Protected areasDefined
in Article 2 of the International Convention on Biological Diversity as a geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation. Protected area system characteristics are adequacy – the ability of the reserve to maintain the ecological viability and integrity of populations, species and communities; comprehensiveness – the degree to which the full range of ecological communities and their biological diversity are incorporated within reserves; representativeness – the extent to which areas selected for inclusion in the national reserve system are capable of reflecting the known biological
diversity and ecological patterns and processes of the ecological community or ecosystem concerned.