Book Description

As a result of the consumption of wildland by the demands of a growing world human population, parks and other protected areas are becoming increasingly important. The role of science in the effective management of such areas is a critical consideration if protected areas are to serve their several functions as recreational areas, heritage and educational resources, wildlife refuges, natural repositories of endangered species, reference sites for scientific research, and sites set aside simply for their intrinsic natural value as wilderness. In this volume strategies to combat accelerating decline in global biodiversity are put forward. Legal protection requires explicit strategies for the management of natural systems, such as the scientific approach to land use planning and reserve selection and design. Science should play an essential role in assisting in the definition of strategic objectives and providing means for the realization of those objectives. The natural systems requiring protection are dynamic and management objectives are of necessity very long term.Science and the Management of Protected Areas provides a wealth of information on floral and faunal management, global change research, water quality, human impacts and tourism. It is the first book ever to bring together the perspectives of both environmental scientists and the administrative managers of protected areas and, as such, it will be useful to both the scientific community and to Land Managers.