6 natural and or human made water bodies that are flooded with fresh brackish or
salt water including marine waters whose depth is not more than six meter during low tide and are located within wetlands. Commonly know that two types of
wetlands, natural and artificial. Natural wetlands consist of mangrove, peat swamp, freshwater swamp, sea-grass, coral reefs and lakes, while artificial
wetlands are paddy field, fishpond and freshwater pond.
2.2 National Park
A national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, animal
and environmental protection and restricted from most development. In 1969 the IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
declared a national park to be a relatively large area with particular defining characteristics.
A national park was deemed to be a place:
•
with one or several ecosystems not materially altered by human exploitation and occupation, where plant and animal species,
geomorphological sites and habitats are of special scientific, educative and recreative interest or which contain a natural landscape of great beauty.
•
the highest competent authority of the country has taken steps to prevent or eliminate as soon as possible exploitation or occupation in the whole
area and to enforce effectively the respect of ecological, geomorphological or aesthetic features which have led to its establishment.
•
visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative, cultural and recreative purposes.
In 1971 those criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. These include:
•
a minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes precedence
•
statutory legal protection
•
a budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection
•
prohibition of exploitation of natural resources including the development of dams qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for
management, facilities, etc.
7
2.3 Socio-Economic Factors
Pressures on forests, included high population growth rates, has increased demands on land for farms, particularly in industrial enterprise based on natural
resources such as timber and pulp industry while in developing countries demands on fuel wood and charcoal is recognized as the most timber cutting. Piecemeal
forest removal has also fragmented forest regions, which has a disproportionate effect on species diversity by limiting the ecosystems ability to recover from
catastrophes such as fires and reducing species mobility. Complex socio economic pressure has caused degradation of ecosystems.
Deforestation has multiple causes with the particular mix of causes varying from place to place. Kaimowitz Angelsen 1998 revised several models of
deforestation; i direct agents and the underlying causes. Physical environment, agricultural price, timber price, wages and off farm employment, agricultural
input price, technology, accessibility, property regime and strategic behavior are part of the direct agents. However, choices between the conservation and
restoration of ecosystems and the continuation and expansion of human activities have to be made in the recognition of conflicts between the expansion of certain
human activities and the continued provision of valued ecosystem goods and services. In making these choices, the economic values of ecosystem goods and
services should be assessed and compared with the economic values of activities that may compromise them.
Human activities are the proximate direct affect the environment and thus constitute proximate sources of changes Turner et al, 1990. Interms the change
in land cover as biophysical attributes of the earth’s surface and land use as human purpose or intends applied activities that directly alter the physical
environment. It might be interpreted as more immediate, direct factors, which originate from land use and directly impact upon forest cover. Land cover changes
create conversion of forest to other cover types, with further environmental consequences that may ultimately feedback to affect land use.
Mangrove swamps, sea-grass beds, salt marshes and coral reefs are all examples of marine and coastal environments which are very important in
sustaining human life, but which are in serious decline at global level. Human
8 have damaged wetlands by damming and canalizing rivers, converting floodplains
to aquaculture, planting trees on bogs area that must be prevented from progressing, draining marshes for agriculture, forestry and urban development
instead leaved it as originate for waterlogged area. Historically, agricultural activities has taken places as one of the most caused of damaged on wetlands
including traditional wet pastures, drained to provided croplands.
2.4 Biosphere Reserve Concept
