Sendai Charter for Asia’s protected areas
A charter which acts as catalyst for cooperation, improvement of protected area governance, and integration of conservation and development. Using the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in 2013, it recognize that ecosystem based disaster risk reduction and protected areas enhance local resilience in areas at high risk of disasters and encourages proactive approaches that contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation through utilization of ecosystem services. It affirms the commitment of 800 delegates from 46 countries gathered in Sendai, Japan, to broaden understanding of the important role that protected areas play in disaster risk reduction and recovery.
The charter focuses on the urgent need to enhance the management of Asia’s protected areas, by increasing their share of human and financial resources, particularly for those on the ground at the conservation frontlines, and adopting global best practice approaches. It also addresses: the harmonization of regional development and the conservation of biodiversity, the collaborative management of protected areas, the linkages between protected area management and cultures and traditions, the sustainable tourism and education for environment and sustainable development, strengthening protected area collaboration, and presents the related commitments.