Management Effectiveness Evaluation in Australia: Progress and future directions

In the 21st century, environmental change is unprecedented, resulting in uncertainty about the success of management. Consequently, the agenda for park management is changing. Environmental awareness has increased interest in protected areas and the values they protect, e.g., intrinsic, recreation and cultural heritage. Public interest and expectations have resulted in increased pressure for accountability in management. To ensure resilience to change, managers now operate in an environment that emphasises land management partnerships and management adaptation. This paper addresses progress within Australia against the World Commission on Protected Areas mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a world-wide representative network of protected areas in light of changing operational environment of protected area management. The results of a study of the content of park agency management effectiveness evaluations across Australia are presented. The management of context and outcomes were often assessed, while inputs and processes were assessed less often. This suggests that agencies may be avoiding making conclusions about the actual requirements of effective management. A lack of breadth in evaluations and the choice not to answer (based on insufficient information) suggests managers feel uncomfortable assessing a full range of their activities. This raises questions about confidence in information used to inform management adaptation