The Urban Imperative: Urban Outreach Strategies for Protected Area Agencies (ARCHIVE  PAGE*)

*Please note: This page is an archive. The proceedings of the workshop have been published in Web and print form. 

This page was updated on 1 October 2003 and will not be changed.  For workshop follow-up activities, see www.InterEnvironment.org/pa.

THURSDAY, FRIDAY, AND SATURDAY 11-13 SEPTEMBER, 2003

WORKSHOP STREAM PLENARY SESSION

"The Urban Imperative" workshop was introduced in the Building Broader Support for Protected Areas workshop stream plenary session by TED TRZYNA, workshop coordinator, and JUDY LING WONG, Director UK, Black Environment Network.

WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION

-- TED TRZYNA, workshop coordinator (President, California Institute of Public Affairs / InterEnvironment, Sacramento, California, USA; former IUCN councillor and commission chairman) 

-- Brief comments by JOHN DAVIDSON (for the recommendations group) and MARK LELLOUCH (deputy workshop coordinator)

1.  HOW LARGE CITIES AND PROTECTED AREAS DEPEND ON EACH OTHER:

CITIES DEPEND ON PROTECTED AREAS

Protected areas provide a range of benefits to cities, but these are rarely presented in clear terms and urban dwellers generally have a poor understanding of them. Wider arguments for protection are needed that go beyond biodiversity, aesthetics, recreation, and education. For example, many protected areas provide cities with water supply, flood protection, and income from tourism. How can these benefits be defined and presented effectively to decision-makers and the public?

-- Health: Victoria's Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative: GERARD O’NEILL, General Manager, Metropolitan Parks and Bays Policy and Strategy, Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [Parks Victoria is responsible for parks in the state of Victoria that range from metropolitan open spaces to national parks. Its heath initiative has sponsored scientific research into the links between human health and recreation in natural areas, and has made health a theme in promoting use of the park system and support for it]    

-- Ecosystem values of protected areas in and near cities: The case of Durban: RICHARD BOON, Biodiversity Planner, City of Durban Environmental Management Branch, Durban, South Africa

-- Economy: Economic benefits of protected areas to Port Elizabeth, South Africa: BOOL SMUTS, Manager, Baviaanskloof Mega-reserve Project, Wilderness Foundation of South Africa [About the expansion of a nearby protected area from 220,000 ha to over 500,000 ha and its projected economic benefits to the city in the form of water, tourism, and carbon trading from rehabilitation of a unique subtropical thicket biome]

-- Water: Water supply as a worldwide benefit of protected areas: NIGEL DUDLEY, Equilibrium Consultants, Bristol, United Kingdom [Results of a new study of links between protected forests and the quality of drinking water in a hundred of the world’s largest cities in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe]

-- Multiple benefits: Results of research on socio-economic benefits of public open space in the Sydney and Melbourne metropolitan areas of Australia: NICHOLAS CONNER, Principal Conservation Economist, Conservation Economics Group, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney, Australia [This research examined benefits in the country's two main metropolitan areas: Sydney, population 4.2 million, and Melbourne, 3.5 million]

2.  HOW LARGE CITIES AND PROTECTED AREAS DEPEND ON EACH OTHER:

PROTECTED AREAS DEPEND ON CITIES

Throughout the world, political power, opinion-makers, and communications media are concentrated in major cities. As Pedro da Cunha e Menezes and Luiz Otavio Teixera Mendes wrote in a recent issue of Parks, "The fight for conservation of biodiversity will not be won in the remote depths of the forests and mangroves. It will be won in the large metropolises. . . It is there that we will begin to win the cause for protected areas." What are protected area agencies and their allies doing to meet this challenge? What more can be done?

-- Giving priority to urban areas in protected area systems: Brazil and beyond: PEDRO DA CUNHA E MENEZES, Consul, Brazilian Consulate General, Sydney, Australia; formerly Executive Director, Joint Management Commission for Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Expanding on the practical ideas set out in the article mentioned above, Mr. Menezes drew on his experience in managing Tijuca, arguably the world's oldest national park, located within a metropolitan area of 12 million people, and more recent pursuits of conservation interests while serving his country as a diplomat in Australia] 

-- The youth and children’s movement “Friends of the Islands of Protected Nature” an an effective tool for building urban support for protected areas in Russia: NATALIA DANILINA, Director, Environmental Education Centre "Zapovedniks" (and Regional Vice Chair for North Eurasia, World Commission on Protected Areas), Moscow, Russia [The first festival, held in 2001, involved 400 representatives from 22 regions of the Russian Federation]

-- A city defends its natural heritage: Hong Kong’s Country and Marine Parks: FOOK YEE WONG, Assistant Director (Country and Marine Parks), Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China [How Hong Kong, with 7 million people living in about 250 square kilometers, has kept 40 percent of its territory in a natural state, despite "keen demand" for land for urban development]

-- A park agency enlists urban support for a disputed restoration project: Yosemite National Park and California cities: JOHN REYNOLDS, formerly Deputy Director and Pacific West Regional Director, United States National Park Service [Much-visited Yosemite Valley is the heart of Yosemite National Park, a World Heritage Site. In 1997, a flood unprecedented in historic times destroyed most of the infrastructure on the valley floor.  Rebuilding this infrastructure presented an opportunity to restore natural processes and modify visitor facilities. This raised strong public debate over the future of an important symbol of California's identity]  

3.  NATURE EDUCATION, CITIES, AND PROTECTED AREAS: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES

Educating urban people about nature is a traditional role for many protected area agencies and their allies. Here are three innovative programs that touch the lives of large numbers of urban residents.

-- India’s Kids for Tigers: The Sanctuary Asia Tiger Program: BITTU SAHGAL, Editor, Sanctuary Magazine, Mumbai [Bombay], India [Aims to educate and motivate 1.5 million young students from 1000 schools in major cities across India within three years, focusing on protection of tiger habitats. The prime “benefit beyond boundaries” children are taught is the fresh water flowing from 300 rivers originating in India’s 27 Project Tiger Reserves. Included, among others, are the cities of Mumbai, metropolitan population 18.4 million; and Delhi, 17.5 million]

-- Paris-Nature, the outreach program of the Directorate of Parks, Gardens, and Green Spaces of the City of Paris, France: MARK LELLOUCH (France/USA), consultant, Paris, France, and Boulder, Colorado, USA [Launched in 1984, Paris-Nature educates over 500,000 people a year on air quality, water, gardening, and urban biodiversity through centers and gardens spread throughout the city, as well as laboratory and video buses for schoolchildren. Metropolitan Paris has a population of 9.8 million]

-- Nature education in Yangmingshan National Park: SHIN WANG, Professor, Department of Geography, Environment, and Resources, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Province of China. [Located partly in Taipei, whose metropolitan population is 4.5 million, the park receives many visitors. Its administration "aims to spread the concepts of cherishing nature and conserving natural resources through a relaxed and open approach so that ‘conservation’ will no longer simply be a concept but will find a valid place in people’s everyday lives."]

4.  THE GREENING OF CITIES: WHAT CAN PROTECTED AREA AGENCIES

CONTRIBUTE AND LEARN?

The global movement to "green" cities ranges from planting street trees and creating urban farms on one hand to protecting and restoring natural areas on the other. These are usually seen as separate, but they actually reinforce each other. In poor areas, for example, neighborhood gardens can be important stepping stones to understanding nature and visiting more distant protected areas; broader support for protected areas can result. Greening initiatives and responsibility for them vary greatly among cities, but at least three questions are relevant everywhere: What are possible roles for traditional protected area agencies? What can these agencies learn from local initiatives?  Should local agencies involved in open space and natural areas be included in the protected area community? Are there good models for leadership, partnership, and coordination?

Panel chaired by TODD MILLER, Associate Planner, Open Space Division, Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA [Albuquerque’s open space preserves include a diversity of natural and cultural landscapes. Mr.Miller, who has also worked in large national parks in Latin America, facilitated a discussion about what professionals working at these different scales can learn from each other]

-- A role for national and state/provincial protected area agencies: The case of Los Angeles: JOSEPH T. EDMISTON, Executive Director, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Resources Agency of California, Los Angeles, California, USA [The 16,000-ha Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area runs right through Los Angeles, which has a metropolitan population of 16 million. The SMMNRA is a cooperative effort of the U.S. National Park Service and two units of the California state government, State Parks and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.  While all three agencies are involved in urban outreach, the Conservancy has taken a bold step further in creating "natural parks" in poor inner-city neighborhoods. These parks serve as portals to the natural world of the region]  

-- A role for metropolitan authorities: The Mayor of London’s Biodiversity Strategy, Connecting with London’s Nature*: DAVID GOODE, Head of Environment, Greater London Authority, United Kingdom [In metropolitan London, population 11.9 million, the Biodiversity Strategy is one of eight strategies the Mayor is required by law to produce; it includes outreach and international dimensions].   

-- A role for municipal authorities: The City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Strategy: TANIA KATZSCHNER, Impact Assessment Coordinator, Environmental Management Department, City of Cape Town, South Africa [The City of Cape Town, in a metropolitan setting of 3.1 million population, is within the small area that comprises the Cape Floristic Kingdom, one of only six floristic kingdoms on earth, and the concentration of endemic plant species is without parallel in an urban setting.  Working with people living near remaining natural areas, the municipal government has adopted a strategy to protect this resource]  

-- Ecocities and ecoscape planning: Case studies from China*: WANG RUSONG, Professor, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and First Vice President, Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, Beijing, China [Professor Wang was unable to attend; paper to be arranged] [In China, ecocities are administrative units with "economically productive and ecologically efficient industry, systematically responsible and socially harmonious culture, and physically beautiful and functionally vitalized landscapes." Ecoscape planning integrates green space, blue space (water), and red space (built-up areas)]

-- Challenges and opportunities in preserving open space farmlands in and near cities*: TODD MILLER, Associate Planner, Open Space Division, Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA [An increasing number of cities recognize that remnants of farmlands within their boundaries, as well as nearby farms, provide important benefits to their residents. This paper draws on experience in Albuquerque and elsewhere]

5.  BRIDGING DIVISIONS IN URBAN SOCIETY

How can protected area agencies and their allies reach out to different segments of urban populations? How can bridges be built across divisions in society through shared experiences in nature? 

-- Initiatives in South Africa: Presentation coordinated by GEORGE DAVIS, Urban Conservation Unit, National Botanical Institute, with TANYA GOLDMAN, XOLA MKEFE, and MZWANDILE PETER of NBI; TANIA KATZSCHNER, Impact Assessment Coordinator, Environmental Management Department, City of Cape Town; and ABEDNIGO NZUZA, KwaZulu Natal Branch Manager, Wilderness Foundation of South Africa

-- Britain’s Mosaic Project: Presentation coordinated by JESSICA MEMON, Project Officer, Mosaic Project, and HENRY ADOMAKO, Training and Partnership Development Officer, Black Environment Network, with JUDY LING WONG, Director UK, BEN [The Mosaic Project was set up to encourage ethnic minorities in the UK to access national parks. Mosaic is a partnership of two NGOs, the Black Environment Network and the Council for National Parks.  BEN works in the UK "to enable ethnic communities to access everything that national parks have to offer." BEN "uses the word ‘black’ symbolically recognizing that the black communities are the most visible of all ethnic groups (in Britain). We work with white, black, and other ethnic communities." CNP "promotes the conservation, enhancement, quiet enjoyment, and understanding of the national parks of England and Wales."]

6.  PROTECTED AREA AGENCIES AS ENGINES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

-- Groundwork in Britain and internationally: JOHN DAVIDSON, Chair, Development Education Association, London; Chair, Global Dimension Trust; cofounder and former Chief Executive, Groundwork [Over twenty years ago, Britain’s park agency spawned Groundwork, an NGO partnership organization that works in poor urban areas of the country "to improve the quality of the local environment, the lives of local people, and the success of local businesses." The UK organization now has a budget of over US$ 100 million and is engaged at any time in over 3000 projects. There are also Groundwork projects in Eastern Europe and similar organizations in other countries]

-- Are protected area agencies an engine for sustainable development in South African cities?: Panel arranged by GEORGE DAVIS, Urban Conservation Unit, National Botanical Institute. Included presentations on Cape Peninsula National Park (BRETT MYRDAL, Park Manager); and initiatives by local government in and around Cape Town (TANIA KATZSCHNER and DEAN FERREIRA); the Nelson Mandela Metropole that includes Port Elizabeth (WARRICK STEWART); and the Durban Municipality (DEBRA ROBERTS).

SOCIAL HOUR

Community participation in urban conservation: An informal session sponsored by the National Botanical Institute of South Africa

7.  MAKING PARTNERSHIPS WORK: URBAN INSTITUTIONS AND PROTECTED AREA AGENCIES

In large, complex cities with many competing interests, partnerships and coordinating mechanisms are essential to connecting protected area agencies with urban institutions. Some such initiatives even have long-distance international dimensions. What makes for good partnerships?

-- Cooperating associations in urban settings: The Golden Gate National Recreation Area and its association: BRIAN O’NEILL, General Superintendent, GGNRA, and GREG MOORE, Executive Director, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco, California, USA [Cooperating associations are NGOs dedicated to serving the needs of one or more protected areas. Their functions can include forming and nurturing partnerships with a variety of organizations to raise funds; operate educational programs; recruit, train, and coordinate volunteers; and carry out other activities. The population of the San Francisco Bay Area is 7.3 million]

-- An umbrella metropolitan partnership organization: Chicago Wilderness: LUCY HUTCHERSON, Director of Communications, Chicago Wilderness, Chicago, Illinois, USA [Chicago Wilderness is a coalition of over 160 agencies and NGOs in a metropolitan region of 9.4 million population]

-- Conservation NGOs as leaders for protecting urban nature: The Urban Nature Reserves Project of Aves Argentinas: MARIA VIRGINIA DE FRANCESCO, Aves Argentinas (affiliate of BirdLife International), Buenos Aires, Argentina [The project provides support and advice to urban nature reserves in metropolitan Buenos Aires, population 13.8 million, and other areas of the country] 

-- Metropolitan zoos as international partners for protected areas: Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo and Australia’s Bookmark Biosphere Reserve: PAMELA PARKER, Program Director, Australian Landscape Trust, Renmark, South Australia and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia [The core of the reserve, which is in the state of South Australia, is 335,000 ha of scrubland being restored through an unusual partnership of the zoo, Australia's national government, and local citizens]  

8.  MAKING THE CASE FOR URBAN OUTREACH

Getting decision-makers to give priority to urban outreach can be difficult. Funders increasingly want measurable objectives against which results can be evaluated. This is not easy, because results take place over time and have to do with changing people’s values. The issue of evaluation was raised in the workshop coordinator's introduction to encourage participants to keep it in mind throughout the workshop. In addition, this session examined under-representation of the urban dimension of protected areas in surveys and databases and consequences for funding priorities.

-- What can the protected areas community learn from museums?*: MARTIN STORKSDIECK (Germany), Senior Research Associate, Institute for Learning Innovation, Annapolis, Maryland, USA [Mr. Storcksdieck was unable to attend; paper to be submitted] [Museums have pioneered in sophisticated evaluation of programs aimed at urban populations.  The Institute is a leader in this field and part of a research study on behavioral change involving many natural history and science museums and aquariums]

-- Discussion of evaluation of urban outreach in developing and industrialized countries: Facilitated by DEANNE L. ADAMS, Regional Lead for Interpretation, Pacific West Region, United States National Park Service, with comments by Mark Lellouch

-- Under-representation of urban protected areas in national and international surveys and databases: Brief comments by the workshop coordinator

9.  INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ACTION: THE WAY FORWARD

Led by workshop coordinator Ted Trzyna and John Davidson as chair of the resolutions group

-- Discussion of and action on World Parks Congress draft motion 5.14, "Cities and Protected Areas" 

-- Discussion of ideas for an international program on cities and protected areas

-- Discussion of an event on cities and conservation at IUCN's Third World Conservation Congress (Bangkok 2003) 

WORKSHOP STREAM PLENARY SESSION

Draft recommendation 5.14, "Cities and Protected Areas," as amended in the workshop, was presented by workshop coordinator Ted Trzyna to the closing plenary session of the workshop stream on "Building Broader Support for Protected Areas."  The recommendation was approved unanimously and was later noted as one of some 30 recommendations of the Fifth World Parks Congress (all of which are posted at www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa).   

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