Protected and conserved areas are a cornerstone of global conservation efforts, they protect biodiversity, restore degraded landscapes and provide ecological services and livelihood opportunities as well as being a place for people to reconnect with nature. However, there are also concerns about unfair outcomes for people affected by protected area declarations, which include social justice and human rights issues. Recent reports from the United Nations Special Rapporteurs have highlighted the breadth of these issues, particularly with regard to Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Aichi Target 11, adopted by the 193 State Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010, states that protected areas must be equitably managed by 2020 (CBD, 2010). The word equity captures the notion of fairness, and in the context of area based conservation, three dimensions of equity are identified:
- Recognition: acknowledgement of, and respect for, actor’s rights and their identities, knowledge systems, values and institutions.
- Procedure: inclusiveness of rule and decision-making, transparency, accountability, access to justice and dispute resolution.
- Distribution: sharing of costs and benefits among different actors, and how the costs experienced by some actors are mitigated.
Based on this framework, CBD Parties adopted voluntary guidance on equity at COP14 in November 2018, intended to be applied in any context for nature conservation and sustainable development.
Why the focus on governance?
The concept of governance offers a lens in which to examine the complex issues around equity. The word ‘governance’ itself refers to decision making, and it is a powerful concept for equity, rights and livelihoods. Governance concerns how and by whom decisions about a protected and conserved area are made and who is (or should be) accountable for those decisions. It is about who has power and responsibility. More fully, it can be understood as “…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…”. It is critical because, amongst other reasons:
- Governance is the variable with greatest potential to affect conservation coverage.
- Governance is a main factor in determining the effectiveness and efficiency of management.
- Governance is a determinant of appropriateness and equity or fairness of decisions.
- Governance can ensure that protected areas are better embedded in society.
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 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 is considered in two key dimensions (see further key concepts below): governance diversity and governance quality.
For more information, please consult the following IUCN publications:
