Protected Area Governance and Its Influence on Local Perceptions, Attitudes and Collaboration (original) (raw)
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WORKSHOP STREAM III: GOVERNANCE OF PROTECTED AREAS (PAs) (NEW WAYS OF WORKING TOGETHER) Chairs
2000
Governance is about power, relationships and accountability. It is about who has influence, who decides, and how decision-makers are held accountable. It can be defined as the interactions among structures, processes and traditions that determine how power is exercised, how decisions are taken on issues of public concern, and how citizens or other stakeholders have their say. Over the last decade or so, the term has progressed from relative obscurity to widespread usage. Governance improvements are advocated on issues of public information, transparency and accountability in decision-making, fair treatment of social concerns, equitable sharing of the costs and benefits of conservation, strategic vision and actual effectiveness of management.
Perception and Reliance of Local Communities in Conservation of Protected Areas
Rupantaran: A Multidisciplinary Journal
Conservation achievement is strongly inclined by perceptions of the impacts that are experienced by local communities. Perceptions provide an important means of assessing the performance of conservation plan so that better policies may be developed for effective biodiversity protection and the wellbeing of people living near protected areas. Local communities living adjacent to protected areas (PA) have played a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Understanding communities’ use and perceptions of a PA will increase its conservation effectiveness through reducing anthropogenic pressures and improving park-people relationship. The specific objective of the study was to explore the perceptions and reliance of local communities in conservation by different social groups and economic conditions on the basis of the current natural resource related needs in Bardia National Park (BNP) and its Buffer Zone (BZ). Data has been collected through a mixed-method approach, including qualitati...
Challenges of protected areas management
K̦azMU habaršysy. Èkologiâ seriâsy, 2022
Protected Areas (PAs) is a cornerstone and essential preservation strategies at a national and international level for biodiversity preservation and to maintain healthy ecological function. PAs have continuously been increase over the last decades. However, their effectiveness significantly depends on their management and planning strategies. This paper presents an overview of the main challenges in PAs management. Findings of the present study highlights an importance of involvement of stakeholders in the decision-making process in the management of PAs, public attitudes and perception towards Pas. The understanding of the main challenges in such as uncontrolled human activities (hunting, poaching, fishing), unsustainable development of tourism, climate change also important taking into account in achieving sustainable conservation objectives, and in the design and implementation of new environmental policies. PAs management depends on many interactions such as policy agenda, social and economic situation, cultural issues, stakeholders, individual preferences and governance. Therefore, to conduct an effective PAs management, it is essential to strengthen responses to these multiple obstacles.
Who's Doing the Protecting in Protected Areas?" A Global Perspective on Protected Area Governance
2007
81 To address this problem, IUCN–The World Conservation Union (IUCN) created a classification system for protected areas in 1994 (Table 1). Without changing national or local names, the IUCN categories attempt to address the labels issue by identifying protected areas by their primary management objectives. Of course, every park is unique, but many share similar management objectives, while others have different objectives. The categories are currently under review, following an important meeting held in Spain in May 2007. While reviewing management categories, the same global organization, IUCN, is also looking at governance of protected areas. Generally speaking, here in North America and elsewhere, governments have been viewed as the primary and dominant managers of parks and protected areas for about a century. The last World Parks Congress (2003 in South Africa) recognized that four general governance types exist today: government, co-managed, private, and community-conserved a...
2018
Given the uncertainties and risks of anthropogenic climate change, the urgency to conserve biodiversity has renewed urgency that has prompted a number of international forums, treaties, and agencies to advocate for the establishment of new and/or expansion of existing protected areas. One of the most broadly recognized efforts to expand the global protected area network can be found in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for 2011-2020, adopted in 2010 by 196 countries. Target 11 calls for the expansion of terrestrail and inland water areas, as well as coastal marine areas. While the number of designated protected areas has more than doubled in less than 25 years, how to achieve the more qualitative elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, specifically how to manage protected areas effectively and equitably has been a more challenging task. This research focuses on supporting quality local stakeholder participation in pro...
Perceived barriers to and drivers of community participation in protected-area governance
Conservation Biology, 2017
Protected areas (PAs) are a frequently used conservation strategy, yet their socioeconomic impacts on local communities remain contentious. A shift toward increased participation by local communities in PA governance seeks to deliver benefits for human well-being and biodiversity. Although participation is considered critical to the success of PAs, few researchers have investigated individuals' decisions to participate and what this means for how local people experience the costs and benefits of conservation. We explored who participates in PA governance associations and why; the perceived benefits and costs to participation; and how costs and benefits are distributed within and between communities. Methods included 3 focus groups, 37 interviews, and 217 questionnaire surveys conducted in 3 communities and other stakeholders (e.g., employees of a nongovernmental organization and government officials) in PA governance in Madagascar. Our study design was grounded in the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the most commonly applied behavior model in social psychology. Participation in PA governance was limited by miscommunication and lack of knowledge about who could get involved and how. Respondents perceived limited benefits and high costs and uneven distribution of these within and between communities. Men, poorer households, and people in remote villages reported the highest costs. Our findings illustrate challenges related to comanagement of PAs: understanding the heterogeneous nature of communities; ensuring all households are represented in governance participation; understanding differences in the meaning of forest protection; and targeting interventions to reach households most in need to avoid elite capture.
The Geographical Journal, 2011
Protected areas (PAs) form the backbone of European biodiversity-conservation efforts. Despite extensive PA coverage in many countries on the Continent, biodiversity is declining throughout Europe. According to international scientific studies, PA management schemes often fail because benefits for local people are not realised, and their participation is neglected. However, despite the development of integrated PA concepts such as biosphere reserves and nature parks, instances of PA failure are regularly reported, suggesting factors other than the mere selection of integrated concepts. In order to identify such factors, a qualitative meta-analysis of 20 case studies from 10 European countries was conducted. It was generally found that though providing benefits for and involving local people are important success factors, the prevailing socio-economic and political conditions have the potential to prevent management success. While this parallels other studies that caution to view certain paradigms of area protection as a panacea and call for closer attention to the existing conditions, another important factor was identified: the perceptions and attitudes of the local people and of PA managers. They may affect PA management success through restricting opportunities and support for adequate benefits and participation processes. Therefore, it is essential to gain knowledge on both the conditions and the perceptions and attitudes. Here, socio-ecological monitoring appears to be an important means of gaining this kind of knowledge and evaluating it. This will eventually engender adaptive learning processes that accommodate the complexity of social-ecological systems and their biocultural diversity.
Using perceived impacts, governance and social indicators to explain support for protected areas
Environmental Research Letters , 2023
Protected areas (PAs) are the foremost policy tool for biodiversity conservation internationally. In order for PAs to deliver desired conservation outcomes effectively, equitably, and for the long-term, they require a high level of support from local communities. A mosaic of factors have been proposed aiming to explain the level of support for PAs focusing mainly on governance indicators, perceived social impacts and social attributes, such as personal norms and values. However, these factors are often explored in isolation and in studies of small scale within the scientific literature. To cover this research gap we run a structural equation model exploring how the interconnections between these factors can lead to higher levels of support for PAs using data from 3239 local residents in 10 PAs in Europe. Our analysis shows that the mediation effects of governance indicators, such as trust in institutions and level of public engagement, are important in explaining associations between an individual's social profile and their perceived social impacts with public support. Our findings also provide a useful and operational framework for PA practitioners and researchers illuminating pathways to increase the level of public support for a PA.
A systemic perspective on sustainable governance of protected areas
eco.mont - Volume 6, Number 1, January 2014
This paper discusses systemic aspects of protected area research with a particular focus on systemic governance. Protected areas are embedded within a dynamic system of socioeconomic-ecological interactions on various geographical, value-ethical, cultural and political scales. For example, recent energy politics exacerbates existing pressures on land use for renewable energy generation and challenges the goals and objectives of protection categories. The category or classification of a protected area according to the IUCN framework is influenced by the regional political and cultural differentiations, which concern all aspects of protected areas in their social, ecological and economic interactions. The category has an influence on how the local population is affected or benefits from the protection of an area, and what kind of visitors are coming to or engaging with the protected area. The category is also influenced by the acceptance of the local population and visitors or tourists. Protected areas increasingly operate as multifunctionally managed areas where visitors and inhabitants are integrated into the management concept. Category groups have a decisive and inverse influence on visitor management and protected area governance, which itself is steered by political and cultural characteristics. Changing value ethics of visitors affect the governance of protected areas and new partnerships need to be built for their sustainable management. This paper synthesizes such systemic aspects in a mountain context and concludes with an outline for future research.