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Very large protected areas preserve wilderness but ignore rare species, analysis finds

Date:
November 2, 2010
Source:
American Institute of Biological Sciences
Summary:
A new study analyzes the contribution to conservation of the 63 largest protected areas. These areas preserve wilderness and are important to the conservation of some ecoregions, but they do not overlap greatly with areas of highest conservation concern.
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Protected areas are generally seen as a triumph for the preservation of nature, yet the reality on the ground is more complex.

The world's largest protected areas encompass vast amounts of wilderness but do not extensively overlap the highest priority areas for conservation or include unusually large numbers of birds, amphibians, or mammals, according to an analysis published in the November issue of BioScience. The study, by Lisette Cantú-Salazar and Kevin J. Gaston of the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, nonetheless describes anecdotal evidence that some very large protected areas play an important conservation role, by preserving natural species assemblages and populations of regional concern.

Cantú-Salazar and Gaston examined in detail the 63 protected areas that each extend over 25,000 square kilometers or more (about the area of Vermont). These huge areas are found in all continents except Antarctica, and are preferentially found in areas where there are few people. The findings thus seem to support the idea that such areas are created in places where they will least inconvenience people, rather than where they would do the most for conservation.

Yet very large protected areas are also likely to include particular land-cover types, such as snow and ice, bare areas, and areas with sparse vegetation. Examination of individual cases reveals that several ecoregions of high conservation priority are partly included in very large protected areas, including the Guianan Highlands Moist Forests, the Tibetan Plateau Steppe, and the Eastern Himalayan Alpine Meadows. Their preservation is therefore important. And many of the largest protected areas are vulnerable, Cantú-Salazar and Gaston conclude. Some have inadequate management. Others are threatened by incursions for logging, fishing, grazing, and mining, and the effects of climate change and political instability.


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Materials provided by American Institute of Biological Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Lisette Cantú-Salazar, Kevin J. Gaston. Very Large Protected Areas and Their Contribution to Terrestrial Biological Conservation. BioScience, 2010; 60 (10): 808 DOI: 10.1525/bio.2010.60.10.7

Cite This Page:

American Institute of Biological Sciences. "Very large protected areas preserve wilderness but ignore rare species, analysis finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 November 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101101082851.htm>.
American Institute of Biological Sciences. (2010, November 2). Very large protected areas preserve wilderness but ignore rare species, analysis finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101101082851.htm
American Institute of Biological Sciences. "Very large protected areas preserve wilderness but ignore rare species, analysis finds." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101101082851.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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