Governance of protected areas

WORKSHOP: Pilot application of a methodology for the assessment of the governance of protected areas

PORTO LAGOS – The University of Cambridge in collaboration with the Green Tank, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the Managing Body of Nestos Delta-Vistonida-Ismarida and Thasos (MB) organised a workshop at the Information Centre of the MB in Porto Lagos on Friday 10 January, 2020, for the pilot application of a methodology for assessing the governance of protected areas.

The workshop consisted of twelve participants who represented multiple stakeholders of the National Park of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace (NPEMT), including the MB, Public Authorities of the Regional Authority of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the hunting federation and the residents of the area. The workshop is part of the Fidelio research project of the University of Cambridge, which has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research programme (grant agreement no. 802605).

The purpose of the workshop was to pilot the use of SAGE (Site-level Assessment of Governance and Equity for Protected and Conserved Areas), a methodology for assessing the quality of governance of protected and conservation areas, in NPEMT. SAGE is being piloted in twelve locations globally with NPEMT being one of only two protected areas located in Europe. SAGE is a methodology for assessing the quality of governance of a protected or conservation area, including equity as mainly an issue of governance. It is a rapid process that enables stakeholders at a protected or conservation area site to identify governance challenges and potential actions to address them and provides managers at higher levels with an assessment of governance quality that can be used for management oversight.

During the workshop the participants were required to use SAGE to assess the governance of NPEMT, to evaluate the methodology in terms of its usefulness and applicability and to suggest ways in which it could be improved.

The workshop was moderated by Dr. Ioli Christopoulou (The Green Tank) and its outcomes will be analysed by the Fidelio research team led by Dr. Nikoleta Jones at the University of Cambridge and by IIED, in order to be included in the revised version of the SAGE.