Supplementary Table 2 | Examples of different forms of government ‘retreat’ in support for protected areas. 'Retreat' refers to both the active (removal of protection or permitting of incompatible uses) and passive (failure to appropriate adequate funds or address ongoing threats) actions taken by governments and management agencies that can lead to protected area ineffectiveness and sometimes failure. We found that this decline in support is occurring in both developed and developing countries in every inhabited continent. The examples included are illustrative only and this table is not intended to provide an exhaustive review of government 'retreat' globally. The examples included are documented instances of retreat, many more examples remain poorly documented.
Issue / ExamplesDegazettal or reduction in size of the protected area so it can be opened up for resource use / Australia – Proposed removal of 74,000 hectares from the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage site to open area for industrial logging this year. At the time of publication the proposal is still being considered by the World Heritage Committee11.
Brazil – Between 1981 and 2012, 93 different PADDD events identified, impacting 7.3 million hectares and resulting in the downsizing or degazettal of 5.3 million hectares12.
Cambodia – Boundary changes in 2009 result in a 50% reduction in the amount of breeding habitat included in areas established in 2007 to protect Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis)13.
Canada – 2013 Ministry of Environment planning documents suggest boundaries of 35 protected areas in British Columbia Parks may need to altered to accommodate construction of pipelines, roads, and transmission lines14.
China – Protection removed from 4,986 km2 of the Xilin Gol Grassland Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia to allow for infrastructure development in 2005 (ref. 15).
India – Boundaries of Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary redrawn from 5,729 km2 to 475 km2 in 1998 to allow mining, hydro-electric power, roads and a naval base16.
Oman – 90% of the area of the Arabian Oryx World Heritage site degazetted in 2007 to allow for oil and gas exploration. The action led to the removal of the site from the World Heritage List in 2011. At the time of publication, this is the only natural World Heritage site to be removed from the World Heritage List17,18.
Russia – Significant boundary changes to Yugyd Va National Park and other protected areas within the Virgin Komi World Heritage site adopted in 2010 to allow mining projects to proceed19.
Tanzania – In 2011 the size of the Selous Game Reserve World Heritage Site is reduced in size to allow for uranium mining20.
Uganda – Forest Reserves increasingly re-assigned for commercial use, including excision from Namamve Forest Reserve in 1997 and degazetting of Wabisi–Wajaya Forest Reserve in 2000 ref. 21).
United Kingdom – This year a proposed High Speed rail link threatens to damage or destroy ten nationally protected sites and nine Wildlife Trust reserves22.
United Kingdom – New development plan for Cairngorms National Park announced in 2010 expands development inside the park including plans for the construction of 1,700 houses in four areas23.
Incompatible use permitted within the protected area / Australia – Recent changes over the past three years in the management of terrestrial and marine protected areas allow grazing, hunting, fishing and other incompatible uses within park boundaries 24–27. Examples include the introduction of grazing by cattle in protected areas in Queensland and Victoria; allowing recreational hunting in New South Wales; allowing recreational fishing in marine protected areas in New South Wales and the suspension of management plans for 2.3 million km2 of marine parks in Commonwealth waters and removing fishing controls established by those plans.
Australia – Amendment of Queensland Nature Conservation Act this year permits a wider range of uses by replacing Conservation Park tenure status with less restrictive Regional Park status and by expanding the objective of the Act from “the conservation of nature” to also include “the social, cultural and commercial use of protected areas…”28.
Belize – Petroleum exploration permit approved in 2012 inside Sarstoon Temash National Park, the second largest national park in Belize and a Ramsar listed site29.
Bulgaria – Government removes development restrictions from the management plan of Pirin National Park in 2013, enabling expansion of the skiing footprint inside the park30. This action follows earlier action that legalized prior illegal construction inside the park and enables construction of two new ski areas inside the park.
Cambodia – Government allocates concessions totalling 346,000 hectares inside 23 protected areas in 2012, including allocation of 22% of Boeng Per wildlife sanctuary to rubber companies (10% of the system)31.
Democratic Republic of the Congo – Oil and gas concession issued inside Virunga National Park, and in 2012 government affirms commitment to petroleum exploration inside the park 32,33.
Dominican Republic – Clearing for agricultural development permitted inside the recently newly protected Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve34.
Indonesia – Government issues mining permits inside 481,000 hectaresof national parks and protected areas in 2010 including Batang Gadis National Park, Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park Tangkoko Dua Saudara National Park and Lalobata National Park35.
Japan – Restrictions on drilling eased to allow diagonal drilling inside national parks in 201236.
Papua New Guinea – Expansion of Special Agricultural and Business Leases (SABLs) between 2003-2011 allows logging and industrial agriculture in over 32,000ha in three national parks37.
Romania – President signs ‘ski Romania’ into law in 2008, a national plan to develop tourism that includes plans to develop new or expand existing ski resorts in eight national parks and three nature parks38.
Slovakia – Continued development in the last ten years of ski resorts inside Tatra National Park permitted prior to completion of zoning plan, placing the IUCN class II status at risk39,40.
Turkey – New zoning regulations approved this year allow for increased development inside protected areas, including development of public apartment buildings41.
Uganda – Increased oil exploration and development inside Murchison Falls National Park and other protected areas in the last decade 42,43.
Lack of resources to adequately manage protected area / Australia – Staffing levels at Queensland National Parks significantly reduced this year (113 staff made redundant in 2012-13)44.
Australia – Strategic Assessment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in 2012 finds resources and management for control of coastal development, commercial and recreational fishing, and port management are only partially effective. The report concludes that the health of the reef is declining and management is not keeping pace with cumulative impacts45.
Canada – Recent cuts to Parks Canada budget have reduced conservation spending by 15% and resulted in the loss of 23% of conservation staff and a third of scientific staff46.
Coral Triangle – Only 1% of coral reefs in marine protected areas in the Coral Triangle region (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore) assessed as effectively managed with overfishing and illegal fishing as the most pervasive impact47.
United States of America – Between 2009 and 2013, the US National Parks Service main operational budget for the national parks fell by nearly 13 per cent in inflation adjusted dollars (excluding the supplemental funding provided in response to Hurricane Sandy). The insufficient funding has resulted in National Parks Service deferred maintenance backlog estimated at between $9.03 billion and $13.28 billion48.
West Africa – 2014 review of West African parks managing lion populations finds that half of parks with management plans have no money to implement the plan49
Failure to adequately address ongoing threatening processes / Africa and Asia – Recent rise in criminal organizations involved in illegal trade in and extraction from protected areas — examples include rhinoceros and elephant in Africa and Asia, pangolin, abalone and many other species of wildlife50–53.
Guatemala – Extensive forest loss in Laguna del Tigre National Park along a major drug transportation corridor, including area inside the national park owned by drug traffickers54.
Honduras – Forest loss and active narcotics trade, including runway construction inside a protected area, lead UNESCO to list Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ in 2011 (ref. 54).
Madagascar – Commercial logging inside protected areas following political unrest55.
Nepal – Withdrawal of army posts across Chitwan National Park used to combat poaching results in a sharp increase in loss of Greater One-horned Rhinoceros56.
South Africa – Ongoing illegal harvesting of rock lobster and abalone in Table Mountain National Park57.
United States of America – Unresolved legal loop-holes result in reduced federal oversight on active drilling and mining in 12 protected areas and prospective development in 30 additional park units48.
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