PoWPA Activity 1.1.1
Establish time-bound and measurable (e.g. numerical) national/regional protected area targets and indicators by 2006
The PoWPA stresses that protected areas should be “comprehensive, effectively managed, and ecologically representative. “Comprehensive" and “ecologically representative,” which are important to understand at the planning stage, suggest that the protected area network will contain examples of all ecosystems and all species, in spatial scale and population size large enough to be viable and for natural ecology to continue functioning over time. The concept of ecological representation lies at the heart of efforts to develop protected areas from a scattering of sites mainly aimed at protecting a few well known species (often called charismatic megafauna) to a system that provides an “ark” for all biodiversity.
Three steps are important for protected area system target and indicator setting:
- The political will of the country’s government to improve its protected area system;
- Research to justify targets and indicators for the improvement of the national protected area system; and
- Stakeholder consultations.
Gaining political support and will to improve the national protected area system
Implementation of Activity 1.1.1 depends on the political will of the government. The need for improvement of the current national protected areas system should be recognized at a high level. There are several examples of country leaders declaring protected areas as one of key national priorities. The best known is probably the case of Madagascar, when during the World Park Congress in Durban in 2003, President Marc Ravalomanana announced: “…our resolve is to bring the protected areas from 1.7 million hectares to 6 million hectares over the next five years to come in relation to IUCN protected areas categories…through strengthening of the present national network and implementation of new mechanism for establishment of new conservation areas.”
However, political statements setting the future goals for protected areas have to be carefully justified and be based on participatory consultations and science.
Research
Research is necessary to justify targets and indicators for the expanded national protected areas system. This research may well be part of the Initial Gap Analysis, which is prescribed by a different PoWPA Activity (1.1.5), and is also eligible for support from this project.
Stakeholder consultations
Once the political will has been solidified, and initial research has taken place to justify targets and indicators for expansion of the PA system, it is important that stakeholder consultations, as part of the target-setting exercise take place at the local level, and involve indigenous and local communities around existing and potential protected areas. (This can also be part of PoWPA Activity 1.1.4, which is supported by this project). For each of the major new or expanded protected areas, identified as priorities up through 2012, there has to be support and agreement between the government and local residents on proposed new objectives of expansion of the protected area system. The process of local stakeholder engagement needs to be tailored to individual conditions, but generally addresses issues related to whether people support the idea of a protected area, how it might be managed and how it might be governed. Assembling a broad representation of relevant stakeholders and agreeing on initial targets for protection is often a critical first stage. Some nations have taken bold steps in declaring very broad goals for protected areas, demonstrating their recognition of the importance of taking their national biological riches seriously. However, the details of how to achieve and implement such commitments at the site level must be worked out, including by means of stakeholder consultations.
