Okay. The next thing we're going to address within primate conservation, is not so much a threat to primates, but a way to help actually protect primates. We're going to be looking at protected areas. We'll start off with a definition of what a protected area is. We'll go through the entire protected area network and discuss all the variations on the theme. We will point out where some of these protected areas are and how you can find some of them. Discuss some key figures, and some important information about it and then wrap up with a little bit of discussion about climate, and climate change within the areas. We'll start off with the definition, provided by the IUCN. Which is, a clearly define geographic space, recognized, dedicated, and managed through legal or other effective means to achieve the long-term conservation of nature, with associated ecosystem services and cultural values. A ton is packed into that particular statement, but it's just showing what they're trying to accomplish within these spaces. If you think about the United States, we have a variety of these as well. We've got national forests, we've got national parks, we've got wilderness areas, we've got recreation areas, we have national monuments. All these things have a different purpose, and a different function. It stands to reason that across the world, there's also going to be some of these variations depending on what they're trying to accomplish. Within the protected area network system, the first thing that we're going to have is a strict nature reserve. The definition for this is a strictly protected for biodiversity and also possibly geomorphological features where human visitation, use, and impacts are controlled and limited to ensure protection of conservation values. A very, very important, very dedicated area where they really try to make certain that the goal is to protect to the conservation aspects, of the area. Wilderness areas in the United States, these are generally the most restrictive, and the most protected areas. It's usually a large, unmodified, or slightly modified area, retaining their natural character and influence without permanent or significant human habitation, protected and managed to preserve their natural condition. National parks. Large natural or near natural areas, protecting large-scale ecological processes with characteristic species and ecosystems which also have environmentally and culturally compatible, spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational, and visitor opportunities. If nothing else this level where, we're starting to protect larger areas, generally there'll be some charismatic megafauna. For Cat Tien, they talk about crocodiles, they talk about the gibbons, they talk about black-shanked doucs. If we look at, say, Rocky Mountain National Park, you have thousands of people going there every single year, actually tens of thousands, to go see the elk migrate through the area, so a big national park. National monument or feature. Areas set aside to protect the specific natural monument, which can be a landform, seamount, a marine cavern, geological features such as a cave, or a living feature, such as an ancient growth. A specific thing that is being protected in that area. Four, habitat or species management area. Areas to protect particular species or habitats, where management reflects this priority. Many will need regular active interventions, to meet the needs of particular species, or habitats. But this is not a requirement to the category. We'll talk about more addressing Vietnam more specifically some Tonkin snub-nosed monkey species management area. A great form of protection for many of the areas that didn't have it before, where you really are focusing on that habitat or species. Protected landscape or seascape. Interaction of people and nature over time has produced a distinct character with significant ecological, biological, cultural, and scenic value. You're safeguarding the integrity of this interaction, and it's vital to protecting and sustaining the area, and it's associated nature conservation, and other values. Then the last one is protected areas with sustainable use of natural resources. So areas which can serve ecosystems together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems. They're generally large, mainly in a natural condition and with a proportion under sustainable natural resource management. Where low-level non-industrial natural resource use compatible with nature conservation is seen as one of the main aims. Again, here we've got this great fantastic spectrum from a very strictly preserved area to an area that normally has conservation value, but it also has a sustainable use of natural resources when it does. Here we have a map of protected areas of the world. In green are the terrestrial protected areas. Again, through that good area of primate habitat, we also have marine and coastal protected areas. That's something that I don't know enough about, but I would love to learn more about and get a little bit more involved with a lot of these because we really do have this great interplay of these systems. The world database on protected areas. So this was just a fun database where you can search through various areas and you can go ahead and you can plug in areas, zoom in and out, and get a sense of what are some of these protected areas on there. As I mentioned, just did a couple of brief searches. First of all, was Rocky Mountain National Park in United States of America. So area very close to me, but wanted to just go through and take and see what kind of information they had about it. So some interesting information you can definitely fine-tune more information out of them, but it was neat to just plug that in. Additionally, I was like, let's check the other place, which is Cat Tien National Park. Immediately, this came up and there is again, more information on the website, but definitely take a moment and check it out. You need to see if you're going to be going to a different area, a different country, possibly you can see what protected areas are available. Changing gears for a second, wanted to go ahead and discuss a particular individual. This is Dr. Russ Mittermeier, I pulled this off of his Twitter feed. But primate watching and primate listing since 1970. "Conserve primates by becoming a Primate Ecotourists, encouraging communities to save primates and forests. Join me". So he was the former president of Conservation International, he is currently the Chief Conservation Officer for Global \Wildlife Conservation, and is the chairman of the IUCN, World Conservation Union Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group. So when we dig into the 25 top endangered primates, this is a very pivotal figure for that. But he also touches on this a little bit in this primate watching and primate listing. So he encourages people to go out and go to these protected areas, go to these wild areas and look for primates. So this idea of primates watching as conservation in action. Think of it as boots on the ground. You're bringing value and you're bringing in many instances, dollars to these particular areas as a tourist to show that is an important feature. So it's not only the preservation of the animals themselves, in the conservation of the animals themselves, but it's showing that there is a direct value to it. Through his work with primates since the early '70s he noted the following should be done to stem the extinction of endangered primates. Number 1, protecting areas for particularly endangered and vulnerable species. Setting aside these protected areas and then creating these large national parks and reserves in areas of high primate diversity or abundance. Additionally, maintaining parks and reserves that already exist and enforcing protective legislation in them. Do not forget illegal trade outside of protected areas. So it sounds a little bit simplistic, but it's one of those, "Okay we've got these protected areas. Let's go ahead and certainly we maintain them. Then also that we're enforcing the rules that are helping to protect those animals inside the park and the park itself. Creating public awareness of the need for primate conservation and the importance of primates as both a national heritage and a resource. In many of these primate habitat countries, these are the only areas where primates live. There's an old story and conservation is working in Madagascar and studying the lemurs there. It was one of those, "Why do you keep coming back to Madagascar? Why do you keep coming here to watch the lemurs? Why don't you just go home and watch your own lemurs?" Having to explain or having the opportunity to explain that this is the only place in a world where these animals exist. It's a great opportunity to come here and work with them and work with you to help protect them. It then becomes a source of national pride that this is the only place in the world where these animals exist. Determining ways in which people and other primates can co-exist in multiple use areas. As we've talked about, as humans expand out and is forced contract, we're starting to have these greater levels of interface. Areas where we are going to becoming in greater contact with wild animals. We've seen disease transmission through there, we've seen conflict arise through crop rating and through other issues there, but it's one of those we need to figure out as we continue to expand across how we can really start to coexist in these areas. Then just very, very briefly, but wanting to touch base on some of the ideas of protected areas and climate change. First and foremost, by setting a protected areas, it becomes a dual line or dual function. It is a line of defense for biodiversity loss. So protecting the forests, protecting the plants, protecting the animals, insects, everything else that exist within that forest. But you also are helping to prevent climate change. You're forming a structure that'll help preserve some of this naturalistic area. Protected areas currently hold 12 percent of terrestrial carbon stocks. So this is or carbon sinks of carbon emissions. The forests do a very good job of holding and protecting and keeping that carbon from being released into the atmosphere to help with global warming. Their some research on other areas outside of the protected areas and on marine reserves, but I haven't seen really good data on that right this minute. But think of it as a way to help hold that carbon and protect that area. Why did they bring up this idea that protected areas helps society cope with climate change impacts by reducing risks? Really, it's effectively managed. Protected areas safeguard biodiversity, and both the terrestrial and marine realms, and really helps society cope with climate change impacts by reducing risks associated with climate-related hazards. They also maintain the essential ecosystem services upon which the health and livelihoods people depend. So if we're talking about maintaining fisheries or if we're talking about maintaining marine reserves, if people are on the coast and fishing is how they make their living, then protecting those areas is going to help protect the livelihoods of people. I'd mentioned the Mekong River and allow the damning projects that go on through that. In Cambodia, a very, very large lake right in the north of it is called Tonle Sap. This is a major fishery reserve that feeds millions of people. It's seasonal as the Mekong is, so it expands and contracts. But as more and more damning occurs, there's more damage that's happening to this very, very important livelihood area. Then there's the last statement on it that protected areas are also at risk of climate change. So they themselves are at risk, requiring managers to take action to increase the resilience of these areas. So there's a lot of work that's being done in order to help these protected areas. I mean, as climate is changing and as weather patterns are changing through areas, these protected areas are finding that they themselves are running into some of these issues of resilience. So really interesting topics and interesting things that are going on to help not only conserve primates, but help conserve the ecosystems that they live. That wraps up all of the threat assessments. We'll be moving into our next module, where we're going to start digging into the 25 top endangered primates.
