Equitable Governance
Equity relates to how fairly a protected area is governed: who has a say in decisions, how decisions are taken, and how the costs and benefits are shared.
Equitable governance in protected and conserved areas encompasses three key dimensions (CBD, 2018):
- Recognition: acknowledgement and respect for stakeholders, as well as their social and cultural diversity, and their values, rights and beliefs.
- Procedure: inclusiveness of rule and decision-making
- Distribution: the equitable sharing of costs and benefits
Various assessment tools and initiatives have been developed to measure the quality and equity of governance in protected and conserved areas. An example of a commonly used assessment is the Site-level Assessment for Governance and Equity (SAGE) tool. Such assessments have often been designed to support the evaluation and improvement of governance at the site level, but when compiled at the global level, they can also provide insights into the quality of governance at broader scales. Since 2024, records of site-level assessments of governance quality and equity, such as SAGE, have been included in the GD-PAME alongside PAME assessments (see the Management Effectiveness (PAME) section for further details). This data is then translated into indicators of progress towards the ‘equitably governed’ element of KMGBF Target 3. Currently, only a small number of SAGE assessments have been reported; as of August 2024, assessments have been reported for 34 protected areas and 1 OECM.
Alongside these assessment tools, the IUCN Green List Standard provides global guidance on equitable governance as a key component of protected and conserved area effectiveness. The Standard is complemented by a list of protected and conserved areas certified by IUCN against the Standard (for further details about this initiative, please see IUCN Green List Standard page).
Given that governance assessments have only been reported for a very small number of sites, data on the diversity of governance types can be used as an approximate indication of global progress towards equitable governance. Within the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM), data is compiled to capture the type of entity responsible for site-level governance. Governance types reported to the WDPA and WD-OECM are described in the IUCN Governance of Protected Areas guidelines, which include four broad governance types, with 11 sub-types (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Proportion of global coverage provided by protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) under each IUCN governance type and sub-type. 'Mixed' refers to areas where governance types overlap. Source: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, 2024.
Results from the Protected Planet Report 2024 show that areas under the governance of governments make up the vast majority of protected and conserved area coverage (62.78%), equating to 15.19 million km2 of terrestrial and inland waters and 18.67 million km2 of marine areas. Shared governance makes up 11.84% of global protected and conserved area coverage, followed by 3.95% by Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities and 0.5% under private governance. This highlights that many non-state governance types may be under-reported or under-represented within the Protected Planet databases, representing a shortfall in recognition of non-state governance types. Further, a key limitation on understanding global governance systems is a lack of information, with 9.86% of global protected and conserved area coverage having no governance type reported. For further details, please see chapter 8 and 9 of the Protected Planet Report 2024.
For further background information on governance in protected and conserved areas please refer to:
Protected Planet’s overview of the GD-PAME, including the GD-PAME user manual.
Dudley, N. (2008). Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. WITH Stolton, S., P. Shadie and N. Dudley (2013). IUCN WCPA Best Practice Guidance on Recognising Protected Areas and Assigning Management Categories and Governance Types, Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 21, Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. xxpp., Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 21, Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. xxpp.
Franks, P. and Pinto, R. (2020). SAPA, SAGE or GAPA? Tools for assessing the social impacts, governance, and equity of conservation. IIED, London.Available at https://www.iied.org/17664iied
https://www.30x30.solutions/equitably-governed/
Resources
View allThematic Areas
Protected Planet Report 2024
Tracking progress towards global targets for protected and conserved areas.