1. Building Capacity on Protected Areas Law & Governance
Module 5
Exercise 2
Exploring Management through the
PA Law Matrix
Photo: Arch near Spitzkoppe, Namibia. Sourced from Shutterstock (Image ID No ) © Kim Visser
Management

2. Background Purpose Structure
Entrench an understanding of the manner in which protected areas laws provide for the management of PA sites.
Get Learners reading and analysing protected area laws.
Increase familiarity with the Protected Areas Law Matrix.
Structure
Introduction to Exercise (10 minutes)
Individual Work (60 minutes)
Joint Class Discussion (40 minutes)
Consolidation (10 minutes)
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Briefly explain the Purpose of the Exercise.
Briefly explain the Structure of the Exercise.

3. The PA Law Matrix origins purpose structure 17 Themes 79 Questions
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Introduce Learners to the Origins, Purpose and Structure of the Matrix which forms the basis of this Exercise.
Origins
The PA Law Matrix was developed through the work of the Joint Taskforce on Protected Areas Law and Policy of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law and World Commission on Protected Areas, and the IUCN Protected Areas Legislation Guidelines Project conducted by the IUCN Environmental Law Centre.
Research support for the development of the PA Law Matrix was provided by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council Canada and Parks Canada, under a project entitled Protected Areas Management: An International Comparative Study of Regulatory and Policy Frameworks, conducted by the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, in collaboration with the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law in 2009.
Purpose
The purpose of the PA Law Matrix is to provide a template for the analysis and comparative study of national and state/provincial legal frameworks on protected areas.
Structure
Comprises of three columns.
Column 1 - Topic - Lists 17 main substantive topics typically regulated by protected areas law.
Column 2 - Question - Lists 79 questions relating to these different substantive issues.
Column 3 - Application - Provides a space for the person using the Matrix to answer each of these questions relating to a particular selected law.
17 Themes
79 Questions
79 Answers

4. The Task read a law complete matrix sections summaries sections
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Indicate to Learners that their task is to:
Read a particular PA Law
Complete the questions under the following topics in the PA Law Matrix relating to the substantive content covered in this Module:
Management Institutions.
Management Planning.
Buffers.
Connectivity.
For each of the questions relating to these topics, Learners must:
Include both a summary of the relevant provisions (in your own words) and the relevant section number.
Try and keep their summaries concise and accurate - and not simply cut and paste long sections from the law into the PA Law Matrix.

5. The Laws the example South Africa
National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act
National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Diagram - Map of South Africa indicating priority areas for conservation (source - National Biodiversity Assessment (2011)).
Indicate to Learners that for the purpose of this exercise South Africa’s National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (57 of 2003) has been selected as an example.
Highlight how the above Act cannot be read in isolation from the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (10 of 2004) and that Learners will therefore be provided with copies of both these laws.

6. Last Few Things Choice of these laws Using the Index The Entire Matrix
A Challenging Task
Remembering the Purpose
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Highlight the following final aspects before the Learners start the Task.
Choice of Law
Highlight why South Africa’s relevant legal framework has been selected:
It provides an example of relatively contemporary protected areas regime - having commenced in 2004.
It provides an interesting example of how a protected areas law cannot be read in isolation from other legislation (in this case most notably its accompanying law - the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (10 of 2004)).
Using the Index
One way to quickly find the relevant provisions in the laws is to consult the index to the law (ie identify the relevant Chapter headings which largely match those in the PA Law Matrix and focus on these).
Entire Matrix
While the entire PA Law Matrix has been provided to you (so that you can see how the entire Matrix fits together), you only need complete the questions identified above which relate to the content conveyed to you in the Seminar Presentation for Module 5 (Management).
A Challenging Task
Completing the PA Law Matrix in isolation and without a thorough knowledge of a particular jurisdictions entire legal framework is often a difficult task as:
Relevant provisions relating to protected areas are often scattered across several different laws.
Relevant legal details are often contained in Regulations, Policies and Plans published under these laws.
Remembering the Purpose
Acknowledging this difficulty, encourage the Learners to read the laws carefully and experiment with completing the relevant components of the PA Law Matrix with a view to:
Deepening their understanding of the manner in which PA laws provide for the management of PA sites.
Improving their reading and ability to critically analyse protected area laws.
Increasing their familiarity with the PA Law Matrix - a key instrument for analysing and comparing protected area laws.