¿What are they ?
They are terrestrial or marine natural areas (ecosystems) that have been minimally altered or disturbed by human activity and are protected by some legal or political mechanism.
¿What purpose do they serve?
They serve as a conservation tool that protects species, ecosystems and ecological processes from human impact.
¿Why Protect?
There are many reasons to protect natural areas: ethical, aesthetic, ecological, economic, spiritual and historic reasons, among others. Protected areas sustain important ecological processes and conserve a huge diversity of floral and faunal species, provide protection to springs that supply water and recreational opportunities for tourism.
In Mexico there are protected areas under federal, state, community and private management.
¿What is their origin ?
The first protected natural areas were first created at the end of the 19 th and beginning of the 20 th centuries for aesthetic reasons, recreation or to protect water sources. The rationales for creation were basically human-centered. The Desert of Lions and El Chico National Park vie for the title of the first protected area, created at the end of the 1800s. In the United States , the first national park, Yellowstone , was created in 1872.
The majority has been decreed by the federal government, but recently state governments, communities and ejidos have created their own protected natural areas.
¿Who is responsible for their administration ?
Currently in Mexico , national protected areas are administered by the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas, known as CONANP.
¿How many are there ?
There are 154 protected areas in the national system, consisting of 18,700,000 hectares (187,000 km 2 ) in seven classes of protection (Table 1).
Table 1.
Number of protected areas, classification and extent (CONANP)
| Number |
Category |
Extent in hectares |
| 35 |
Biosphere Reserves |
10,956,505 |
| 28 |
Protected Areas for Flora and Fauna |
6,073,127 |
| 67 |
National Parks |
1,456,988 |
| 1 |
Undesignated |
186,734 |
| 2 |
Protected Areas for Natural Resources |
39,724 |
| 4 |
Natural Monuments |
14,093 |
| 17 |
Sanctuaries |
689 |
| 154 |
Total |
18,727,860 |
The categories with the greatest designated land areas are the Biosphere Reserves, Protected Areas for Flora and Fauna and National Parks.
In the world
At the global level, there exists a World Commission on Protected Areas, an entity within the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Founded in 1948, the IUCN is a conservation network of national governments, non-governmental organizations and scientists. The IUCN recognizes six categories of protected areas according to specific management objectives:
I. Strict nature reserves
II. National parks
III. Natural monuments
IV. Areas managed for species and habitats
V. Terrestrial or marine scenic areas
VI. Areas with protected managed resources.
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