conserving important plant areas: investing - Plantlife

Section II: Important Plant Area identification and data analysis
Grazing livestock as here in Kotel, East
Bulgaria is crucial for maintaining high
diversity grassland.
KOEN DE RIJCK WWF/DCP
24
Ownership and land use
61% of IPAs are currently owned (at least in some part) by the state in the project
countries, 53% have some private ownership and 43% have an ownership that involves
municipalities. Other significant ownership categories are communal and ‘other’. Five
IPAs are owned by conservation organisations.
Forestry, livestock centred agriculture and tourism are the three predominant land uses
on IPAs in the project countries. Forestry where it occurs often takes place on over
50% of each IPA. Nature conservation and research activities are also significant,
reflecting the high percentage of sites under some sort of protective area mechanism
and thus frequently the subject of ongoing research.
No. of IP As
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
forestry
tourism/recreation
agriculture (animals)
nature conservation
Fig. 5.Top ten land uses at IPAs and their extent in SEE project countries
Further information on land use within the SEE project countries can be found in the
table overleaf and in the country sections from page 27
hunting
agriculture (mixed)
agriculture (arable)
unknown
urban/industrial/transport
49% or 'major' cover
100% cover
fisheries/aquaculture
water management
CONSERVING IMPORTANT PLANT AREAS: INVESTING IN THE GREEN GOLD OF SOUTH EAST EUROPE