wise use of mires and peatlands - Peatland Ecology Research Group
wise use of mires and peatlands - Peatland Ecology Research Group
wise use of mires and peatlands - Peatland Ecology Research Group
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
86 VALUES AND FUCTIONS OF MIRES AND PEATLANDSMire/peatl<strong>and</strong> reserve Number (‘000)Burns Bog (Canada) 238 50Everglades NP (USA) 239 1 141Kushiro Shitsugen NP (Japan) 240 740Exmoor NP (UK) 241 220Snowdonia NP (UK) 242 6 600North York Moors NP (United Kingdom) 243 9 500Peatl<strong>and</strong>s Park (Northern Irel<strong>and</strong>) 244 80Connemara National Park (Irel<strong>and</strong>) 78The Broads (United Kingdom) 245 3 000Groote Peel NP (Netherl<strong>and</strong>s) 246 165Spreewald Biosphere Reserve (Germany) 247 4 000Hautes Fagnes (Belgium) 248 350Miscou Isl<strong>and</strong> (New Brunswick) 249 6Table 3/19: Annual number (mostly in visitor days) <strong>of</strong> recreational visitors in selected mire/peatl<strong>and</strong> nature reservesHerons 265 , Pelicans 266 , Larks 267 , the CommonLoon (Gavia immer) 268 , <strong>and</strong> the Blue Iris (Irisversicolor) 269 .Spirituality functions involve an entity’s rolein religion <strong>and</strong> spirituality. In former times,<strong>mires</strong> were seen as mysterious <strong>and</strong> played animportant role in religion <strong>and</strong> spirituality. Thisis illustrated by the sacrifices, which tookplace from the Neolithic age to the middleages, that are found in peatl<strong>and</strong>s 270 . Many <strong>of</strong>these were <strong>of</strong> precious goods or even <strong>of</strong>human beings.Nowadays, existence functions, providingthe notion <strong>of</strong> ecological <strong>and</strong> evolutionaryconnection, that we share this world withother entities with which we are related <strong>and</strong>for which we have a responsibility, are aconsiderable motive for natureconservation 271 . The “naturalness” <strong>of</strong> <strong>mires</strong>is a major source <strong>of</strong> interest, as <strong>mires</strong> <strong>of</strong>tenconstitute the last terrestrial wildernesses,regionally <strong>and</strong> also globally 272 . Thesignificance <strong>of</strong> such existence functions isillustrated by the widespread support forefforts to conserve species <strong>and</strong> ecosystemsin other parts <strong>of</strong> the world, i.e. which most <strong>of</strong>those who support their preservation maynever see in practice 273 .(u) Signalisation <strong>and</strong> cognition functionsThe cognition functions <strong>of</strong> <strong>mires</strong> <strong>and</strong>peatl<strong>and</strong>s are their functions in providingopportunities for the development <strong>of</strong>knowledge <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing. One <strong>of</strong> thecharacteristic qualities <strong>of</strong> human beings istheir curiosity 274 <strong>and</strong> the consequent pursuit<strong>of</strong> knowledge. Identifying, classifying <strong>and</strong>underst<strong>and</strong>ing patterns <strong>and</strong> processes innature <strong>of</strong>fers people a challenging <strong>and</strong>accessible means <strong>of</strong> developing intellectualcapacities, including knowledge,computation, application, analysis, synthesis<strong>and</strong> evaluation 275 . Mires provide special,even unique, forms <strong>of</strong> information 276 . Theyconstitute ecosystems with an incomplete
Change language