WWF – World Bank Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool What is Management Effectiveness Evaluation? Sue Stolton

Protected areas are an effective tool for conservation if they can be and are managed to protect the values that they contain

Face a range of threats from the local to global

1980’s study of US national parks found virtually all had lost species

Management is not easy Implement management strategies and processes Management objectives Systems of governance Adequate and appropriate resources

Who wants to know about protected area effectiveness Managers of individual protected areas Funding agencies: GEF, The World Bank NGO’s: WWF, TNC, CI PA Agencies: Finland, Canada, India, New South Wales, Australia Conventions: UNESCO World Heritage, CBD

The 2004 CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas aims, by 2010 (for terrestrial ecosystems) and 2012 (for marine), to establish: “comprehensive, effectively managed and ecologically-representative national systems of protected areas”

Goal To evaluate and improve the effectiveness of protected areas management Target: By 2010, frameworks for monitoring, evaluating and reporting protected areas management effectiveness at sites, national and regional systems, and transboundary protected area levels adopted and implemented by Parties

Many purposes of management effectiveness evaluation 1.Adaptive management – site 2.Resource allocation and prioritisation – achieving objectives 3.Accountability and transparency – reporting nationally/internationally 4.Advocacy to improve management – building support

Promote adaptive management Assessment of management systems to ensure effectiveness and achievement of goals Adapt and improve management by reviewing results of activities Highlight management success to replicate and areas requiring improvement

Improve resource allocation and priority setting Resource allocation decisions aided by: –agreeing important values within and across sites –assessing condition of values and threats to values –prioritising goals not being achieved –developing efficiency where outcomes are achieved

Promote accountability and transparency Management achievements match effort and resources being spent Meets national policy and management objectives Participation of stakeholders in the assessments build credibility Information used for national and international reporting needs

Facilitate advocacy Increasing public awareness and support Increase cooperation and trust between partners Support funding applications Help advocate policy or legislation change

Many good reasons to undertake assessments ….

Many different circumstances and capacities for carrying out assessments

scale - assessment site level or over entire protected areas system frequency - from a one-off study to continual monitoring and assessment carried out on a regularly resources - organisational capacity, knowledge and enthusiasm

Differing scales: differing objectives Site level assessments provide a basis for managerial decisions for an individual protected area Network level assessment provide a basis for broader policy-level analyses across many sites

Frequency Annual - preparation of annual reports, work plans and budgets or in relation to major threats Every two or five years - linked to the management planning cycle or the updating of management plans or “state of the park” reviews

Resources Capacity - staff time, resources available and evaluation skills Knowledge-base - monitoring results, research, literature, practitioners’ knowledge

Who take part in the evaluation?

The assessment of management effectiveness has many variables but there has also been a wealth of experience developed over the last few years in undertaking assessments

Evaluation History s independent systems (WWF, TNC and park agencies) 1992 IUCN’s World Parks Congress asked IUCN/WCPA coordinate approaches to assessment