World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA.
J Environ Manage. 2012 Oct 30;109:189-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.06.021. Epub 2012 Jul 21.
As the scientific community has highlighted the plight of freshwater species, there have been increasing calls for protected area (PA) designation and management specific to the conservation of aquatic species and ecosystems. In this study we examined PA management in one relatively well-resourced (high levels of financial and technical resources) part of the world: the Tennessee and Cumberland River Basins, USA. We asked managers their perceptions about the current status of freshwater ecosystems within PAs, the sources of stress that are degrading freshwater ecosystem integrity, the degree to which PAs address these stressors, and the availability of technical, human, and financial resources for management activities that benefit freshwater ecosystems and the species they support. Managers generally perceive that freshwater ecosystems within PAs are under low levels of stress, with less than half reporting any alteration to ecosystem integrity, and very few reporting alterations at medium or high levels. Most PAs have fewer resources dedicated to freshwater conservation and management than to other activities, and some PAs completely lack resources for freshwater management. We recommend a review of every PA's goals and objectives and any needed updates to include the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. We also recommend an analysis to determine the most pressing stressors to aquatic life within each PA, stemming from sources both from within and outside of a PA's boundaries, and that this information be used to guide future management. Finally, we suggest that management resources be prioritized for PAs that include large portions of the catchments of their freshwater systems; that can address the dominant sources of stress within the PA; or that contain representative ecosystems, species assemblages or populations of rare, endemic, and threatened species.
随着科学界强调淡水物种的困境，越来越多的人呼吁专门划定和管理保护区，以保护水生物种和生态系统。在这项研究中，我们研究了美国田纳西州和田纳西-坎伯兰河流域这一相对资源丰富（拥有大量财力和技术资源）地区的保护区管理情况。我们询问了管理人员他们对保护区内淡水生态系统现状的看法、导致淡水生态系统完整性退化的压力源、保护区解决这些压力源的程度，以及用于管理有利于淡水生态系统及其所支持物种的活动的技术、人力和财力资源的可用性。管理人员普遍认为，保护区内的淡水生态系统承受的压力较低，不到一半的人报告说生态系统完整性发生了任何变化，很少有人报告说发生了中等或高等程度的变化。大多数保护区用于淡水保护和管理的资源少于用于其他活动的资源，有些保护区完全缺乏用于淡水管理的资源。我们建议审查每个保护区的目标和目的，并进行任何必要的更新，以包括保护淡水生态系统。我们还建议进行分析，以确定每个保护区内对水生生物最紧迫的压力源，这些压力源来自保护区内外，并利用这些信息来指导未来的管理。最后，我们建议将管理资源优先用于那些包括其淡水系统流域大部分地区的保护区；能够解决保护区内主要压力源的保护区；或包含具有代表性的生态系统、物种组合或稀有、特有和受威胁物种的代表性种群的保护区。
