Changes in protected area management effectiveness over time: A global analysis

Abstract

32 Protected Area coverage has reached over 15% of the global land area. However, the quality of 33 management of the vast majority of reserves remains unknown, and many are suspected to be 34 'paper parks'. Moreover, the degree to which management can be enhanced through targeted 35 conservation projects remains broadly speculative. Proven links between improved reserve 36 management and the delivery of conservation outcomes are even more elusive. In this paper we 37 present results on how management effectiveness scores change in protected areas receiving 38 conservation investment, using a globally expanded database of protected area management 39 effectiveness, focusing on the 'management effectiveness tracking tool' (METT). Of 1934 protected 40 areas with METT data, 722 sites have at least two assessments. Mean METT scores increased in 41 69.5% of sites while 25.1% experienced decreases and 5.4% experienced no change over project 42 periods (median 4 years). Low initial METT scores and longer implementation time were both 43 found to positively correlate with larger increases in management effectiveness. Performance 44 metrics related to planning and context as well as monitoring and enforcement systems increased 45 the most while protected area outcomes showed least improvement. Using a general linear mixed 46 model we tested the correlation between change in METT scores and matrices of 1) landscape and 47 protected area properties (i.e. topography and size), 2) human threats (i.e. road and human 48 population density), and 3) socio-economics (i.e. infant mortality rate). Protected areas under 49 greater threat and larger protected areas showed greatest improvements in METT. Our results 50 suggest that when funding and resources are targeted at protected areas under greater threat they 51 have a greater impact, potentially including slowing the loss of biodiversity. 52

At the intersection of cultural and natural heritage: Distribution and conservation of the type localities of Italian endemic vascular plants

“…In addition, in their analysis, Trochet and Schmeller (2013) demonstrated that the Natura 2000 network also covers species not listed in the annexes of the Habitats Directive, at least in the case of mammals, birds and reptiles; this might happen also for plants. Concerns also exist on the role of protected areas, in general, in providing effective biodiversity conservation (Geldmann et al, 2015;Le Saout et al, 2013).…”

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“…In 2010, Parties were invited to implement management effectiveness evaluations in at least 60 per cent of their total protected areas (CBD, 2010b). As of January 2015, only 21.4 per cent of CBD Parties, excluding overseas territories, had met this target (Coad et al, 2015). However, the Global Database for Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME) contains information for only a small portion of the sites listed in the WDPA (UNEP-WCMC, 2017b).…”

“…This is positive in the sense that it illustrates how the implementation of adaptive processes may be improving protected area management, though the relation to biodiversity impacts is indirect. More work is needed to comprehend the connections between management effectiveness and biodiversity outcomes (Coad et al, 2015;.…”

Protected area management under climate change: A framework for decision making

“…Protected areas are one of the most effective mechanisms for achieving conservation and afford a high level of defence against biodiversity loss and environmental degradation (Geldmann et al 2015). They require constant management and monitoring to be effective Watson et al 2014;Coad et al 2015;Pressey et al 2015).…”

“…They require constant management and monitoring to be effective Watson et al 2014;Coad et al 2015;Pressey et al 2015). Effective management of protected areas requires sound practices and an appropriate level of management and resources which may frequently be limited (Shoo et al 2014).…”