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"PUTTING THE RIGHT PARKS IN THE RIGHT PLACES" BOOK REVIEW OF "MAKING PARKS WORK:STRATEGIES FOR PRESERVING TOPICAL NATURE"
Citation:
Mayer**, A. "PUTTING THE RIGHT PARKS IN THE RIGHT PLACES" BOOK REVIEW OF "MAKING PARKS WORK:STRATEGIES FOR PRESERVING TOPICAL NATURE". ECOLOGY. Ecological Society of America, Ithaca, NY, 84(1):273-274, (2003).
Description:
Tropical ecosystems typically have high amounts of species diversity and endemism relative to those in more temperate climates, and most of the tropics lie almost completely within the borders of developing countries. To address this, Terborgh et al. convened a conference that brought together park managers, researchers, and conservationists with park experience in developing countries. The product of the conference is Making parks work: strategies for preserving tropical nature, a collection of chapters examing different parks and the issues related to their establishment, funding and management. The subject is necessary and timely, and the book does an adequate job overall of outlining several key points. First, conservation of biodiversity must be the primary focus of national parks, and any sustainable development plans involving the park must be overtly linked to conservation effort. Second, resource extraction within park boundaries should not be permitted (otherwise it is functionally something else, such a "wildlife refuge" in the U.S.) In addition, the number and activity of people within park boundaries should be limited to well-controlled ecotourism. Finally, adequate and dependable law enforcement is an absolute necessity. The book is organized into four sections, and the first introductory section lays out problems common to many parks in developing countries, and offers recommendations to be supported by the subsequent chapters. Each chapter in Part Two describes a particular park(s) in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, written by authors with experience (in some cases, decades of experience) in parks in these regions. Part Three outlines trends, problems, and potential solutions at several scales (park, national, international). The final section summarizes lessons learned from these case studies, and advocates for the recommendations as first outlined in the introductory chapters.