The size, scale and diversity of protected areas in Belize provide an informative case study of system management and governance that can offer a model for countries with expanding systems. The Belize National Protected Areas System is proportionately large for the size of the country, with terrestrial protected areas covering 36.6 per cent of the national territory and 19.8 per cent of the marine environment. The 108 sites in the National Protected Areas System exhibit the full spectrum of management categories and governance types recognized by IUCN. Though 85 per cent of terrestrial protected areas are national lands, only 43 per cent are managed directly by government agencies. The system overall is characterized by a heavy reliance on co-management, privately protected areas and ICCAs, in that order. Central government provides less than 18 per cent of the funding for management of the system. The diversity of actors in protected area management creates a dynamic, multivariate governance system, with different parties contributing to the debate to constantly refine management practices.

Privately protected areas (PPAs) are increasingly recognized as important conservation initiatives, as evidenced by recent developments that support recognizing and documenting them alongside protected areas under other governance types. Advances in guidance on PPAs have been accompanied by increasing support within international policy arenas, and more PPAs are being reported to the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). Despite this, national approaches to recognizing and supporting PPAs vary, as does the extent to which countries report on PPAs to the WDPA. We present recent advances that support PPAs at the international level, summarize the present state of PPA reporting to the WDPA, and discuss the challenges and opportunities that currently characterize the future of PPAs.

Buffer zone management in Chitwan National Park is regarded as a successful programme in Nepal.However, buffer zones are typically treated as a homogeneous entity without much regard to the intra-zone dynamics.This research examined the impacts of rhinos along with households' resource use, dependency, involvement and associated impacts within one buffer zone -Kolhuwa Village Development Committee.Household surveys (N=68) were conducted and sampling was based on the type of settlement and land size.A structured and semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview household heads along with GPS points.The buffer zone was segmented into two zones -Close and Far Settlement based on the distance from the park boundary.Results illustrated that the impacts of rhinos were more pronounced among households that were closer to the boundary, and declined with increasing distance.Households had challenges to produce enough food for at least six months to a year, but noticeably more so in the close settlements.Residents that were closer to the boundary were most dependent on fuelwood and natural resources extraction.While both zones were reliant on income from outside their community, households in the close settlements were more dependent.Conversely, households in the far settlements had been involved for more years and in more activities in the buffer zone.Results are of utility to park management with respect to zoning designations.

Simultaneously, there is mounting scientific evidence that the ecological health of the planet is declining (IPCC, 2014) including the ecological integrity of parks and protected areas (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), 2013; OAGBC, 2010; Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2013; Parks Canada Agency, 2011). As a result, connecting people to nature and building political support for parks and conservation issues have become priorities for park and conservation organizations.

threats and facilitates the enforcement of rules, and monitoring, which permits managers to quantify changes over time and subsequently evaluate the effectiveness of management actions as part of the adaptive management cycle In addition, managers must have an understanding of local resource use dynamics and the factors affecting the livelihood decision -making of adjacent communities if they are to develop appropriate, evidence-based strategies and interventions

The history of biodiversity conservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) runs in parallel with the story of alienation of land and natural resources which began in early colonial times. There is a legacy of undemocratic laws promulgated in the time of Leopold II that still govern land rights and the conservation of biodiversity. Numerous conflicting pressures are currently exerted on the DRC Government to lease more lands and create more protected areas. I argue that while conserving biological diversity is good, there is a need to reflect deeply on how to make the management of protected areas effective and reconciled with the needs expressed by communities. I also argue that preserving biodiversity is not and should not be equated with creating more new state-owned protected areas. There are other ways to conserve biodiversity, including privately protected areas, devolution of law enforcement to local communities, and downgrading some protected areas to IUCN Category VI, with proper zoning to reflect the reality of management. This is a complex process and involves strong political decisions and should be supported by a thorough assessment of the entire protected area network. I suggest that the key to success in preserving biodiversity in DRC is a proper land rights system and local law enforcement, which will make local communities allies rather than opponents to conservation.

Many Pacific island nations lag behind more developed countries with respect to achieving Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) targets for protected area coverage. The modified definition of protected areas under the IUCN’s 2008 Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories offers opportunities for Pacific islands nations to formally recognize indigenous community conserved and locally managed areas under a range of management styles. However, there are elements to the new definition and principles that are unlikely to be compatible in the context of customary tenure prevailing in the Pacific. The first principle requiring nature conservation to be the primary objective of protected areas runs counter to the majority of functioning Pacific island protected areas that have been established with sustainable livelihoods as the major driver. Furthermore, the definition of conservation as perceived by most Pacific island cultures is inextricably linked with ‘sustainable use’. In this context, we offer suggestions for moving forward, including raising awareness of these issues, consulting on the appropriate definitions of protected areas that fit the legal and cultural context of each country, and avoiding incorporating the language of the 2008 Guidelines into definitions or wording for national policy and legislation until broad consensus and understanding is reached.

This paper outlines how conservation volunteer programmes contribute to biodiversity protection and conservation in Canada’s national parks. An inventory of some of these volunteer programmes is summarized and specific examples of volunteer conservation activities are provided through a case study of Kejimkujik National Park’s volunteer programme. Observations from these conservation volunteer initiatives are combined with findings reported in scholarly literature to highlight factors that contribute to successful conservation volunteer programmes. Key outcomes arising from Parks Canada’s conservation volunteer programmes include: support of biodiversity conservation, enhanced visitor experience, broadened support for national parks, and the introduction of new ideas and skills by volunteers. Many volunteers participating in these programmes are tourists; the final section of this paper highlights which CBD Aichi Targets these volunteers are assisting Parks Canada to meet.