From France
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/15/opinion/ednikita.php
It's the least we can do for our world
Nikita Lopoukhine International Herald Tribune
THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2005
There have always been protected areas, though not always for the same reasons. Robin Hood poached deer in the Royal Sherwood Forest, an area protected for royal hunting parties.
The Yellowstone and Banff National Parks in North America were set up in the 19th century for the enjoyment of ordinary people, though the needs of residents were not taken into account.
More recently, the notion of conserving areas has been extended to include not only nature, but also the way of life of the people living in them. In many parts of the world, the lands on which indigenous and traditional peoples depend for their survival are now protected.
Six categories of protection are recognized around the world, from a strict-protection regime to one devoted to the sustainable use of resources. Each meets the World Conservation Union definition of a protected area and is a legitimate approach to integrating conservation with other uses.
Such areas, of course, are good for protecting nature. Yet it is not science alone that drives their establishment. Emotion is part of the equation: People feel strongly about the beauty of a landscape or the possible loss of species like the grizzly bear.
More and more, people are embracing protected areas as a tool to ensure that their lands and lifestyles are both protected for future generations. This has resulted in the establishment of more than 100,000 protected areas around the world, covering nearly 12 percent of the world's land area. The percentage is even higher if it includes privately protected areas or community-based conservation zones.
Yet less than half of 1 percent of the world's oceans are similarly protected, despite strong evidence of the value of protected marine areas for restocking depleted fisheries. At the same time, deep-sea trawling is destroying productive areas of the world; species as yet unnamed are disappearing and important fisheries are collapsing one after another.
Despite the world's seeming enthusiasm for the idea of protected areas, the reality is less encouraging. Budgets are stagnating, infrastructure is collapsing, marine ecosystems are woefully underrepresented and the protected values are increasingly at risk from threats that are global as much as local. In addition, climate change is poised to cause dramatic changes in protected areas.
More than 50 percent of the world's population lives in an urban setting. The human experience of the natural world is declining, and the protection of nature is foundering in the face of poverty and loss of livelihoods.
There is no question that donors and governments must respond to the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, which are intended to combat poverty. Unfortunately, this is often done to the detriment of conservation, notwithstanding the clear statement by the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, that "Environmental sustainability is the foundation on which strategies for achieving all the other Millennium Development Goals are based."
In effect, if we ignore the health of ecosystems, our efforts elsewhere are doomed.
Protected areas are important to the world and the people living within and around them. They provide ecosystem services such as clean water for communities or cities like New York. They contribute to human health by offering mental and physical exercise. They store carbon, and thus mitigate the global warming effects of gas emissions. Protected areas also serve as a buffer against the impacts of extreme storm events, like the 2004 Asian tsunami.
The Biodiversity Convention signed by more than 180 governments recognizes protected areas for their value in the conservation of biodiversity. The convention provides a blueprint for renewing the fervor that initially built up the world's protected area estate.
This week, the Italian government is sponsoring a meeting here of an international group of experts, policy makers, scientists and donors. With financing in place, the mandate of protected areas can be met and targets achieved, supporting the UN millennium goals and reflecting a commitment to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2010.
If we get it right, there will be no need for a future Robin Hood to steal from the rich to give to the poor.
There have always been protected areas, though not always for the same reasons. Robin Hood poached deer in the Royal Sherwood Forest, an area protected for royal hunting parties.
The Yellowstone and Banff National Parks in North America were set up in the 19th century for the enjoyment of ordinary people, though the needs of residents were not taken into account.
More recently, the notion of conserving areas has been extended to include not only nature, but also the way of life of the people living in them. In many parts of the world, the lands on which indigenous and traditional peoples depend for their survival are now protected.
Six categories of protection are recognized around the world, from a strict-protection regime to one devoted to the sustainable use of resources. Each meets the World Conservation Union definition of a protected area and is a legitimate approach to integrating conservation with other uses.
Such areas, of course, are good for protecting nature. Yet it is not science alone that drives their establishment. Emotion is part of the equation: People feel strongly about the beauty of a landscape or the possible loss of species like the grizzly bear.
More and more, people are embracing protected areas as a tool to ensure that their lands and lifestyles are both protected for future generations. This has resulted in the establishment of more than 100,000 protected areas around the world, covering nearly 12 percent of the world's land area. The percentage is even higher if it includes privately protected areas or community-based conservation zones.
Yet less than half of 1 percent of the world's oceans are similarly protected, despite strong evidence of the value of protected marine areas for restocking depleted fisheries. At the same time, deep-sea trawling is destroying productive areas of the world; species as yet unnamed are disappearing and important fisheries are collapsing one after another.
Despite the world's seeming enthusiasm for the idea of protected areas, the reality is less encouraging. Budgets are stagnating, infrastructure is collapsing, marine ecosystems are woefully underrepresented and the protected values are increasingly at risk from threats that are global as much as local. In addition, climate change is poised to cause dramatic changes in protected areas.
More than 50 percent of the world's population lives in an urban setting. The human experience of the natural world is declining, and the protection of nature is foundering in the face of poverty and loss of livelihoods.
There is no question that donors and governments must respond to the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, which are intended to combat poverty. Unfortunately, this is often done to the detriment of conservation, notwithstanding the clear statement by the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, that "Environmental sustainability is the foundation on which strategies for achieving all the other Millennium Development Goals are based."
In effect, if we ignore the health of ecosystems, our efforts elsewhere are doomed.
Protected areas are important to the world and the people living within and around them. They provide ecosystem services such as clean water for communities or cities like New York. They contribute to human health by offering mental and physical exercise. They store carbon, and thus mitigate the global warming effects of gas emissions. Protected areas also serve as a buffer against the impacts of extreme storm events, like the 2004 Asian tsunami.
The Biodiversity Convention signed by more than 180 governments recognizes protected areas for their value in the conservation of biodiversity. The convention provides a blueprint for renewing the fervor that initially built up the world's protected area estate.
This week, the Italian government is sponsoring a meeting here of an international group of experts, policy makers, scientists and donors. With financing in place, the mandate of protected areas can be met and targets achieved, supporting the UN millennium goals and reflecting a commitment to significantly reduce biodiversity loss by 2010.
If we get it right, there will be no need for a future Robin Hood to steal from the rich to give to the poor.
(Nikita Lopoukhine, formerly director general of national parks in Canada, is chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.)
). Much easier when you know someone who can send letters for free from work. Ask your friends to do the same. 
for review (he likes the extra work) and get ready to flood Mr Symmans' mailbox.
Apart from a few factual errors...
