Protected area

Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international organisations involved. The term "protected area" also includes Marine Protected Areas, the boundaries of which will include some area of ocean, and Transboundary Protected Areas that overlap multiple countries which remove the borders inside the area for conservation and economic purposes. There are over 161,000 protected areas in the world (as of October 2010) with more added daily, representing between 10 and 15 percent of the world's land surface area. By contrast, only 1.17% of the world's oceans is included in the world's ~6,800 Marine Protected Areas.

Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat and protection from hunting for threatened and endangered species. Protection helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes.

Protected areas of New Zealand

Protected areas of New Zealand are on both public and private land. Nearly 30 percent of the land mass of New Zealand is in public ownership and has some degree of protection. The level of protection varies according to the land status.

Protected areas

The Department of Conservation administers the majority of the publicly owned land in New Zealand that is protected for scenic, scientific, historic and cultural reasons, or set aside for recreational purposes. More than 80,000 km²– nearly 30 percent of the nation's total area – is administered by the department.

There were 14 national parks (now 13), covering just under 25,000 km², 30 Conservation Parks covering some 18,000 km², about 3,500 reserves covering around 15,000 km², and some 610 km² of protected private land and covenants that have been set aside for scenic, scientific or ecological reasons. The department also has responsibility for the preservation and management of wildlife, and has a role in management of the coastal marine area with 19 marine reserves and two other protected marine areas from the Kermadec Islands to Fiordland.

Conservation area (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, the term conservation area nearly always applies to an area (usually urban or the core of a village) considered worthy of preservation or enhancement because of its special architectural or historic interest.

The current legislation in England and Wales, the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (Section 69 and 70), defines the quality of a conservation area as being: "the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance". The current Scottish legislation is the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

More than 9,600 have been designated in England.

The Civic Amenities Act 1967 introduced the concept of conservation areas before being superseded by the 1990 Act. Stamford, Lincolnshire was the first conservation area to be designated.

Types of conservation area

Conservation areas can be found across a wide a range of urban and rural UK locations. For example, in the historic centres of town and cities such as Alexandra Palace and Park; model housing estates; historic mining, fishing and transport areas e.g. Crosby Garrett and rural villages such as Osmotherley.