2% of Canada’s landmass is protected within the National Park system

Taken 110 years to establish 38 National Parks - too slow

Bruntland Report 12% of all countries’ territories should

be set aside as National Parks and protected areas

Level that would ensure a degree of protection for all the world’s physiographic regions

Canadian Green Plan

Developed in response to the Bruntland Report

Goals: – To establish at least 5 new Parks by 1996– To negotiate agreements by the Year

2000 for the remaining 13 national parks

Parks Have evolved globally to be managed

accordingly to the ecological and human conditions of the environments they inhabit

Parks in Great Britain have a different sense than those in N.A.

Conservation is based on a steady state of human intervention designed to maintain a given habitat at a particular stage in perpetuity

The Evolving Role of Parks

Preservation

Protection

Management

Integrated ManagementScientific and Management Complexity

Management Concern

Penetration by Extra-park influences 1850 1900 1950 20001872

1st National Park Yellowstone

1885

1st National Park (Canada) Banff

1911/1916

1st Park Services (Can/US)

1976

1st Biosphere Reserve

Categories of Conservation Management

1- Strict Nature Reserve 2- National Park 3- National Monument / National

Landmark 4- Nature Conservation Reserve /

Managed Nature Reserve / Wildlife Sanctuary

5- Protected Landscape or Seascape

6- Resource Reserve 7- Natural Biotic Area /

Anthropological Reserve 8- Multiple Use Management Areas 9- Biosphere Reserve 10- World Heritage Site 11- Wetlands of International

Importance

Protected Areas: The International Scene

Use these categories to plan, establish and manage protected areas globally

Biosphere reserves with 3 distinct zones– Core– Buffer– Transition

Ecosystem Management and Protected Areas

Development of ecosystem management philosophy

“The Integrated management of natural landscapes, ecological processes, wildlife species and human activities, both within and adjacent to protected areas” (Canadian Environmental Advisory Council)

Never separate human and biospherical elements within an ecosystem

Human Ecology and Ecosystem Management

Human Ecologists and Biologists should find common ground through:– Presenting a historical understanding of an area in terms

of nature and humans, and their interaction– Doing a history systematically in terms of the culture which

defines humans– Presenting the history spatially in terms of similarities and

differences over space– Linking human studies to concepts or ideas that are the

concern of other professionals– Presenting historical understanding in terms that are

meaningful and attractive to a wide range of citizens, by drawing people to the human nature interface - the dynamics of ecosystem management

Approaches to Human Ecology

Domination - Rule by monarch

Stewardship - Humans are earth caretakers

Participation -Humans in symbiosis with other species

Abdication - All rights to prosper are relinquished. Humans are caught in a predator-prey relationship

• Peterson (1996)

Conclusion Issues relating to place and role of the

human in the environment have been explored through conservation and preservation

Employ new strategies to enable people to strike a balance between humans and the earth