Progress report for
Support for management of protected areas, including MPAs, in ACP Countries
Achievement at a glance
The project is being financed by the 11th European Development Fund. It is running. The aim is to improve the long-term conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources in ACP regions in protected areas (PA) and surrounding communities. The project is building institutional and technical capacity at the regional, national and site levels; with access to and application of data and information related to biodiversity and PA management and governance being used to inform and strengthen policy decisions and management actions. The action is structured around the work of Regional Observatories managed by regional institutions and housing Regional Reference Information systems (RRIS) with tools and services that stakeholders can use to monitor and report on the status of biodiversity and PAs. The project will also support specific actions in priority conservation landscapes. By adopting a landscape approach, the project will contribute both to better PA management and to enhancing local livelihoods through sustainable use of the natural resources.Today two Regional Observatories are hosted respectively by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in the Pacific region and the University of West Indies in the Caribbean region. Since the launch of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme (BIOPAMA) II mid-2017, some activities have been implemented, inter alia: Regional Inception workshops were organized in Southern and Eastern Africa, Western Africa, Central Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions to identify regional/national priorities for enhancing the management and governance of Protected Areas. Technical studies were launched, incl. e.g. on coastal risk assessment for conservation of species. Regional training for MPAs management was organized in the Caribbean. The Pacific Islands Protected Area Portal (PIPAP) was improved
Beneficiaries
National agencies leading on biodiversity conservation and protected areas management, national development agencies, local communities living in and around protected areas where interventions will be supported from the Action Component, Regional Organizations (e.g. SADC; EAC; RAPAC; OFAC; SPREP; UNEP-CEP). These targets groups have, nationally and/or regionally, the mandate and the responsibility of proposing and/or taking decisions that can influence biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Local communities are also directly involved in protected areas management through a number of governance arrangements.