Welsh Journals

CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK DON HARDING Don Harding 1985: Conservation and Development in Snowdonia National Park. Cambria 12(2) pp. 179 to pp. 187. Part II of Davies, W.K.D. (ed) Human Geography from Wales: Proceedings of the E.G. Bowen Memorial Conference. ISSN 0306-9796. Effective policies for landscape conservation in the national parks of the U.K. have to be rather different from those in other countries for they have to take place in the context of the need to retain and extend economic development within park boundaries. This case study of the Snowdonia National Park reviews the landscape conservation policies of Snowdonia National Park Authority, describes the problems that it faces and outlines the measures taken to promote economic activity, whilst preserving the distinctive social characteristics of the area. Donald Harding, Department of Forestry and Wood Science, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, U.K. LL57 2UW. One of the major developments within the field of environmental conservation over the last few decades has been the rapid growth in the numbers and size of Protected Areas. Most people today accept the argument that the setting aside of areas having special nature or ecological interest represents a satisfactory policy for the protection of the environment in its own right, although some maintain that greater attention should be paid to conservation of the 'general' environment. The result is that the establishment of parks, or reserves of various kinds, has featured in the conservation programmes of countries throughout the world, with over 2000 entries in the 1982 International Union for the Conservation of Nature list of National Parks and Other Protected Areas; this list, incidentally, only includes areas over 1000 hectares (IUCN 1982). The implementation of Protected Area programmes has not been without controversy. In many cases concern has been expressed about the effect of the designation of such areas on local people. In a small number of examples local people have been excluded from their traditional lands and the publicity surrounding such controversial designations has provided an adverse effect on public attitudes to conservation generally. Again, while some national parks and game reserves have a marked and beneficial effect on tourism, the way in which the Protected Areas system of some countries contributes to the general good is by no means clear to people suffering from food and fuelwood shortages.