Evaluating governance - a new handbook (03/06/04)

Good afternoon everyone:

EVALUATING GOVERNANCE: A HANDBOOK TO ACCOMPANY A PARTICIPATORY PROCESS FOR A PROTECTED AREA, by Peter Abrams, Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend, Julia Gardner and Pippa Heylings, is presently in a draft format and undergoing field testing. The authors have expressed an interest in having the guide field tested in a Ramsar site (or other protected wetland) and would be interested in hearing from anyone who is in a position to do this (contact details below).

The purpose of the handbook is to assist in a systematic process of designing, conducting and following up a participatory assessment of protected area governance. "Governance" is used here to describe the processes, operations and relationships that structure the allocation and use of decision-making powers.

The guide is intended for a broad range of users, including members of a Protected Area (PA) governing body, a PA staff, a member of a community traditional organisation governing a community conserved area, a village leader, a representative of a resource user group, or a conservation or development advocate. The authors hope that the guide will assist users in assessing and improving, if necessary, the governance of the protected area of concern.

The authors write: "By conducting a participatory evaluation using a broad range of perspectives, we hope this handbook will clarify your understanding of:
** The concept of 'governance'
** Conventional and non-conventional approaches for the governance of protected areas
** How the structures and processes of governance influence day-to-day PA management operations
** The complex and often contradictory nature of governance (e.g. the gap between governance decisions and actions, between what is happening in concrete practice and what different stakeholders perceive to be happening, etc)
** The critical role of governance as a means to achieving protected area goals and objectives."

While they note that every site has unique conditions and it is impossible to develop a 'one size fits all' management or assessment tool, they hope that this handbook will offer some guidance and ideas for a participatory process that can help determine what your needs are, and how best you can meet them. It is intended to assist in developing, implementing and maintaining a participatory assessment process that is unique, responsive and effective, avoiding a routine, top-down or funding-driven programme.

You can download the draft (in Word format, 916KB) here http://www.ramsar.org/outreach_methodologies_evaluating-governance-handbook.doc . For further information on this handbook or on field testing please contact Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend (gbf@cenesta.org) or Pippa Heylings (pippahey@ecnet.ec).

You can have a look at other useful documents on wetland CEPA methodologies here http://www.ramsar.org/outreach_methodologies.htm.

With best wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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Sandra Hails, CEPA Programme Officer
Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 999 0176; Fax: +41 22 999 0169
E-mail: hails@ramsar.org
Web Site: http://ramsar.org
CEPA mini-Web site: http://ramsar.org/outreach_index.htm

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