There are now almost 5,000 protected areas in Asia covering more than 1.8 million square kilometres that have been dedicated to the maintenance and protection of biological diversity, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“In the past twenty years, East Asia has seen an increase of 25 percent in its total area of land and sea being protected by national regulations.”
In a statement issued on Monday, the IUCN stated that the recently released report titled ‘Protected Areas in East Asia’ reveals that while East Asia covers a combined land area of almost 12 million square kilometres, at least 15 percent of the region is now successfully dedicated to the conservation of biological diversity.
“Protected areas have emerged as one of the most important and effective tools for safeguarding biodiversity across the world because they help to protect species from their greatest threat – habitat loss,” said IUCN Protected Areas Programme Asia Senior Researcher Dr Hag-Young Heo.
He said the East Asian region has the potential to be a pioneer in protected area planning, establishment, management and governance primarily due to the long-standing traditional philosophy in the region of harmonisation between nature and livelihood.
According to the report, Republic of Korea is the regional leader in the establishment of protected areas and was the first country in Asia to complete a management effectiveness evaluation of its protected area system.
The Republic of Korea has assessed the economic value of its national parks at approximately USD $3 billion per annum. “Other Asian nations are also beginning to evaluate the economic worth of their protected areas.”
IUCN Global Protected Areas Programme Director Trevor Sandwith that all countries in Asia are meeting the global targets for terrestrial protected areas and this is great news for the region. “But looking ahead, the challenge is to improve the coverage in under-represented ecosystems, including marine and coastal areas and to achieve real quality in management effectiveness and equitable governance.”
“The key is enhanced regional cooperation and capacity building to help countries to effectively manage and protect these areas for the long-term,” said Sandwith.
The East Asia region boasts some of the largest protected areas in the world, despite being the world’s most densely-populated region.
Qiangtang Nature Reserve, for example, is the biggest nature reserve in China and covers an area the size of Italy.
Protected areas provide critical habitat for threatened species and are helping the recovery of some of the region’s most iconic animals such as the Giant Panda in China and the Amur Tiger in Russia.
Similarly, the Dhodial Pheasantry near Abbottabad in Pakistan is the largest of its kind. The sanctuary covers an area of 21 acres and houses 34 of the 52 species of pheasants found in the world.
