Usar p⁄gs xvii-134 - ResearchGate

TABLE 2Forest Change in the Llanos, 1825-1988Period% Forest change1825-1950 +116.81950-1975 -32.51975-1988 -45.3Sources: J.P. Veillon, “Las deforestaciones en los LlanosOccidentales de Venezuela desde 1950 hasta 1975,” in L. Hamiltonet al., Conservación de los Bosques Húmedos de Venezuela(Caracas, Venezuela: Sierra Club, Consejo de Bienestar Rural,1977); A. Catalán, El Proceso de Deforestación en Venezuela entre1975-1988 (Caracas, Venezuela: MARNR, 1989).Between 1975 and 1988, more than a third of all forests north of the Orinoco River were convertedprimarily for agricultural uses. Two of the most critical areas affected were the area south ofMaracaibo Lake (loss of 90 percent of forests) and the llanos (loss of 45 percent of forests). 23According to the Venezuelan government, deforestation has five principle causes: expansion of theagricultural frontier, illegal logging in natural forests, permanent settlement of forest areas designatedfor forestry, poorly planned mining, and forest fires. 24• QUESTION 2What is the status of protected areas in Venezuela’s forestsand in the Guayana region specifically?Venezuela has an extensive protected areas network, but not all forest ecosystems are equally protected.Designated as “Areas Under Special Administration” (ABRAE), protected areas in Venezuela aremanaged for specific purposes according to special laws. National legislation defines twenty-fivecategories of ABRAE, with management objectives ranging from strict protection of natural ecosystemsto use of natural resources. As of August 2001, 362 ABRAE had been established, representingapproximately 46 percent of the national territory (for total area by category see Annex 1). 25Map 4 shows Venezuela’s strictly protected areas, defined in this study as national parks, naturalmonuments, and wildlife refuges. Analysis of protected area data shows the following trends:• Depending on how the land area allocated for protected areas is measured (see Figure 3 andBox 2), between 17 and 32 percent of Venezuela’s forests are strictly protected in these categories,demonstrating the country’s commitment to conservation of its natural heritage. 26• Of the country’s forest types, lowland forests are the least well-protected. Assuming that 32percent of the nation’s forests are strictly protected, only 20 percent of lowland forests arestrictly protected (see Figure 3), even though they make up more than 60 percent of thenation’s forests.16