1973 iucn yearbook

proposed Volcan Baru National Park in western Panama, to survey the
potential attractions of the area and to make preliminary management
suggestions was published as IUCN Occasional Paper No. 6.
Lake Nakuru - Kenya. WWF made a special fund-raising drive to enable
land around Lake Nakuru to be added to the Lake Nakuru National
Park. This has enabled consolidation of the shore area into the park,
which is the habitat for very large numbers of flamingoes. Further
attention has been given to control pollution which is regarded as a
threat to the lake ecosystem.
Study of potential protected areas in Costa Rica. A team of scientists
from the Tropical Science Center, San Jose, working in collaboration
with the local Department of National Parks, has examined possible
sites for national parks and reserves in Costa Rica as the basis for
governmental action. Project assistance was given to the Costa Rica
National Park Service in the development plans for the Santa Rosa
National Park.
Empakaai Crater – Tanzania. Areas around the caldera of Empakaai
which are in immediate need of protection have been selected as a result
of a survey by George W. Frame and Lory H. Frame.
A system for defining and classifying natural regions
The project, reported on at length in the 1972 Yearbook, covers development
of a system of classification of biotic communities needed for
determination of priorities in the establishment of natural reserves and
the development of programmes for conservation of biota. Such a
system is important for use in UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere
Programme, particularly Project 8.
Considerable progress was made during the year by the working
group of specialists associated with the Commission on Ecology, with
Raymond F. Dasmann as coordinator. A progress report on defining
and mapping the biotic provinces of the world was prepared and published
as IUCN Occasional Paper No. 7.
Action was taken to develop a vegetation classification system compatible
with the biotic province classification. This vegetation classification
system is a modified version of the UNESCO world vegetation
classification, prepared to fit requirements for use in various inventories
that IUCN is now carrying out. This revised classification system was
published as IUCN Occasional Paper No. 5.
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