Protected areas in small island states : a critical study of their environmental challenges

Abstract

The natural environment is of particular importance in view of the goods and services it provides to humans. Biological resources are vital components for human wellbeing, such that the need for their conservation has long been recognised. Amongst the various measures that can be considered for the attainment of such protection is in-situ conservation. This can be brought about through the designation of protected areas with the goal of protecting biological diversity. It is then a well-known fact that islands are "biodiversity hotspots'', implying that while they are the richest reservoirs for plant and animal life on the planet, they are also the most threatened. The contribution of islands to the world's biological heritage is far greater than their land mass or population size. Meanwhile, such resources are particularly important for the livelihoods of islanders. Considering this, and the fact that protected areas are "cornerstones of biodiversity conservation'', the establishment of such areas in islands is highly appropriate. It is apparent that various environmental challenges prevail in view of the implementation of an effective national system of protected areas Added to these, socio-economic and cultural factors, amongst others, also act as underlying barriers to such implementation. Consequently, this study seeks to identify those challenges and barriers that are most pronounced in Small Island States (SISs), as well as attain an indication of whether they are more marked in such States than in larger mainland States. This was carried out by means of a technical level questionnaire, which was sent to relevant individuals in various States. Four Small Island Developing States (SIDSs), two European Union (EU) Member States which ore SISs, and two larger mainland RU Member States were hence considered for this study. It was concluded that a high degree of the environmental challenges and underlying barriers that were identified at the start of the study generally prevail in the island States. Indeed, a number of challenges prevail in all of the eight States considered in this study. Two particular challenges were indicated of high concern by five of the islands, these being the effects of natural hazards and disasters, and issues related to invasive alien species, challenges which might be exacerbated by small island status. Considering the underlying barriers, two of them were indicated as of high influence in all six islands, these being inadequate enforcement and private land-ownership. Through this analysis it was also perceived that while various environn1ental challenges that impede the implementation of a national system of protected areas prevail in all States, their level of concern is generally more pronounced in the six islands. Considering the underlying barriers, their level of influence is also generally highly marked in the islands when compared to the other States. This substantiates the particular situation of SIDSs, as well as of certain other SISs, when compared to larger States, in this case in view of the implementation of a national system of protected areas.