The national park system began in the 1960s and now there are about three dozen national parks, wildlife refuges, biological reserves, monuments and recreation areas in Costa Rica. These comprise almost 12% of the total land area, and more are being planned, notably in the Volcàn Arenal area. In addition there are various buffer zones such as forest reserves an Indian reservations which boost the total area of "protected" land to about 27%. These buffer zones still allow farming, logging and other exploitation, however, so the environment is not totally protected within them. As well as the national parks system there are about two dozen private-owned lodges, reserves and haciendas which have been set up to protect the land, end these are well worth visiting.