Sector Outline
Protected Area Planning, in brief, is the formal processes of planning and implementing protected area policies in a protected area given the values encompassed by the area, the pressures on these values, and taking into account local circumstances, as well as public, Indigenous, and stakeholder opinions.
Protected area planning is the first step in effective management of natural, cultural, and tourism values at the site-specific level. Planning outcomes (e.g., park management plans and project environmental impact assessments) are what the government or the non-governmental organisation implements when as it protects land and local values by mitigating and preventing negative impacts to these values.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been leading the development of protected area planning and management standards and guidelines. The work is ongoing. Many protected area organizations at national and sub-national levels are endeavoring to follow these standards and guidelines. For example, many organisations are taking the first step of measuring the effectiveness of their protected area planning and management frameworks and process.
Important issue – the move towards defining the professionalism within the sector through “Protected Area Practitioners”. IUCN (2016) ‘A Global Register of Competences for Protected Area Practitioners - A comprehensive directory of and user guide to the skills, knowledge and personal qualities required by managers, staff and stewards of protected and other conserved areas’
Career and Job Links
UK
National Parks ‘National Parks are protected areas’
www.nationalparks.uk/students/whatisanationalpark/nationalparksareprotectedareas
JNCC ‘UK Protected Areas’
www.jncc.gov.uk/our-work/uk-protected-areas
IUCN National Committee United Kingdom (2012) ‘Putting Nature on the Map’
www.portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2012-102.pdf
Europe
European Environment Agency (2020) ‘An introduction to Europe’s Protected Areas’
www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/europe-protected-areas
EUROPARC Federation
www.europarc.org
European Environment Agency (2012) ‘Protected areas in Europe - an overview’
www.scales-project.net/NPDOCS/EEA%2005-2012%20Protected%20areas%20in%20Europe-an%20overview.pdf
Asia
Juffe-Bignoli, D., Bhatt, S., Park, S., Eassom, A., Belle, E.M.S., Murti, R., Buyck, C., Raza Rizvi, A., Rao, M., Lewis, E., MacSharry, B., Kingston, N. (2014). Asia Protected Planet 2014. UNEP-WCMC: Cambridge, UK.
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and MOEJ (Ministry of the Environment, Japan) (2014) The First Asia Parks Congress: Report on the Proceedings 13th-17th November 2013, Sendai, Japan
www.asiaprotectedareaspartnership.org/images/apap/apc-docs/apc-proceedings-final.pdf
Rainforest Trust (2019) ‘Conservation in Asia-Pacific: Year in Review’
www.rainforesttrust.org/conservation-in-asia-pacific-year-in-review
Abdul Rahoof, Earth.org (2019) ‘Protected Areas: the Past, Present, and Future of Conservation’
www.earth.org/protected-areas-the-past-present-and-future-of-conservation
Africa
African Parks 2018 Annual Report ‘Unlocking The Value Of Protected Areas’
www.africanparks.org/unlocking-value-protected-areas
African Wildlife Foundation ‘Protected Area Expansion’
www.awf.org/land-protection/protected-area-expansion
Wildlife Angel (2018) ‘What Model for Wildlife Conservation in Africa: private reserve, conservancy, national park?’
www.wilang.org/en/wildlife-conservation-management-in-africa
European Commission Joint Research Centre (2007) ‘The Assessment of African Protected Areas - A characterisation of biodiversity value, ecosystems and threats, to inform the effective allocation of conservation funding’
A.J. Hartley, A. Nelson, P. Mayaux and J-M. Grégoire
www.dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/AssessmentOfAfricanProtectedAreas_EUR22780.pdf
North America
USGS Protected Areas
www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/science-analytics-and-synthesis/gap/science/protected-areas
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas North America
www.iucn.org/commissions/world-commission-protected-areas/regions/wcpa-north-america
Government of Canada - Protected Areas
www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/protected-areas.html
Ontario Parks
www.ontarioparks.com
www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/5-questions-with-a-park-planner
Ontario - Provincial parks and conservation reserves planning
www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/provincial-parks-and-conservation-reserves-planning
Pathway to Canada Target 1
www.conservation2020canada.ca/home
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
www.cpaws.org/our-work/parks-protected-areas
South America
Fundación Natura, IUCN Colombian Committee and Parques Nacionales Naturales Colombia (2009) ‘Protected Areas and Development in Latin America’ Guerrero, E. & S. Sguerra (Editors)
www.portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2009-046.pdf
Convention on Biological Diversity ‘Latin American Alliance To Strengthen Protected Areas’
REDPARQUES, Pronatura México (2018). Progreso de cumplimiento de la 11 de Aichi en los países de la Redparques: resultados y
perspectivas al 2020. CDB, Pro- yecto IAPA, Unión Europea, WWF, FAO, UICN, ONU Medio Ambiente. Bogotá, Colombia. 46p
www.cbd.int/pa/presentations/latin-american-alliance-to-strengthen-protected-areas.pdf
K.D. Thelen and N.G.C. van der Werf, FAO ‘Wildlife and rural development in Latin America’
www.fao.org/3/v6200t/v6200T0e.htm
Oceania
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment ‘Australia's protected areas’
www.environment.gov.au/land/nrs/about-nrs/australias-protected-areas
Ben Boer and Stefan Gruber, IUCN (2010) ‘Legal Framework for Protected Areas: Australia’
www.iucn.org/downloads/australia_1.pdf
Pew Charitable Trusts (2018) ‘Australia to Fund Five New Indigenous Protected Areas’
www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/07/16/australia-to-fund-five-new-indigenous-protected-areas
Department of Conservation ‘Parks & recreation’
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation
Global
IUCN Guidelines for Management Planning of Protected www.portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/PAG-010.pdf
Best Practice Guidelines
www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/publications/best-practice-guidelines
Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Biodiversity Targets
www.cbd.int/sp/targets
The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) (2014) ‘2014 United Nations List of Protected Areas’
https://www.unep-wcmc.org/system/dataset_file_fields/files/000/000/263/original/2014_UN_List_of_Protected_Areas_EN_web.PDF?1415613322
Protected Area Planning, in brief, is the formal processes of planning and implementing protected area policies in a protected area given the values encompassed by the area, the pressures on these values, and taking into account local circumstances, as well as public, Indigenous, and stakeholder opinions.
Protected area planning is the first step in effective management of natural, cultural, and tourism values at the site-specific level. Planning outcomes (e.g., park management plans and project environmental impact assessments) are what the government or the non-governmental organisation implements when as it protects land and local values by mitigating and preventing negative impacts to these values.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been leading the development of protected area planning and management standards and guidelines. The work is ongoing. Many protected area organizations at national and sub-national levels are endeavoring to follow these standards and guidelines. For example, many organisations are taking the first step of measuring the effectiveness of their protected area planning and management frameworks and process.
Important issue – the move towards defining the professionalism within the sector through “Protected Area Practitioners”. IUCN (2016) ‘A Global Register of Competences for Protected Area Practitioners - A comprehensive directory of and user guide to the skills, knowledge and personal qualities required by managers, staff and stewards of protected and other conserved areas’
Career and Job Links
UK
National Parks ‘National Parks are protected areas’
www.nationalparks.uk/students/whatisanationalpark/nationalparksareprotectedareas
JNCC ‘UK Protected Areas’
www.jncc.gov.uk/our-work/uk-protected-areas
IUCN National Committee United Kingdom (2012) ‘Putting Nature on the Map’
www.portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2012-102.pdf
Europe
European Environment Agency (2020) ‘An introduction to Europe’s Protected Areas’
www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/europe-protected-areas
EUROPARC Federation
www.europarc.org
European Environment Agency (2012) ‘Protected areas in Europe - an overview’
www.scales-project.net/NPDOCS/EEA%2005-2012%20Protected%20areas%20in%20Europe-an%20overview.pdf
Asia
Juffe-Bignoli, D., Bhatt, S., Park, S., Eassom, A., Belle, E.M.S., Murti, R., Buyck, C., Raza Rizvi, A., Rao, M., Lewis, E., MacSharry, B., Kingston, N. (2014). Asia Protected Planet 2014. UNEP-WCMC: Cambridge, UK.
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and MOEJ (Ministry of the Environment, Japan) (2014) The First Asia Parks Congress: Report on the Proceedings 13th-17th November 2013, Sendai, Japan
www.asiaprotectedareaspartnership.org/images/apap/apc-docs/apc-proceedings-final.pdf
Rainforest Trust (2019) ‘Conservation in Asia-Pacific: Year in Review’
www.rainforesttrust.org/conservation-in-asia-pacific-year-in-review
Abdul Rahoof, Earth.org (2019) ‘Protected Areas: the Past, Present, and Future of Conservation’
www.earth.org/protected-areas-the-past-present-and-future-of-conservation
Africa
African Parks 2018 Annual Report ‘Unlocking The Value Of Protected Areas’
www.africanparks.org/unlocking-value-protected-areas
African Wildlife Foundation ‘Protected Area Expansion’
www.awf.org/land-protection/protected-area-expansion
Wildlife Angel (2018) ‘What Model for Wildlife Conservation in Africa: private reserve, conservancy, national park?’
www.wilang.org/en/wildlife-conservation-management-in-africa
European Commission Joint Research Centre (2007) ‘The Assessment of African Protected Areas - A characterisation of biodiversity value, ecosystems and threats, to inform the effective allocation of conservation funding’
A.J. Hartley, A. Nelson, P. Mayaux and J-M. Grégoire
www.dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/AssessmentOfAfricanProtectedAreas_EUR22780.pdf
North America
USGS Protected Areas
www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/science-analytics-and-synthesis/gap/science/protected-areas
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas North America
www.iucn.org/commissions/world-commission-protected-areas/regions/wcpa-north-america
Government of Canada - Protected Areas
www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/protected-areas.html
Ontario Parks
www.ontarioparks.com
www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/5-questions-with-a-park-planner
Ontario - Provincial parks and conservation reserves planning
www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/provincial-parks-and-conservation-reserves-planning
Pathway to Canada Target 1
www.conservation2020canada.ca/home
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
www.cpaws.org/our-work/parks-protected-areas
South America
Fundación Natura, IUCN Colombian Committee and Parques Nacionales Naturales Colombia (2009) ‘Protected Areas and Development in Latin America’ Guerrero, E. & S. Sguerra (Editors)
www.portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2009-046.pdf
Convention on Biological Diversity ‘Latin American Alliance To Strengthen Protected Areas’
REDPARQUES, Pronatura México (2018). Progreso de cumplimiento de la 11 de Aichi en los países de la Redparques: resultados y
perspectivas al 2020. CDB, Pro- yecto IAPA, Unión Europea, WWF, FAO, UICN, ONU Medio Ambiente. Bogotá, Colombia. 46p
www.cbd.int/pa/presentations/latin-american-alliance-to-strengthen-protected-areas.pdf
K.D. Thelen and N.G.C. van der Werf, FAO ‘Wildlife and rural development in Latin America’
www.fao.org/3/v6200t/v6200T0e.htm
Oceania
Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment ‘Australia's protected areas’
www.environment.gov.au/land/nrs/about-nrs/australias-protected-areas
Ben Boer and Stefan Gruber, IUCN (2010) ‘Legal Framework for Protected Areas: Australia’
www.iucn.org/downloads/australia_1.pdf
Pew Charitable Trusts (2018) ‘Australia to Fund Five New Indigenous Protected Areas’
www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/07/16/australia-to-fund-five-new-indigenous-protected-areas
Department of Conservation ‘Parks & recreation’
www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation
Global
IUCN Guidelines for Management Planning of Protected www.portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/PAG-010.pdf
Best Practice Guidelines
www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/publications/best-practice-guidelines
Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Biodiversity Targets
www.cbd.int/sp/targets
The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) (2014) ‘2014 United Nations List of Protected Areas’
https://www.unep-wcmc.org/system/dataset_file_fields/files/000/000/263/original/2014_UN_List_of_Protected_Areas_EN_web.PDF?1415613322
