Governance of protected areas
Conservation is an endeavor including "the preservation, maintenance, sustainable use, restoration, and enhancement of the natural environment".
A Protected Area is "a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated, and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values".
This IUCN definition applies equally to land, inland waters, and coastal and marine territories and areas, and is widely considered to be equivalent to the CBD definition.
Governance is the process of "interactions among structures, processes and traditions that determine how power and responsibilities are exercised, how decisions are taken and how citizens or other stakeholders have their say…".
It refers to the manner in which responsibility is owned and discharged.
Systems for governance of Protected Areas are under continuing evolution.
Governance at the IUCN World Parks Congress
The IUCN World Parks Congress is held once every decade. Since the Congress in Durban, governance has been a recurring stream in the deliberations of the Congress. was also a major stream at the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014. The stream published a to develop a basic lexicon in the hope that speaking "a common language" may help to better communicate and develop concepts with increasing clarity and meaning.Governance Diversity
Governance diversity for protected and conserved areas is when decisions are made by a variety of actors who enrich and strengthen conservation in practice. For instance, a national system of protected areas can "enhance governance diversity" by including in the system areas governed by different types of players and under different arrangements, and/or by providing better recognition and support to conserved territories and areas outside the system.Four main governance types
The IUCN and CBD distinguish four broad governance types for protected and conserved areas according to the actors who take or took the fundamental decisions about them.The four main governance types are:
- Type A: governance by the government
- Type B: governance by various rights holders and stakeholders together
- Type C: governance by private individuals and organizations
- Type D: governance by indigenous peoples and/or local communities
ICCAs
- an indigenous people or local community possesses a close and profound elation with a site
- the people or community is the major player in decision-making related to the site and has de facto and/or de jure capacity to develop and enforce regulations.
- the people's or community's decisions and efforts lead to the conservation of biodiversity, ecological functions, and associated cultural values, regardless of original or primary motivations.
Conservation depends on well-governed systems of protected and conserved areas in the landscape and seascape and systems are made stronger by governance diversity.
Conserved Territories or Areas
Conserved territories or areas are "…area-based measures that— regardless of recognition and dedication and at times even regardless of explicit and conscious management practices— achieve conservation de facto and/or is in a positive conservation trend and likely to maintain this trend in the long term…". This definition applies equally to land, inland waters, and coastal and marine territories and areas. The governance types apply to both protected areas and conserved territories and areas that are NOT recognized as "protected" by the IUCN or any specific national government. In this sense, the terms "Privately Conserved Areas" and "ICCAs" encompass extents of land, inland waters, and coastal and marine territories and areas that go beyond those recognized as "protected" by either the national government or the IUCN.Voluntary and ancillary conservation
Many systems of land and water management support high levels of biodiversity, including critical biodiversity, outside the formal system of protected areas, in sites such as tourism and commercial hunting reserves, private estates, or village forests. The term voluntary conservation captures the idea that those who exercise governance do so consciously and without restriction, in ways that are fully compatible with conserving biodiversity values while they may or may not see conservation as the primary objective of their management efforts. In other cases, as in military no-go areas or areas abandoned after a natural or man-made disaster, the term ancillary conservation is more appropriate, since conservation is an entirely unintended consequence of management for other purposes. Conservation in the landscape and seascape is the result of various area-based and non-area-based measures. Among area-based measures, there are both protected areas and conserved territories and areas. Crucially, those should be biologically, but also socially, well connected.Systems of protected and conserved areas
A well-functioning system of protected and conserved areas is complete and well-connected in conserving the representative features and functions of nature in a given environment. Each protected area governance type can also contribute in different ways towards conservation goals, with the complementary and/or overlapping management of conservation features.Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)
The term "other effective area-based conservation measures"– abbreviated as OECMs—is used by the Convention on Biological Diversity to refer to territories and areas that are effectively conserved but not part of the official protected area system of a given country. In this sense, OECMs can be seen as "clearly defined geographical space where de facto conservation of nature and associated ecosystem services and cultural values is achieved and expected to be maintained in the long-term regardless of specific recognition and dedication". OECMs can include the following:- Primary voluntary conservation that the national government does not wish to recognize as a protected area
- Primary voluntary conservation that refuses the protected area label and/or inclusion in the national system
- Secondary voluntary conservation
- Ancillary conservation with a reasonable expectation to be maintained in the long-term
| Conserved areas | Conservation of nature is the primary management objective | Conservation of nature is not the primary management objective |
| The State government recognizes it as part of its system of protected areas | The area is a protected area both according to the IUCN and in the country at stake | The area is a protected area in the country at stake, although not internationally; it likely comprises voluntary conservation; it can comprise ancillary conservation; it can be considered an OECM from an international point |
| The State government does not recognize it as part of its system of protected areas | The area is a protected area according to the IUCN ; the area most likely comprises voluntary conservation; the IUCN recommends to nationally consider it as an OECM | The area is neither recognized as a protected area nationally nor internationally; it likely comprises voluntary conservation and/or ancillary conservation; the area can be considered nationally as an OECM |
Governance quality
IUCN principles of good governance for protected areas
We speak of governance quality when decisions are made while respecting the "good governance" principles developed through time by a variety of peoples, nations, and UN agencies. A simple and compact formulation of the "IUCN principles of good governance for protected areas", includes:- Legitimacy and voice— i.e. enjoying broad acceptance and appreciation in society; ensuring procedural rights of access to information, participation, and justice; fostering engagement and diversity; preventing discrimination; fostering subsidiarity, mutual respect, dialogue, consensus, and agreed rules...
- Direction— i.e. following an inspiring and consistent strategic vision grounded on agreed values and an appreciation of complexities; ensuring consistency with policy and practice at various levels; ensuring clear answers to contentious questions; ensuring proper adaptive management and favouring the emergence of champions and tested innovations...
- Performance—i.e. achieving conservation and other objectives as planned; promoting a culture of learning; engaging in advocacy and outreach; being responsive to the needs of rights holders and stakeholders; ensuring resources and capacities and their efficient use; promoting sustainability and resilience...
- Accountability—i.e. upholding integrity and commitment; ensuring appropriate access to information and transparency, including for lines of responsibility, allocation of resources, and evaluation of performances; establishing communication avenues and encouraging feedback and independent overseeing...
- Fairness and rights—i.e. striving towards equitably shared costs and benefits, without adverse impact for vulnerable people; upholding decency and the dignity of all; being fair, impartial, consistent, non-discriminatory, respectful of procedural rights as well as substantive rights, individual and collective human rights, gender equity and the rights of indigenous peoples, including Free, Prior and Informed Consent; promoting local empowerment in conservation.