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KEY TOPICS

INTRODUCTION

The Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives revealed that around 50%  of the areas designated as a Natura 2000 site lack a management plan. In the following information will be presented on a number of key issues that managers of protected areas encounter when elaborating a management plan and which impede the elaboration of management plans.

To identify what managers of protected areas are struggling with when elaborating management plans a questionnaire was sent out to the Eurosite network. The responses revealed  that one of the most difficult issues is the cooperation with stakeholders like land users, hunters and  those living in and around the protected site. Issues include a) how to reconcile the interests of different stakeholders, b) how to reconcile conflicts between stakeholder groups themselves and c) how to reconcile conflicts between stakeholders and the management of the protected area. Of particular importance is the cooperation  with the landowners and farmers to ensure that their management does not conflict with the management objectives of the protected area. A question related to this is; how to compensate landowners for the loss of income when they are willing to adjust their management. Under the section “Stakeholder involvement” information will be provided on how to identify stakeholders, how to differentiate between the different stakeholders and their interests and how to deal with conflicts.

Another issue with increasing importance is how to deal with the impacts of climate change. Increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and the shifting of seasons have a significant impact on biodiversity and thus on how to protect biodiversity. Recent research in the Netherlands revealed that 40% of plant species occurring in the Netherlands are coming under pressure because of climate change. Temperature increase is already responsible for the fact that for around 100 plant species it is simply too warm (Vakblad Natuur Bos en Landschap, January 2020). The toolbox provides information on how management interventions can be designed to adapt to climate change in order to prevent the loss of biodiversity but also how protected areas can be a tool to mitigate climate change impacts by sequestering CO2. Adaptive management is a recommended strategy for being able to adapt to a changing climate.

In addition the toolkit will provide information on how management of protected areas can support achieving EU policy objectives as laid down among others in the Birds and Habitats Directives. Both directives have been transposed in national legislation in EU member states and instead of referring to the national nature protection legislation of each individual member states the toolbox refers to the two most important EU Directives.  Next to the Birds and Habitats Directives also the EU Water Framework Directive, the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy provide important information and guidance on how to ensure that biodiversity loss is stopped.

An important tool for halting biodiversity loss is the creation of ecological networks which allow species to disperse and migrate. This issue has become ever more relevant in view of climate change and is addressed under “Fragmentation and connectivity”.

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Report of 2005 the economy has entered ecology and the assessment of ecosystem services has become an important topic in nature conservation. Providing insight in the services ecosystems provide to society has become a manner to show that ecosystems do not only provide soft values as biodiversity and landscape beauty but show that these values represent an economic value as well. The toolbox therefore provides information on how to map ecosystem services and how to attach monetary value to these ecosystem services.

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT

A stakeholder is any person, organization, social group, or society at large that has a stake in the site. Stakeholders can be internal or external to the site, but they have an interest in the site or use it in some manner. It is important to understand the implication of stakeholders in order to figure out the best way to manage natural resources, to reduce potential conflicts of interest and pave a way into finding solutions. Stakeholders are crucial to site management and communication between site managers and stakeholders is essential.

In this section of the toolkit, attention is paid to the different stakeholders and users of natural sites, from visitors to hunters and from forest managers to volunteers. Since this toolkit is always evolving, new topic will be added in the future. If you have information to share about involving stakeholders in management planning, please do not hesitate to contact the Eurosite Secretariat.

The questionnaire sent out by Eurosite to managers of protected areas revealed that reconciling the needs and wishes of stakeholders like hunters, landowners, farmers, foresters, environmental NGO’s and other pressure groups with the management objectives of a protected area is a difficult issue. Engaging with stakeholders helps to harmonise the needs and wishes of stakeholders with management objectives of the protected area, and by doing so increases the likelihood that rules and restrictions are adopted and applied.

Furthermore, involving stakeholders opens up an important source of knowledge that helps to avoid mistakes in management planning and helps to mediate unexpected negative outcomes of management interventions. Well managed engagement of stakeholders facilitates learning and the building of trust between participants and helps to mediate conflicts. Establishing the reason(s) for engagement is a critical first step to take before any engagement is undertaken.

There are many different levels to engage with stakeholders to increase their acceptance and implication. Some basic recommendations when engaging with stakeholders include:

  • Communicate to ensure that messages are understood and adapted to each stakeholder group.
  • Consult, early and often in order to get useful information and ideas, ask questions.
  • Remember, stakeholders are people and work with an awareness of human feelings.
  • Plan accordingly, stakeholder involvement can require additional time investment, but this can be rewarded with significant payoffs.
  • Try to build trust with the stakeholders.
  • It is necessary to find a compromise across a set of stakeholders’ diverging priorities.

Existing literature suggests that the benefits of engagement can far outweigh the risks, including risks posed by a lack of engagement. If well planned, and adequately resourced, successful engagement can enrich management and thus improve outcomes for biodiversity and society. Engaging with stakeholders is also important when identifying the ecosystems services of a protected area and discussing who should benefit from these services. For this engagement to be credible and effective, the differences between the identified stakeholders and their interests and power, and also the dilemmas and trade off’s should be recognized and discussed with an open mind. See the document below for further guidance.

Links to additional information

CONSERVATION GRAZING

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In the meantime, have a look at the activities of the Eurosite working group on Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate (ABC)! 

 

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TOURISM & RECREATION

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 In the meantime, have a look at the activities of the Eurosite Working Group on Nature and Recreation (NATREC)! 

 

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HUNTING

The relationship between hunters and conservation is very complex. Under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, some species are protected from harvest while others may be hunted sustainably. Furthermore, the intensity of hunting, harvest regulations, and objectives of harvest management vary greatly among sites.  Hunters can be influential stakeholders in the management of protected areas and must participate in planning to promote constructive relationships. Hunting can be beneficial for conserving biodiversity and maintaining human livelihoods.  In some sites, hunting is used as a tool for regulating populations. When conducted in a sustainable fashion, hunting by humans can substitute for predation by carnivores that are absent or very rare. Removing individuals from the population can ensure that the carrying capacity of their habitat is not exceeded.  When game populations become overpopulated, this can threaten human livelihoods through crop damages in lowland areas and landslides or avalanches in mountain areas. Typical examples in Europe are wild boars damaging corn fields, cormorants impacting fisheries, and deer overbrowsing mountain forests.  Overpopulation of game can also threaten populations of competing species. Hunting can therefore control species whose behaviors can endanger human well-being, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions and services.  Common tools for regulating hunting include bag limits, seasonal closures and gear restrictions.  Monitoring the species, sex, and size or age class of animals harvested is necessary to adapt harvest planning for ensuring population viability and natural population structure.  Such detailed monitoring is often lacking.

Hunting can be detrimental to biodiversity when not managed properly or in the case of illegal hunting and poisoning.  Minimizing the persecution of wildlife is critical to consider for site managers.  This can be achieved through collaboration with local authorities or policing forces to control the activity.  In this case, the site manager may need to organize training and communication to improve the efficiency of the police control.  Although unsustainable hunting can generate conflicts, hunters may be incorporated into site management in beneficial ways.  They may serve as eco-guards, assistant rangers, and monitoring agents as they know the land well and have an interest in conserving game populations. Such engagement in protected area management by hunters can help ensure sustainable hunting practices.

Links to additional information:

INVASIVE SPECIES

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CLIMATE CHANGE

It is impossible to address biodiversity loss without addressing climate change. Climate change affects biodiversity in multiple ways through complex interactions among and between species and their habitats.  Protected areas play an important role in regulating the climate by making a key contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Hence, climate change response can be divided into “mitigation” (actions that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere) and “adaptation” (an adjustment by human or natural systems to the changing climate). Protected areas hold great promise as part of a “natural solution” to climate change. Forests, wetlands, grasslands, and marine ecosystems conserved in protected areas store vast amounts of carbon in vegetation, soils, and water. Sequestering and storing CO2 is an important ecosystem service of protected areas and protected area managers should take CO2 sequestration and the CO2 stored in protected areas into consideration when deciding on the objectives of the site and the activities needed to achieve these objectives. Large intact protected areas support adaptation by allowing species to move and respond to changing local climatic conditions.

Another important ecosystem service is that protected areas contribute to strengthening resilience of socio-ecological systems. A diverse landscape with intertwined protected areas and agricultural landscapes has a higher level of resilience against sudden shocks and disasters than monocultural landscapes.

The primary focus of these guidelines is on adaptation. Preparing for change at protected area sites is critical, but at the same time we have to acknowledge that adaptation cannot be accomplished at the local level alone.

Read more about climate change adaptation.

NATURE RESTORATION

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In the meantime, have a look at some of the successful nature restoration news & stories on our website! 

 

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