This site is designed to gather information for my Ph.D. thesis research and to present the results upon completion. On the link to my doctoral thesis, you will find a summary of the research proposal titled Enhancing Management of Protected Areas.
Protected areas are areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means (IUCN 1994). Protected areas serve various purposes, for instance:
Have a variety of non-monetary and monetary values that are important to different groups of people.
Provide alternatives to enhance the quality of life for communities living both inside and outside their boundaries.
Provide goods and services to communities living inside and beyond their areas of influence.
Represent one strategy to preserve biodiversity and other natural resources.
Glacier National Park, USA.
Most protected areas have to fulfill multiple objectives related to environmental protection, contribution to sustainable development, and provision of recreational and educational opportunities for visitors. The outcomes of these objectives may conflict with each other and effective management is needed to balance the social, economic and environmental concerns that may arise from differences in values and interest.
Many actors are interested finding ways to improve and evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas management:
Citizens and general public interested on protected areas and natural resources;
Government agencies;
Local communities, Aboriginal People, and First Nations;
Managers and staff;
National and international funding organizations; and
Non-governmental organizations.
The links provide background information on the main topics of the research:
Environmental Impact Assessment as a management tool for protected areas.
Application of the principles of Ecosystem-Based Management and Environmental Management Systems to improve management of protected areas.
Evaluation of management effectiveness and use of performance indicators for protected areas.
The questionnaires are designed to obtain information from a variety of informants:
Businesses and tourism operators;
Consultants, academics or practitioners with experience in environmental impact assessments;
Local communities;
Managers and staff of protected areas;
Non-governmental organizations; and
Protected areas that house endangered or threatened species.
Wildlife at Kootenay National Park and Wildflowers at Bow Valley Provincial Park.
Please take time to answer the questionnaire(s) that may apply to your area of expertise.
I will appreciate if you would send this web page onto other people who share an interest or experience in protected areas. If you are able to provide me with their contact information, I would be pleased to invite them to collaborate in my study. The information provided is completely confidential; it is not shared with anyone, and would be used only for the purposes of this research.
I am looking forward to hearing from you. Feel free to provide me with feedback about this site or to get in touch to share ideas and experiences on protected areas management.
Thanks for visiting this site!
Angeles
Angeles Mendoza
Ph.D. Candidate,
Faculty of Environmental Design,
University of Calgary
