Designing protected area systems

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Designing protected area systems
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During the twentieth century, over 10 per cent of
the worlds land surface was designated as a
protected area almost certainly the quickest
and largest conscious change of land use in
history
Oulanka National Park Finland
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Yet unfortunately, this does not mean that
biodiversity is as yet adequately protected
Hohe Tauern National Park Austria
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many protected areas have been established in
sites where there is little political opposition,
but also relatively little biodiversity, such as
deserts and icecaps
Namib Desert National Park Namibia
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leaving some ecosystems very under-represented,
including small islands
Nosey Vey proposed protected area, Madagascar
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Why do a gap assessment?

• To improve the design and long-term functionality
  of the parks system
• Tourism planning including increasing tourism
  potential of PAs
• Planning sustainable development,
• Fisheries management, etc
• A decision support system for development
  investments
• To inform Environmental Impact Assessments
• Ensure sustainability of natural resources for
  people

Elements of a gap analysis
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3 different types of gaps should be considered
Aldabra World Heritage Site, Seychelles
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Representation gaps no or inadequate
representation e.g. 6-11 per cent of mammals and
16-17 per cent of amphibians are gap species
and the percent is larger for threatened species.
Many endemic island species are missed entirely
Girraween National Park, Australia
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Ecological gaps protected areas are either
insufficient in size, design, or distribution to
address the ecology of the biodiversity features,
such as migration..
Savolinna National Park Finland
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Management gaps protected areas are not managed
well enough to maintain their biodiversity.
Protected areas ideally need regular assessment
of management effectiveness to make sure that
they are delivering the benefits expected of them
Snowdonia National Park Wales
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Under agreements of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, governments are committed to
completing ecologically representative networks
of protected areas, and this process usually
starts by identifying gaps in the current system
i.e. a gap analysis
Douj National Park, Senegal
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In a conservation context, gap analysis is a
method to identify biodiversity (i.e., species,
ecosystems and ecological processes) not
adequately conserved within a protected area
network or through other effective and long-term
conservation measures. Gap assessments present
important opportunities for creating a vision for
a countrys protected area system and managed
lands, to set priorities, and to develop a
strategic plan from those priorities.
Ruaha National Park - Tanzania
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Elements of a gap analysis
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• Identify focal biodiversity and set key targets
• what features will be protected?
• how much protection is needed?

Serengeti National Park Tanzania
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Map occurrence and status of protected areas
Southern Vietnam