Monitoring and Assessment

Conservation practices have largely evolved from ‘fence and fine’ strategies to participatory approaches. It is now widely accepted that conservation initiatives should deliver both socioeconomic benefits and biodiversity protection – while being tailored to local needs as to foster more meaningful community involvement. As the collection of case studies found on this page demonstrate, it is not the way wellbeing is categorized that is most important, but for conservation initiatives to be successful, how the dimensions of wellbeing are interpreted and incorporated in the process of conservation planning has proved to be integral to the project’s success.

There is increasing attention on the efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who implement local-level, ecosystem-based approaches to resource management and sustainability. This is especially true when those communities implement what can be described as a biocultural approach to natural resource management—one the builds from and explicitly includes local knowledges, values, and perspectives. However, developing indicators to assess the local outcomes of sustainability management actions, and linking them to broader national and international policy targets, remains a key challenge. This can become problematic if diverging local, national, and international needs and values lead to misdirection of resources and implementation of programs inappropriate to local contexts. Collaboration between local, national, and international indicator initiatives is essential to synergize cross-scale planning and enhance evidence-informed implementation for sustainability.

The studies included in this section provide insight into the potential advantages of promoting participation in local monitoring networks, increasing awareness of the balance between social and ecological wellbeing, and finding meaningful ways to resolve conflicting values, perceptions and concerns of stakeholders.

Key Themes:

Engagement, Education & Empowerment, Climate & Environmental Changes, Wildlife & Fisheries

Click titles to expand sections below: