Protected area designation effective in reducing, but not preventing, land cover changes
(PHYSorg.com Biology)

The designation of protected areas in Europe has been effective in reducing, but not completely preventing, land cover changes associated with human activity, according to a study published July 17 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Niels Hellwig of Potsdam University and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences in Germany, and colleagues. Approximately 1.5% of all protected areas and 3% of all surrounding buffer zones were affected by land cover change from 2000 to 2012.