Protected areas

Protected areas remain the cornerstone of most conservation strategies. Protected areas are places set aside to secure biodiversity and ecosystem services. Many also have cultural, spiritual and recreational values. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines a protected area as “a geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives,” while IUCN says, “A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.” The CBD recognizes the two definitions as equivalent.

The way that protected areas are managed varies considerably. There are several very different protected area management categories, agreed by IUCN and recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To be recognized as a protected area a site must first meet the definition and then (on a voluntary basis) be matched to a category. Management ranges from strict protection to living landscapes and seascapes where people and nature co-exist. As new approaches to area-based conservation are developed, management in categories V and VI protected areas is sometimes similar to strategies since recognized in Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) and determining where a particular type of area-based conservation falls on the spectrum of opportunities is going to be one of the important tasks of plans relating to Target 3.

“Legal or other effective means” shows that protected areas can be flexible tools, which can be officially designated by governments and enshrined in law but can also be self-declared areas managed by local communities or private individuals. What matters is whether they work to conserve nature. “To achieve the long-term conservation of nature” emphasizes the importance of long-term investing in the skills, finance and local support to ensure that protected areas are effective.

Note also that IUCN’s guidance recognizes that up to a quarter of a protected area can be used for other purposes (e.g., settlement, tourist facilities) as long as this does not interfere with nature conservation – the 75% rule. There are also different ways of governing protected areas: by national or local government, by a variety of private profit or non-profit entities, by Indigenous peoples and local communities and finally through various forms of shared governance.

IUCN has defined a series of principles for protected areas, some of the most important are:

– Only those areas where the main objective is conserving nature can be considered protected areas; this can include many areas with other goals as well, at the same level, but in the case of conflict, nature conservation will be the priority.

– Not all categories are equally useful in every situation.

– Protected areas should not be used as an excuse for dispossessing people of their land.

The CBD and IUCN refer to four governance types:

– Governance by government: national and/or subnational ministries/agencies and government-delegated management (e.g., to a non-government organisation (NGO)).

– Private governance: individual owners, non-profit entities (e.g., NGOs, universities, cooperatives) or for-profit organizations (individual or corporate).

– Governance by Indigenous peoples or local communities: territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples or local communities (referred to in some CBD decisions as Indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs), and in some contexts also referred to as “territories of life,” Indigenous and community-conserved areas and territories, and/or a wide variety of context-based names).

– Shared governance: collaborative and co-governed governing bodies of different (governmental and/or non-governmental) actors as well as transboundary governance.

– Protected areas and OECMs can both be governed under any of these types – noting that their designation / identification must be by or with the consent of their governing authority, respecting rights to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)

Systems of protected areas

Target 3 specifically refers to ‘systems’ of protected areas and OECMs. A system refers to a protected areas and OECMs network along with its governance and management and key actors. A national or subnational protected areas and OECMs system may include terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal areas (particularly those important for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services) being conserved through different measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories – and under different governance types.

Like sites, these systems should be effectively managed, equitably governed, ecologically representative, well connected and integrated, with recognition and respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities. A system should be more than the sum of its parts, but a goal in itself, to address needs such as representativeness.