Researchers compiled data spanning from 1995 to 2010 from 12,315 protected areas (PAs) across 152 countries to investigate the ability of PAs to reduce anthropogenic pressure and to determine how this ability varies with socioeconomic circumstances, and found that compared with unprotected areas, on average, PAs in temperate and forested regions have slowed anthropogenic pressure; the authors also found that countries with high socioeconomic development experienced lower rates of anthropogenic pressure increase within PAs compared with unprotected areas, indicating the importance of providing resources to decrease human pressure when establishing PAs.
Article #19-08221: "A global-level assessment of the effectiveness of protected areas at resisting anthropogenic pressures," by Jonas Geldmann, Andrea Manica, Neil D. Burgess, Lauren Coad, and Andrew Balmford.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jonas Geldmann, University of Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44-7412885112, +45-29905192; email: jg794@cam.ac.uk
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences