Rethinking the Law and Policy of Protected Areas in a Warming World:Evolving Approaches of American Conservation Organizations

摘要

The idea of setting aside natural areas for protection or restricted use has a long history and its practice dates back more than 2,000 years in the Middle East, where large tracts of rangeland were set aside to prevent overgrazing, and in northern India, where the Mauryan kings established reserves to protect forests, elephants, fish, and wildlife. In 1872, the United States established its first "modern" protected area or park to preserve remnants of a local ecosystem—Yellowstone National Park.