World Parks Congress

The Vth World Parks Congress was a powerful whirl of people, ideas and initiatives.  Some CEESP members who focused their attendance on the governance stream and cross-cut theme on communities and equity, preliminarily identified the following achievements:

Ø       Full recognition that conservation can and should be the concern and engagement of society as a whole, and not only of a few expert professionals.  This demands much more attention to each and every specific context in terms of:

• history (of nature, people, conservation)

• culture

• governance (processes and institutions)

• embracing a pluralism of views, capacities, disciplines and institutional arrangements

• conciliating different interests and concerns and negotiating agreements on an on-going way

• matching biophysical and institutional scales

• strengthening the ties between PAs and the broader landscape and seascape (e.g. through bio-cultural corridors)

• linking across boundaries (emerging trends of trans-boundary PAs)

Ø       Full recognition that conservation needs to incorporate ethical/moral considerations.  Indeed oppression and injustices can be sustained for a long time and community support is not always necessary to sustain protected areas, which can well exist and thrive after having exploited and devastated people and communities.   Conservation should DO NO HARM for pragmatic reasons (e.g. to obtain a broader public recognition and support) but also, and more importantly so, for ethical reasons.  It is not admissible to continue to do conservation by trampling upon human rights.

Ø       Representatives of indigenous and mobile peoples declared to be ready to collaborate for conservation.   Building the necessary trust demands coming to terms with the past, vastly improving the conservation behaviour in the present and working very differently in the future.   An important mechanism to do all of the above has been identified as a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” between Indigenous and Mobile Peoples and Protected Areas.  A feasibility study about this may be engaged rather soon.

Ø       Mobile livelihoods finally recognized as very powerful potential allies of conservation.  Also appreciated that mobile peoples, their herds and their paths establish powerful bio-cultural corridors in the landscape.  The World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous People (WAMIP) created and ready to engage in integrated conservation and livelihood initiatives.

Ø       Governance of protected areas recognized as a major new dimension in PA analysis, and five principles of “good governance” deriving from the work of the UN endorsed for the management of protected areas (with due consideration for local circumstances, traditions and knowledge systems).  These principles are a master way to inject ethical consideration into PA management.  [sound bites: “No one to be impoverished for conservation!  No one to be forcibly resettled (or settled!) for conservation!”]

Ø       PA governance to be evaluated in a participatory way, allowing for improvements in management effectiveness and equity.   A proposal was made, for instance, to create an African Observatory on PA Governance.

Ø       A variety of governance types— broadly distinguished on the basis of who holds PA management authority and responsibility and is held accountable for decisions—   established as legitimate and important for conservation. These include:

a.       Government managed PAs;

b.       Co-managed PAs (i.e. multi-stakeholder management);

c.       Privately managed PAs;

d.      Community conserved areas (see the note by the Community and Equity Group);

Ø       A variety of governance types recognized as determinant to strengthening the management and expanding the coverage of the world’s protected areas, addressing gaps in national protected area systems, improving connectivity at landscape and seascape level, enhancing public support for conservation, increasing the flexibility and responsiveness of PA systems and thereby improving their sustainability and strengthening the relationship between people and nature.

Ø       The IUCN PA categorisation system (based on key management objectives) to be integrated with a new dimension about “governance type” and to be strengthened with reference to cultural management objectives (much more attention to be given to the crucial ties between biological and cultural diversity!)

Ø       Community empowerment recognised as a most powerful avenue to enhance conservation (recognition of collective rights, local institutions, security of tenure, community conserved areas, rightful participation in co-managing protected areas, etc.).  Particular attention to be given to local organizing, effective forms of representation and participatory democracy. 

Final report - Workshop Stream III: Governance of Protected Areas (New ways of working together)

Cross-Cutting Theme on Communities and Equity - Final report

Virtual Parks Congress Communities & Equity: TILCEPA papers presented at WPC

Details on Streams

The stream links for the streams at the World Parks Congress designed the input of TILCEPA into the various streams. This ensured our cross cutting role. This included identifying speakers, planning presentations, panel discussions and other ways of representing the subject, discussing possible timings and venues for these at the WPC. Most of the stream links attended planning and preparatory meetings organized by the stream leads and other related organizations. Stream links were also involved in locating indigenous and local community representatives who could be nominated as participants specific to their stream. Apart from all this the stream links actively worked towards raising funds for TILCEPA representation to their streams.

Stream 1: Linkages in the Landscape - Jessica Brown (jbrown@qlf.org)

Topics identified for inclusion under 'Linkages in the Landscape' are

• Communities in landscapes, from involvement in state-managed  scapes to their own management  (Bob Wishtemi and  Mike Beresford: beresford@icpl.freeserve.co.uk) 
• Human-Wildlife Conflicts (Francine Madden : francine_madden@hotmail.com)
• Mobile peoples and conservation:  (Mariam Nyamir-Fuller: maryam.niamir-fuller@undp.org)

TILCEPA was represented at preparatory meetings in Paris, New York and Gland in relation to this stream.

Stream 2: Building Support - Lea Scherl (lea.scherl@telstra.com)

Topics identified for inclusion under 'Building Support' are

• Poverty, livelihoods, and PAs (including: Do Integrated Conservation and Development Projects Work?) (Ed Barrow: EGB@iucnearo.org, Andrew Inglis, Rob Wild: crmpwild@tciway.tc/Tom McShane/Phil Franks: Phil@care.or.ke)
• Indigenous Peoples and Ecotourism (Alison Johnston : sustour@axionet.com)
• Gender and PAs (Lorena Aguilar : lorena.aguilar@iucn.org)

Stream 3: Governance - Grazia Borrini Feyerabend (gbf@cenesta.org)

Program timetable, overview of presentations and key participants

The stream on Governance includes the following sub-topics (and leads):

• History, culture and conservation (Ashish Kothari and Ken MacDonald kmacd@utsc.utoronto.ca)
• Institutional change and conservation (Janis Alcorn   Janis.Alcorn@WWFUS.ORG)
• Principles of good governance (Bruce Amos    bruce.amos@rogers.com)
• Governance-related innovation in the IUCN PA category system (gbf@cenesta.org)
• Governance and international conservation labels  (World Heritage, biosphere reserve, Ramsar, etc.) (Jim Johnston     Jim_Johnston@pch.gc.ca )
• Regional perspectives on governance (Anada Tiega     tiega@ramsar.org)
• Community conserved areas and co-managed protected areas (gbf@cenesta.org, Neema Pathak natrails@pn2.vsnl.net.in; Gonzalo Oviedo  gonzalo-oviedo@iucn.org and Alejandro Argumedo ipbn@web.net )
• Mobile communities and conservation (Maryam Niamir Fuller maryam.niamir-fuller@undp.org and Taghi Farvar  taghi@cenesta.org)
• Governance and trans-boundary Pas (Trevor Sandwith tsandwith@wwfsa.org.za)
• Governance and Urban PAs (James Barborak  wcsfl@bellsouth.net)

§         Governance and private PAs (Wolf Krug and Jeffery Langholz   Jeffrey.Langholz@miis.edu) 

• Governance and NGO-managed PAs (Timothy Jessup and Janis Alcorn Janis.Alcorn@WWFUS.ORG)
• Governance of marine PAs (Arthur Paterson  arthur.e.paterson@noaa.gov)
• Empowering communities for conservation (joint session with the capacity building stream and others; gbf@cenesta.org)
• Participatory evaluation of governance (Peter Abrams peterabrams@look.ca and Pippa Heylings pippa.heylings@dial.pipex.com )

Stream 4: Capacity Building - Sejal Worah (sejalw@nde.vsnl.net.in)

The stream on Capacity Building has had a change in stream link from Christo Fabricius to Sejal Worah. So far the subjects it could possibly include are

• Capacity building in relation to indigenous and local community needs
• Lessons from community-based natural resource management outside PAs

Stream 5: Management Effectiveness - Hanna Jaireth (lawjs@ozemail.com.au)

Hanna has had meetings with Marc Hockings, the Stream Leader of the Management Effectiveness stream and Neil Jens,  a Board member of Conservation Volunteers Australia and the Conservation Alliance, regarding the sessions she is coordinating on behalf of TILCEPA for the stream.

Topics identified for inclusion in this stream

• Indicators for Community Tenure and PA Management (Liz Alden Wily lizaldenwily@yahoo.co.uk)
• Cultural Indicators, Participatory Processes and PA Management  (Dermot Smyth, erus@tpg.com.au, and Indigenous delegates)
• Effective management of indigenous and local community volunteers (Neil Jens and Hanna Jaireth, lawjs@ozemail.com.au)
• Community based participatory monitoring and assessments (Anna Lawrence, anna.lawrence@environmental-change.oxford.ac.uk)

Stream 6: Sustainable Finance - Dermot Smyth (erus@tpg.com.au )

• Financing of Indigenous and Co-managed Protected Areas in Australia, Steve Szabo plus two Indigenous Protected Area managers;
• Funding arrangements for management of Kaa-Ya National Park (Bolivia), Oscar Castillo, Bonifacio Barrientos (or Evelio Arambiza) and José Avila;
• Financing of Pilot Community-Based Natural Resource and Wildlife Management project in Côte d'Ivoire, Fanny N'golo;
• Community benefits & revenue from Protected Areas and Forest in Nepal, Krishna Oli and ML Jayaswal;
• Community contributions to and benefits from financial arrangements in Brazilian protected areas, Claudio Maretti (to be confirmed);
• Trophy hunting of Ibex as a mechanism for conservation and sustainable funding in Pakistan, Altaf Hussain.

We are hoping to represent TILCEPA at an upcoming workshop sponsored by the Sustainable Finance Stream and the World Heritage Cross Cutting Theme of the World Parks Congress from April 28-30, 2003 in Paris.

Stream 7: Gaps in the system - Gonzalo Oviedo (gonzalo-oviedo@iucn.org)

Topics identified for inclusion in this stream

• Contribution of Community Areas to filling the Gaps (Gonzalo Oviedo)
• Biocultural maps in Gap Analysis  (Luisa Maffi, Terralingua)
• Role of ethnocartography  (Mac Chapin, Native Lands)
• Participatory modelling  (Participatory Avenues, The Phillipines)

Members interested in contributing actively/ taking the lead to develop the products expected from any of the above streams (including wordings on Durban accord, the guidelines on indigenous and local communities, equity and PAs, tools for participatory evaluation of PAs, a charter on the Principles of Good Governance, a proposal on the Governance Dimension (typology) in relation to PA Categories, an action plan on mobile communities and conservation, etc.), ARE WARMLY REQUESTED TO STEP FORWARD.

Final report - Workshop Stream III: Governance of Protected Areas (New ways of working together)

Cross-Cutting Theme on Communities and Equity - Final report

The following WPC outputs are available in English, French and Spanish:

Durban Accord and Action Plan

Recommendations

Message to the Convention on Biological Diversity

Policy Matters Issue No. 12, September 2003

Special issue for the World Parks Congress

Community Empowerment for Conservation

Innovative Governance: Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities and Protected Areas

Eds. Hanna Jaireth and Dermot Smyth. Ane Books, New Delhi, 2003.

Local communities, equity and conservation in southern Africa: A synthesis of lessons learnt and recommendations from a southern African technical workshop

"Conservation Partnerships in Africa", PARKS, Volume 13 No. 1 (joint issue with CEESP/TILCEPA)

PROMOTING COMMUNITY CONSERVED AREAS IN INTERNATIONAL FORUMS

(A discussion note relating to the mandate of the WCPA/ CEESP Theme Group on Indigenous & Local Communities, Equity, and Protected Areas)

World Parks Congress (WPC) website

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)