NEWS

31.01.07
IUCN to review its protected areas category system

IUCN - The World Conservation Union will host a summit in May 2007 to review their protected areas categories system. In preparation for the summit, ICMM has submitted a discussion paper as part of its commitment to work with IUCN to improve the system.

The system is used to categorize protected areas around the world depending on the level of protection afforded and the area's purpose (for example wilderness, tourism, recreation or conservation of cultural heritage).

With more than 100,000 parks around the world, there have been inconsistencies in the system's application to date. In 2000, IUCN recommended to governments that they forbid mining and exploration in category I-IV parks, but few countries have implemented this. Changing attitudes to conservation have also driven the need to review the current system.

ICMM Program Director Andrew Parsons said, “As mines are increasingly located in undeveloped, more biodiverse areas, ICMM has a significant interest in a robust protected areas system.”

As the only industry group to have made a made a commitment in regard to protected areas, ICMM has been guaranteed one of the few industry seats at the forthcoming summit.

In 2003, ICMM formally recognized the need for protected areas with a formal position statement on Mining and Protected Areas. In the statement, ICMM company members made a commitment not to mine or explore in World Heritage Sites and to work with IUCN to strengthen its category system.

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