Transboundary protected area

"Peace park" redirects here. For other uses, see Peace park (disambiguation).
Flags of Canada and the United States in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

A transboundary protected area (TBPA) is an ecological protected area that spans boundaries of more than one country or sub-national entity. Such areas are also known as transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) or peace parks.

TBPAs exist in many forms around the world, and are established for various reasons. The preservation of traditional animal migration patterns, ensuring sufficient food and water sources for population growth, is a critical reason for the creation of TBPAs. However, TBPAs also encourage tourism, economic development and goodwill between neighbouring countries, as well as making it easier for indigenous inhabitants of the area to travel.

Types of transboundary protected areas

TBPAs exist in various types of geographic configuration, with various levels of ecological protection, and with various levels of international cooperation. Additionally, different organizations employ different definitions for TBPAs. Julia Marton-Lefevre broadly defines TBPAs as "areas that involve a degree of cooperation across one or more boundaries between (or within) countries." The Southern Africa Development Community's Protocol on Wildlife Conservation and Law Enforcement defines Transfrontier Conservation Area as "the area or the component of a large ecological region that straddles the boundaries of two or more countries, encompassing one or more protected areas, as well as multiple resources use areas." The Global Transboundary Protected Areas Network (GTPAN) lists four types of "transboundary conservation areas:"

  • Type 1: transboundary protected area;
  • Type 2: transboundary conservation landscape and/or seascape;
  • Type 3: transboundary conservation migration area; and
  • Special designation: park for peace.

GTPAN defines a transboundary protected area as "a clearly defined geographical space that includes protected areas that are ecologically connected across one or more international boundaries and involves some form of cooperation." GTPAN defines a transboundary conservation landscape and/or seascape as "an ecologically connected area that includes both protected areas and multiple resource use areas across one or more international boundaries and involves some form of cooperation."

GTPAN defines a transboundary conservation migration area as "wildlife habitats in two or more countries that are necessary to sustain populations of migratory species and involve some form of cooperation."

GTPAN defines a "park for peace" as "any of the three types of transboundary conservation areas [that is] dedicated to the promotion, celebration and/or commemoration of peace and cooperation."

In many instances, individual TBPAs are part of broader international environmental or cultural programs. TBPAs can be World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Wetlands, and/or UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.

History of transboundary protected areas

In 1932, the governments of Canada and the United States passed legislation creating the first international peace park: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. This action followed from a joint resolution of the Rotary Clubs of Montana and Alberta calling for the creation of the peace park.

On 1 February 1997, Anton Rupert, together with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and Nelson Mandela, founded the Peace Parks Foundation as a nonprofit organisation to facilitate the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs).

A 2001 study by the World Conservation Union found "there were 166 existing transboundary protected area complexes worldwide comprising 666 individual conservation zones."

In 2007, the Global Transboundary Conservation Network published a global inventory of transboundary protected areas identifying 227 transboundary protected areas.

Established transboundary protected areas

Africa

Victoria Falls--National Parks in Zambia and Zimbabwe form a TBPA.

Transboundary World Heritage Sites

Transboundary Ramsar Wetlands

  • Complexe Kokorou-Namga is a transfrontier Ramsar wetland between Burkina Faso and Mali.
  • Complexe Transfrontalier Lac Tele-Grands Affluents-Lac Tumba is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Niumi-Saloum is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Gambia and Senegal. It is composed of Niumi National Park in Gambia and Delta du Saloum National Park in Senegal.
  • A transboundary Ramsar wetlands complex covers Lake Chad, composed of sites in Niger, Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
  • Zone Humide du Moyen is a transfrontier Ramsar wetland on the border of Benin and Nigeria.

Transboundary Biosphere Reserves

  • Delta du Fleuve Senegal is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Mauritania and Senegal.
  • Mono is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Benin and Togo.

Transboundary Conservation Complexes

  • ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Namibia and South Africa.
  • Chimanimani Transfrontier Park is a transboundary conservation area on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, made up of Mozambique's Chimanimani National Reserve and Zimbabwe's Chimanimani National Park.
  • Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is partially composed of Mozambique's Limpopo National Park, South Africa's Kruger National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park and Sengwe Corridor.
  • Greater Mapungubwe is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
  • Kavango Zambezi is a transboundary conservation complex on the borders of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is the world's largest TBPA and encompasses the Mosi-oa-Tunya World Heritage site listed above.
  • Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Botswana and South Africa.
  • Kidepo is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of South Sudan and Uganda. It is composed of South Sudan's Kidepo Game Reserve and Uganda's Kidepo Valley National Park.
  • Kilimanjaro is a transboundary conservation complex centered around Mount Kilimanjaro and on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. It is composed of Tanzania's Kilimanjaro National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Kenya's Amboseli National Park.
  • Lower Zambezi - Mana Pools is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  • Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini.
  • Malawi-Zambia TFCA is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Malawi and Zambia. It crosses the border at multiple locations.
  • Niokolo Koba-Badiar is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Guinea and Senegal.
  • Serengeti-Masai is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Kenya and Tanzania.
  • A transboundary conservation complex crosses the border of Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. It is composed partially of a Ramsar wetland in Burkina Faso and the National Park of Comoe in Côte d'Ivoire.
  • The Global Transboundary Conservation Network's 2007 inventory lists additional TBPAs on the borders of:
    1. Liberia and Sierra Leone;
    2. Guinea and Liberia;
    3. Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia;
    4. Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana at three locations;
    5. Cameroon and Nigeria at two locations;
    6. Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea;
    7. Central African Republic and Sudan;
    8. Congo and Gabon;
    9. Democratic Republic of the Congo and what is now South Sudan;
    10. What is now South Sudan and Uganda;
    11. Kenya and Uganda;
    12. Kenya and Somalia;
    13. Burundi and Rwanda;
    14. Rwanda and Tanzania;
    15. Tanzania and Uganda;
    16. Tanzania and Zambia;
    17. Mozambique and Tanzania; and
    18. Angola and Namibia.
Uvs Nuur Basin is a TBPA in Mongolia and Russia.

Asia

  • Govater Bay and Hur-e-Bahu - Jiwani Coastal Wetland is a transboundary Ramsar complex on the border of Iran and Pakistan.
  • Hamun-e-Puzak, south end - Hamun-e-Saberi & Hamun-e-Helmand is a transboundary Ramsar complex on the border of Afghanistan and Iran.
  • Landscapes of Dauria is a World Heritage Site on the border of Mongolia and Russia on the Daurian Steppe. It is composed of Dornod Mongol Biosphere Reserve in Mongolia and Daursky Nature Reserve in Russia.
  • Labi Hills/Gunung Pulu Transboundary Complex is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Brunei and Malaysia.
  • The Lanjak Entimau/Batang/Ai/Betung Kerihun Complex is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Indonesia and Malaysia. The countries have two additional TBPAs on their border.
  • Taxkorgan is a transboundary protected area on the border of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan. Afghanistan's Wahan National Park, China's Taxkorgan Nature Reserve, and Pakistan's Khunjerab National Park form the site.
  • Turtle Island Heritage Protected Area (also known as Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary) is a transboundary protected area between Malaysia and the Philippines.
  • Uvs Nuur Basin is a World Heritage Site on the border of Mongolia and Russia covering Uvs Nuur Lake and protecting its wetlands. Mongolia and Russia have two more bilateral TBPAs on their border.
  • Wasur-Tonda Transboundary Conservation Area is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
  • The Global Transboundary Conservation Network's 2007 inventory lists an additional 49 TBPAs in Asian nations.
  • The Heart of Borneo is a transboundary protected area on the island of Borneo which includes the nations of Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The Danube Delta is a TBPA and home to pelicans and cormorants.

Europe

Transboundary World Heritage Sites

Transboundary Ramsar Wetlands

  • Adutiškis-Vileity is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Belarus and Lithuania.
  • Austrian-Bavarian Wildalm is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Austria and Germany.
  • Baradla Cave System and Domica Ramsar Sites are cooperatively managed transboundary wetlands on the border of Hungary and Slovakia. This was the first declaration of a transboundary wetland under the Ramsar Convention.
  • Bistret-Ibisha Island is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Bulgaria and Romania. It is composed of Ibisha Island in Bulgaria and Bistret in Romania.
  • Gornje Podunavije - Gemenc - Kopacki Rit is a transboundary Ramsar complex on the border of Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
  • Ipoly Valley and Poiplie are transboundary Ramsar wetlands on the border of Hungary and Slovakia.
  • Kotra and Čepkelai are transboundary Ramsar wetlands on the border of Belarus and Lithuania.
  • Krkonose/Karkonosze subalpine peatbogs is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland. The site is also a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve.
  • Lake Calarasi-Srebarna is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Bulgaria and Romania. Srebarna Nature Reserve is the Bulgarian component of this complex and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Mannavuoma - Lätäseno-Hietajoki Mire is a transboundary Ramsar complex on the border of Finland and Sweden.
  • North Livonian Transboundary Ramsar Site is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Estonia and Latvia. It is composed of Nigula Nature Reserve and Sookuninga Nature Reserve in Estonia and Northern Bogs in Latvia.
  • Olmany-Perebrody mires is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Belarus and Ukraine.
  • Prespa Basin is a cooperatively managed Ramsar wetland on the border of Albania, Greece and Macedonia.
  • Rhin supérieur/Oberrhein—Oberrhein/Rhin supérieur is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of France and Germany. It is composed of Rhin superieur/Oberrhein in France and Oberrhein/Rhin superieur in Germany.
  • Stokhid-Prypiat-Prostyr is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Belarus and Ukraine. It is composed of the Prostyr site in Belarus and the Prypiat River Floodplains and Stokhid River Floodplains in Ukraine.
  • Storkölen-Kvisleflået is a transboundary Ramsar complex on the border of Sweden and Norway.
  • Suhaia-Belene Islands Complex is a transboundary Ramsar site on the border of Bulgaria and Romania. It is composed of Belene Islands Complex in Bulgaria and Suhaia in Romania.
  • Trilateral Ramsar Site Floodplains of the Morava-Dyje-Danube Confluence is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
  • Transboundary Ramsar Site Neusiedler See-Seewinkel-Ferto-Hansag is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Austria and Hungary.
  • Upper Tisza Valley is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Hungary and Slovakia. It is composed of the Feslo-Tisza site in Hungary and the Tisa River site in Slovakia.
  • Vallée de la Haute-Sure is a transboundary Ramsar wetland on the border of Belgium and Luxembourg, composed of sites of the same name in both countries.

Transboundary Biosphere Reserves

Of the world's twenty transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserves, twelve are in Europe. Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Ukraine each contribute to three reserves.

  • Danube Delta is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Romania and Ukraine.
  • East Carpathians is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
  • Geres - Xures is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Portugal and Spain.
  • Meseta Iberica is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Portugal and Spain.
  • Mont Viso / Area della Biosfera del Monviso is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of France and Italy.
  • Mura Drava Danube is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Croatia and Hungary.
  • Tatra is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Slovakia and Poland.
  • Tejo/Tajo Internacional is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Portugal and Spain.
  • Vosges du Nord / Pfalzerwald is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of France and Germany.
  • West Polesie is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the borders of Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine.

Transboundary Conservation Complexes

North America

Flags of Canada and the United States fly on the Peace Arch in Peace Arch Park.

Canada and the United States

Canadian interprovincial Parks
United States interstate parks

Mexico and the United States

  • Dry Borders-Sonoran Desert Biosphere Reserve Network is a transboundary conservation complex composed of Mexico's El Picante y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve and the United States' Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
  • El Carmen-Big Bend Complex is a transboundary conservation complex composed of Mexico's Parque Nacional Canon de Santa Elena and Area Natural Protegida Maderas del Carmen, the United States' Big Bend National Park, and Texas' Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Latin America

Iguazu Falls--National Parks in Argentina and Brazil form a TBPA.
  • Cordillera del Condor is a transboundary protected area on the border of Ecuador and Peru. It is composed of Ecuador's Parque Nacional Podocarpus and Peru's Zona Reservada Santiago-Comaina. The countries agreed to create the protected area as part of a settlement to a border conflict in the 1990s.
  • Glaciares-Torres del Paine-O'Higgins Complex is a transboundary conservation complex on the border of Argentina and Chile. It is composed of Chile's O'Higgins National Park and Torres del Paine National Park and Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park.
  • Iguacu-Iguazu is a transboundary World Heritage complex on the border of Argentina and Brazil. It is composed of Argentina's Iguazu National Park and Brazil's Iguaçu National Park.
  • Lago Titicaca is a transboundary Ramsar wetlands complex on the border of Bolivia and Peru.
  • The Global Transboundary Conservation Network's 2007 inventory lists additional TBPAs on the borders of:
    1. Colombia and Venezuela;
    2. Brazil and Colombia;
    3. Colombia, Ecuador and Peru;
    4. Brazil and Venezuela;
    5. French Guiana and Suriname;
    6. Brazil and Suriname;
    7. Brazil and Peru;
    8. Bolivia and Brazil;
    9. Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay;
    10. Argentina and Brazil;
    11. Bolivia and Chile;
    12. Argentina, Bolivia and Chile;
    13. Argentina and Bolivia at two locations;
    14. Bolivia and Paraguay; and
    15. Argentina and Chile at four locations.
Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean includes land in Morocco and Spain (light green), and part of the Strait of Gibraltar (dark blue).

Intercontinental TBPAs

  • Great Atlay is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve crossing the border of Kazakhstan and Russia.
  • Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean is a transboundary UNESCO biosphere crossing the border of Morocco and Spain. It is a contiguous site, combining land in Morocco and Spain connected by the Strait of Gibraltar.
  • A transboundary UNESCO World Heritage complex is on the border of Colombia and Panama. It is composed primarily of Colombia's Los Katios National Park and Panama's Darien National Park.

Areas in the conceptual phase

The DMZ is a habitat for many threatened species on the Korean peninsula, including the black bear.

TBPA advocates by 2006 had identified additional sites for protection. Professor Saleem Ali of the University of Vermont noted that "numerous ecologically sensitive areas remain unprotected" and cites a 2006 "geographic information systems (GIS) study" that "found 104 transboundary wild areas involving 61 countries that are not formally part of any conservation park." Specific sites for proposed TBPAs include:

  • Liuwa Plain – Kameia TFCA (Angola/Zambia)
  • Niassa Reserve – Selous TFCA (Mozambique/Tanzania)
  • Mnazi Bay – Quirimbas Transfrontier Marine Conservation Area (Mozambique/Tanzania)
  • The demilitarised zone between North and South Korea is a potential TBPA/peace park. Professor Salem Ali notes that the DMZ has "become a sanctuary for wildlife, since there is no development activity occurring in the area." Nelson Mandela traveled to South Korea to promote such an idea. Ted Turner likewise traveled to the Korean peninsula to promote the idea in 2005.
  • The Siachen Glacier region between India and Pakistan has been proposed as a peace park.
  • A project for the Green Line Peace Park in Cyprus, between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot territories, is being researched by Dr Anna Grichting at Harvard University.

As awareness of the importance of conserving the pristinity and ecology of Arctic region has increased, there has been a global call to declare the Arctic region as a global sanctuary/international peace park. The Save the Arctic campaign by Greenpeace, an environmental nonprofit organisation, has received online support from more than 5 million citizens from around the world.

Areas with treaty signed

Memorandums of agreement signed

Impacts on peace and conflict

Transboundary protected areas are also termed peace parks. They are supposed to facilitate cooperation and exchange between (adversary) countries, to improve livelihoods of local populations, to demonstrate the possibility of positive-sum interactions, and hence to support more peaceful international relations. There are several cases documented in which trans-boundary conservation contributed to conflict resolution (although it was not the main driver), such as in the Virunga region between the DR Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, around the Trifinio region between El Salvador and Honduras, and in the Cordillera del Cóndor region between Ecuador and Peru. According to a statistical analysis published in 2014, states that share a trans-boundary protected area are slightly less likely to engage with militarized disputes with each other. But the question remains whether the TBPA is a driver or consequence on better interstate relations in these cases. A more recent analysis triangulates data from various sources to show that international environmental cooperation (in the form of TBPAs and water treaties) increases the likelihood for reconciliation between states in conflict. The effect is, however, modest and contingent on a number of context factors such as high levels of environmental attention, internal political stability, a tradition of environmental cooperation and already ongoing processes of reconciliation.

However, a number of authors criticize that peace parks have a very limited impact on formal relations between states, but can accelerate conflicts on the local level, for instance by extending (authoritarian) state control, by prioritizing business and tourism over the interests of local populations, and by excluding local people from the protected areas. TBPAs can also stimulate (low-level) international conflicts, for instance about the sharing of revenues or the presence of human populations in the parks.

Massive Online Open Course on Peace Park Development and Management

A Massive Online Open Course on Peace Park Development and Management was developed by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), its Peace and Biodiversity Dialogue Initiative in partnership with UNDP and the NBSAP Forum. This free three-week course offered in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. Financial support is provided by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Peace and Biodiversity Dialogue Initiative funded by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea.

This course will:

  • offer a comprehensive guide on Peace Park establishment;
  • teach participants to make a strong case for Peace Park development;
  • develop the skills to effectively plan, establish and manage Peace Parks;
  • address the challenges associated with the creation and management of these transboundary protected areas.

The course is designed for Peace Park development practitioners and environmental peacebuilding enthusiasts but is open to everyone. Participants must create an account on Learning for Nature before registering for the course.

See also