National Landscape Monuments protection is aimed at preserving entire ecosystems and would extend well beyond visitor centers, Babbitt said.

CNN: Nature - Babbitt pushes land protection initiative

The landscape has remained virtually unchanged since the last eruption, thanks to minimal rainfall and government protection.

BBC: Dinner cooked by an active volcano

Key themes of SD in the region include among other things poverty alleviation, citizenship, peace, ethics, responsibility in local and global contexts, democracy and governance, justice, security, human rights, health, gender equity, cultural diversity, rural and urban development, economy, production and consumption patterns, corporate social responsibility, environmental protection, climate change, prevention and adaptation, natural resource management, biological and landscape diversity.

UNESCO: Education