摘要:Protected areas are increasingly being recognized as coupled social-ecological systems, whose effectivenessdepends on their resilience. Here I present a historical profile of an individual case study, the New Forest (England), which wasfirst designated as a protected area more than 900 years ago. Uniquely, a traditional pattern of land use has been maintainedever since, providing a rare opportunity to examine the resilience of an integrated social-ecological system over nine centuries.The New Forest demonstrates that over the long term, coupled social-ecological systems can be resilient to major internal andexternal shocks, including climate change, mass human mortality and war. Changes in governance had the greatest impact onthe reserve itself, with two major crises identified in the mid-19th and 20th centuries. Resolution of these crises depended onthe formation of alliances between local people and external partners, including the general public, a process that was supportedby improvements in visitor access. Over a timescale of centuries, this social-ecological system has been highly dynamic indisturbance regimes but relatively stable in land use patterns. However, the factors underpinning resilience have changed overtime. This case study suggests that for protected areas to be effective over the long term, social structures and institutions aswell as environmental processes require adaptive capacity
关键词:biodiversity conservation; effectiveness; protected area; resilience; social-ecological systems