Managing wilderness

Non-intervention management as a practical tool of wilderness management

Non-intervention is an important
approach (Rila NP)

Protecting wilderness requires special approaches of conservation and protected area management. One important approach in this concept is non-intervention management, however, it is a very complex and challenging  issue in the European context. It is, at present, considered by a relatively small number of wild and wilderness area managers as the fundamental management tool. However, growing knowledge and use of non-intervention management, is proving the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach. The use of this tool is particularly important as wilderness protection focuses on preserving ecosystem dynamics i.e. the cycle of natural processes running the ecosystem.

’To do nothing’ is not the correct interpretation of non-intervention management as it obviously excludes management measures in the field, but puts much more emphasis on other extremely important ’supporting’ activities such as interpretation and education, community work, research, monitoring or lobbying. This way of management should be actively planned and included in any management plan of a wilderness protected area. Experience has proven that non-intervention management is not only a legitimate approach, but it is also cheaper and more effective in managing protected areas where the main objectives are ecosystem dynamics and wilderness protection. This type of management approach, just like any other method, should be actively planned and included in the management plan of any protected area.

Wilderness Restoration

Another approach applied in wilderness protection is the implementation of active wilderness restoration measures. These measures can include the re-introduction of extinct species or the removal of non-native species or removal of human infrastructure. The objective of wilderness restoration should not, however, hurt the basic philosophy, promoting natural processes.

The IUCN protected area categories are primarily applied with respect to management objectives. They also relate to the aims of management rather than the current status, so several categories can be subject to wilderness restoration. However, wilderness restoration is not usually appropriate for an area that will require indefinite active management interventions to maintain certain specifically defined biodiversity values.

Wilderness restoration can be a time-limited intervention to undo past damage while, in others, changes have been so profound that continued, long-term intervention will be needed: this is often true if some ecological components, such as important species, have disappeared. Some ongoing intervention such as control of invasive species and prescribed burning in habitats under certain conditions, may be necessary.

Monitoring

Wildernesses offer opportunity for
monitoring natural processes
(Fulufjället NP)

Another important activity of a management authority of a wilderness area is regular monitoring of the status of habitats and species. Besides monitoring species status and behaviour in response to non-intervention, the wilderness areas offer an excellent opportunity for monitoring natural processes, including the effects of natural events and disturbances. Monitoring programmes in several Natura 2000 sites enable experts to carry out long-term observations and to compile reports on how nature evolves without human interference.

An example from Kalkalpen National Park shows that a monitoring discovered a 56% increase in dead wood quantity which led to the appearance of 6 different woodpeckers in the area. This monitoring was based on displaying the collected dataset on a map to find the correlations between the different data.
There are also special programmes set up to monitor the effects of tourism and recreation on the wilderness values. The management efforts in wilderness areas aim at reducing the impact of biological values. This monitoring typically forms part of a visitor management plan.

Research

The research within wilderness is needed in order to generate additional knowledge on Europe’s self-regulating ecosystems, and develop best-practice guidelines for modern, integrative and effective planning and management of wilderness areas and ecosystems. Research contributes not only to the monitoring activities, but also to the ecosystem based management approach within protected areas taking into account the fact that management of protected ecosystems nowadays requires a multidisciplinary approach.
Wilderness areas have a very important tole towards developing a multidisciplinary and cross cutting vision for Europe’s biodiversity and reclaiming self-regulatory capacity of nature. Any research in wilderness will specifically provide frameworks and guidelines for wilderness conservation and enhancement of connectivity for decision- makers and managers of protected areas.

Law enforcement

Wilderness protection always comes with restriction on use, which requires a strong enforcement. Therefore PAN Parks Foundation promotes setting up strong ranger service within the wilderness protected areas. Rangers are able to control any activities within the wilderness zone and act in case of any illegal activities.
However, rangers also play an important role as ’faces’ of the protected area towards the local communities and visitors. They represent the management authority in the field.

Visitor management

Working with local businesses helps minimise
negative impacts of tourism and maximises social
and economic benefits (Oulanka NP)

Tourism is often cited as one of the biggest problem for protected areas, especially wilderness areas. However, tourism can also offer a good opportunity for raising awareness and engaging people in wilderness protection. A research of PAN Parks Foundation carried out in 2011 showed that managers of wilderness areas do not consider tourism as part of the top 3 management challenges.
However, visitors need careful management and guidance. Wilderness areas should be visited only in a sustainmable manner. Therefore, our Foundation encouraged the Certified PAN Parks to develop a Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy and work together with local municipalities and tourism businesses to minime negative impacts of tourism and maximise the social and economic benefits.

Interpretation

In the US interpretation developed from the beginnings parallel with the effort of protecting wilderness areas. The challenges of managing wilderness do not stem from managing nature, but from managing the impacts of industrialized societies. The public will be more open to the wilderness manager’s thoughts when they see that we truly care, and, most importantly, we are willing to listen to their thoughts.
The primary goals of wilderness interpretation is to influence the attitudes and behavior of wilderness visitors. However, we also want people to become ambassadors of wilderness after visiting and enjoying a wilderness area. This goals require a very good planning and professionally trained staff to interpret wilderness attributes towards visitors.

More on what challenges there are in protecting wilderness