Supporting country action on the CBD programme of work on protected areas

PoWPA Activity 4.1.2

Develop and implement an efficient, long-term monitoring system of the outcomes being achieved through protected area systems in relation to the goals and targets of the PoWPA.

It is important that countries put in place mechanisms for accurate reporting on the progress in the implementation of PoWPA. Currently, there is no common model developed in this regard. Some of the established protected area monitoring schemes may be adapted to meet the needs of PoWPA reporting. Thus, the IUCN’s WCPA has developed a management effectiveness evaluation framework which may be adapted to report progress on the PoWPA. provides a consistent basis for designing evaluation mechanisms for protected areas and systems (http://www.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/html/bp14-evaluatingeffectiveness/cover.html). The framework is based around a cycle of protected area management with six distinct stages, or elements:

• It begins with establishing the context of existing values and threats,
• progresses through planning, and
• allocation of resources (inputs), and
• as a result of management actions (process),
• eventually produces goods and services (outputs)
• that result in impacts or outcomes.

These six stages have a central core, which is a cycle of evaluation, reflection, and learning. Evaluation that assesses each of these elements, and the links between the elements provides a relatively comprehensive picture of management effectiveness. The framework can be tailored to specific contexts, habitat types and other locally variable circumstances.

Countries will also have to report on the PoWPA progress as part of their national reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and therefore the PoWPA reporting system may be adjusted along the lines/formats of the CBD national reports.