Managing protected areas (PAs) requires dealing with complex social-ecological systems where multiple dimensions (i.e. social, institutional, economic and ecological) interact over time. Uni-dimensional and top-down approaches have been unable to capture this complexity. Instead, new integrated approaches that acknowledge the multidimensional nature of PAs and the diversity of social actors in the decision making process are required. In this paper we put forward a novel participatory assessment approach which integrates multiple methodologies to reflect value articulating institutions in the case of a Natura 2000 (N2000) network site in the Basque Country (Southern Europe). This novel approach is based on a social multi-criteria evaluation framework, that integrates (i) economic values derived from a choice experiment, (ii) ecological values by means of a spatial biogeographic assessment, and (iii) a participatory process among diverse social actors. The case study shows that through the integration of diverse perspectives it is possible to achieve compromise solutions that foster the ecological values of PAs while enhancing other socioeconomic benefits. Such co-benefits are important to enhance the acceptance and scope of N2000 and overcome undesirable social-ecological conflicts. We also show that the inclusion of all affected parties in a deliberative process is a key prerequisite to ensure ecologically effective and socially acceptable decisions that will lead to sustainable conservation policies.
Participatory approaches have been incorporated in decision-making to strengthen the involvement of social actors in natural resource management and governance. This paradigm shift is permeating the development of Natura 2000 in Europe. However, the implementation of participatory approaches is at an early stage and still contested. To assess the scope of these participatory approaches, this article: (1) reviews the role of participatory approaches in Natura 2000, (2) develops a common framework to evaluate such participatory processes, (3) applies this framework to a pilot case study and (4) based on the lessons learned, provides guidance for future developments. Although the relatively small sample of participants signals caution, the study shows that ensuring an open dialogue among the social actors served to enhance understanding of the various interests and facilitated the identification of areas for compromise. While these findings are promising, we also identify various challenges to a better and more open dialogue.
Regional development theories and policies have now moved into new arenas. Today, the competitive advantages of regions put a premium on social capital, hence, the significant role played by localized learning and the construction of knowledge networks and institutional capacity. These are necessary and complementary assets to factors traditionally thought to influence regional development. The evaluation of these new regional policies is an important challenge, but classical evaluation models do not adapt well to the specific characteristics of these policies. As a consequence, it is necessary to seek new evaluation approaches to assess the regional impact of these new policies, understand how they work and why, generate knowledge and, also, mobilize regional communities to act, empowering local agents and enhancing learning capacity.
In recent decades, the use of evaluation has been one of the main concerns of both academics and practitioners, and there has been much controversy throughout the evaluation literature. Different perspectives of evaluation can determine the way evaluation findings are used and the contribution of evaluation to individual and organizational learning is conditioned by stakeholder participation. In this article, our main hypothesis is that stakeholder participation increases evaluation significance, ownership and utilization and, as a consequence, participatory evaluation approaches improve programme governance. We focus on the evaluation of the Rural Sustainable Development Plan in the Basque Country, a context that reveals a complex institutional network (at regional and local level) with a limited tradition of evaluation. To enhance the full scope of participatory evaluation, this article: (i) briefly reviews the theoretical discourse on evaluation utilization; (ii) describes the evaluation context (rural development policy and its governance); (iii) presents the evaluation model as applied to the mid‐term evaluation of the Basque Rural Sustainable Development Plan; and (iv) analyses the use of the evaluation findings and processes according to four dimensions, namely information generation, knowledge generation, orientated‐action utilization and orientated‐policy utilization. Finally, we provide guidance to improve knowledge about evaluation use, participation and good governance, which could be all considered as basic tools for solid institutionalization of sustainable development strategies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.