Natural resources are materials from nature that are valuable to humans. Examples include water, air, wood, and minerals. Protected areas are regions set aside primarily for conservation of nature and biodiversity. They help manage ecosystems and provide goods and services. Conservation aims to ensure survival of species diversity and genetic variability by maintaining ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling. It also includes sustainable resource use. Protected areas and conservation play important roles in environmental protection and human well-being.

1. Natural resources,
protected areas and
conservation
Maya Safira (G170270)
Regional and Urban Engineering
Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC)
Hiroshima University

2. 1. Natural resources
A natural resource is anything that people can use which comes
from the natural environment. Examples of natural resources
are air, water, wood, oil, wind energy, iron, and coal.
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3. Natural Resources
‐ Natural resources are the basis of all wealth,
and without access to many of them we simply
die. None of us created this planet, yet a subset
of us have claimed ownership of it.
‐ Ever since the earth was inhabited, humans
and other life forms have depended on things
that exist freely in nature to survive. These
things include water (seas and fresh water),
land, soils, rocks, forests (vegetation), animals
(including fish), fossil fuels and minerals. They
are called Natural Resources and are the basis
of life on earth.
‐ Natural resources can be consumed directly or
indirectly. For instance, humans depend
directly on forests for food, biomass, health,
recreation and increased living comfort.
Indirectly forests act as climate control, flood
control, storm protection and nutrient cycling.
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marine resources mountain forest
oil and mineral crops farm

4. Natural resources
‐ The resources, ‘are not, they become; they are not static
but expand and contract in response to human actions’.
Mitchell (1989:2): ‘Natural resources are defined by
human perceptions and attitudes, wants,
technological skills, legal, financial and institutional
arrangements, as well as by political systems.
‐ Developed resources include highways, facilities,
sewerage, buildings, and so on, that facilitate the use
of a given area. Chubb and Chubb (1981) suggest that
the dividing line between what is developed and what
is undeveloped is contingent upon one’s perception of
the meaning of the word ‘developed’ in relation to the
tourism setting.
‐ Types of natural resources:
‐ Geographic location.
‐ Climate and weather.
‐ Topography and landforms.
‐ Surface materials.
‐ Water.
‐ Vegetation.
‐ Fauna.
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5. 2. Protected areas
A protected area is a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and
managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term
conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.
(IUCN Definition 2008)
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6. Protected Areas
‐ Protected areas are internationally recognized as
regions set aside primarily for nature and
biodiversity conservation and are a major tool in
managing species and ecosystems which provide
a range of goods and services essential to
sustainable use of natural resources.
‐ The term 'protected area' includes Marine
Protected Areas (MPA) the boundaries of which
will include some area of ocean.
‐ Every nation in the world has designated
protected areas, often with an extensive network
of protected areas having been developed over
many years, and the purpose of them is generally
universal in the intention of limiting levels of
human occupation and restricting the
exploitation of natural resources.
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7. Protected Areas
‐ Protected areas – national parks, wilderness
areas, community conserved areas, nature
reserves and so on – are a mainstay of
biodiversity conservation, while also
contributing to people’s livelihoods, particularly
at the local level.
‐ Protected areas are at the core of efforts
towards conserving nature and the services it
provides us – food, clean water supply,
medicines and protection from the impacts of
natural disasters.
‐ Their role in helping mitigate and adapt to
climate change is also increasingly recognized;
it has been estimated that the global network
of protected areas stores at least 15% of
terrestrial carbon.
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8. Protected Areas
‐ Coverage
‐ There are over 210,000 protected areas
around the world (World Database on
Protected Areas (WDPA)) .
‐ The proportion of areas protected globally
(percentage of terrestrial area and territorial
waters up to 12 nautical miles) amount to
11.9%.
‐ The proportion of terrestrial areas protected
amounts to 12.9% and marine areas to 6.3%,
as recorded in WDPA for 2009.
‐ Criteria
‐ The criteria used to define protected areas
vary widely, depending on the objective and
on the mechanisms behind the establishment
of the protected area.
‐ They are usually locations of significant
environmental, cultural or natural value that
in most cases have some form of
management authority in place for their
protection.
‐ For the criteria associated with different
types of protected area, please see the
relevant section in the areas under the
‘Protected Areas’ category.
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9. Why are protected areas important?
‐ Protected areas provide a wide range social,
environmental and economic benefits to people
and communities worldwide.
‐ As the world continues to develop at a rapid pace,
pressure on ecosystems and natural resources
intensifies.
‐ Protected areas, when governed and managed
appropriately and embedded in development
strategies, can provide nature-based solutions to
this pressure, and take their place as an integral
component of sustainable development.
Protected areas...
... provide drinking water to one in three of the
world’s 100 largest cities;
... store the same amount of carbon as the tropical
rainforests;
... keep us healthy by being the source of clean air
and water, as well as new medicines;
... help reduce the risks and consequences of
extreme events such as floods, storm-surges,
drought and sea-level rise;
... enhance food security by boosting fisheries and
preserving wild relatives of crops; and
... provide homes, jobs and livelihoods to millions
of people around the world.
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10. 3. conservation
Active management of the biosphere to ensure the survival of the maximum diversity of species and the
maintenance of genetic variability within species. It includes the maintenance of biosphere function e.g.
nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. The term also includes the concept of sustainable resource use so
that the environment may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to current generations while maintaining its
potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations. Conservation of species and biological
processes must be simultaneous with conservation of abiotic resources or it is unlikely to succeed.
Adapted from Oxford Dictionary of Ecology 2010 1 and World Resources Institute (WRI),
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) & United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 1992
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11. Ecosystem Management
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12. Categories for conservation management
‐ Category I – Scientific Reserve/Strict Nature
Reserve areas with some outstanding ecosystem features and/or species of flora and
fauna of national scientific importance. Concern is for continuance of natural
processes and strict control of human interference.
‐ Category II – National Park
A relatively large area where one or several ecosystems are not materially altered by
human use, the highest competent government authority has taken steps to prevent
or control such alteration, and visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions
for inspirational, educative, cultural, and recreative uses.
‐ Category III – Natural Monument/Natural Landmark Area
normally contains one or more specific natural features of outstanding national
significance which because of uniqueness or rarity should be protected. Ideally little or
no sign of human activity.
‐ Category IV – Nature Conservation Reserve/Managed Nature
Reserve/Wildlife Sanctuary
A variety of areas fall into this category. Although each has as its primary purpose the
protection of nature, the production of harvestable renewable resources may play a
secondary role in management.
‐ Category V – Protected Landscape or Seascape
A broad category embracing a wide variety of semi-natural and cultural landscapes
within various nations. In general, two types of areas, those where landscapes
possess special aesthetic qualities resulting from human–land interaction and those
that are primarily natural areas managed intensively for recreational and tourist uses.
‐ Category VI – Resource Reserve (Interim Conservation Unit)
Normally extensive, relatively isolated, and lightly inhabited areas under considerable
pressure for colonization and greater exploration. Often not well understood in natural,
land use, or cultural terms. Maintenance of existing conditions to allow for studies of
potential uses and their effects as a basis for decisions.
‐ Category VII – Natural Biotic Area/Anthropological Reserve
Natural areas where the influence or technology of modern humans has not
significantly interfered with or been absorbed by the traditional ways of life of
inhabitants. Management is oriented to maintenance of habitat for traditional
societies.
‐ Category VIII – Multiple Use Management Area/Managed Resource Area
Large areas suitable for production of wood products, water, pasture, wildlife,
marine products, and outdoor recreation. May contain nationally unique or
exceptional natural features.
‐ Category IX – Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserves provide benchmarks for monitoring environmental change and
areas for science, education, and training.
‐ Category X – World Heritage Site
To protect natural – and also cultural – features considered to be of world heritage
quality; examples include outstanding illustrations of the major stages of earth’s
evolutionary history, habitats where populations of rare or endangered species of
plants and animals still survive, and also outstanding archaeological or
architectural sites.
‐ Category XI – Wetlands of International Importance
(Ramsar) Marshes, swamps, and other wetlands of value for flood control, nutrient
production, wildlife habitat, and related purposes. Management procedures
designed to prevent destruction and deterioration through national agreement to
an international convention known as Ramsar after the site in Iran where the
convention was initially agreed to by a number of founding countries.
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13. Efficient use
‐ Conservation became a vehicle to represent the new frontier; the vehicle to allow American
society to maintain vitality and prosperity.
‐ The efficient use of resources perspective represented the opposite end of the conservation
spectrum from the perspective of preservationist (Herfindahl 1961).
‐ More directly, conservation was to engender direct control over natural resources on the basis
of three principles:
1. to develop the continent’s existing natural resources for the benefit of the people who live there
now;
2. to prevent the waste of natural resources; and
3. to develop and preserve resources for the benefit of the many, and not merely for the profit of a
few (Pinchot 1910).
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14. Privatization and private reserves
‐ Privatization is, in most cases, synonymous with the contracting out of services,
but emphasizes the private sector’s role in fulfilling or winning these contracts (it
is important to note that contracts may also be given to those in the not-for-profit
sector).
‐ In fact, privatization of land and natural resources for tourism is also nothing
new, as developers all over the world have a long history of “privatizing” public
assets - by simply stealing them.
‐ Over recent decades, we have experienced again and again the illegal takeover
of public beaches, forests and mountain areas for the construction of hotels,
resorts, golf courses and other commercial tourism facilities.
‐ The illegal “privatization” of water from public reservoirs to fill hotel swimming
pools and bathtubs and to water the greens of golf courses has also been going
on for many years.
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15. Fair trade in tourism?
‐ With the opening up of natural areas for commercial tourism, there have also been constant warnings
about the privatization and trading of biological resources and Indigenous Peoples’ traditional
knowledge. In this context, alarming reports have surfaced about “tourists” illegally collecting and
trading species and traditional medicine recipes that are of value for the biotechnology industry.
‐ Tisdell (1995) writes that investment in ecotourism takes the form of private firms and public agencies
intent on making a profit or surplus from the development of ecotourism. In the case of the public
agencies, investment usually occurs in an attempt to:
‐ make a profit or surplus from ecotourism to supplement its funds for conservation management;
‐ add to political support for the conservation body, or avert political hostility or lack of political support
‐ improve the working conditions and salaries of employees.
‐ To wrap up: Indeed, as far as tourism is concerned, our world is for sale; here we have it all: Privatization
– commodification – standardization – homogenization – corporatization – Disneyfication –
industrialization – denaturalization – deculturalization - dehumanization …
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16. references
‐ http://biodiversitya-z.org/content/protected-areas
‐ https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/about
‐ http://www.worldparkscongress.org/about/what_are_protected_areas.html
‐ http://www.eschooltoday.com/natural-resources/what-is-a-natural-resource.html
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17. Any questions ?
You can find me at
◉ G170270@hiroshima-u.jp.ac
◉ safira.msa@gmail.com
Thanks!
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