Session 4: Special Session: Definition, Delineation and Protection of the Zone of Influence of Protected Areas

The IUCN's four components of successful nature conservation in protected and other conserved areas are comprised of Good Governance, Sound Design and Planning, Effective Management, and, importantly, Successful Conservation Outcomes. The first three components are the pillars of conservation outcomes. Conservation outcomes attest to the successful achievement of protected area goals and objectives. How do we measure conservation outcomes if the key components of effective management such as a long-term management strategy, managing the ecological condition, managing the socio-economic context of the protected area, threats management, regulation and law enforcement, access, resource utilisation, and visitor management, are largely measured by output driven indicators? What mechanisms can be applied by protected area planners and managers to explicitly link outputs, i.e. management effectiveness, to impact, i.e. conservation effectiveness? Additionally, how does the landscape outside of the protected area influence the condition of the natural and cultural historic heritage inside? Successful conservation outcomes are demonstrated by the long-term conservation of natural values, the conservation of ecosystem services, and the conservation of cultural values. Building a sufficient evidence base for management evaluation, and placing emphasis on tracking results and the effects of management action, are key to measuring conservation outcomes. However, some natural values do not stop at protected area fences and lines depicted in a diagram. This presentation illustrates a systematic approach for defining natural values, attributes and indicators to enable identification of measures of conservation success at the onset of planning towards establishing time-bound measurable goals and objectives, based on a collective credible understanding of what comprises natural values, its current and desired condition. This, in turn, forms the basis of directing protected area management influence beyond the boundaries of the protected area to ensure the integrity of values within.

The delineation of the Zone of Influence is a requirement of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, Norms and Standards for the Management of Protected Areas in South Africa (Notice 382 of 2016). The Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool being used in South Africa (METT-SA version 3), a site-level evaluation tool for reporting progress towards meeting these norms and standards, lists the delineation of a Zone of Influence as one of the indicators contributing to protected area management effectiveness. The delineation of the Zone of Influence seeks to define certain threats and pressures which originate beyond the boundaries of the reserve but compromise the conservation objectives of the reserve. However, there is currently no standardised approach to the delineation of the Zone of Influence. This study sought to develop explicit guidelines to inform the delineation of the Zone of Influence, and through a range of approaches, such as participatory mapping, key informant interviews, and GIS mapping, spatially defined the Zone of Influence for Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve. Threats and pressures to the reserve included illegal poaching of fauna and harvesting of flora by the reserve’s neighbouring communities, water-borne pollution originating from stakeholders upstream from the reserve, the introduction of invasive alien plant species growing alongside road networks into the reserve, etc. In order to promote compatible and environmentally friendly land use practices within the Zone of Influence, which can contribute positively to the success of the protected area, this study emphasises the importance of good relations with neighbouring stakeholders.

Protected area management effectiveness is defined as how well the protected area (PA) is being managed – primarily protecting focal conservation values (natural or biological assets, but also human well-being), and achieving goals and objectives. Management objectives are intended to mitigate threats to, and/or enhance the viability of, conservation values in order to ensure their long-term persistence. Various mechanisms, such as zonation schemes, serve as a strategy to help achieve the desired future state of the values under protection. A Zone of Influence (ZoI), as prescribed by the METT-SA, is intended as a coherent spatial framework applicable around the PA to promote and/or ensure the positive involvement of PA management in planning outside of the PA that may affect its integrity. CapeNature has piloted an approach to delineating the ZoI which builds on our adaptive management planning framework: starting with the identification and mapping of PA focal conservation values, assessing their condition, and determining direct threats that influence them. Starting with the highest rated threats, we map the spatial extent (scope) of each and undertake a situation analysis to identify relevant stakeholders, better understand their primary interests, the regulatory environment, and other key factors influencing the situation. From this basis, we delineate ZoI to reflect where active engagement by the management authority can positively and directly influence incompatible land and/or water uses, or where other types of strategies are needed (e.g., awareness raising and education, law enforcement, research and monitoring, livelihood incentives). The ZoI will guide PA management in the surrounding landscape – in terms of where best to invest, divest or collaborate, in what way, and with whom – in order to reduce threats to conservation values under protection and to improve the integrity of the protected area as a whole.

The persistence of vital attributes of a protected area requires proper management of the protected area system and areas outside of the formal boundaries of the protected area that may have a positive or negative influence on these attributes. The delineation of the Zone of Influence is approached differently by various conservation agencies within South Africa. This work defines the aspects that constitute a Zone of Influence and recommends a multi-criteria approach using open-source tools to delineate the Zone of Influence for nature reserves in the Eastern Cape. The approach views the Zone of Influence as a multi-dimensional concept incorporating areas known to have visual, economic, hydrological, and biological/ecological influence on a protected area into one comprehensive Zone of Influence to guide the programme of interaction between the conservation agency and the adjacent landowners or communities for the proper management of the zone.