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| Sunday, 19 September 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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International peace parks help environment and communities People usually have to carry passports to travel from one country to another. But should animals? Groups around the world are working to create parks that cross country borders. They hope that the parks will help the environment and bring peace and cooperation to neighboring countries. "People draw lines on a map and call them countries," said Steve Thompson of the National Parks Conservation Association. "But animals don't understand international borders." When animals are kept in small areas, they can spread diseases more easily. They can also hurt the environment by eating too many plants and other animals. Allowing animals to cross borders would help improve these conditions, experts say. But that's just one reason why people want to create international parks. People have named the parks "peace parks" because these people believe the parks can help countries learn to work together. "The parks create a link between communities and a common desire to learn more about one another," said Anushka Bangara of the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism. According to Steve Thompson, the parks can "help nations resolve international conflict or even war." The first international peace park, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, was established between the United States and Canada in 1932. Today there are dozens of peace parks on five continents. The parks play an important role in southern Africa. The Kgalagadi (ka-gal-a-GA-dee) Transfrontier Park is in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa and Botswana. The countries work together to manage the land and the animals that live there. Other countries, such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, and Lesotho, are also forming parks. "The parks will let animals wander over larger parts of southern Africa, much as they did centuries ago," said Jack Shepherd, a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. "It should really help expand elephant and lion populations, which are now damaged by confinement in smaller parks." The parks can also help countries by attracting tourists and creating jobs. But many issues still remain, such as illegal killing of animals, pollution, and population pressure on the land. Plus, some countries have different ideas about how they want to manage their parks and animals. Countries are trying to solve those problems-and learning to work together in the process.Lions, among many other animals, may benefit from the establishment of international peace parks. National Geographic , Kids News |
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