The spirits of Bali

IUCN, says the paper Categories, Objectives and Criteria for Protected Areas, ”is dedicated to the wise use of the Earth’s natural resources and to the maintenance of the Planet’s natural diversity.” What to think of the sequence? Use first, maintain second? And this comes from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources? ”The World National Parks Congress, taking place in Bali, Indonesia, October 11-22, 1982, will provide case studies from around the world to illustrate how the various categories of protected areas are meeting the needs of countries of all economic, social, cultural, and political backgrounds,” writes J.A. McNeely, the secretary of the Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas, in a special issue of the Swedish journal Ambio (11: 237. 1982). ”No longer just playgrounds for vacationers and means for conserving natural heritage, protected areas have become an inseparable part of the modern human ecosystem.”