Exchange programmes - IUCN

Implementation of an Exchange Programme for Protected Areas in East Asia
create a favourable climate for protected area exchanges, and are often able to get access
to sources of international support for such programmes. A clear declaration that they
recognise the importance of this approach in developing staff capacity and tackling
protected area problems in the country will help greatly to bring about successful
exchanges. It would help to adopt an internal policy that encourages exchanges. In this
way, staff will be made aware of the agencies’ support for exchanges, and in some
countries it may then be possible for keen employees themselves to find the funding for
an exchange. Exchanges should be included as an item to be funded under staff training
programmes. Special attention should be given to involving protected areas in remote
regions in such programmes.
Regional level
At the regional level, the WCPA should adopt a specific policy to support and encourage
all protected area systems in the region to follow the guidance given in this publication.
To give this work an impetus, they might consider setting up a task force to oversee the
development of exchange programmes, devote part of their regional sessions to this
topic and offer their expertise to other parts of the world via the WCPA newsletter and
web site (see also 3.3).
Developing innovative exchange programmes
The experience reported on in this publication provides a fund of interesting ideas on
how to get a partnership programme launched and what to achieve through it. In order to
ensure the best outcome in the region, exchange programmes might be developed
around one or more of the following themes:
� Develop them around particular categories of protected areas
� Develop them around particular issues facing protected areas
� Develop a regional “Parkshare” scheme
Exchanges based on the categories of protected areas
Basing the exchange on the type or characteristics of protected area involves partnering,
for example, those sites which:
� share the same IUCN protected area management categories; or
� are members of the same family of internationally-recognised sites (see example
below of World Heritage sites, but also Ramsar sites, Biosphere Reserves etc.).
IUCN protected area management categories
The IUCN system of protected area management categories is now well understood in
many countries (see IUCN, 1994). However, for ease of reference it is reproduced in
summary form in Box 3.1 below. Since the system is based on the objectives of
management, it means that protected areas in the same category are managed for broadly
the same purpose. That would provide a good basis for a partnership. The categories of
individual sites are to be found in the 1997 UN List of Protected Areas (IUCN, 1998) and
on the UNEP-WCMC web site (see below).
56