Study of IMET evaluations conducted across the PAPFor landscapes

Throughout the PAPFor programme, the Regional Coordination has promoted and facilitated the use of the Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool (IMET) to monitor and improve the management effectiveness of protected areas. More than 80 % of the 25 PAPFor priority protected areas have benefited from an IMET assessment, compared with just 16 % at the start of the programme.

At the end of the programme, the Regional Coordination commissioned ‘scaling-up’ analyses, enabling protected areas to be compared with each other in order to develop more specific strategies for those that are similar. Visualisation tools help to distinguish between areas with high and low scores in relative terms, and help to define relevant improvement targets. Historical analyses were also carried out, in order to analyse progress between assessments carried out at the start of the programme and those carried out at the end.
This analysis was entrusted to two IMET trainers experienced in the exercise, one of whom supported three PAPFor landscapes for IMET evaluations in the field.

The results of the analyses indicate considerable variability in management effectiveness in the protected areas studied. Some protected areas demonstrate strong governance, robust planning and effective resource management, while others face challenges in these areas, resulting in less favourable conservation outcomes.

The analyses also reveal distinct patterns of management effectiveness and highlight the influence of internal management practices and wider landscapes on conservation success.