NATIONAL PARK/OUTDOOR RECREATION/NATURE

NATIONAL PARK/OUTDOOR RECREATION/NATURE

RESERVE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

D. Yerimbekkyzy, Dr. Rafee Bin Majid

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

According to Wirth (1990), there were two eras after World War II – extensive management era and intensive management era. The main expressiveness of the Extensive Management Era was on raising the supply of recreational opportunities. Most of the management programs in nature management programs were extensively developed:

1. 
   Resource management
   

1. 
   Site protection and maintenance
   
2. 
   Silvicultural treatment of overstory vegetation
   
3. 
   Integration with other resource management programs
   
4. 
   Recreation road construction and improvement
   

2. 
   Visitor management
   

1. 
   Informational services
   
2. 
   Concession services
   
3. 
   Expansion of interpretive programs
   
4. 
   Public safety
   

According to Jubenville (1993), the complexity of the managerial problems are affected by the range of social and political external influences. Therefore, a model helps to acquire a considerate of those complexities. A systematic model might not only bring benefits to the national park managers or recreation managers, it might cover the need for baseline information in fields where voids emptiness exists. Moreover, it might also recommend priorities for future research.

In nature reserve, national park or recreation management, there are three main inputs work with – (1) the visitor, (2) the environmental settings and (3) the management organization.

Visitors who visit national park usually have individual recreational interests and play their roles as customers of the system, which designed to provide recreational opportunities. Pleasing different recreational interests among individuals takes different recreational opportunities, and a national park might not provide all range of the recreational opportunities demanded by all visitors. Somehow, it seems that when there is a point where managing for everyone’s interest, might ended up by satisfying no one (Twight et al, 1993).

The natural resources base is the other important aspect after visitors. It is where the activity takes place and as well as playing its protection roles for birds, wildlife and watershed protection. It is important to accomplish a level of understanding that it is necessary to provide an adequate physical environment. There are many misperceptions about what really are the environmental needs of various types of recreationists.

Management, as the third input, is the component that protects the originality of the recreational occasion and the resource base. The existence of the management completes the entity of the recreational and reservation opportunities.

The interrelationships of all three elements are as follows:

1. 
   The resource affects the visitor;
   
2. 
   The visitor affects the resource;
   
3. 
   The resource situation affects management programs;
   
4. 
   The management programs affect the resource situation;
   
5. 
   The visitor affects management programs
   
6. 
   The management programs affect the disposition of the visitor.
   

Due to the various possible interactions among the programs in each subsystem, integrating all of those functions is not an easy task. Its diagram would form such a maze of lines that makes it difficult to trace any interrelationships. It must be realized, however, that there is interdependence within the system (Alden, 1973); as pictured in Figure 1. , a decision made in one program area can have a drastic effect on other programs. The manager must consider every ramification of a particular decision. An understanding of these interactions, it is possible to manipulate some programs, which produce desired outcomes in general.

For instance, a plan to improve site conditions in a wilderness area where outfitters (a service management concern) have tended to camp near a lake, might cause a deterioration of the resource (resource management problem). Since there is no direct manipulations are allowed in the wilderness, possible way to conduct the manipulation might be by redistributing the use by voluntary cooperation or, by permission from the outfitter, limiting the use to let the site naturally recovers (Cordell, 1990).

For instance, in a lake, a visitor (visitor management concern) who is a novice floater regarded floating only as a secondary activity. The visitor might enjoy the experience and did not perceive any problems such as making noises, but some safety problems might occur to an unskilled private floater who did not appreciate one’s limitations in craft manoeuvring. Public safety should not be a problem when most people go out on a commercial raft under the guidance of a skilled boatman. Therefore, every outfitter should have a persuasive way to provide a visitor-friendly education to avoid any unwanted event without reducing the enjoyment of the visitors.

Recreation Management Systems Model.

Source: Twight, 1993

References:

1. 
   Alden, H.R. (1973). “Systems for Analysing Impacts of Outdoor Recreation Programs on Environmental Quality”, Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Quality. Foss, P.O. (ed.). Ft. Collins, CO: Colorado State University.
   
2. 
   Cordell, H.K. (1990). “Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness (Chapter 10).” Nature Resources for the 21^st Century. R.N. Sampson and D. Hair (eds.). Washington, DC: Island Press.
   
3. 
   Jubenville, A. (1993). “Recreational Use of Public Lands: The Role of the Manager”. Journal of Park and Recreational Administration, 3(4): 53-60
   
4. 
   Steen, H.K. (1976). The U.S. Forest Service: A History, Seattle, WA: University of Washington
   
5. 
   Wirth, C. L. (1990). Parks, Politics, and the People. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press
   

KORGALZHYN STATE NATURE RESERVE’S

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUBSYSTEM

D. Yerimbekkyzy, Dr. Rafee Bin Majid

University Technology Malaysia (UTM)

Alden (1973) stated that the resource management subsystem consists of two phases – resource input and the resource management programs aimed at managing those input (see Figure 1). Preserving resource excellence is important and is should be achieved by monitoring the effects of present custodial programs on the resource base at some established stage. In other words, maintaining impact in some acceptable level or getting better the resource’s capability to uphold an upper level of use within acceptable limits. Monitoring should be conducted at the line between the resource and human use. It indicates how good the existing programs are, and provides information about the way the stakeholders should conduct the programs within acceptable limits. In all resource management programs, preserving the resource might not be the only final objective, accomplishing some needed outcome, such as providing specified recreational opportunity, should be put into consideration.

1. 
   Site Management. This is an intense program to protect the site from any risk of overuse by the visitors and to provide pleasant and aesthetic surroundings for the activities.
   
2. 
   Overstory Vegetation Management. This included silvicultural performance related to the management of the intensively used areas.
   
3. 
   Ecosystems Management. It concentrates on particular disputable areas of management business related to the fragments of existing endangered ecosystems.
   
4. 
   Visual Resource Management. It is a process where distinctive landscapes are listed, analyzed, classified and organized based on their availability to any low-visual-impact development.
   

Source: Adopted from Jubenville et al, 1993