Protected Area Network in Orissa - Vasundhara

initiatives has been reinforced in the countries planning for implementation ofConvention on biodiversity.What should be included in PA?A Protected Area should provide year round protection for (IUCN, 1990)i) Nature and modified ecosystems that are essential to maintain life supportsystem, to conserve wildlife and researchii) Culturally important landscapes of modified and cultivated ecosystems andhistoric monuments in built systemsiii) Sustainable production of wild resources in modified ecosystems andiv) Traditional sustainable uses of natural and modified ecosystems, such assacred places and traditional sites.How PAs contribute to human activities?1. Conserve soil and water in zones that are potentially highly erosive if theoriginal vegetation is removed, notably the steep slopes of the upper catchment;2. Regulate and purify water flow, notably by protecting wetlands and forests;3. Protect people from natural disasters, such as flood and storm surges, notableby protecting watershed forests, riverain wetlands, coral reefs and other coastalwetlands;4. Support important natural vegetation on soils and inherently low productivitythat would yield of human communities if transformed;5. Provide for the maintenance of wild genetic resources or of species important inmedicine;6. Protect species and population that are highly sensitive to human disturbance;7. Maintain species that enhance the attractiveness of the landscape or the vitalityof the PAs; and8. Provide habitat that is critical to harvested, migratory or threatened species forbreeding, feeding or nesting (IUCN, 1990)14