Protecting our natural heritage

The last 130 years have seen the largest conscious land use change in history - the expansion of protected areas (PAs) from the world's first national park (Yellowstone, United States) in 1872 to, until 2003, a number exceeding 100,000. These cover almost 13% of the Earth's land surface - an area larger than India and China put together. That this incorporates expanses that are remote, inaccessible, even desolate, and relatively easily protected is quite another matter!

A cause of concern is that there are notable gaps in PA coverage, with ecosystems such as wetlands, coastal areas, open seas and grasslands grossly under-represented. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), for instance, represent less than 0.5% of the world's seas and oceans despite the recognition that these constitute a vital conservation tool.

Another equally important concern is that growth in extent has not always been matched by effective management. Parks in many cases are not legally established or remain poorly managed - resulting in so called paper parks. These are probably more common in the marine environment than on land. The bulk of MPAs, it is estimated, suffer from little or no management at all - there by law, but a sham in reality. Furthermore, governments often fail to take their commitments to protection seriously. At other times, they have limited comprehension of what constitutes a PA, and what its management entails.

'An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means.' This is the internationally accepted definition of a PA as devised by IUCN - The World Conservation Union. And within this broad definition, is a system of six categories based on their primary management objectives. These range from Strict Nature Reserves (Category Ia) managed mainly for scientific research, and Wilderness Area (Category Ib) managed mainly for wilderness protection, through Categories II, III, IV, and V, to Managed Resource Protected Areas (Category VI) managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural resources.

There are also other internationally recognised types of protected areas: Ramsar Sites - Wetlands of International Importance designated under the Convention on Wetlands (also referred to as the Ramsar Convention); World Heritage Sites, designated under the World Heritage Convention of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); and Biosphere Reserves, internationally recognised within the framework of UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Programme.

And what is the PA situation in the Arab world? The managing director of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA), Abu Dhabi couldn't have been more candid when he observed (International Symposium on Research and Management Options for Protected Areas, Abu Dhabi, January 2000) '…many areas have been afforded protection throughout the arid zones. Unfortunately, this protection has rarely been carefully planned or properly implemented or managed; with the result that the protection goals for natural environments have rarely been met.'

On the surface, PAs seem extensive in the Gulf countries but it is mainly the result of a few large Managed Resource PAs such as the Wildlife Management Area of Rub 'al Khali, called the 'empty quarter' (Saudi Arabia). At 64 million hectares, it covers one tenth the area of the entire region and accounts for over two-thirds of its territories under protection.

The status of UAE's PAs varies with the information source. According to the Federal Environmental Agency, there are 14 protected areas covering 4446 sq km. Among these are Marawah Marine Protected Area and Al Wathba Wetland in Abu Dhabi; Hatta and 5 others in Dubai; Sir Bu Nair island in Sharjah; and Al Aqqa plus 3 others in Fujairah. However, the World Database on Protected Areas lists 18 designated PAs (http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/wdbpa/) of which two are recognised by the IUCN: Dubai's Mushrif National Park (Category V) and Jebel Hafit Reserve, Al Ain (Category IV). The exact status (Is there a management plan? Which are the enforcement measures? What is the management system? And so on…) is not known for most of these areas.