World Heritage
This park is located in the northern part of the country of Columbia, right near the passage toward Panama. This beautiful park was, however, added in 2009 to the UNESCO endangered sites because of the challenges it is facing. Illegal logging, an imposing highway and unauthorized settlements just to name a few are the problems that greatly threaten the region. The area is lowland swamp forests that cover approximately half of the park, where the remainder is lowland tropical rainforest.
Los Katios houses an important landscape, which is home to a number of species which are characteristic to the region and no where to be seen anywhere in the world. More than 450 species of bird have been recorded within the park. With little support from it's local government, The principles listed below, if carried out correctly, pave a successful road for maintaining a well balanced national park system. If not done, problems, like the ones they are facing will continue to get worse and be overlooked.
- Collaborate
- Find the fit between the community and tourism
- Make sites and programs come alive
- Focus on authenticity and quality
- Preserve and protect resources
The park definitely has several areas that it is lacking in and that could use great improvement. One of them being preserving and protecting it's resources. The forest is constantly fighting illegal logging in the area, along with unauthorized settlements, fishing and hunting, and threats from major infrastructure projects. Because this is a national park, tighter zoning restrictions should be upheld by the government, and by the park itself. The park needs to identify clear boundaries so there are no questions about what land is permitted for public distribution and use.
Another area the park has struggled in maintaining has been focusing on it's authenticity and quality. The area is native to many plants and animals native to the area, and needs to promote itself as such. If this area can be advertised and promoted as a unique habitat, people will understand the importance it plays to the region and will not allow it to be compromised by illegal activity. News and updates of the area, plants, and animals of the area are critical to make the public aware of what is at stake.
For more information:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/711
Tropical Rainforest
Harapan Rainforest
This area is in connection to the blog topic I have been putting together on this website, the endangered Orangutan's in Sumatra. The Harapan Rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra used to have problems of its own, similar to Los Katios in Columbia, but good management and utilization of the local people have helped turn that around. The site includes large plots of undamaged lowland forest
with a remarkable abundance of species.
The area is a habitat for the critically endangered
Sumatran tiger, it is also
home to more than 260 bird species; of the mammal
species, 22 are Asian, not found elsewhere abroad with 15 of them confined to the Indonesian region, most notably, the withering Sumatran
orangutan. The park enforces bio-diversity monitoring to create less of an impact on the environment, to help protect and preserve the site.
- Collaborate
- Find the fit between the community and tourism
- Make sites and programs come alive
- Focus on authenticity and quality
- Preserve and protect resources
I believe that this park, not necessarily in the past, but through improved efforts demonstrates the five principles listed above. Abiding by these principles have allowed it to remain off of the endangered list for now, as long as it continues in its current direction. Although it has had its share of struggles getting to this point, it has made strides to find and create solutions even when it's government chose not to do so. Several prominent organizations have combined in their efforts to develop landmark legislation enabling
conservation-oriented opportunities, to ensure proper management. This change in policy marks a turning point for the neighboring rainforests in the country, as
the government failed to commit to do. These new guidelines are also providing jobs for about 100 local people as
forest wardens and other roles, and will educate residents of nearby
communities on sustainable use of forest resources. An educated forest patrol staff help keep the forest protected, and is essential to any park that is in danger. Income-generating activities such as aquaculture and handicraft
production for families living in and around the area fulfills establishing a good relationship between the community and tourism and will not only benefit the region, but allow Indonesia to contribute on a global market.
For more information:
http://harapanrainforest.org/
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