[MUSIC] Globally it's estimated that about 20% of mountain regions are protected in some way, as parks, as reserves or as sanctuaries. Some areas have been selected for protection because of their local value. But others simply because of their remoteness or magnificent scenery and/or their limited opportunities for viable economic development. You might remember from a previous lesson that mountain areas have been the principle focus of the protected area movement since the mid 19th century, that many of the worlds first national parks were in mountains. Regrettably, for much of that early protected area movement, protection often meant that local peoples were largely excluded from national parks. In fact, there's a long global legacy of actually removing indigenous peoples from park lands. Since the 1980s though, there has been increasing recognition that protected areas cannot be managed as islands, separate from their surrounding landscape and that the customary practices of local peoples can be complimentary and even enhance conservation goals. Here's how the International Union for Conservation of Nature defines protected areas. >> An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance pf biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. >> Many of the reasons for protected area status of mountains includes characteristics that we've discussed earlier in the course. For example, recall that mountains are the headwaters of valuable surface water resources, that mountain biota have to cope with considerable environmental stresses at the best of times. They are particularly vulnerable to climate change. In many places, mountains are the last refuge for rare plants and animals eliminated from the surrounding lowlands. Mountains are also dynamic in changing landscapes where volcanism, uplift, erosion, glacial outbursts, seismic activity and avalanches all contribute to significant and rapid alterations in topography, vegetation and land use. In this context, mountains offer great possibilities for research and for monitoring environmental change. And as we've just been discussing, people use and often cherish mountain places. And the high concentration of tourism, recreation and movement in confined valley corridors demands a proactive policy and management approach to avoid overcrowding and degradation. Finally, in many parts of the world, mountain ranges form national boundaries and offer opportunities for the establishment of international conservation areas, peace parks, and cooperative international action. This perspective of mountains as transnational boundaries is worth exploring further. Ecosystems, species, and natural processes don't stop at state borders. And the environmental impacts of human activities in one country inevitably influences others. The modern concept of a transboundary peace park originated in the 1924 Krakow Protocol, which aimed to resolve a lingering postwar boundary dispute between Poland and the former Czechoslovakia. The Tatra range contains the highest peaks in the Carpathian Mountains and is protected by neighboring national parks in Slovakia and Poland. Both Slovak and Polish scientists, writers, and artists had long recognized the Tatras as a significant respective national landscape and that these alpine areas are biologically diverse. In 1992, the two parks became a UNESCO biosphere reserve under bi-national Polish-Slovak management. Trans-boundary co-operation has included issues such as wildlife conservation and tourism. Another very early example of a transboundary peace park is one that's closer to home here in Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park. Let's join David as he chats with the superintendent of Waterton Lakes National Park, Ifan Thomas. Here we are at Two Flags Lookout in Waterton Lakes National Park, and I'm really pleased to be joined by Ifan Thomas, the superintendent of Waterton Lakes National Park. Now, Waterton is a very special place, it was the fourth national park that was created in the Canadian National Park System. >> That's correct. It was created in 1895. And the interesting thing about Waterton is it was created as a result of advocacy work by local ranchers. Adjacent to the park here, many of the families that still ranch adjacent to the park are the descendants of people who advocated for the park and they wanted the park established because they wanted the area conserved but they also wanted a recreational area, so it's an interesting history in terms of the establishment of the park. There's a village in Waterton, it's one of five villages in national parks and that's one of the primary draws for the park. But the park is also famous for wildlife viewing and for hiking. And, of course, the two lakes that people can boat on and that draws people from all over. >> So Waterton has a very unique relationship with a sister park right across the border in the United States, Glacier National Park, that was created about the same time. >> Yeah, it was created a couple years later. The two parks make up the world's first international peace park, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. And the Peace Park was established as a result of work on both sides of the border by rotary clubs advocating for this designation with their respective governments. And the Peace Park designation was established in the 1930s. And since that time, both because of that designation but also because of the reality of the two parks being adjacent to each other, the two park services have worked together more and more on shared issues related to the management of the two parks. >> So can you give me some examples of the types of activities where this cooperation and this relationship is strong? >> Yeah I would say it's in the last 20 or 30 years where we've really seen that unfold in measurable ways. An example of that is work that we've done that relates to grizzly bear research. We've done population studies of the grizzly bear population in this part of the continent. It's considered a healthy population, and there's lots of questions about why that is the case, so we're going to convened with other agencies that's helped us better understand that. And then we also have worked together recently on dealing with fire issues. Last summer, in 2015, Parks Canada responded to a fire near the Waterton border that occurred in Glacier National Park, the US National Park service wasn't able to respond because of other fire demands and we were able to move in and respond to that fire and deal with it. >> So, the two parks, they don't exist in isolation, they're part of a larger Crown of the Continent initiative that involves all of the agencies adjacent to the parks, as well. >> Yeah, the two parks are at the core of the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, which is a 70-some thousand kilometer geographic area. It's regarded as one of the most diverse, ecologically diverse areas within the continent and as I said, the two parks are at the center of it. And the Province of Alberta, the State of Montana, and sometimes the Province of British Columbia, join that group in terms of dealing with initiatives that we all share, or objectives that we all share. >> So this shared border between the two parks, Glacier and Waterton must be really interesting for visitors that come and want to experience this place. >> It's one of the rich aspects of the visit to the Peace Park absolutely. Canadian park staff often go to the United States and offer an interpreter programing for their guest, and similarly the U.S. rangers will come to Waterton throughout the busy season and offer programing for Canadian guests. We also have, one of the most popular guided hikes that we offer, is a joint hike led by a Canadian staff member and a U.S. ranger down Waterton Lakes and that goes throughout the summer. >> Of course you also have a relationship with the aboriginal communities that have lived here for a very long time, both in the United States and in Canada. >> That's correct. So it's the Blackfoot Confederacy that we work with most closely. In Canada we have the Pekani and the Kanai, and in the United States the South Pekani or the Blackfeet. Parks Canada works with the Pekani and the Kanai, recently we've negotiated agreements where their members can get access to the park and that's sort of to respect the traditional connection they've had to the park. But we've also been working with them in terms of better presenting to the broader visiting public their connection to their landscape in terms of traditional place names, and also how we can enrich the interpretation of the park, specifically with regards to their connections with to this place. And the US National Park Service has also been advancing those objectives. >> The increased recognition globally of the importance of transboundary mountains is evidenced by several recent developments. Let's consider four examples, each from a different continent. The Alpine Convention in the European Alps, the Albertine Rift Valley in East Africa, The Great Altay Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in Asia, and the St Elias Mountains in North America. Let's start in Europe. The 1991 Alpine Convention was an international treaty between the group of countries that border the Alps, as well as the European Union for ensuring the sustainable development and the protection of the Alps. The Alps are the natural, cultural, living and economic environment for nearly 14 million people and provide essential ecosystem services for much of low land Europe, including things like water and food. They're also a destination for approximately 120 million tourists every year. The geographic area of the Alpine Convention covers over 190,000 square kilometers. Under the convention, member states have adopted specific measures in several thematic areas including, population and culture, air pollution, soil conservation, water management, conservation of nature and the countryside, mountain farming, tourism and energy. The Alpine Convention recognized that the transboundary Alps were one of the largest, continual natural spaces in Europe. More than 20% of the Alpine area consists of national parks and other protected areas. These areas are home to remarkable biodiversity but the preservation of nature in the Alps must also consider cultural landscapes. The Alpine Convention provided a commitment by all of Europe to adopt measures to protect, care for and restore ecosystems as well as to preserve the natural living environments of wild animal and plant species. The Albertine Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, is one of the most biodiverse region in the African continent. With more than half of Africa's birds, 40% of Africa's mammals, 20% of it's amphibians and plants, it contains more vertebrate species than anywhere else on the continent. It also conserves more threatened and endemic species than any other region in Africa and as a result, is a biodiversity hot spot. The region is perhaps best known as the home of the mountain gorilla. The human population density in the Albertine Rift is very high, with over 1,000 people per square kilometer in some areas and these are some of the poorest people on the continent. It also has been a region of great conflict over the past 40 years with civil wars in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This combination of high human population density, high levels of poverty, conflict, and high biodiversity means that there are many challenges for conservation. The Albertine Rift Conservation Program was established in 2000 by the Wildlife Conservation Society in collaboration with the National Parks and Protected Area Authorities in all five countries, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and the DRC. Many other international conservation organizations are involved as well. In Asia, mountains have formed boundaries and frontiers between peoples and states for millennia. For example, the Altay mountains span the modern borders of four countries, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China and are one of the really unique landscapes of central Asia. The area include steppes, mountain lakes, forests, and high peaks. It's an area of international importance for biodiversity, supporting a number of globally threatened species including the snow leopard. The main challenge to conservation in this region is the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, the unregulated expansion of tourism, and climate change. In 2011, the Kazakh and Russian governments agreed to the designation of a transboundary reserve centered on two existing protected areas, the Katunsky Biosphere Reserve in Russia and the Katon-Karagayski National Park in Kazakhstan. There are been several transboundary cooperation initiatives that focus on economic, natural conservation and cultural identity within the great Altay Transboundary Biosphere Reserve. Finally let's return to North America and consider the largest internationally protected area on the planet outside of Antarctica, the Kluane National Park, Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park is an international park system located in Canada and the United States at the border of the Yukon, Alaska, and British Columbia. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 for its spectacular high mountains, its vast glaciated landscape as well as for the importance of grizzly bear, caribou, and Dall sheep habitat. The total area of the site is over 132,000 square kilometers. The entire region is tectonically active with continuous mountain building processes occurring and some of the world's largest and longest glaciers, several of which stretch to the Pacific Ocean. The Tatshenshini and Alsek River valleys allow ice free linkages from the coast to the interior for plant and animal migration. And this is one of the very few places left in the world where human impacts are limited or ecological and evolutionary process are shaped mostly by the environment. So you can see that preservation areas take many forms in the mountains around the world. These are no longer places that exclude people, but places that find ways to balance the various and often conflicting demands on the landscape. Let's take a closer look at how one parks agency, Parks Canada, manages this seemingly dual mandate in use and preservation in mountains. The tension between use and preservation in protected mountain areas is a long history. Indeed in several of Canada's mountain national parks, cottage lots and golf courses, commercial activities existed at the point of parks creation and they continue to exist today. Canada established the first National Park Service in the world in 1911. Parks Canada, the agency responsible for managing national parks and historic sites in Canada has been a world leader in the protection and presentation of natural and cultural places. Here's Park Canada's mandate. >> To protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's natural and cultural heritage and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations. >> Achieving this mandate requires the careful integration of environmental, economic, and social factors by meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations. It's a challenging job, but this is the essence of sustainable development. In the next section, we'll look at some of the ways that it's possible to integrate use and preservation.
