Recommendation 02
Strengthening Individual and Group Capacities for Protected Area Management in the 21st Century

Effective management of protected areas in the context of global change requires that managers, protected areas staff including rangers, local communities and other stakeholders have the knowledge, attitudes, skills, capabilities and tools to plan, manage and monitor protected areas. Managers and stakeholders also need the skills to be able to establish and maintain the complex relationships and networks that are essential for sustainable and effective management of protected areas.

With these points in mind PARTICIPANTS in Stream on Capacity Building: Developing the capacity to manage at the Vth World Parks Congress in Durban South Africa (8-17 September 2003):

1. RECOMMEND that IUCN and the World Commission on Protected Areas:

a. Promotes and supports national and international collaborative capacity development activities through which stakeholders at all levels can acquire and share best practices; develop appropriate responses to change; and thereby enable and empower themselves to play their full role in protected area management by:

i. Building 'learning organizations';

ii. Supporting learning exchanges for all stakeholders;

iii. Developing "communities of practice" for protected area management;

iv. Promoting learner-centered approaches;

b. Supports learning processes within workplace and community settings which are flexible, contextual and responsive, that builds on traditional knowledge and practices and that enhance two-way learning and sharing;

c. Supports the enhancement of capacity for protected area managers, local and indigenous communities and other stakeholders to work together by enhancing their skills in areas such as:

i. Facilitation, negotiation and conflict resolution;

ii. Change management processes to address values, attitudes of all stakeholders and relationships among them;

iii. Participatory planning and joint management; and

iv. Financial and institutional management;

d. Encourages the full participation of local and indigenous communities and individuals by building confidence in the rule of law: assuring transparency, due process and access to public records;

2. RECOMMEND that protected area authorities recruit, develop and support staff in ways that will encourage and maintain high levels of commitment and performance by:

a. Employing and investing in the personal development of local and indigenous people living inside and around the protected area;

b. Provide all protected areas staff (in particular rangers, wardens and forest guards, who face hardships and threats in carrying out their jobs) with adequate living, working, health and safety and security conditions by providing management support, appropriate equipment and training;

c. Ensure continuous and systematic institutional capacity development linking training to performance;

d. Encourage career development and retention of staff by relating salary, benefits and progression to performance.

3. RECOMMEND that the World Commission on Protected Areas move towards common standards of competency by:

a. Agreeing generic global competency standards for protected areas staff, which can be adapted at local, regional and national levels;

b. Encourage and enable use of standards and self-assessments to support improved effectiveness of protected area staff and training.

4. RECOMMEND the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas coordinate a consortium of international organizations, training institutions, and other organizations to:

a. Develop and conduct campaigns for higher level decision-makers to develop understanding that protected areas and the goods and services they provide are critical for the well-being of society as a whole;

b. Encourage partnerships between training institutions, protected area agencies, private sector and community-based organizations for the design and implementation of responsive training;

c. Promote establishment and strengthening of regional networks of trainers and training institutions for capacity development in protected areas management;

5. RECOMMEND that the IUCN through the Task Force On Capacity Building of World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) elaborate an action plan for the next 10 years based on the work and conclusions of the Vth World Parks Congress;

6. RECOMMEND that the World Heritage Committee take into account the World Parks Congress recommendations on capacity development and link World Heritage training activities with the global protected areas capacity development agenda.

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