News

Check out WG Biodiversity’s latest release on “Governance Assessments of Protected Areas in Bangladesh, Laos, and the Philippines” through this interactive E-Poster!

07 April 2018


Governance is key to both the effectiveness and equity of protected areas. Governance is defined as “the 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” (IUCN 2013). By improving governance it becomes more effective and more equitable and, thus, likely for protected areas to achieve better conservation and social outcomes.

To be able to assess “good governance” for  protected areas, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) identified a  set of 14 specific good governance principles based on the five broad good governance principles and 40 key considerations formulated by IUCN (see IUCN’s Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines No. 20 on Governance of Protected Areas).

Piloting the Governance Assessment Methodology

Based on the IUCN Guidelines, specific methodologies for conducting site-level governance assessments have been and are in the process of being developed. Four SNRD member projects have taken part in this process by supporting methodology development and piloting assessments: The project in Lao PDR developed a tailor-made assessment and training methodology with support of a local NGO and piloted it in 2014; the projects in Bangladesh and the Philippines pilot tested an assessment methodology in 2017 that is being developed by IIED in cooperation with the Sector Programme Implementing the CBD.

Each pilot site looked at a customised sub-set of governance principles according to its specific motivation to conduct a governance assessment.

⇒Click to see the E-Poster here! 


About SNRD Asia

The Sector Network Natural Resources and Rural Development Asia (SNRD Asia) is a GIZ internal platform for learning, sharing sector-specific knowledge and networking of likeminded professionals in the field of natural resources and rural development. Its Biodiversity Working Group (WG) is engaging in a variety of issues related to biodiversity and nature conservation. The WG connects professionals in more than 10 South and Southeast Asian countries, working on the conservation of biodiversity in a variety of ecosystems and contexts. Supported by the Tandem-Partners in GIZ headquarters, the working group promotes exchange and discussion about the latest scientific knowledge and initiatives on biodiversity. The collaboration of its members is organised through two sub-working groups dealing with Ecosystem Services and Protected Area Governance.