Chapter 100 - Protecting caves

Abstract

Caves are old features of the landscape and record clues to past climatological conditions, store signs of prehistoric animal and human inhabitation, and provide habitat for species that are adapted to live in subterranean environments. Protecting caves implies protecting both surface and subsurface features and associated species in such a way that systems are resilient to naturally occurring stochastic effects. Cave protection requires an understanding of any factors or threats causing deterioration before steps can be taken to reduce or reverse the damage. Threats originate directly or indirectly from human activities and cause highly localized impacts or more widespread effects. Effective cave protection requires understanding the casual factors, developing and implementing management plans at an appropriate scale to moderate those impacts, monitoring the effects of implementation tasks, and periodically updating plans based on new information. Strategies for protecting caves may be broad in scope, such as international treaties and government legislation, or they may be narrowly defined, such as installing a cave gate to stop illegal artifact excavation. In order to conserve and protect caves, appropriate management tools should be used and may involve closures, access restrictions, and the design of cave preserves through acquisition or management agreement. Management strategies and conservation activities that protect caves are enhanced through educational programs and materials that identify the important of conserving caves and their resources.