The international union for conservation of nature iucn produced guidelines for cave karst protection that outline conser vation needs for karst sites emphasising the importance of selecting. Many such landforms encompass one or many of these values as special places cave and karst landforms require special management this small booklet has been prepared as a brief guide for planners managers and users of cave and karst estates and provides general information and practical guidelines for the management of cave and karst ecosystems. Cave and karst landforms are distributed widely around the world they have many values and are an integral component of the worlds biodiversity some are habitats for a wide range of endemic species of flora and fauna while others house rare and endangered species still others are the sources of rare minerals and some are important for resources such as groundwater while some are . Cave and karst landforms are distributed widely around the world they have many values and are an integral component of the worlds biodiversity some are habitats for a wide range of endemic species of flora and fauna while others house rare and endangered species still others are the sources of rare minerals and some are important for resources such as groundwater while some are