In situ and Ex situ Conservation of Commercial Tropical Trees - ITTO

18to cover the degree to which the design and management of the protected areameets goals for conservation of genetic diversity, species, populations andecosystems, as well as ecosystem processes. Institutional capacity refers tothe ability of the managing agency to effectively manage the area and is affectedby skill levels, degree of control and resource availability. Social impacts relateto the cultural and social appropriateness of protected area systems, howprotected areas are integrated into the broader social context of the region, andthe level of support from and involvement of local people in the protected areas.Legal status refers to the degree of protection afforded the protected areathrough gazettal under appropriate legislation and implementation of that legalstatus on the ground.Most assessments to date have focused on environmental effectiveness,and there has been limited analysis of social, institutional or legal situations.The WCPA Working Group on Management Effectiveness recently releaseda draft discussion paper suggesting a framework for evaluating effectivenessof protected area management (Hockings 1997). The paper identifies the needto evaluate the design of protected areas, the management and resourcing ofinputs, the management demands, and management systems and processes.However, considerable work is still required in developing methodologies forsuch assessments. A number of organizations - such as IUCN, the WorldCommission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and WWF - and individual nationsare currently developing systems for undertaking rapid assessment ofmanagement effectiveness of protected areas (Dudley and Stolton 1998).The development of a consistent global approach to the assessment ofprotected area effectiveness has been proposed by numerous actors, includingthe WCPA, IUCN and the World Bank/WWF Forest Alliance. Initial stepstowards such an approach have begun, with field testing of the WCPAFramework proposed for 1999 (Dudley and Stolton 1998).Effectiveness in relation to biodiversity conservation goalsUnfortunately, existing protected areas have a number of significant deficienciesin relation to the achievement of forest biodiversity conservation goals. Commondeficiencies relate to reserve network principles, and to the effectiveness ofmanagement in achieving conservation goals.Reserve network principlesThe biodiversity conservation principles, which apply to any conservation reservenetwork, are summarised in Box 3.