ABSTRACT
Protected areas serve multiple purposes: as stores of valued biodiversity (whether ecosystem species or genetic diversity), suppliers of natural products, protectors of water supplies, centres for tourism, education and recreation, and as cultural assets. In the world today, there are some 27,000 protected areas, covering almost 8 per cent of the Earth’s land surface. The establishment of marine protected areas currently lags far behind those on land, although this too is beginning to change.
