As the second largest country in the world, Canada has a diverse terrestrial ecosystem. There are 47 national parks, 171 national historic sites, 4 national marine nature reserves and 8 marine parks on the territory rich in forest resources. ancient canal. From the formation of mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests to the melting of glaciers, the evolution of grasslands, and the migration of species; from the traditional early indigenous activities of human beings to European colonization and the modernization of Canada, national parks are not only the treasures of Canada, but also show the natural legacy of Canada. Convincing mysterious power, the history of national parks has recorded and carried great changes in Canada’s tourism and camping industries.
The first Canadian National Park – Banff & Lake Louise National Park (Banff & Lake Louise National Park) was established in 1885. Like the Yellowstone National Park in the United States, it is well-known all over the world. In 1911, the National Park Administration of Canada It was also established. It can be seen that Canada’s national park culture started earlier than many countries in the world, so it has accumulated more experience in management.
Early stage for profit
Initially, the establishment of Canadian national parks was mainly for the purpose of profit. The government developed resources by establishing multi-purpose provincial parks. Many behaviors that currently seem to be very harmful to the environment have not been prohibited. In the face of huge economic interests, the natural environment in national parks is at stake. Although smart Canadians have gradually realized the serious harm caused by resource waste and over-exploitation to national parks, it was not until 1930 that the country issued corresponding regulations – the “National Parks Act” to protect national parks .
Before 1994, the central government of Canada gave full support to the National Park Service of Canada. The national parks funded by the government for construction and maintenance were naturally well-organized in terms of management, but there were some problems in the use of funds. National parks in Canada rely on financial appropriation for operation and maintenance. This financial appropriation is based on an annual basis. The amount of financial appropriation depends on the cost of park construction and maintenance in the fiscal year. The remaining financial appropriation at the end of the year must be returned to the government. In order to ensure that national parks receive sufficient financial allocations, national parks will try to consume all financial allocations before the end of the year so that they can receive the same amount of allocations next year. It is not difficult to imagine that the final result of doing so can only be a serious waste of financial expenses, and the construction of park facilities is not built according to needs. On the other hand, the National Park Administration charges uniform franchise fees to park contractors and campsite operators in the park, causing commercial activity entities to blindly pursue economic interests while ignoring the protection of park resources. The initial establishment and maintenance of the Canadian state took many detours.
Due to the pressure of the federal government’s fiscal deficit, the financial expenditure allocated to national parks decreased. It was not until 1994 that the National Park Service began to adopt a series of reform policies to reduce cost expenditures, improve resource utilization and increase economic returns. After several years of hard work, until 1998, the central government’s allocation to national parks was reduced by 25% compared with before, all thanks to the increase in the park’s own income.
Awakening of protection consciousness
In the early 1990s, due to the weak awareness of national park protection, the natural environment and resources in the park were seriously threatened. Based on this situation, the Canadian federal government issued the National Parks Act in 1930. Formal protection of national parks in the form of legislation. The legislation stipulates that national parks can only be established with the permission of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and the maintenance and repair of facilities and equipment in the national park must also be approved by the National Park Administration. Since then, all natural resources in the national park are counted as In the true sense, it has been protected by law. After the legislation, business activities based on economic profit, such as mining, deforestation, and the development of water conservancy and electric power resources, are completely prohibited, while hunting and fishing under certain circumstances are still allowed. It is a handshake between human social behavior and the natural environment of the national park.
It is worth mentioning that the Canadian National Parks Act stipulates that the public has the opportunity and right to participate in the planning and management of national parks. A more democratic approach narrows the distance between the public and national parks, allowing every Canadian resident All participated in the action of protecting the national park, which also laid a mass foundation for the improvement of the national park environment.
In the past 5 years, the federal government has spent 3 billion Canadian dollars on the maintenance of infrastructure in national parks, historical sites and national marine protected areas, including camps, trails and visitor centers in the parks. The biggest single spender in the government’s infrastructure plan. The Canadian government is committed to creating a natural park landscape with a beautiful environment and ecological harmony for Canadians, and national parks are the best way to realize this beautiful vision. It is not difficult to understand that in Canada’s 2016 budget, the cost of improving tourism and road construction reached 191 million Canadian dollars. With the improvement of the facilities in the park, the income of the park is also increasing year by year. It can be seen that the Canadian federal government attaches great importance to national parks.
“Public-private” contest
Although there is not much difference between national parks and other private parks in terms of form, national parks funded and managed by the government are more standardized and unified. There are many chain park brands in North America, and the Canadian national park system also shares a unified national national park reservation platform. Although the specific facilities in the national parks in each region are slightly different, the service purpose of the national parks in each region is always the same. Just as chain parks and chain camps have many cooperative brands, Canadian national parks also have many related cooperative brands to ensure the best service for tourists. Official National Parks of Canada partners include non-welfare organizations – Assinibo River Park Conservancy, Banff Arts Centre, Banff River Tourism, Manitoba Conservation and Water Resources Authority, Parkbus and Vancouver Aquarium etc.
With the increasingly fierce competition in the tourism industry, the Canadian tourism market is also showing a multi-point competitive situation. There is an endless stream of large, medium and small parks. a cup of soup. Improving park services, increasing entertainment items in the park, and increasing publicity have also become a sharp weapon to attract tourists. Coupled with the booming development of the camping industry, construction in national parks tends to be more residential without damaging the environment. A variety of accommodation forms also provide opportunities for people who have lived in the reinforced concrete siege for a long time to have a deep contact with nature.
In recent years, the gap between the input and output of Canadian national parks has been shrinking. It is believed that under the protection of mature and perfect administrative mechanisms and sound laws and regulations, the balance of income and expenditure of national parks is just around the corner. After realizing the existing problems, making corresponding adjustments in a timely manner, and being able to fully understand the market environment are important factors for national parks to always occupy a place in the market mechanism of survival of the fittest. From the initial “bringing doctrine” to the later “protectionism”, both the government and the business entities in the park have adhered to the bottom line of protecting the environment and respecting nature.
In contrast, in China, the construction of domestic protected areas, scenic spots and forest wetland parks has developed rapidly in recent years. As of June 2016, China has 2,740 nature reserves, 962 scenic spots, 3,237 forest parks, 485 geological parks, 979 wetland parks, 2,500 water conservancy scenic spots, 55 desert parks, and 33 ocean parks. There are many similarities between the construction and development of China’s scenic spots and nature reserves and Canada. Many early development plans were oriented by economic interests, lacked supervision, and there were many problems in the development process. With the improvement of living standards and awareness levels, the country has continuously introduced powerful and favorable policies to support the development of the traditional tourism industry in the direction of better experience, safer, more environmentally friendly, and greater benefits.
my country has long established a special management agency to supervise protected areas. However, due to the vastness of China’s territory, the protection work cannot be perfected for a long time. In recent years, the state has significantly increased its supervision and investment in environmental issues, and has continuously used public opinion to guide people to raise awareness of ecological protection. The successful inscription of Hoh Xil and the establishment of Sanjiangyuan National Park indicate that China’s ecological and environmental protection work has been in line with the world. We have reason to believe that the construction and management of China’s national parks will definitely get better and better.
