Governance of protected areas

Conservation is a positive endeavour including “… the preservation, maintenance, sustainable use, restoration, and enhancement of the natural environment”.

Protected Area is "“...a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, 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…”. In less elegant, but possibly clearer words, governance is about taking decisions and ensuring the conditions for their effective implementation. It is the process of developing and exercising authority and responsibility over time. It is about who takes decisions, and how, including in relation to learning processes and evolving institutions in society.

Governance is related to management but different from it. What is the difference? Management is about what is done in pursuit of given objectives. Governance is about who decides about what is to be done, and how those decisions are taken. It is about who holds power, authority and responsibility and who is, or should be, held accountable. Governance is nothing new: someone, somewhere, has always been taking decisions about protected and conserved areas. What is new is that we are now paying better attention to governance, adding visibility, articulating concepts, and monitoring and evaluating practice. There is no ideal governance setting for protected or conserved areas, but a set of “good governance” principles can always be taken into account. Governance is appropriate only when tailored to its specific context and effective in delivering lasting conservation results, livelihood benefits and the respect of rights.

Governance can be improved and provide precious help in facing on-going challenges and global change.

The IUCN World Parks Congress is held once every decade. Since the Congress in Durban (2003), governance has been a recurring stream in the deliberations of the Congress. Governance was also a major stream at the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014. The stream, among other things, published a primer to develop a basic lexicon in the hope that speaking “a common language” may help to better communicate and develop concepts of increasing clarity and meaning.

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Wikipedia