Discuss about the Environment and Sustainability for Protected Areas.
To answer the question of why one should conserve a protected area, one must first have a clear idea what is a protected area. A protected area means an area, which is protected by the government of a nation under strict laws and legislations for its ecological, natural as well as cultural diversities (Carranza et al. 2014). These areas consist of species, which are on the verge of extinction and are protected from poaching activities. Hunting is strictly prohibited, and steps are taken for the protection of the biodiversity, which is seriously threatened. Different countries have different criteria for declaring an area as protected, but the main aim consists of conserving the natural resources and protecting the flora and fauna (Venter et al. 2014) Protected areas not only consist of terrestrial habitats but also aquatic habitats, which are also under severe threats and needs to be looked over. The aquatic habitat is affected by overfishing and pollution that is harming many invertebrates and marine vertebrate species which are under threat of extinction.
Australia consists of a large number of protected area which altogether accounts for about 895,300 square kilometers that cover about 12% of the entire land of Australia (Environment.gov.au, 2016). The national parks are maintained by the Australian government and also by the state as well as the territory authorities. Among the various protected areas, one can focus the entire essay on a particular protected area which is known as the world famous Great Barrier Reef which is a well known tourist attraction and hence had been gaining fame for a long time (Gbr.qld.gov.au, 2016). Due to various anthropogenic effects and the increasing global warming has therefore resulted in it to be a threatened area and has been extensively cared and looked over by the Australian Government.
This is a world heritage sight of Australia which has been given the declaration of the protected areas of the world. This reef is currently the habitat of a huge variety of organisms and comprises of about innumerable islands with coral cays and various reef systems. Among the various organisms, there are the coral reefs amounting to about 1400 with about 1700 species of fish (Centre, 2015). Mollusks, shell fishes, starfishes, sea urchin, sea snakes, marine turtles, sharks, and rays are the fascinating species that live in the reef. Another attraction of the area is the presence of dolphins and whales that give completion to the reef. Many of the organisms have been designated as protected animals and are under the protection act by the government. The main body that takes part over the monitoring of the entire Great Barrier Reef is called the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) (Australia.gov.au, 2016). They are mainly assigned to the duty of the protection of this protected area from the adversaries. They consist of a team of government officials along with a board of researchers continuously looking for the betterment in the scientific approaches as well as various marine engineers in the zeal of the creating modern systems for a successful monitoring process and development of the coastal organisms. Experts and traditional owners also seem to take a very active part in the venture. This Marine Park is one of the best-protected areas in the field of vulnerable protected area. The main motto of the management is the analysis of the various strategic managements, which included the threats to the reefs and decides the values that would be required for their priority set up for a target management output (Cakex.org, 2016). Their 25-year management plan consists of forming strategies, deciding policies for the implementation of the strategies and the statistical analysis and monitoring. The most interesting part is the engagement by which GBRMP is handling the protected area is praiseworthy and even involves the new project called the Reef 2050. This project will involve the Australian government along with some private funds with a focus that would ponder upon the quality control of the marine water along with various methods that would help in improving the present condition of the reefs due to both the climate change and various anthropogenic factors.
The various issues that usually remain associated with protected areas include mainly anthropogenic activities where another factor might play a very important role. The first issue is mainly concerned with the connectivity problem that exists between the different protected areas. Many different animals require large areas for conducting their regular activities, Herein the presence of corridors between the protected areas are very important acting as a linking passage where they can roam freely and expand their territories (Bull et al. 2013). Secondly, a large portion of various habitats are not recognized as a part of the protected area campaign. Protected areas in marine ecosystems are very less and therefore require them to be included in such campaigns. Thirdly, funding issue is another matter that restrains from a proper management system that ultimately results in improper management leading to harmful effects of both flora and fauna. Its leads to poor functioning of the entire system and various discrepancies occur when lack of funds result in inefficiency in management. Fourthly, an inefficient management might also become the source of poor maintenance in protected areas. Management with able leaders is important for assurance of all the management and conservational purposes to be occurring properly. A well-protected area can be only achieved through the various strategies and the technologies introduced by the officials which are extremely important for the stability of a protected area ecosystem (Watson et al. 2014. The planning includes assurance that the rule of the protected area are to be maintained as well a respected, monitoring the health of the natural resources, keeping statistical records of the number of each species residing there and making the native people realize the effects of a balanced ecosystem and act maturely without harming the flora and fauna for their commercial interests. Lastly, the most important issue in the conservation of protected areas are the anthropological activities. Illegal activities of selfish people includes poaching of protected animals for financial rise, cutting of huge trees both for logging and also for commercial purposes, construction of houses and malls and pollution from various sources result in negative aspects of nature resulting in rising temperature, climate chain, invasive species introduction and many others (Barnes et al. 2013). Excessive fishing and mining under the sea are also results in a huge number of extinction of organisms from the protected areas.
During the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, the management often faces a large number of issues to which they are trying their best to cope up with the situation. Most of them are anthropogenic activities that are in turn leading to a massive destructive effect on the reef organisms. The biggest issue is the recent climate change mainly due to the rise in temperature and global warming that are in turn affecting the metabolical and physiological activities of many organisms leading to death (De’ath et al., 2012). Coral bleaching has become a common occurrence. Sponges are developing diseases being attacked by harmful bacteria when their symbiotic bacterial colony is degraded. The management has been trying its best to conserve the coral whose densities declining at a very fast rate. Many important organisms such as dugongs, marine turtles, Black teat fish, and sharks are indeed decreasing in number, which is affecting the ecological balance of the entire system. Increased carbon dioxide have become very harmful accounting to about 400 parts per million (ppm) which is making the different species highly vulnerable. If the present concentration of CO2 keeps increasing in this way within 50 years, it would reach a ppm harmful enough for the complete decline in the number of a large number of sea birds and their chicks, fish, reptiles, and planktons as well (Albright et al. 2013). The main attraction, which is the corals would also become extinct and would erode completely. Floods occurring in the northeastern rivers of Australia carry a huge amount of run-offs from the farms, which consists of harmful chemicals as well as nutrients. This often results in the death of different organisms and algal bloom might take place. Coastal habitats and mangrove vegetations are also altered to suit various demands. Managements have not been able to control illegal fishing in the reef areas thereby catching fish important for conservation, death of species discarded from the fishing nets in the reef and also killing a large number of predators like sharks which affect the food webs in the ecosystem. Recent shipping traffics have been a major problem, which is a major concern for the conservation project. Due to the huge amount of export and import traffic system from Queensland, the traffic is foreseen to increase in number in the coming years (Grech et al. 2013). Management has already applied requests to the government concerning the hazardous effects it is having on marine life and steps to be taken soon.
Other than these anthropological effects, several issues are also present within GBRMPA system management as well. The Australian National Audit Office has reported some issues within the governing authority of the protected area. Various problems were reported regarding the differing views between the working men on the project as well as that of the ministers who approved the plan. Moreover, there were also issues in the controversial approval of the dredge spoil dumping in the protected area. They have also revealed some problems regarding the authority’s handling of permits and compliance investigations (Sunshine Coast Daily, 2016).
For the establishment and a successful management for the proper functioning of a protected area, certain key factors are to be kept in mind. Only for the proper maintenance of the project, humans have to be made aware of the hazards that their activity is having on the biodiversity and the natural resources of the protected areas. The first step should include a complete planning procedure how the entire system has to be conserved through the application of various methods and criteria, which will be reflected in the strategies thereby undertaken. According to the IUCN-WCPA framework of setting rules, proper statistical records of data must be maintained an as parameter for the effect of the harmful activities on the protected species. Various steps should be maintained to keep the anthropogenic activities under check and for this, the government would take an active part for it. Correct and accurate evaluation surveys should be conducted from time to time to assess the poaching activity and keep it under check (Day et al. 2012). Proper monitoring should be done, and acts should be passed for strict punishments for breaching any rules of the protected area. Other than this establishment part, management part is the most important. This includes an effective evaluation that is how well the established strategies are working so that it could be assessed how well the strategies are working. IUCN has provided a framework how to evaluate the status of conservation in a six concept model as that has been depicted in the diagram.
Six steps of management
Source: (Cbd.int, 2016)
The six steps for the proper management of various issues are the context (that is why we need to implement a strategy), then planning of the strategy (that is how it is to be carried out), then the inputs (like what we need for that strategy), the process of implementation of the strategy, the output or the result produced and the outcome (that is how it was successful in gaining success).
The six concepts is entirely described in the following chart:
Six steps for evaluations of the establishment of the strategies that form protected areas.
Source: (Cbd.int, 2016)
The management should work in unity where they can impose better results on the areas and should not be careless about the work. The governing body should cooperate with the workers so that negligence from the management community can be assessed. The locals should be made to understand the importance of biodiversity and resources. Tourists should be made known about the do’s and don’ts so that hazards from their activities can be avoided.
The Australian and Queensland government are looking forward to a rigorous developmental assessment processes to preserve their treasure of the Great Barrier Reef, which is even larger than The Great Wall Of China. The recent strategic assessment of the reef consists of two important comprehensive tasks taken. The first includes where future developments can make in the reefs that would yield a better conservational attempt protecting both biotic and abiotic factors. The second initiative taken would be designing the various strategies and management that will protect the value of the reef as a world heritage site and also increase the resilience in the harmful effects of anthropogenic activities and look over the funds allocated (Harrison et al. 2016). A detailed coastal management plan is to be introduced to control the shipping traffics, control the growing pollution due to increased population both of locals and also of tourists (Andrade and Rhodes 2012). $9 million has been allocated for The Great Barrier Reef Climate Change Plan that would include strategies for minimizing the effect of climate change on different species. Zoning plan, Coral Bleaching Response Plan, Water Quality Protection Plan and many others are implemented to make the future of Great Barrier Reef free from any Hazards (Coles et al. 2015)
Protected areas are critical for the various flora and fauna that are under threat or on the verge of extinction. Different natural sources are exploited by human in various ways for their personal needs. To protect them both on an environmental parameter and aesthetic parameters, such areas should be strictly monitored by the governmental bodies and save natural treasures. Many world Heritage Sites are under threat, and their only ways of protection are by passing strict laws for their protection for a successful conservation. The renowned protected site such as The great Barrier reef are hence monitored by governmental bodies to protect the species from extinction through various acts and a proper management planning. It is hoped that it will overcome the adversities and will see a protected and safe future in the coming years.
References:
Albright, R., Langdon, C. and Anthony, K.R.N., 2013. Dynamics of seawater carbonate chemistry, production, and calcification of a coral reef flat, central Great Barrier Reef. Biogeosciences, 10(10), pp.6747-6758.
Andrade, G.S. and Rhodes, J.R., 2012. Protected areas and local communities: An inevitable partnership toward successful conservation strategies?. Ecology and Society, 17(4), p.14.
Australia.gov.au. (2016). Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | australia.gov.au. [online] Available at: https://www.australia.gov.au/directories/australia/gbrmpa [Accessed 24 Sep. 2016].
Barnes, J., Dove, M., Lahsen, M., Mathews, A., McElwee, P., McIntosh, R., Moore, F., O’Reilly, J., Orlove, B., Puri, R. and Weiss, H., 2013. Contribution of anthropology to the study of climate change. Nature Climate Change, 3(6), pp.541-544.
Bull, J.W., Suttle, K.B., Gordon, A., Singh, N.J. and Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2013. Biodiversity offsets in theory and practice. Oryx, 47(03), pp.369-380.
Cakex.org. (2016). Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | CAKE: Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange. [online] Available at: https://www.cakex.org/directory/organizations/great-barrier-reef-marine-park-authority [Accessed 24 Sep. 2016].
Carranza, T., Balmford, A., Kapos, V. and Manica, A., 2014. Protected area effectiveness in reducing conversion in a rapidly vanishing ecosystem: the Brazilian Cerrado. Conservation Letters, 7(3), pp.216-223.
Centre, U. (2015). Great Barrier Reef. [online] Whc.unesco.org. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154 [Accessed 24 Sep. 2016].
Coles, R.G., Rasheed, M.A., McKenzie, L.J., Grech, A., York, P.H., Sheaves, M., McKenna, S. and Bryant, C., 2015. The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area seagrasses: managing this iconic Australian ecosystem resource for the future. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 153, pp.A1-A12.
Day, J., Dudley, N., Hockings, M., Holmes, G., Laffoley, D.D.A., Stolton, S. and Wells, S.M., 2012. Guidelines for applying the IUCN protected area management categories to marine protected areas. IUCN.
De’ath, G., Fabricius, K.E., Sweatman, H. and Puotinen, M., 2012. The 27–year decline of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef and its causes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(44), pp.17995-17999.
Environment.gov.au. (2016). The National Reserve System (NRS) – About Australia’s Protected Areas. [online] Available at: https://www.environment.gov.au/land/nrs/about-nrs/australias-protected-areas [Accessed 24 Sep. 2016].
Gbr.qld.gov.au. (2016). Living wonder (Great Barrier Reef, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection). [online] Available at: https://www.gbr.qld.gov.au/living-wonder/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2016].
Grech, A., Bos, M., Brodie, J., Coles, R., Dale, A., Gilbert, R., Hamann, M., Marsh, H., Neil, K., Pressey, R.L. and Rasheed, M.A., 2013. Guiding principles for the improved governance of port and shipping impacts in the Great Barrier Reef. Marine pollution bulletin, 75(1), pp.8-20.
Harrison, I.J., Green, P.A., Farrell, T.A., Juffeâ€ÂBignoli, D., Sáenz, L. and Vörösmarty, C.J., 2016. Protected areas and freshwater provisioning: a global assessment of freshwater provision, threats and management strategies to support human water security. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 26(S1), pp.103-120.
Sunshine Coast Daily. (2016). Audit shows details of GBRMPA’s investigations problems. [online] Available at: https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/problems-found-in-gbrmpa-abbot-point-investigation/2741076/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2016].
Venter, O., Fuller, R.A., Segan, D.B., Carwardine, J., Brooks, T., Butchart, S.H., Di Marco, M., Iwamura, T., Joseph, L., O’Grady, D. and Possingham, H.P., 2014. Targeting global protected area expansion for imperiled biodiversity. PLoS Biol, 12(6), p.e1001891.
Watson, J.E., Dudley, N., Segan, D.B. and Hockings, M., 2014. The performance and potential of protected areas. Nature, 515(7525), pp.67-73.
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