About Protected Areas
This section contains some general information about what protected areas are, why we need them, and where to find information about protected areas in Australia.
What is a protected area?
In 1994 Australia adopted the World Conservation Union (IUCN) definition of a protected area and the internationally recognised IUCN six level system of categories used to describe the management intent as basis for documenting Australia's various types of protected areas.
The IUCN defines a protected area as:
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.
The first key point of this definition is that the primary objective of the protected area is conservation of biological diversity. The second key point is that the protection is 'effective'. This will generally mean that the area is protected by an Act of Parliament, in the case of public land, or by a covenant or conservation agreement, in the case of privately owned, or indigenous land.
Why have protected areas?
The Australia State of the Environment 2001 Report states that: "Throughout Australia, both physical and cultural heritage, including Indigenous languages, continues to be threatened and lost. As species are lost and habitats fragmented, degraded or destroyed, we lose our heritage and part of our life-support system." The report also advises that: "Fundamental to better management and planning is the recognition that the environment, including our cultural and natural heritage, is everyone's business."
International concern about the global loss of biodiversity prompted most nations, including Australia, to sign the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Convention requires all member nations to, among other things, establish a system of protected areas and to develop guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of protected areas. The Convention recognises that Protected Areas are not the only mechanism for conserving biodiversity but that they are an important element of the overall approach.
In response to the Convention, Australia has developed a National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity. This strategy calls for a cooperative program across State, Territory and Australian Governments to ensure that Australia's terrestrial and marine protected area systems are comprehensive, adequate and representative. The establishment of a National Reserve System contributes to the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage.
Australian protected areas
Protected ares in Australia are owned and managed by a range of agencies, organisations and individuals. Each State and Territory Government has their own protected area management agencies.
The Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Dataset (CAPAD) has been developed for all terrestrial and marine protected areas. The data set is compiled from data supplied by the relevant Australian Government and State and Territory Government land/sea conservation and resource management agencies. CAPAD is also being developed as spatial data in a geographic information system (GIS).
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