I the History and Scope of Protected Areas

Abstract

In the 21st century there are over a dozen regimes which are directly involved in protected area issues. Collectively, they provide a matrix which has created substantial overlaps, whereby individual sites may be listed under numerous regimes. This is most common with overlaps between the World Heritage Convention (WHC), Man and the Biosphere (MAB), and the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar). The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS) process began in 1999 when the United Nations General Assembly decided to facilitate the review of developments in ocean affairs. There are a number of notable regional agreements for, inter alia, the creation of protected areas. These include the 1940 Convention on Nature Protection and Wild Life Preservation In The Western Hemisphere, the Convention on the Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific, and the 1985 ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.Keywords: Convention on Wetlands of International Importance; international conventions; Man and the Biosphere (MAB); national protected areas; UNICPOLOS; World Heritage Convention (WHC)