Compliance-The 'Achilles heel' of protected areas

Recent trends for rapidly establishing large protected areas demonstrate ongoing global interest in protected our remaining natural environments. However laudatory, these efforts rely on a significant, but uncertain assumption: that this protection will be effective. Unfortunately, many past efforts have been ineffective due to numerous types of implementation failures. We focus on one of the most pervasive and notoriously difficult reasons for failure -the inability to substantially reduce ongoing non-compliance in protected areas. We contend that this globally prevalent phenomenon is a symptom of fragmentary, reactive efforts to address compliance issues. This is best addressed by developing a rigorous, systematic approach to compliance management in protected areas. We are working with a team of compliance experts to finalise such a framework and approach, which will serve as the first step in an ongoing journey and discussion, as well as a cornerstone for building a global community of practice to address this issue.

Automated summary

Recent trends in rapidly establishing large protected areas indicate global interest in protecting natural environments. However, the effectiveness of these efforts is uncertain due to past implementation failures. Non-compliance in protected areas remains a significant issue, highlighting the need for a systematic approach to compliance management. We are collaborating with compliance experts to develop a framework and approach to address this problem and foster a global community.