Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series

It is sometimes assumed that protected areas must be in conflict with the rights and traditions of indigenous and other traditional peoples on their domains. In reality, where indigenous peoples are interested in the conservation and traditional use of their lands, waters, territories and the natural and cultural resources that they contain, conflicts need not arise.

These guidelines explore financing options for protected areas and provide advice and information on sustainable financing. Both public and private financing is needed to ensure provision of the private and public goods and services which protected areas provide. A step-by-step process is given which protected area managers can use to create business and financial plans tailored to the needs and strengths of their protected area.

Creation and effective management of marine protected areas (MPAs) have lagged behind those of protected areas on land, but they are just as important. The world urgently needs a comprehensive system of MPAs to conserve biodiversity and to help rebuild the productivity of the oceans. The aim of these guidelines is to help countries establish systems of MPAs as a key component of integrated management of coastal and marine areas and as part of their sustainable development.

This guide illustrates the potential for using valuation as a tool for diversifying the funding structure for protected areas and for providing information about stakeholders which is crucial for effective management.

A system plan is the design of a total reserve system covering the full range of ecosystems and communities found in a particular country, identifying the range of purposes of protected areas and the relationships among the system components (i.e. individual areas, protected areas and other land uses), and different sectors and levels of society.