Strategy

Strategy

Comparative Analysis of Approaches to Protected Area Governance and the Evolution Process of Landscape Conservation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Sayedeh Alemohammad 1
Reza Omidifar 1
Saman Yousefvand 1
Majid Ramezani Mehrian 2
1 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Governance - University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Institute of Human Sciences Research and Development (SAMT), Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/rahbord.2023.417486.1598
Abstract
The influence of governance on the sustainability of protected areas (PAs) is greater than the influence of the IUCN classification type. The weakness of interdisciplinary discussion has hindered the development of research and the improvement of functions in the governance of these regions. Landscape conservation has developed based on competitive worldviews, conflicting discourses, and inconsistent attitudes about PAs. It makes reaching a common understanding difficult. The purpose of this research is to explain the evolution of PA governance approaches. The method of this research is review and comparative analysis. By reviewing more than 90 new articles, 45 important keywords have been collected and classified with two strategies (one based on worldviews and discourses and the other based on different attitudes about the relationship between PAs and the surrounding landscapes). Exploration in reviewed articles shows two main approaches based on the first strategy. The area-oriented approach (zoning and mapping) and the process-oriented approach (participationary and systematic). The result of combining these approaches is participatory mapping. Based on the second strategy, PA governance has moved from islandization to networking, the landscape approach, and then ecological-social landscapes. The ecological-social landscape seeks multifaceted governance based on the values belonging to places, which transcends the boundaries of traditional management. PA governance has formed more advanced models with continuous progress and has always tended to cover shortcomings, inadequacies, and limitations. The future research priorities are integrated landscape management, empowering managers, supporting sustainable livelihoods, establishing local community participation, and using their initiatives.
Keywords
Area-Oriented
Process-Oriented
Local Communities
Ecological-Social Landscapes
Governance
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 22 September 2023
  • Revise Date 07 December 2023
  • Accept Date 09 September 2023