Principle – Ecological integrity is maintained

Criterion- Reorganized under S: Native species diversity is maintained.

Box B: Definition:

Representative areas, especially areas of ecological importance, are maintained to protect rare, unique and representative species and features.

This definition is a combination of the definitions given below:

CIFOR Definition: - Representative areas, especially areas of ecological importance, are maintained.

CCFM definition - Representative protected forest areas provide ecological benchmarks, which enable the biodiversity in undisturbed ecosystems to be compared with that in areas managed for forest products. Protected areas also provide wilderness experiences and other recreational benefits.

GFE definition - Establish a network of protected areas in the forest ecosystem to protect rare, unique and representative species and features. At a regional scale, conservation of biodiversity requires permanent networks of protected areas that are connected by corridors acting as functional linkages between populations. This need is based on the precautionary principle of conservation management wherein our management actions are tempered by caution and the ability to respond to change. Protected area networks should be a combination of large representative areas and also smaller areas established to conserve sensitive and unique sites.

Box D: Applicability to Different Landowners. Explain any differences:

Worldwide, protected areas are one of the most common conservation strategies. They are a key component of the Rio Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Protected area conservation strategies are applied by all levels of government as well as private landowners. Increasingly in North America, private landowners and conservation organizations are using protected area strategies for conservation. Instead of traditional park lands, private organizations are developing protected areas through a range of strategies, including tax incentives, volunteer land owner agreements and outright private purchase.

Box E: Overlap:

N/A

Box F: Geo-Political Scale:

Notes: Protected areas are developed at all political scales including the global (World Heritage Sites), the National (National Parks), state and provincial (Parks) and tenure (reserve for species of concern). However in the geographical sense, protected areas are sized from the regional down.

Notes: Protected areas are a diagnostic indicator of the implementation of the precautionary principle in land use management.

Notes: Protected areas are considered by international convention to be a key component a sustainable landscape.

Box I: Underlying Concepts:

A system of protected areas in managed landscapes offers safeguards against the known and unknown impacts of various extractive resource uses. They can also act, to varying degrees, as benchmarks for comparative research (Agee and Johnson, 1988). These values are included in the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), which was signed and ratified by all 3 North American countries. Article 8 of the convention states:

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:

(a) Establish a system of protected areas or areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity;

(b) Develop, where necessary, guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of protected areas or areas where special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity;

(c) Regulate or manage biological resources important for the conservation of biological diversity whether within or outside protected areas, with a view to ensuring their conservation and sustainable use;

(d) Promote the protection of ecosystems, natural habitats and the maintenance of viable populations of species in natural surroundings;

(e) Promote environmentally sound and sustainable development in areas adjacent to protected areas with a view to furthering protection of these areas;

(f) Rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of threatened species, inter alia, through the development and implementation of plans or other management strategies;

(i) Endeavor to provide the conditions needed for compatibility between present uses and the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components;

The definition of a protected area adopted by IUCN is:

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.

Categories of Protected Area:

IUCN has defined a series of protected area management categories based on management objective. For the purposes of the definition of this indicator, categories 1-3 were considered appropriate as representative areas. Definitions of these categories, and examples of each, are provided in Guidelines for Protected Area Management Categories (IUCN, 1994). The categories are:

CATEGORY Ia: Strict Nature Reserve: protected area managed mainly for science

Definition: Area of land and/or sea possessing some outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features and/or species, available primarily for scientific research and/or environmental monitoring.

CATEGORY Ib : Wilderness Area: protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection

Definition: Large area of unmodified or slightly modified land, and/or sea, retaining its natural character and influence, without permanent or significant habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural condition.

CATEGORY II : National Park: protected area managed mainly for ecosystem protection and recreation

Definition: Natural area of land and/or sea, designated to (a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for present and future generations, (b) exclude exploitation or occupation inimical to the purposes of designation of the area and (c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible.

CATEGORY III : Natural Monument: protected area managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features

Definition: Area containing one, or more, specific natural or natural/cultural feature which is of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.

It is recognized the protected areas cannot conserve biodiversity by themselves. They are part of a larger strategy and must be integrated with lands that are managed for other uses, including intense extraction of resources for human consumption. The conditions for the establishment and management of protected areas vary greatly from region to region, and from country to country. Features such as size, percent of landscape jurisdiction in protected area and boundary configuration will be reflective of the local situation.

Box J: Relevance to Sustainable/Unsustainable Management:

For over a century protected areas have been recognized as a conservation strategy. Virtually all countries in the works have protected areas. Their role in conservation was internationally recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity signed in June 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. In Canada, Parks and Wildlife Ministers signed a statement of commitment to complete Canada’s networks of protected areas by 2000. These networks are representative of Canada’s land-based natural regions.

Box K: Measurement Methods:

Assessing the role of protected areas can be complex. At its simplest, it consists of a simple record of the total area as a percentage of the Country, province/state or study area. It is also important to stratify the area of interest by habitat type, ecodistrict or some other biophysical classification system to ensure protected area are representative of the range of ecosystem types on the landscape. A third level is the size and shape of individual areas relative to their conservation goals.

There are a group of methods available to assess the need for protected areas that fall under the description of gap analysis. Simply put, a gap analysis searches for gap in protected area programs for species, communities, habitats or landforms. In United States, the United States Geological Survey has been conducting a National Gap Analysis Program to provide regional assessments of the conservation status of native vertebrate species and natural land cover types and to facilitate the application of this information to land management activities. Idaho was the first GAP prototype state project. This project helped establish early standards and methods, as well as being the source for numerous publications that launched the national program. The techniques and standards for the Gap Analysis are available from the United States Geological Survey (1998). There is a full range of gap analysis methods and literature that is too extensive to examine here.

Box L: Data Required:

Data required for this measure includes ecological land classification maps for the area in question, as well as maps of protected areas and their IUCN classification. The IUCN classes have already been assigned for most protected areas in North American and are available on the World Conservation Monitoring Centre data bases (WCMC, 1998).

Box M: Data Used for the North American Test :

Data was collected on the area of representative and unique protected areas set aside in North America, the State of Idaho and study area. Each of the protected areas had to meet IUCN class 1-3 criteria. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre has recently compiled a data based on forested protected areas. In the Boise study area, protected areas are designated by the National Forests and areas recorded in a geographic information system. The protected area classes include only National Wilderness Areas and Research Natural Areas within the National Forests. Research Natural Areas are already chosen to be representative of the range of habitat types in the Boise National Forest. The State and Industrial Freehold lands within the study area do not contain IUCN class 1-3 protected areas.

Box N: Example Results:

Canada has 7.3% of its forests in protected areas, while the United States has 10%. Results were not available for Mexico (Mexico lists 4.9% of its total lands in protected status). For Canada and the United States combined, the largest percentage of protected areas are in evergreen needleleaf forests, often in higher elevations (World Conservation Data Centre). Historically, the more productive lands were converted to agriculture or sold into private ownership.

Outside the study area in the State of Idaho, there are a number of protected area programs that meet IUCN class 1-3 criteria including State Parks, National Landmarks, National Monuments, and Wilderness Areas. There are also a number of Class 3-6 protected areas including national wildlife refuges, scenic rivers and outstanding natural areas.

In the study area, the Boise and Payette National Forests and Bureau of Land Management lands would qualify as Category 6 protected areas, which makes up 69% of the study area. Category 6 lands are defined as area containing predominantly unmodified natural systems, managed to ensure long term protection and maintenance of biological diversity, while providing at the same time a sustainable flow of natural products and services to meet community needs. The National Forests also have "research natural areas", which are representative areas set aside as benchmark areas, as well as designated wilderness areas. State Parks protect unique features and provide recreational opportunities. In addition to the Category 1-3 lands there are very large areas of the study area than would fit under IUCN class 4-6 lands. These categories include habitat/species management areas, protected landscapes and areas managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems. These latter categories would most of the Boise National Forest and perhaps all lands dedicated to the sustainable management of forests. Calculated data for the study are presented below. Note these data are for illustration only and were not error checked.

There are few standards or norms for the amount of protected area as a percentage of the landscape. The World Commission on Environment and Development suggested a rough figure of 12% of the landscape in protected areas and this has been accepted by several jurisdictions. For example, the Province of British Columbia in Canada has a goal to protect 12% of each terrestrial biogeoclimatic zone by the year 2000. Considering all IUCN class 1-6 protected areas, the United States protects 11%, Canada protects 8% and Mexico protects 5%. These figures are considerably lower for IUCN class 1-3. In general IUCN classes 3-6 are unclearly defined and have lack the utility of Classes 1-3.

Box O: Assessing the Practicality:

The role of protected areas is easy to assess in the North American context. There are public databases on protected areas and ecological land classifications.

Box P: Assessing the Information Value

Assumed to be high. This is a measure understood by a range of publics.

Box Q: Overall assessment :

Accepted. Protected areas are not required for ecological integrity in any theoretical sense. They are safeguards against management error, lack of understanding and mismanagement. They are a concrete expression of the precautionary principle that has international sanction and support in virtually all countries. If using IUCN protected area classes, it seems only logical to include classes 1-3. IUCN classes 3-6 includes areas managed sustainably, and thus it seems like circular logic to include them in indicators of sustainability.

Box R: Did you rewrite or revise to a new indicator. If so what?

The indicator was revised as following:

Representative areas, especially areas of ecological importance, are maintained to protect rare, unique and representative species and features.

Box S: References:

• Agee, J. K., and D. R. Johnson. 1988. Ecosystem Management for Parks and Wilderness. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA. 237 pp.
• IUCN. 1994. Guidelines for protected area management categories. IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas with the assistance of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
• United States Geological Survey. 1998. Methods for Conducting Gap Analysis. http://www.gap.uidaho.edu/gap/AboutGAP/Handbook/Index.htm
• WCMC. 1998. World Conservation Monitoring Center Protected Areas Database. http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/