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Efforts to strengthen protected areas are often restricted by a lack of knowledge and expertise on how best to manage parks and protected areas to effectively conserve the rich diversity of life they contain. The Nature Conservancy is working to share our skills and expertise, developed through over fifty years’ experience of managing our own preserves and over thirty years working on protected area issues outside the U.S. By working with governments, communities and federal and state agencies to improve the management of protected areas within their control, we are achieving a conservation impact far beyond the boundaries of our own lands.
Improving Protected Area Management
In over 30 countries, we are providing governments with the knowledge and tools to improve the management of their protected areas. We help them assess whether they have all the important components in place to protect lands and waters, such as trained staff, adequate funding and resources, community involvement and robust measures to address threats including invasive plants and deforestation. A recent assessment in China’s Yunnan Province, for example, revealed problems in planning, staffing and field equipment, as well as threats including invasive species and poaching. Once problems have been identified, the Conservancy helps to implement the most effective responses to ensure strong and well-managed protected areas.
Developing Protected Area Leaders
In many countries there are very few formalized training and learning opportunities for people who work with protected areas, including rangers and park managers, to gain the knowledge and skills they need to achieve conservation success.
Through the development and dissemination of expert tools and training, we are reaching out to protected area professionals on nearly every continent. By partnering with other conservation organizations, we are sharing our knowledge with practitioners from India to Indonesia. We are also supporting peer-to-peer exchanges through learning networks, such as the Micronesians in Conservation Network. This network enables conservation professionals across the Micronesian islands to come together to share skills and experiences as they work to support the implementation of significant commitments made by their leaders to protect both marine and terrestrial habitats.
Supporting Federal Agencies
In the United States we are working with a number of different agencies, including the National Park Service and the United States Forest Service, to improve the management of publicly owned protected lands. We are providing expertise on how to respond to threats such as invasive species, fire and climate change. In 2006-2007, for example we assisted in carrying out prescribed burns on nearly 9 million acres of federal land.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Hugo Arnal (Park Ranger, Venezuela); Photo © Jenny A. Ericson/The Nature Conservancy (Galapagos sea lion); Photo © Hugo Arnal (Galapagos sunset).
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