Using the Biosphere Reserve Model to Landscape Conservation Planning and Promote Sustainable Community Uses (Study Area: Dena District)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Geo Governance, Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Environmental department, The Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities (SAMT), Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Agriculture and Water Governance, Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22126/ges.2024.10799.2763

Abstract

Zoning of protected areas increases the sustainability of these areas by reducing the conflict between protection and public uses. In the implementation of the biosphere reserve model, as a key lever for promoting sustainable development, zoning has been neglected. The purpose of this research is to zoning Dana district based on the spatial analysis of changes in the structural integrity of the landscape and the ethnography of place values from the perspective of communities. For this purpose, adaptation to the habitat, conservation value, distance from the area of popular use, and changes in the structural integrity of the land surface have been mapped, classified, and superimposed. The zones have been allocated by comparing the obtained units with the logical letter model. Based on the results, during about thirty years, the spatial changes in the structural coherence of the landscape of the land have been significant. At higher altitudes, the landscape structure has remained relatively unchanged, but at lower and middle altitudes, it has undergone a destructive process. The biggest reduction in structural integrity has occurred around settlements, rivers, and highways. Areas with conservation value are assigned to the core area. In the shield area, it is desired to maintain the connection between a large genuine spot inside the core and the surrounding spots. Public uses are considered outside the protection core and as far as possible outside the shield zone. Large areas of Dena district have been identified as public use areas, which are highly compatible with the transition. In this area, it is necessary to train and empower local communities by relying on alternative livelihoods and entrusting them with part of the protection supervision. Based on comparing the old and proposed zoning, the new approach, in addition to allocating wider areas for protection, with the allocation of public use zones, is the basis for creating a native people's protected area.
 
Extended Abstract
1-Introduction
Focusing too much on protecting specific areas in degraded landscapes causes isolated management and neglect of sustainable community use in wider landscapes. To reduce the conflict between protection and community uses, it is necessary to review and update the zoning methods for protected areas at least once every decade. One of the most important models in this field is the Biosphere Reserve. The review of studies on the subject of zoning protected areas in Iran shows that the method used and the results obtained were mostly focused on ecological data and ignored the surroundings of these areas, attitudes of local communities, and transition zones. This methodological framework has neglected new content and perspectives. The purpose of this research is to conduct conservation zoning of the Dena district based on the spatial analysis of changes in the landscape's structural integrity and the ethnography of the place values based on the view of local communities. The reason for choosing this area is that the old oak habitat in this village, adjacent to the Dena protected area, has been left unprotected.
 
2-Materials and Methods
In this research, ecological-social indicators (such as overlap to the habitat, overlap with the conservative value from the point of view of local communities, distance from the community use zone, and changes in the landscape's structural integrity) have been mapped. Then the classified maps of these indicators have been overlayed and the land units have been identified. By comparing these units with the logical letter model, each unit is allocated to a specific zone. For example, the areas that have the least decrease in structural integrity, the greatest distance from the community use zone, and also overlap with habitats and areas with conservative value, are assigned to the core zone. Also, the object-oriented method has been used to classify land cover in 1989 and 2018. Changes in the structural integrity of the forest have been mapped by using the moving window method and by using the metrics and indexes of the landscape ecology. In addition, ethnography is done by field observation and collaborative mapping. The field of attracting participation has been the collection of location data of local activities, which is based on the place values in the landscape.
 
3- Results and Discussion
For about thirty years, rapid spatial changes around and within the Dena protected area have led to the degradation of forest lands. At higher altitudes and slopes, the landscape structure has remained relatively unchanged, but in more flat lands, there has been a destructive process. The greatest decrease in structural integrity has occurred around settlements, rivers, and highways. In the proposed zoning, areas inside and outside the protected area have been assigned to the core area. Community uses have been tried to be considered outside the core zone and as much as possible outside the buffer zone. The community use zone has a high adaptability to be allocated to the transition zone. In the Dena district, it is necessary to educate and empower local communities by promoting alternative livelihoods, as well as entrusting parts of monitoring and stewardship to them. Based on the comparison of the conventional (old) zoning and the proposed (new) zoning, the new approach supports the creation of Indigenous community conserved areas by allocating areas for community use, along with the allocation of wider areas for protection. Zoning with the old approach did not pay attention to the around the protected area, but in the new approach, even the core area overlaps with the outside of the Dena protected area. The semi-sensitive areas (with low vulnerability) in the new approach include the buffer area and the rehabilitation and restoration area, but in the old approach, it is the rehabilitation and restoration area. The non-sensitive and developable zone is the transition zone, which mainly includes community uses and has been neglected in the old approach. The most important innovation and added value of this study is expanding the knowledge of the planner and improving his analysis method based on a two-sided approach. At the same time, attention has been paid to the evaluation of the landscape's structural integrity and the perspective of the local communities towards the space.
 
4- Conclusion
The using of the current research method is a kind of ecological-social evaluation of the land's capability for protection, which will support the legitimacy of zoning because, on the one hand, it provides a common language for learning from local Knowledge (complementing the view of the professional planner). On the other hand, by analyzing the landscape's structural integrity, it measures the quality of habitats. Considering the shortcomings and inadequacies of the common method of zoning, as well as the newness of the proposed framework, it is suggested to use these methods to complement each other.  It is necessary to conduct such studies in other districts around the Dena protected area.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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