User:Marcia Wright/definition

Category Ia: Strict nature reserve
Primary objective be degraded or destroyed when subjected to all but very light human impact.
 * To conserve regionally, nationally or globally outstanding ecosystems, species (occurrences or aggregations)and/or geodiversity features: these attributes will have been formed mostly or entirely by non-human forces and will

Other objectives To preserve ecosystems, species and geodiversity features in a state as undisturbed by recent human activity as possible; To secure examples of the natural environment for scientific studies, environmental monitoring and education,including baseline areas from which all avoidable accessis excluded; To minimize disturbance through careful planning and implementation of research and other approved activities; To conserve cultural and spiritual values associated with nature.

Distinguishing features The area should generally: Have a largely complete set of expected native species in ecologically significant densities or be capable of returningthem to such densities through natural processes or timelimited interventions; Have a full set of expected native ecosystems, largely intact with intact ecological processes, or processes

What makes category Ia unique? Allocation of category is a matter of choice, depending onlong-term management objectives, often with a number of alternative options that could be applied in any one site. Category Ia are strictly protected areas set aside to protect biodiversity and also possibly geological/geomorphological features, where human visitation, use and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure protection of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve asindispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring.

Category Ib: Wilderness area

 * Primary objective

To protect the long-term ecological integrity of natural areas that are undisturbed by significant human activity, free of modern infrastructure and where natural forces and processes predominate, so that current and future generations have the opportunity to experience such areas. Other objectives To provide for public access at levels and of a type which will maintain the wilderness qualities of the area for present and future generations;To enable indigenous communities to maintain their traditional wilderness-based lifestyle and customs, living at low density and using the available resources in ways compatible with the conservation objectives; To protect the relevant cultural and spiritual values and non-material benefits to indigenous or non-indigenous populations, such as solitude, respect for sacred sites, respect for ancestors etc.; To allow for low-impact minimally invasive educational and scientific research activities, when such activities cannot be conducted outside the wilderness area. Distinguishing features The area should generally: Be free of modern infrastructure, development and industrial extractive activity, including but not limited to roads, pipelines, power lines, cellphone towers, oil and gas Category Ib protected areas are usually large unmodified or slightly modified areas, retaining their natural character and influence, without permanent or significant human habitation, which are protected and managed so as to preserve their natural condition. Category Ib differs from the other categories in the following ways: Category Ia Category Ia protected areas are strictly protected areas, generally with only limited human visitation. They are often (but not always) relatively small, in contrast to Ib. There would usually not be human inhabitants in category Ia, but use by indigenous and local communities takes place in many Ib protected areas.

Category II: National park
Category II protected areas are large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities.

Category III: Natural monument or feature
To protect specific outstanding natural features and their associated biodiversity and habitats.
 * Primary objective

Other objectives

To provide biodiversity protection in landscapes or seascapes that have otherwise undergone major changes;To protect specific natural sites with spiritual and/or cultural values where these also have biodiversity values; To conserve traditional spiritual and cultural values of the site. Distinguishing features Category III protected areas are usually relatively small sites that focus on one or more prominent natural features and the associated ecology, rather than on a broader ecosystem. They are managed in much the same way as category II. The term “natural” as used here can refer to both wholly natural features (the commonest use) but also sometimes features that have been influenced by humans. In the latter case these sites should also always have important associated biodiversity attributes, which Category III protected 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.

Category IV: Habitat/species management area

 * Primary objective

To maintain, conserve and restore species and habitats.

Other objectives: To protect vegetation patterns or other biological features through traditional management approaches;

To protect fragments of habitats as components of landscape or seascape-scale conservation strategies;

To develop public education and appreciation of the species and/or habitats concerned;

To provide a means by which the urban residents may obtain regular contact with nature.

Distinguishing features Category IV protected areas usually help to protect, or restore:

1) flora species of international, national or local importance;

2) fauna species of international, national or local importanceincluding resident or migratory fauna; and/or 3) habitats. The size of the area varies but can often be relatively small; this is however not a distinguishing feature. Management will differ depending on need. Protection may be sufficient to maintain particular habitats and/or species. However, as category IV protected areas often include fragments of an ecosystem, these areas may not be self-sustaining and will require regular and active management interventions to ensure the survival of specific habitats and/or to meet the requirements of particular species.

A number of approaches are suitable: Protection of particular species : to protect particular target species, which will usually be under threat (e.g., one of the last remaining populations);

Protection of habitats : to maintain or restore habitats,which will often be fragments of ecosystems;

Active management to maintain target species : to maintain viable populations of particular species, which might include for example artificial habitat creation or maintenance (such as artificial reef creation), supplementary feeding or other active management systems;

Active management of natural or semi-natural ecosystems :to maintain natural or semi-natural habitats that are either too small or too profoundly altered to be self-sustaining, e.g.,if natural herbivores are absent they may need to be replaced by livestock or manual cutting; or if hydrology has been altered this may necessitate artificial drainage or irrigation;

Active management of culturally-defined ecosystems : to maintain cultural management systems where these have a unique associated biodiversity. Continual intervention is needed because the ecosystem has been created or at least substantially modified by management. The primary aim of management is maintenance of associated biodiversity. Active management means that the overall functioning of the ecosystem is being modified by e.g., halting natural succession, providing supplementary food or artificially creating habitats: i.e., management will often include much more than just addressing threats, such as poaching or invasive species, as these activities take place in virtually all protected areas in any category and are therefore not diagnostic. Category IV protected areas will generally be publicly accessible. Role in the landscape/seascape Category IV protected areas frequently play a role in “plugging the gaps” in conservation strategies by protecting key species or habitats in ecosystems. They could, for instance, be used to: Protect critically endangered populations of species that need particular management interventions to ensure their continued survival; Protect rare or threatened habitats including fragments of habitats; Secure stepping-stones (places for migratory species to feed and rest) or breeding sites; Provide flexible management strategies and options in buffer zones around, or connectivity conservation corridors between, more strictly protected areas that are more acceptable to local communities and other stakeholders; Category IV protected areas aim to protect particular species or habitats and management reflects this priority. Many category IV protected areas will need regular, active interventions to address the requirements of particular species or to maintain habitats, but this is not a requirement of the category. 5 This is a change from the 1994 guidelines, which defined Category IV as protected areas that need regular management interventions. The change has been made because this was the only category to be defined by the process of management rather than the final objective and because in doing so it meant that small reserves aimed to protect habitats or individual species tended to fall outside the categories system.

Category V: Protected landscape/seascape
To protect and sustain important landscapes/seascapes and the associated nature conservation and other values created by interactions with humans through traditional management practices.
 * Primary objective

Other objectives To maintain a balanced interaction of nature and culture through the protection of landscape and/or seascape and associated traditional management approaches, societies, cultures and spiritual values; To contribute to broad-scale conservation by maintaining species associated with cultural landscapes and/or by providing conservation opportunities in heavily used landscapes; To provide opportunities for enjoyment, well-being and socio-economic activity through recreation and tourism; To provide natural products and environmental services; To provide a framework to underpin active involvement by the community in the management of valued landscapes or seascapes and the natural and cultural heritage that they contain; A protected area where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant ecological, biological, cultural and scenic value: and where safeguarding the integrity of this interaction is vital to protecting and sustaining the areaand its associated nature conservation and other values. To encourage the conservation of agrobiodiversity and aquatic biodiversity; To act as models of sustainability so that lessons can be learnt for wider application.

Distinguishing features Category V protected areas result from biotic, abiotic and human interaction and should have the following essential characteristics:

1.Landscape and/or coastal and island seascape of high and/ or distinct scenic quality and with significant associated habitats, flora and fauna and associated cultural features;

2.A balanced interaction between people and nature that has endured over time and still has integrity, or where there is reasonable hope of restoring that integrity;

3.Unique or traditional land-use patterns, e.g., as evidenced in sustainable agricultural and forestry systems and human settlements that have evolved in balance with their landscape.

The following are desirable characteristics: Opportunities for recreation and tourism consistent with life style and economic activities; Unique or traditional social organizations, as evidenced in local customs, livelihoods and beliefs; Recognition by artists of all kinds and in cultural traditions (now and in the past); Potential for ecological and/or landscape restoration.

Category VI: Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources
Primary objective mutually beneficial.
 * To protect natural ecosystems and use natural resources sustainably, when conservation and sustainable use can be

Other objectives To promote sustainable use of natural resources, considering ecological, economic and social dimensions; To promote social and economic benefits to local communities where relevant; To facilitate inter-generational security for local communities’ livelihoods – therefore ensuring that such livelihoods are sustainable; To integrate other cultural approaches, belief systems and world-views within a range of social and economic approaches to nature conservation; To contribute to developing and/or maintaining a more balanced relationship between humans and the rest of nature; To contribute to sustainable development at national, regional and local level (in the last case mainly to local communities and/or indigenous peoples depending on the protected natural resources); To facilitate scientific research and environmental monitoring, mainly related to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources; To collaborate in the delivery of benefits to people, mostly local communities, living in or near to the designated protected area; To facilitate recreation and appropriate small-scale tourism.

Distinguishing features Category VI protected areas, uniquely amongst the IUCN categories system, have the sustainable use of natural resources as a means to achieve nature conservation, together and in synergy with other actions more common to the other categories, such as protection. Category VI protected areas aim to conserve ecosystems and habitats, together with associated cultural values and natural resource management systems. Therefore, this category of protected areas tends to be relatively large (although this is not obligatory). The category is not designed to accommodate large-scale industrial harvest. In general, IUCN recommends that a proportion of the area is retained in a natural condition, which in some cases might imply its definition as a no-take management zone. Some countries have set this as two-thirds; IUCN recommends that decisions need to be made at a national level and sometimes even at the level of individual protected areas.

Role in the landscape/seascape Category VI protected areas are particularly adapted to the application of landscape approaches.This is an appropriate category for large natural areas, such as tropical forests, deserts and other arid lands, complex wetland systems, coastal and high seas, boreal forests etc. – not only by establishing large protected areas, but also by linking with groups of protected areas, corridors or ecological networks. Category VI protected areas may also be particularly appropriate to the conservation of natural ecosystems when there are few or no areas without use or occupation and where those uses and occupations are mostly traditional and low-impact practices, which have not substantially affected the natural state of the ecosystem.

Category VI protected areas conserve ecosystems and habitats, together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems. They are generally large, with most of the area in a natural condition, where a proportion is under sustainable natural resource management and where low-level non-industrial use of natural resources compatible with nature conservation is seen as one of the main aims of the area.