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Maintaining ecosystem key to success in Canada's Banff National Park: park official

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The key to the success of Banff National Park is to maintain and ensure the upkeep of the ecosystem in the park area, the park's top official said on Wednesday.

Located in the province of Alberta and situated in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain, Banff National Park was established in 1885 as Canada's first national park and the world's third. The park and three surrounding national parks were declared a World Heritage Site in 1985 by UNESCO.

In an interview with Xinhua at his office in Banff administration, field unit superintendent of the park Dave McDonough said a good ecosystem means maintaining a healthy balance between human life and nature.

Talking about the management of the well-known park, the experienced park manager said they use a strong science program as the foundation for their decisions on how to bring people to the park in an appropriate ways so that they can connect with the environment, enjoy themselves and experience a sense of harmony.

"We have to understand what people need and what they are interested in, then look for those key memorable experiences that are appropriate for environment ... " he said.

In order to keep the ecosystem sustainable, they have applied a number of techniques, such as zoning, monitoring wild life, using ecosystem indicators and monitoring visitation numbers, McDonough said. With the help of these techniques, they can address any problems quickly.

Apart from the modern techniques, the park official said one of the biggest tools for good management is educating and managing people.

There are many ways of educating the visitors, such as social media, mass media, and working with tourism industry to build the right expectation of visitors, McDonough said.` It is really working with industry partners and the media to let people understand they can have a great experience, but it's also important to do that in certain ways in order to maintain the ecosystem for today and future, he said.

It is about building a team that includes the government, schools, tourism industry and local residents, he added.

Spanning 6,641 square kilometers of valleys, mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers, the park is one of the world's premier destination spots, with more than 3.5 million visitors coming from around the world each year. Endi