Possible models of implementing private protected area concept in Lithuania

Abstract

Nowadays people are more aware of the importance of the surrounding nature: landscape, biodiversity, and natural resources. However, society is facing many ecological challenges, so individuals and communities are becoming more involved in conservation. While government is not always capable of providing the best care of nature and all its components, ordinary people, or non-government organizations “step up” and help them. One way of doing that is creating private protected areas. Many countries in the world have examples of this kind of protected areas’ governance type: some are more regulated in legal systems, some are less, but they all provide crucial benefits to conservation if managed properly. In Lithuania protected areas are governed only by the government but usually the lack of funds affects the quality of conservation. Because of that, it is necessary to analyse different mechanisms of creation of private protected areas, take examples from best practices in the world and consider implementing it in the national protected area system.