Lighting governance for protected areas and beyond – Identifying the urgent need for sustainable management of artificial light at night

C. Aubrecht, M. Stojan-Dolar, A. de Sherbinin, M. Jaiteh, T. Longcore, and C. Elvidge Published on Monday, 20 December 2010

Artificial Night Lighting (ANL) In Protected Areas – A Proxy For Human Activity

Protected nature areas represent the parts of our planet with high biodiversity where nature is relatively undisturbed. It is of particular importance to maintain natural conditions during both day and night time in these areas. There is a growing body of evidence showing that artificial night lighting affects the foraging, reproductive and migration behavior of a number of nocturnal animals such as insects, bats, amphibians and birds. It changes prey-predator relationships, affects animal natural rhythms, and disrupts physiological processes in plants (Rich & Longcore 2006). High levels of light pollution in proximity of protected areas are therefore especially worrying.