CHAPTER 5
The Shaping of the Global
Protected Area Estate
Paul Jepson
1 , Robert J. Whittaker
1 and Sara A. Lourie
2
1 School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
2
Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
5.1 ORIGINS
Protected areas are areas of land or sea designated in
order to conserve or protect attributes of nature valued
by society, groups or individuals. Although they have
diverse origins, many protected areas are now managed
to maintain or enhance their biodiversity value, ahead,
alongside or secondary to other conservation goals
focusing on attributes such as geological or cultural
heritage. There are thus many forms of protected
area, of varied purpose, character and governance,
which have been motivated by diverse social values
(Chapter 2 ).
In the prehistoric and historic period, areas were
typically conserved because of values concerned with
spiritual importance (e.g. so - called sacred forests),
hunting areas for privileged members of society (e.g.
royal hunting or game reserves), common resource
needs (e.g. communal grazing, fi shing grounds, fuel
wood) or strategic timber resources (e.g. for shipbuilding). Designation of such sites included both formal
legal protection and diverse other forms of undocumented agreements and understandings. However, it is
only recently (post - 1970) that protected areas have
been clearly formalized into a set of internationally
recognized categories (i.e. IUCN protected area system;
Table 2.2 ) that can be put together, analysed and
planned as Protected Area Networks.
The degree of protection afforded to sites can vary a
great deal, and meaningful protection does not necessarily follow from legal designation (Jepson et al .,
2001b ). Moreover, some areas that perform a biodiversity conservation function, and that may be managed
with conservation in mind, in practice lack formal or
legally binding protection. Many lands whose primary
function is agriculture also have biodiversity or aesthetic value, and to protect these secondary land use
values, a variety of landscape designations may be
applied (e.g. Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(UK)). Some of these designations meet the IUCN categories 5 or 6 (Table 2.2 ) and therefore are accounted
for in IUCN statistics. To embrace all such areas within
evaluations of conservation systems, the broader term
Conservation Area Network has been suggested (e.g.
Margules & Sarkar, 2007 ). However, our focus is
largely on how sites have been selected for and incorporated into networks afforded protected area status,
hence our preference for the term ‘ protected area ’ in
the following discussion.
As outlined in Chapter 2 , the origins of modern protected areas can be traced back to the late 19th century
(roughly the period from 1860 to about 1910), a
period which saw the emergence of new world views
on the human/nature relationship. These views were
rooted in anglophile natural history and hunting traditions, but were also inspired by fundamental changes
in human perceptions of self and the interaction of
metropolitan people with frontier landscapes (Jepson &
Whittaker, 2002a ).
Led initially by prominent citizens drawn from the
political and social elite of east coast North America
and Western Europe, these new world views were
Conservation Biogeography
Edited by Richard J. Ladle and Robert J. Whittaker
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-444-33503-3
The Shaping of the Global
Protected Area Estate
Paul Jepson
1 , Robert J. Whittaker
1 and Sara A. Lourie
2
1 School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
2
Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
5.1 ORIGINS
Protected areas are areas of land or sea designated in
order to conserve or protect attributes of nature valued
by society, groups or individuals. Although they have
diverse origins, many protected areas are now managed
to maintain or enhance their biodiversity value, ahead,
alongside or secondary to other conservation goals
focusing on attributes such as geological or cultural
heritage. There are thus many forms of protected
area, of varied purpose, character and governance,
which have been motivated by diverse social values
(Chapter 2 ).
In the prehistoric and historic period, areas were
typically conserved because of values concerned with
spiritual importance (e.g. so - called sacred forests),
hunting areas for privileged members of society (e.g.
royal hunting or game reserves), common resource
needs (e.g. communal grazing, fi shing grounds, fuel
wood) or strategic timber resources (e.g. for shipbuilding). Designation of such sites included both formal
legal protection and diverse other forms of undocumented agreements and understandings. However, it is
only recently (post - 1970) that protected areas have
been clearly formalized into a set of internationally
recognized categories (i.e. IUCN protected area system;
Table 2.2 ) that can be put together, analysed and
planned as Protected Area Networks.
The degree of protection afforded to sites can vary a
great deal, and meaningful protection does not necessarily follow from legal designation (Jepson et al .,
2001b ). Moreover, some areas that perform a biodiversity conservation function, and that may be managed
with conservation in mind, in practice lack formal or
legally binding protection. Many lands whose primary
function is agriculture also have biodiversity or aesthetic value, and to protect these secondary land use
values, a variety of landscape designations may be
applied (e.g. Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
(UK)). Some of these designations meet the IUCN categories 5 or 6 (Table 2.2 ) and therefore are accounted
for in IUCN statistics. To embrace all such areas within
evaluations of conservation systems, the broader term
Conservation Area Network has been suggested (e.g.
Margules & Sarkar, 2007 ). However, our focus is
largely on how sites have been selected for and incorporated into networks afforded protected area status,
hence our preference for the term ‘ protected area ’ in
the following discussion.
As outlined in Chapter 2 , the origins of modern protected areas can be traced back to the late 19th century
(roughly the period from 1860 to about 1910), a
period which saw the emergence of new world views
on the human/nature relationship. These views were
rooted in anglophile natural history and hunting traditions, but were also inspired by fundamental changes
in human perceptions of self and the interaction of
metropolitan people with frontier landscapes (Jepson &
Whittaker, 2002a ).
Led initially by prominent citizens drawn from the
political and social elite of east coast North America
and Western Europe, these new world views were
Conservation Biogeography
Edited by Richard J. Ladle and Robert J. Whittaker
© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-444-33503-3