10.6.2 Working Step: Revision of Existing Management
and Management Plan
The adaptation of protected area management should be based on a critical revision
of the effectiveness of existing management. What must be evaluated is how well a
protected area succeeds in managing the area under current climatic conditions, if
management objectives and targets are reached and at what cost. Guidelines for
assessing protected area management effectiveness (e.g. Hockings et al. 2006;
Nolte et al. 2010) can be useful for this revision.
Key questions for the revision of management are:
– What are the main pressures on biodiversity, what problems exist and what
activities and measures are available or implemented for improving conservation
status?
– Are sufficient data and staff available to fulfil all management tasks?
– Is the area accepted and supported by local institutions, stakeholders and land
users? Which groups have the strongest influence on the status of the protected
area and cause non-climatic pressures on biodiversity?
– Does the plan contain sufficient information about planned and implemented
management measures for reaching a favourable conservation status of protected
species and habitats?
– Does it contain information about monitoring techniques and indicators used in
monitoring the development of a protected area?
Revision of the topical management activities provides important insight into the
process of adaption because an adapted management plan should not only target
climate-induced pressures and impacts but also cover existing pressures and problems in order to establish successful and efficient procedures.
Available conservation plans and programmes have to be checked if they
are up-to-date, complete and relevant to the upcoming day-to-day management
decisions. They must be updated or amended in accordance with concepts of
stakeholder dialogue, systematic monitoring or Adaptive Management activities.
Reviews within the HABIT-CHANGE project revealed that most management
plans are not sufficiently specific or detailed for climate adapted management.
Usually, management activities within the protected areas are not all described in
the plans, which are furthermore often out of date and do not contain measurable,
time-bound objectives or measures. This makes it difficult to evaluate the success
and effectiveness of management. None of the reviewed plans contained any
information on climate change and its impacts or a comprehensive monitoring
concept as a basis for evaluating management effectiveness and establishing the
concept of Adaptive Management.
It was also ascertained in the project that financial resources and manpower were
often insufficient for fulfilling legal obligations. This is especially true for requirements derived from EU regulation, e.g. the EU-Habitats-Directive. Specific
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C. Wilke and S. Rannow
and Management Plan
The adaptation of protected area management should be based on a critical revision
of the effectiveness of existing management. What must be evaluated is how well a
protected area succeeds in managing the area under current climatic conditions, if
management objectives and targets are reached and at what cost. Guidelines for
assessing protected area management effectiveness (e.g. Hockings et al. 2006;
Nolte et al. 2010) can be useful for this revision.
Key questions for the revision of management are:
– What are the main pressures on biodiversity, what problems exist and what
activities and measures are available or implemented for improving conservation
status?
– Are sufficient data and staff available to fulfil all management tasks?
– Is the area accepted and supported by local institutions, stakeholders and land
users? Which groups have the strongest influence on the status of the protected
area and cause non-climatic pressures on biodiversity?
– Does the plan contain sufficient information about planned and implemented
management measures for reaching a favourable conservation status of protected
species and habitats?
– Does it contain information about monitoring techniques and indicators used in
monitoring the development of a protected area?
Revision of the topical management activities provides important insight into the
process of adaption because an adapted management plan should not only target
climate-induced pressures and impacts but also cover existing pressures and problems in order to establish successful and efficient procedures.
Available conservation plans and programmes have to be checked if they
are up-to-date, complete and relevant to the upcoming day-to-day management
decisions. They must be updated or amended in accordance with concepts of
stakeholder dialogue, systematic monitoring or Adaptive Management activities.
Reviews within the HABIT-CHANGE project revealed that most management
plans are not sufficiently specific or detailed for climate adapted management.
Usually, management activities within the protected areas are not all described in
the plans, which are furthermore often out of date and do not contain measurable,
time-bound objectives or measures. This makes it difficult to evaluate the success
and effectiveness of management. None of the reviewed plans contained any
information on climate change and its impacts or a comprehensive monitoring
concept as a basis for evaluating management effectiveness and establishing the
concept of Adaptive Management.
It was also ascertained in the project that financial resources and manpower were
often insufficient for fulfilling legal obligations. This is especially true for requirements derived from EU regulation, e.g. the EU-Habitats-Directive. Specific
166
C. Wilke and S. Rannow