Conservation Ecology and Environmental Sciences Group

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Protected areas

What are protected areas?

Protected areas are widely recognised as one of the main approaches for conserving species and habitats. They also provide a range of environmental services to people. Many different types of protected area have been described, including national parks, nature reserves and habitat management areas. A widely used classification of protected areas is provided by the IUCN

Why study protected areas?

Protected areas present a wide variety of challenges, relating to reconciling the needs of nature with those of people. Key research questions include: how effective are protected areas in achieving their goals? How can this effectiveness best be monitored? How can protected areas best be managed? How can local communities participate in such management?

Research activities

Previous research has included analysis of community-based approaches to protected area management in Nepal, and assessment of the effectiveness of tropical protected areas using remote sensing techniques. Current research focuses on the New Forest National Park, one of the most important conservation areas in lowland Europe, which lies within easy reach of Bournemouth. Comparative analyses are also being undertaken in the Cansiglio Forest Natura 2000 site in northern Italy.

• Monitoring habitat condition in the New Forest and Cansiglio Forest
• Modelling the spatial dynamics of New Forest landscapes
• Modelling species and habitat distributions in the New Forest
• ReForLan
  

Publications

Bajracharya SB, Furley PA and Newton AC (2005). Effectiveness of community involvement in delivering conservation benefits to the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Environmental Conservation. 32(3), 239-247

Bajracharya SB, Furley PA and Newton AC (2006). Impacts of community-based conservation on local communities in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 2765–2786

DeFries R., Hansen A., Newton A.C., and Hansen M.C. (2005) Increasing isolation of protected areas in tropical forests over the past twenty years. Ecological Applications. 15(1), 19-26.

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