Guidelines for planning and managing mountain protected areas

The chapters in this guide are largely based upon the main themes of the 1991 International Consultation on Parks, Peaks and People, whose themes were selected to cover topics of wide general interest and applicability. These were published in 1992 as Guidelines for Mountain Protected Areas (edited by Duncan Poore, IUCN, Gland). Most of them address, to a greater or lesser extent, all the topics listed above. It was felt best to leave any resulting duplication among topics, as the importance of each of these themes is emphasised by being repeated in a different context. The chapters which follow deal in turn with:

1. Mountain protected areas: to protect what?
2. General criteria for the selection of mountain protected areas;
3. The preservation of mountain biodiversity and physiographic features;
4. Transborder mountain protected areas;
5. The sacred, spiritual and cultural significance of mountains;
6. Communities as partners in mountain protected areas;
7. Water and soil conservation in mountain protected areas;
8. Management of threatening processes;
9. Protecting mountains and the visitor experience: managing to engage tourists and recreationists;
10. Education and interpretation;
11. Issues associated with climate change and air quality.