Do protected areas actually work? How and why we measure site-level performance

Aichi Target 11 calls for effectively managed, connected, integrated and well-governed protected and conserved areas. While the world is on track to protect 17% of terrestrial areas and 10% of marine areas, little is known about whether protected areas are “effective”. The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas aims to assess different elements of effectiveness and to build on and scale up use of the ever-growing suite of tools available to measure protected areas management effectiveness (PAME), guidance on measuring equity, and on monitoring biodiversity outcomes. However, capacity among protected area managers to choose and use available tools is often limited, especially in high biodiversity countries. With such a range of tools available, how do protected areas know the right tool to choose and what to measure? This session aims to help anyone with an interest in learning more about assessing site-level management, governance and conservation outcomes.