Protected Area Management Effectiveness Workshop

Officials from the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme (BIOPAMA) hosted a regional workshop in Saint Lucia on protected area management effectiveness (PAME) from Monday 25^th June – Wednesday 27^th June 2018. Over 40 participants from national and regional protected areas management agencies participated in this important workshop which was held at the Bay Gardens Resort Conference room at Rodney Bay, Gros Islet.

The BIOPAMA programme aims to improve the long-term conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in African- Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, in protected areas and surrounding communities. It is an initiative of the ACP Group of States financed by the European Union’s 11th European Development Fund (EDF), jointly implemented in the Caribbean by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) and the University of the West Indies.

The general objective of the workshop was to:

Promote the implementation of protected area management effectiveness, in the 15 BIOPAMA Caribbean countries including Saint Lucia.

Other specific objectives of the workshop included

1. The introduction and implementation of the protected area management effectiveness framework.
2. Discussion of opportunities to promote the implementation of management effectiveness in Caribbean protected areas.
3. Introduction and implementation of the IUCN Green List of Protected Areas Standard,
4. Plans for the establishment of an Expert Assessment Group (EAGL), for coordination of the Green List Standard and adaptation of indicators, etc.
5. Identification of pilot cases for the implementation of management effectiveness and the Green List in the Caribbean.

The highlight of the workshop was a visit to the Pitons Management Area (PMA), a Saint Lucian premier protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The purpose of the visit was firstly to experience the areas exceptional beauty; and secondly to gain practical experience in using the green list indicators to assess management effectiveness with the area.