The Nature management plan

Dr. ZENONAS GULBINAS
Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences/Nature Heritage Fund, Vilnius, Lithuania
Preparation of territorial planning
documents for protected areas in
Lithuania
„Benefits and Risks of Nature Management plan and Spatial
plan integrated development”
Aizkraukles pilsētas Kultūras namā, Spīdolas ielā 2, Aizkrauklē, Latvia, 29 April 2014
CONTENT
I.
The System of Protected Areas in Lithuania
II. Planning System in Lithuania
III. Plans of Boundaries of the Protected Areas and their
Zones
IV. Management Plans of Protected Areas
V. Nature Management Plans
VI. Public Participation
The System of Protected Areas in Lithuania
Categories of PA’s
Conservation
areas
Types/subtypes of PA’s
Count
IUCN category
State strict nature/culture reserves
Strict nature reserves
6
4
2
Ia
V
Reserves (nature, culture, complex)
395
284
111
IV
-
Strict culture reserves
State reserves
Municipal reserves
Nature/culture heritage objects/monuments
Nature heritage objects
Culture heritage objects
564
-
Preservation
areas
Different types of protected zones and
buffer zones
Recuperation
areas
Sites where natural resources (forests,
wetlands, species) are protected and/or
restored
3
-
Integrated
PA’s
State parks
35
5
30
II
V
30
1
30
Ia
-
National parks
Regional parks
Biosphere monitoring areas
Biosphere reserves
Biosphere polygons
-
National
Protected
Areas
15,71 % of the country
(4,5 % in 1990)
Categories of PA’s
State strict reserves (6)
State reserves (284)
Recuperation plots (3)
National parks (5)
Regional parks (30)
Biosphere reserves (1)
Biosphere polygons (30)
Distribution of PA’s by area (%)
Biosphere polygons
23%
State strict reserves
State reserves
2%
14%
Biosphere
reserves 2%
Municipal reserves
1%
Recuperation plots
0,1%
National parks
14%
Regional parks
44%
The Nature Frame (1983) is an important and universal instrument for landscape/nature
conservation policy in Lithuania. The aim of Nature Frame is not only to develop a complete
system for natural ecological compensation, but also to ensure connections between protected
areas and the conservation of natural landscape, biodiversity, natural recreational resources.
The Nature Frame includes all Protected Areas as well as other ecologically valuable and natural
areas which guarantee the general stability of landscape, into a joint landscape system of geoecological compensation zones
The Nature Frame consist of:
- geo-ecological watersheds - belts of areas which separate large geosystems and perform the
function of ecological compensation between the systems;
-geosystems’ stabilization centres - areas which perform the function of ecological
compensation in geosystems (forests, wetlands);
- migration corridors - valleys and hollow valleys through which intensive geodynamic and
bioinformation circulation takes place.
The Nature Frame covers 60% of Lithuania
International Designations
World Heritage List
5
Wetlands of International Importance
/Ramsar Convention/
7
Helsinki Convention
3
Natura 2000 network
SPA’s
82
pSCI’s
406
NATURA 2000
13,0 % of the country
66 % are currently
protected by national PA’s
Legend
SPA’s (82)
pSCI’s (406)
Planning system in Lithuania
Types of planning
Levels of planning
•
•
•
•
National
County
Municipality
Local
Territorial (physical) planning
General
planning
Special
planning
Detailed
planning
Schemes of the protected
areas networks
Planning
documents
of Protected
Areas
Strategical planning
Schemes of the nature
frame and/or ecological
network
Schemes of the ecological
protection zones networks
Plans of boundaries of the
protected areas and their zones
Management plans
Nature and/or culture heritage
management projects
Objective programs
Culture heritage
management plans
Action plans
Monitoring programs
Nature management
plans
Planning system in Lithuania (from 2014.01.01)
Types of planning
Levels of planning
• National
- general and special
(1:100 000-1:400 000)
• Municipality
- general and special
(1:20 000-1:50 000)
• Local:
- general plans
(1:2 000-1:10 000)
- detail plans
(1:500-1:1 000)
- special plans
(1:500-1:10 000)
Planning
documents
of Protected
Areas
Territorial (physical) planning
Complex
planning
Strategical planning
Special
planning
Schemes of the protected
areas networks
Plans of boundaries of the
protected areas
Planning schemes of protected
areas (plans of boundaries +
management plans)
Management plans
Objective programs
Culture heritage
management plans
Action plans
Monitoring programs
Nature management
plans
Special Planning of PA’s
Legislation:
 Law on Territorial Planning;
 Law on Protected Areas;
 Rules of Preparation of Different Plans;
 Rules of Public Participation in the Process of Planning.
Stages of the process of special planning:
1. Public announcement about beginning of
planning and collection of conditions from
authorities (counties, municipalities, etc.)
2. Analysis of current situation, collection of data
and proposals
3. Preparation of draft plan
4. Environmental Impact Assessment
5. Public discussion and approval
Plans of boundaries of the protected areas and their zones
Those plans defines boundaries of the protected areas and their zones:
• functional zones – integrated PA’s, such as State Parks and Biosphere Reserves, are
subdivided into functional zones with different purpose and regulations:
 conservational zones (reserves),
 zones of ecological protection,
 ecosystem restoration zones,
 economic use zones,
 recreational zones,
 residential zones;
• buffer zones – State Strict Reserves, State Parks and Biosphere Reserves may have
buffer zones with some restrictions (e.g. construction of potentially intensive sources of
pollution is forbidden).
Example:
boundaries and zones
of Žuvintas
Biosphere reserve
Methodological problems
Defining and drawing of PA’s boundaries – which borders shell be preferred:
 natural boundaries (land use contours, edges of relief forms);
 contours of infrastructure objects (roads, ditches);
 or boundaries of holdings (land plots)?
Although PA’s are designated for conservation of natural, cultural and landscape values,
planners usually prefer contours of infrastructure and holdings for defining of PA’s
boundaries because of practical reasons: from one hand natural boundaries often are
“unclear”, from the other – restrictions are strongly related to land property.
Dusia Lake
It’s difficult100
to m
define PA’s boundaries in areas with high landscape fragmentation
(e.g. river valleys and morainic hills) because of lack of clear landmarks.
Big overall problem (not only for PA’s but also for land and landscape management) is
high fragmentation of land property, especially in lakesides and other valuable areas.
“Islands” and “Holes” - initially Protected Areas were perceived and established as
solid territories, but now some of State Parks have “islands” and “holes”
Žagarė Regional Park
1996
2008
Anykščiai Regional Park
1998
2008
Management Plans of PA’s
Management plan of PA
should consist of:
Landscape management zones
Directions and measures of nature
conservation/management/restora
tion
Requirements of Natura 2000;
Directions and measures for
protection of cultural heritage;
Recreational territories and
objects;
Cognitive tourism routes;
Possibilities of development of
settlements and infrastructure.
Part of Pavilniai Regional Park management plan
Landscape management
zones
Most of protected areas covers large territories with diverse land use, values,
demand on conservation, management and economic use. Therefore more detailed
system of regulations is applied. Landscape management zones are areas with the
same land use and character of protection. Each type of landscape management
zones has individual regulation.
One protected area can be subdivided into many of landscape management zones.
Classification of landscape management zones is based on example of economic
classification of forests:
Index
Category
Level of restrictions
I
Forests of strict nature reserves
Highest
IIA
Forests of ecosystem protection
High
IIB
Recreational forests
High
III
Forests of ecological protection
Medium
IV
Forests of economic use
Low
Measures of nature protection
(examples from Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve management plan)
Objective
Measures
Maintenance of
natural meadows,
open fens and
transition mires
Grazing and
mowing
Restoration of
degraded raised
bogs
Cutting of trees
and shrubs
Cutting of trees
and shrubs
Restoration of
hydrological
regime
Objective
Restoration of
hydrological
regime
Measures
Reconstruction of
dikes and sluicegates
Removal of
ditches or
regulation of
water level
Reconstruction of
modified water
courses
Maintenance of
overgrowing
Žuvintas lake
Cutting of
vegetation on
water surface
Restoration of
hydrological
regime
Objective
Improvement of
conditions for
biological
diversity
Measures
Afforestation in
large areas of
cultivated land
Transformation
from cultivated
land to meadows
and grasslands
Creation of ponds
for Bombina
Bombina
Restoration of
destroyed natural
areas
Recultivation of
abandoned
mining areas and
dumping grounds
Liquidation of
abandoned
buildings and
complexes
Objective
Ecological
education
Measures
Creation of
nature trails and
points of
observation
Organization of
excursions,
nature schools,
expositions,
special events,
etc.
Monitoring
Hydrological
monitoring
Monitoring of
biological
diversity
Monitoring of
pollution
Monitoring of
landscape
changes
Measures of culture heritage protection
Conservation and maintenance of existing
values
Reconstruction of destroyed values
Inventory and documentation of values
Presentation of heritage in expositions
Maintenance of traditions, organization of
special events
Measures of development of recreational use
Creation of system of tourist routes with
rest sites (camps, resorts, etc.), points of
observation and other recreational objects
Improvement of conditions for landscape
observation through landscape cuttings
Adjustment of attractive heritage objects
and places for visiting
Creation of information system
Measures of development of infrastructure
Improvement of roads and bridges which
are especially significant for visiting and
protection of PA’s
Regulation of new constructions,
expansion of settlements, homesteads and
farms
Nature Management Plans
The Nature management plan is a strategic planning document
containing:
Evaluation and description of the
state of a protected territory or its
part, problems and possibilities to
manage the peculiarities of its
landscape, varieties of fauna, flora
and fungi, habitats and natural
habitats
Goals of the territory management
Management and protection
measures , as well as sequence of
their implementation
Funds, other resources and
executors necessary for the
realization of the measures
Procedure of monitoring of
implementation and effectiveness
Public participation in the process of planning
Public announcement
Submitting of proposals for planning
Public discussion
OPEN QUESTION: what does it mean if the participants of
public meeting are against the plan? It’s the public
approbation necessary?