Understanding and Assessing Equity in Protected Area Conservation: a Matter of Governance, Rights, Social Impacts and Human Wellbeing

The paper Understanding and Assessing Equity in Protected Area Conservation: a Matter of Governance, Rights, Social Impacts and Human Wellbeing aims to support managers and policy makers progress towards more equitable conservation of protected area (PA). It begins by explaining and exploring links between equity and justice, governance, rights, social impact, poverty and human wellbeing; offers conceptual frameworks for relating these concepts; and discusses four assessment methods to assess the equity of PA management and governance, of varying rigour, feasibility and credibility. The report argues that enhancing equity, rather than directly improving livelihoods, could lead to greater contributions of PAs to human wellbeing, as well as better conservation.