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A Methodology for Assessment of External Issues Facing National Parks, with an Application in Costa Rica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

John Schelhas
John Schelhas
Affiliation:
School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona, 325 Biological Sciences East Building, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA.
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Extract

Effective implementation of conservation and development strategies, such as buffer zones adjacent to national parks, requires tailoring these strategies to a park's individual external situation. A methodology is presented for conducting an assessment of adjacent land and local population issues for national parks. The methodology covers three principal subjects: (1) biological conservation issues, (2) the relationship between the park and local people, and (3) the socioeconomic situation of park neighbours.

The methodology was applied to lands adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. The application provides a brief summary of the Park's external situation, for use in management and planning, and identifies the most effective types of conservation and development strategies for the region. In this case, the methodology identified the principal issue facing the Park as being the rapid conversion of lowland forest to pasture on lands adjacent to the Park. Solutions to this problem include stopping the cycles of migration and colonization that drive people to settle forested lands, and increasing the importance of forest in local land-use systems.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , Winter 1991 , pp. 323 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1991

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