Evaluating and reflecting on coproduction of protected area management plans
Date
2021-09-30
Authors
Roux, Dirk
Nel, Jeanne Lindsay
Freitag, Stef
Novellie, Peter
Rosenberg, Eureta
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Wiley
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Article
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Abstract
Protected areas are complex social-ecological systems, hence their management should be guided by engagement and co-learning with diverse stakeholders. The challenge of effective stakeholder participation has generated a body of literature on the design and facilitation of coproduction processes. In this study, we used this literature to develop a principle-based framework for assessing coproduction. We then applied this framework to evaluate how well “adaptive planning” (a sub-process of adaptive management used for visioning and objective setting with stakeholders), as applied to the Garden Route National Park in South Africa, aligned with the ideals of coproduction. Our analysis revealed shortcomings in the adaptive planning process, which could be improved through broadening the agenda beyond the mandate and control of national parks, empowering collective agency among a wider stakeholder network, and embedding co-learning with stakeholders as an ongoing journey. A significant finding was that adaptive management does not align well with the ideals of coproduction, which may be better supported by an adaptive co-management approach. The latter is particularly necessary in complex national parks that are diverse in terms of both ecosystems and stakeholders, and where governance may be contested.
Description
The version of record of this article, first published in Conservation Science and Practice, is available online at Publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.542
Keywords
assessment framework, case study, coproduction, Garden Route National Park, open-access parks, protected area management, stakeholder engagement, strategic adaptive management
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.542