Publisher : IUCN
Place of publication :
Publication year : 2000
Thematic : MPA Effectiveness
Language : English
Note
As we enter the 21st century, almost a tenth of the world’s land surface is in some form of protected area national parks, nature reserves, landscape protected areas and wilderness and there is an extensive and growing network of marine protected areas. This is a remarkable achievement for the world’s governments and conservation organizations and a demonstration of the importance accorded to biodiversity protection, maintenance of environmental services, protection of cultural values and aesthetic and ethical considerations. It is therefore all the more remarkable to realize how little we know about the status of many of these protected areas. far less than we usually know, for example, about the health of agricultural land, the rate of growth in commercial forests and the viability of fish stocks. This is more than just of academic interest. What little we do know suggests that many protected areas are not in particularly good shape, suffering from a variety of impacts and in some cases in danger of losing the very values for which they were set aside in the first place. Others exist in name only, the so-called paper parks that are present as lines on the map but have never actually been implemented. We clearly need to put as much effort into achieving sound and effective management of protected areas as into setting up new areas. As a result, interest is growing in ways in which we can monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas and apply the findings to progressively improve on going management. This is not as easy as it sounds. Protection encompasses many values and has numerous facets. Loss of quality in protected areas can occur in many different forms. Effectiveness needs to be measured from various points of view, ranging from the status of the area and the way in which a protected area is designed through to the outcomes of management actions and the overall state of conservation of the area. Evaluation is needed at many different levels, from quick assessments to detailed monitoring studies undertaken to inform adaptive management. The World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) of IUCN set up a Management Effectiveness Task Force to look into these issues and prepare strategies for addressing them. This report is the culmination of three years effort by specialists around the world. It is based on initial work by Marc Hockings from the University of Queensland carried out while based at the World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK. This was then enriched by the output of a series of experts. workshops around the world, held in association with the IUCN/WWF Forest Innovations project, WWF Netherlands, WWF Forests for Life Campaign, WWF/World Bank Alliance and the World Heritage Convention. The editors have therefore been able to draw on much expertise. The report proposes a framework for assessing management effectiveness. This is not presented as a straitjacket into which every assessment system should fall. We recognize the need for a variety of responses depending on needs and resources. The framework also includes suggested tools which can be used as the basis for developing an assessment methodology. We hope therefore that this report will lead effective management of protected areas by helping professionals and others who wish to assess management of protected areas to develop the most appropriate evaluation and monitoring system for their circumstances. It will also be easier for comparison between sites, sharing lessons learned and maximizing the benefits of evaluations if there is some consistency in approach and adherence to some basic operational guidelines. Part A of the guidelines sets out the theoretical and methodological aspects of the suggested framework. While conceptually the system has potential universal application, it is intended for adaptation to a wide range of circumstances, from those in wealthy countries with access to sophisticated systems of recording and accounting, to those in much poorer countries where simpler approaches are necessary. Part B contains six case studies that demonstrate the practical application of a range of evaluative approaches in management of protected areas in Australia, the Congo Basin, and Central America and South America.
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Keywords : Socioeconomic Development
Encoded by : Mae Belen Llanza
