Management Effectiveness (PAME)

The Global Database on Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME) indicates if a protected area documented in the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) has been assessed for the effectiveness of its management. Where PAME assessments have been used to assess other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMS), these assessments can also be reported to the GD-PAME. The GD-PAME is a searchable database that includes assessments submitted by a wide range of governmental and non-governmental organizations to UNEP-WCMC and is updated on a monthly basis.

If you have more information on the management effectiveness of protected and conserved areas that you would like to share with us, or would like to submit data to the GD-PAME, please email us at protectedareas@unep-wcmc.org

There has been significant growth in the global protected and conserved area network over the past few decades. However, despite an increase in the coverage of this network, biodiversity continues to decline, even within some protected and conserved areas. This means that it is essential to monitor how well protected and conserved areas are performing alongside how extensive they are.

Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) evaluations, can be defined as: “the assessment of how well protected areas are being managed – primarily the extent to which management is protecting values and achieving goals and objectives" (Hockings et al. 2006). Evaluation of management effectiveness is recognised as a vital component of responsive, pro-active protected area management. PAME assessments may also be an appropriate tool for use in some OECMs.

Since 2006, protected area management effectiveness (PAME) has been embedded within commitments made by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The most recent commitment is found within Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, calling for "effectively conserved and managed [...] systems of protected areas and other effective areas-based conservation measures" (CBD, 2022). UNEP-WCMC is mandated by Parties to the CBD to collect information on Protected Area Management Effectiveness. We do this through the GD-PAME.

The GD-PAME User Manual provides information and guidance on the database and its history. This includes information on the PAME evaluations it contains, how these are collected, managed and distributed, and how the PAME information should be interpreted and used for analyses and research. The Manual has been prepared for GD-PAME data providers and users. It contains the following four sections:

1. An introduction to PAME and the GD-PAME.
2. Describes the GD-PAME Data Standards that ensure the data are supplied in a common format that is globally interoperable and useable.
3. Explains how the GD-PAME is compiled through a quality control process underpinned by the GD-PAME data standards.
4. Addresses the use of the GD-PAME, including how it can be accessed and how it should be cited.

The GD-PAME user manual is a dynamic and evolving document. It is recommended that all parties interested in using information from the GD-PAME read the manual prior to using the GD-PAME for any research purposes, or for analyses that will inform policy or decision making. For any queries regarding collation, use, or processing of the data, or any feedback regarding this manual please contact protectedareas@unep-wcmc.org

• To download the manual in English: http://wcmc.io/GD-PAME_User_Manual_EN
• Télécharger le manuel en Français: http://wcmc.io/GD-PAME_User_Manual_FR
• Descargar el manual en español: http://wcmc.io/GD-PAME_User_Manual_ES
• Читать / Загрузить на русском языке: http://wcmc.io/GD-PAME_User_Manual_RU
• تنزيل دليل باللغة العربية: http://wcmc.io/GD-PAME_User_Manual_AR
  

Inclusion of governance evaluations in GD-PAME

Existing PAME methods are sometimes inadequate for assessing the social impacts and quality of governance (including whether governance is equitable for local people) within protected and conserved areas. This has led to the emergence of tools specifically designed for this purpose.

As of 2024, records of site-level assessments of governance quality are included in GD-PAME alongside PAME assessments. Submission of data relating to governance assessment methods such as Site-level Assessment of Governance and Equity (SAGE), Governance assessment of protected and conserved areas (GAPA) and Social assessment for protected and conserved areas (SAPA) follows the same format and requirements described in the GD-PAME manual. Submissions must be accompanied by a data contributor agreement.

For further background information on management effectiveness and governance evaluations in protected and conserved areas please refer to:

Convention on Biological Diversity (2022) Decision 15/4 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdfhttps://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf

Geldmann, J., Coad, L., Barnes, M., Craigie, I.D., Hockings, M., Knights, K., Leverington, F., Cuadros, I.C., Zamora, C., Woodley, S. and Burgess, N.D., 2015. Changes in protected area management effectiveness over time: A global analysis. Biological Conservation, 191, pp.692-699.

Leverington, F., Costa, K.L., Pavese, H., Lisle, A. and Hockings, M., 2010. A global analysis of protected area management effectiveness. Environmental management, 46(5), pp.685-698.

Hockings, M., Stolton, S., Leverington, F., Dudley, N. and Courrau, J. (2006). Evaluating Effectiveness: A framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas. 2nd edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xiv + 105 pp.

Franks, P. and Pinto, R. (2020). SAPA, SAGE or GAPA? Tools for assessing the social impacts, governance, and equity of conservation. IIED, London.Available at https://www.iied.org/17664iied

Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME)

Since the 1990s, a range of methods have been developed and applied to assess Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) at both site and system levels.

These methodologies vary in scope and content. Methods can be broadly divided into three different categories, each requiring different amounts of data collection and financial input. These range from simple questionnaire-based methods to more complex management effectiveness evaluations. Full management effectiveness evaluations may involve considerable time and financial resources.

Most PAME methodologies are based around the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) framework for PAME (Hockings et al. 2006). The aim of the framework is to provide overall guidance to protected area managers and encourage standards for PAME assessment and reporting. The WCPA framework includes six key elements: context, planning, inputs, process, outputs and outcomes. Evaluations that assess each of the elements highlighted in Figure 1 (and the links between them) should provide a relatively comprehensive picture of management effectiveness.

Figure 1: The IUCN WCPA framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas (Hockings et al. 2006).

Ongoing PAME assessment efforts have been consolidated into the Global Database on Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME). The GD-PAME was started as a research database at the University of Queensland in 2006 under a programme jointly funded by WWF and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and is now a joint product of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is managed and maintained by UNEP-WCMC. Some PAME methods may also be suitable for use in other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). Assessments of OECMs can be submitted to the GD-PAME.

The following table provides an overview of some commonly used methodologies from around the world and links to further resources. For information on where these and other methodologies have been applied, go to the Results tab to download and explore the GD-PAME.

Good Governance

PAME assessment methods such as those outlined above are sometimes inadequate for assessing the quality of a protected or conserved area’s governance (including whether it is governed equitably for local people).

Equity in protected and conserved areas can be understood as a combination of three interlinked elements:

• Recognition equity relates to acknowledgement and respect for stakeholders, as well as their social and cultural diversity, and their values, rights and beliefs.
• Procedural equity relates to how decisions about the protected area are made, and the extent to which stakeholders are able to participate.
• Distributive equity is associated with the distribution of benefits and burdens.

Recognizing the importance of capturing information on equitable governance, records of site-level assessments of governance quality are now (as of 2024) included in GD-PAME alongside PAME assessments. Submission of data collected via governance assessment methods such as Site-level Assessment of Governance and Equity (SAGE), Governance assessment of protected and conserved areas (GAPA) and Social assessment for protected and conserved areas (SAPA) follow the same format and requirements described in the GD-PAME manual and will be subject to a data contributor agreement. Please see “About & Manuals” section for further details.

The Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT)

First published in 2002, the METT was one of the first tools developed to reflect the IUCN WCPA Framework for protected area management effectiveness (or PAME). The METT was originally developed by the World Bank/WWF Alliance for Forest Conservation and Sustainable Use. Several versions of the METT and many adaptations have been produced, reflecting lessons learned through implementation; by 2016 the METT had been applied in 127 countries worldwide.

In 2020 a new version of the METT (the fourth version, METT-4) was developed. METT-4 draws together the lessons learned from applying the tool around the world. For the first time, METT-4 is presented as an Excel tool which aids implementation and compilation of results.

The METT consists of two main sections.

1. Datasheets that collect key information on the protected area, its characteristics, threats and management objectives and details of who carried out the assessment.

2. An assessment form that provides a composite measurement across 38 parameters integrating all six components of the WCPA Framework. The form is designed around a questionnaire with four alternative responses, each with an associated score ranging between 0 (poor) to 3 (excellent). Each question also has data fields to include notes about the answers (with justification if possible), steps to be taken to improve management if necessary and details of information sources. Additional worksheets in METT-4 allow for more detailed assessments of community relations, planning processes, condition of natural and cultural values, key species and habitats.

If you are planning to implement the METT please download the files below:

• Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool – METT-4.2: the METT-4.2 Excel tool
  (доступно на русском языке ; Disponible en Español ; E disponueshme ne shqip)
• METT-4 data export sheet:if multiple assessment are being undertaken data can be compiled using this separate Excel file (Disponible en Español)

Guidance:

• METT-4 Handbook: a guide to using the Excel version of the METT-4
  (доступно на русском языке, descargar el manual en español)
• Introductory video: a 30-minute training video on using the METT-4 Excel tool
• Guidance for translating and adapting METT-4
• Technical help:on how to enable macros permanently in a trusted location

Additional resources

Two IUCN Vital Sites webinars on the METT are available on YouTube: Introduction to the METT-4 and Using the new METT-4

Best practices for implementing the METT are also summarised in a paper in the IUCN WCPA journal PARKS.

For news and updates about the METT, please join the METT support group on Facebook.