Managing a protected area within it's wider landscape: tools for assessment and enhancement

There are now over 100,000 protected areas (PAs) worldwide, covering over 12 percent of the Earth’s surface. Merely measuring the number of protected areas, however, only provides a onedimensional indicator of political commitment to biodiversity conservation; it gives no information on a key determinant for meeting global biodiversity targets, namely a site’s ‘effectiveness’ in conserving biodiversity (Chape et al., 2005). A protected area that has been designated to conserve in situ biodiversity can only fulfil its intended function if it is effectively managed. In its broadest sense, ‘management’ includes all actions by all relevant actors which have a bearing on the continued integrity of the protected area. Management effectiveness should therefore include as a central component a protected area’s integration with its surrounding landscape