While under-recognition remains a problem, there have been a number of recent advances in thinking around PPAs, including the publication of new IUCN guidance, the development of supportive national and international policies, and the implementation of measures to improve documentation. These advances are the subject of a recent paper in the latest issue of the Parks Journal, which also discusses associated challenges and opportunities for the future.

Advances in how PPAs are recognised, supported and documented are important because PPAs have the potential to help address a range of conservation challenges. By acting as components of broader protected area networks, PPAs can contribute to the connectivity and ecological-representativeness of the conservation landscape. Private actors may also be capable of extending protection to lands or waters that governments are unable to acquire, and adapting their management approaches more rapidly than governments in the face of environmental changes, threats or opportunities.

As well as opportunities, there are challenges that are sometimes associated with (though not limited to) PPAs. These challenges centre in particular around issues of control and long-term persistence. In some cases, a lack of legal backing can mean that a PPA’s long-term security is uncertain. PPA owners may also not control all resources within the property, with a notable example being sub-soil resources.

Until recently, discourse around PPAs was hindered by the absence of a globally-accepted definition. Following in-depth consultation, IUCN guidance was published in 2014 that presented a unified definition of a PPA. It also offered advice on how to apply the definition in the face of challenges commonly faced by PPAs. The guidance was followed in 2016 by a resolution of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which encouraged multiple actors to promote the efforts of private governance authorities. The Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat has since expressed interest in a systematic collection of information on PPAs.

These recent advances at the international level have been matched, in some cases, by developments in national policies. Some countries, such as South Africa, have implemented initiatives aimed at documenting PPAs in order to better assess progress towards conservation targets. Similarly, there has been a concerted effort to map PPAs in the United Kingdom in recent years, led by the IUCN National Committee UK, and involving multiple NGOs and the UK government. These are two examples of a shift in the attitudes of some countries towards greater recognition of PPAs, and their results are clearly visible in the African and Western European maps presented in the Parks Journal paper.

In addition to enhancing seascape- and landscape-level conservation, PPAs represent an opportunity for countries to meet their international commitments. Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, for example, is tracked using the WDPA. If reporting on PPAs to the WDPA improves, then progress towards this target can be more accurately assessed, and the value of documenting PPAs may become more apparent. The paper in Parks discusses measures enacted by UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the managers of the WDPA, to encourage reporting on PPAs by both governments and PPA stakeholders.

Looking to the future, there are a number of emerging opportunities for PPAs. National-level assessments, such as Putting Nature on the Map, could be more widely applied to document PPAs and identify the best mechanisms to support them. IUCN’s Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas offers an opportunity to highlight excellence in PPA management. In an example of international collaboration, a global network of PPA experts and stakeholders is being built through the IUCN WCPA Specialist Group on Privately Protected Areas and Nature Stewardship. This group is also working to develop best practice guidance on the governance and management of PPAs.

This selection of opportunities demonstrates that multiple sectors have a role to play in supporting PPAs. International organisations, national governments, and PPA governance authorities can all build on recent advances by promoting, recognising and enhancing biodiversity conservation within PPAs. 

Article by Heather Bingham, photos by Kent Redford and and James Fitzsimons.

Read the full paper in Parks Journal 23.1: Privately protected areas: advances and challenges in guidance, policy and
documentation 

Map: Protected Planet