Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective
‘Good governance’ is highlighted by many as being essential for improving protected area (PA) management and conservation outcomes, with a growing body of evidence based on site-level governance data. Yet how exactly governance at other levels supports or hinders successful PA implementation, and ho...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.807214/full |
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| author | Naira Dehmel Phil Franks Kate Schreckenberg Alison Beresford Graeme Buchanan Terence P. Dawson |
| author_facet | Naira Dehmel Phil Franks Kate Schreckenberg Alison Beresford Graeme Buchanan Terence P. Dawson |
| author_sort | Naira Dehmel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ‘Good governance’ is highlighted by many as being essential for improving protected area (PA) management and conservation outcomes, with a growing body of evidence based on site-level governance data. Yet how exactly governance at other levels supports or hinders successful PA implementation, and how this should be considered in conservation planning and practice, remains insufficiently understood. We conducted an exploratory analysis of the relationship between the quality of country-level governance and trends in tree cover loss within sub-Saharan African PAs. For the period 2008–2017, we correlated annual governance scores from the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) with the annual rate of tree cover loss in the total terrestrial area of PAs in 33 forested sub-Saharan African countries. Overall governance was not correlated with tree cover loss in a simple model, but there was evidence that overall governance was positively correlated with tree cover loss in PAs when the interaction with environmental governance was included. The interaction indicated that the rate of tree cover loss decreased for a given level of overall governance as environmental governance increased. Human development was negatively correlated with forest loss. Thus, the relationship between country-level ‘good governance’ and conservation success is more complex than a direct and positive cause and effect. Yet, uncertainty remains about the many possible and likely confounding pathways: whilst the quality of overall governance may be mirrored at the site-level, it may also contribute to increased anthropogenic pressures on natural resources. Through this research we found significant limitations in data quality and availability both to evaluate the effectiveness of protection beyond tree cover, as well as less conventional governance aspects, such as environmental policy and regulation or site-level governance. With an expected increase in area-based protection and conservation financing in the coming decades, such data will be vital to monitor the effectiveness of our efforts and ensure financial accountability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T01:24:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fdc1572af44347a5a8cf08f97a681106 |
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| issn | 2624-893X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T01:24:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |
| spelling | doaj.art-fdc1572af44347a5a8cf08f97a6811062022-12-21T17:22:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Forests and Global Change2624-893X2022-02-01510.3389/ffgc.2022.807214807214Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced PerspectiveNaira Dehmel0Phil Franks1Kate Schreckenberg2Alison Beresford3Graeme Buchanan4Terence P. Dawson5Department of Geography, King’s College London, London, United KingdomNatural Resources Group, International Institute for Environment and Development, Edinburgh, United KingdomDepartment of Geography, King’s College London, London, United KingdomRSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scotland Headquarters, Edinburgh, United KingdomRSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scotland Headquarters, Edinburgh, United KingdomDepartment of Geography, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom‘Good governance’ is highlighted by many as being essential for improving protected area (PA) management and conservation outcomes, with a growing body of evidence based on site-level governance data. Yet how exactly governance at other levels supports or hinders successful PA implementation, and how this should be considered in conservation planning and practice, remains insufficiently understood. We conducted an exploratory analysis of the relationship between the quality of country-level governance and trends in tree cover loss within sub-Saharan African PAs. For the period 2008–2017, we correlated annual governance scores from the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) with the annual rate of tree cover loss in the total terrestrial area of PAs in 33 forested sub-Saharan African countries. Overall governance was not correlated with tree cover loss in a simple model, but there was evidence that overall governance was positively correlated with tree cover loss in PAs when the interaction with environmental governance was included. The interaction indicated that the rate of tree cover loss decreased for a given level of overall governance as environmental governance increased. Human development was negatively correlated with forest loss. Thus, the relationship between country-level ‘good governance’ and conservation success is more complex than a direct and positive cause and effect. Yet, uncertainty remains about the many possible and likely confounding pathways: whilst the quality of overall governance may be mirrored at the site-level, it may also contribute to increased anthropogenic pressures on natural resources. Through this research we found significant limitations in data quality and availability both to evaluate the effectiveness of protection beyond tree cover, as well as less conventional governance aspects, such as environmental policy and regulation or site-level governance. With an expected increase in area-based protection and conservation financing in the coming decades, such data will be vital to monitor the effectiveness of our efforts and ensure financial accountability.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.807214/fullquality of governanceforest protectionprotected areasenvironmental governanceIbrahim Index of African Governance |
| spellingShingle | Naira Dehmel Phil Franks Kate Schreckenberg Alison Beresford Graeme Buchanan Terence P. Dawson Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective Frontiers in Forests and Global Change quality of governance forest protection protected areas environmental governance Ibrahim Index of African Governance |
| title | Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective |
| title_full | Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective |
| title_short | Relating Country-Level Governance and Tree Cover Loss in Sub-Saharan African Protected Areas: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and a More Nuanced Perspective |
| title_sort | relating country level governance and tree cover loss in sub saharan african protected areas identifying knowledge gaps and a more nuanced perspective |
| topic | quality of governance forest protection protected areas environmental governance Ibrahim Index of African Governance |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.807214/full |
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