INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON PROTECTED AREAS: WHAT? WHY?

AND HOW?

ByJeffrey A. McNeely29 November 2016

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What? The CBD’s Aichi Biodiversity Target 11

Protected Area Categories

Why should

Thailand

have protected

areas?

The public and

the politicians

want to know.

PARKS FOR LIFEWhy We Love Thailand’s National Parks

By Songtam Suksawangand

Jeffrey A. McNeely

Tropical forest value:

$6,120 – 16,362/ha/yr

(based on 109 studies – TEEB 2009)

The cost of losing forests: $2.5

trillion per year – TEEB 2010

Protected areas are worth lots of money!

Inland wetlands provide monetary

values of $981- 44,597 per hectare

per year. More need to be added

to the PA system.

Water-related services are worth US$ 7 trillion per year. Many of these are delivered by protected areas.

Water-related services are worth US$ 7 trillion per year. Many of these are delivered by protected areas.

Protected areas extend

the life span of Thailand’s

dams

Thailand’s rice farmers

depend on water from

protected areas

Watersheds protected by conserved forests help control floods that threaten Thai cities

The watersheds of these reservoirs are protected by National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. This valuable ecosystem service remains uncompensated.

Pure drinking water from Nam Ha National Park, Laos

Marine protected areas enhance fisheries production, a critically important ecosystem service.

A recent assessment

of 55 marine

protected areas

found an average

increase in fish

biomass of 446%

In the Philippines,Apo Marine Park was

established by the local fishing community toconserve their coral reef fishery. Result?More fish, higher income.

Protected areas helped buffer

damage from the 2004 tsunami in

the Andaman Sea

Other valuable ecosystem services provided by forests include carbon sequestration and adaptation to climate change.

Protected forests are especiallyvaluable, and payments for their ecosystemservices are becoming available from REDD+ and other climate funds.

Thai PAs attract over 10 million tourists a year, both domestic and foreign

Domestic elephants areworking in and around protected areas. A good idea? What is the policy?

Whale watching: 13million tourists in 119 countries, $2 billion earned for 3300 operators employing over 23,000 people.

Shark viewing:10,000 jobs$314 million/yr590,000 tourists

Koh Lanta National Park

Many Thai PAs contain

important religious

sites…gii

Khao KittchigutNational Park

…or culturally important sites

…or culturally important sites

that help support national identity

Phraya Nakorn Cave,Khao Sam Soi Roi YodNational Park

Protected areas could have saved

more of Thailand’s natural heritage

And today, PAs are bringing species

back from a past of near extinction…

…so they can look forward to a

future as part of a healthy ecosystem.

Huay Kha KhaengWildlife Sanctuary

PAs such as Huay Kha Khaeng WS

are the sites of research of global

importance

But what happens when tiger conservation succeeds??

This leads to answers about how tomanage protected areas.

China has brought Giant Pandas back from extinction. What next?

A useful response is connecting protected areas in a conservation landscape.

Conservation corridors linking

protected areas give migratory

species room to roam, adapt to

change, and establish new

populations i

This can also help reduce conflicts with local people

Enhancing management of protected areas…

…. needs well trained,

well equipped, and

dedicated staff

This does not happen by accident

Harness the best available technology to support effective management of protected areas.

Remote video cameras enable detailed surveillance of wildlife and habitats.

White-Capped Langur NationalNature Reserve, Guangxi, China

Satellites can provide a useful overall perspective;this is EFCOM from outer space.

Khlong KruaWai WS

Namtok Khlong Kaeo NP

Namtok Phlio NP

Khao Kittchigut NP

Khao Soi Dao WS

Samlaut PA

Phnom Sankos WS

Build support from rural communities by providing economic benefits, for example through payment for ecosystem services

Villages in protected landscapes may support important genetic diversity of important crops, a valuable service.

When villagers are givena voice, they have usefulcontributions to make to PA management.

WildObs (NWF))

Social media can build public support for protected areas.

Use protected areas to link people with nature..

Without a System, confusion and chaos may reign.

A System Plan for all of Thailand’s protected areas will help ensure that waters continue to flow, wildlife flourishes, the Kingdom’s natural heritage is conserved, and nature’s benefits are delivered to all Thais.