The state of capacity development evaluation in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management

Capacity development is critical to long-term conservation success, yet we lack a robust and rigorous understanding of how well its effects are being evaluated. A comprehensive summary of who is monitoring and evaluating capacity development interventions, what is being evaluated and how, would help in the development of evidence-based guidance to inform design and implementation decisions for future capacity development interventions and evaluations of their effectiveness. We built an evidence map by reviewing peer-reviewed and grey literature published since 2000, to identify case studies evaluating capacity development interventions in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management. We used inductive and deductive approaches to develop a coding strategy for studies that met our criteria, extracting data on the type of capacity development intervention, evaluation methods, data and analysis types, categories of outputs and outcomes assessed, and whether the study had a clear causal model and/or used a systems approach. We found that almost all studies assessed multiple outcome types: most frequent was change in knowledge, followed by behaviour, then attitude. Few studies evaluated conservation outcomes. Less than half included an explicit causal model linking interventions to expected outcomes. Half of the studies considered external factors that could influence the efficacy of the capacity development intervention, and few used an explicit systems approach. We used framework synthesis to situate our evidence map within the broader literature on capacity development evaluation. Our evidence map (including a visual heat map) highlights areas of low and high representation in investment in research on the evaluation of capacity development

Closing staffing gaps in Madagascar's protected areas to achieve the 30 by 30 conservation target

Abstract Protected areas (PAs) guard critical biodiversity and provide ecosystem services, serving as a pillar of the Kunming‐Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that aims to protect 30% of the planet by 2030. But most PAs are understaffed. This study documents external workforce contributions to PA staffing in Madagascar, a biodiversity‐rich country that tripled its PA network in 2015. Taking a novel multi‐level approach, we use online surveys of 44 PAs and 13 institutions (managing 81% of PA surface area in Madagascar). Results reveal severe understaffing, reaching only a third of the global recommendation at just one staff member per 37.3 km2. Longer‐established PAs enjoy higher staffing ratios. Local community members comprise 94% of the PA external workforce, contributing up to 52% of labor in category V and VI PAs. Evolving human resource policies to deliberately better engage local communities will build PA resilience, addressing staffing gaps in a cost‐effective and sustainable manner to achieve the 30 by 30 target

Challenges faced by Madagascar’s protected area network during COVID-19 were very real

We appreciate Andrianambinina at al. engaging with our paper “Elevated fires during COVID-19 lockdown and the vulnerability of protected areas” published in Nature Sustainability in May 2022. In their response, Andrianambinina et al. question the extent to which protected area management in Madagascar was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and our interpretation that the patterns we observe in excess fires are a result of this. They also question our use of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) as the source of shape files for Madagascar’s protected areas. We respond to these points in turn

Elevated fires during COVID-19 lockdown and the vulnerability of protected areas

There is little robust, quantitative information on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the extinction crisis. Focusing on Madagascar, one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots, we explore if the cessation of on-site protected area management activities due to the pandemic were associated with increased burning inside protected areas. We identify monthly excess fire anomalies by comparing observed fires to those predicted based on historical and contemporary fire and weather data for all of Madagascar’s protected areas, for every month 2012-2020. Through to 2019 excess fire anomalies in protected areas were few, short in duration, and in some years coincident with social disruption linked to national elections. By contrast in 2020, COVID-19 meant on-site management of Madagascar’s protected areas was suspended from March to July. This period was associated with 76-248 % more fires than predicted, after which burning returned to normal. At a time when international biodiversity conservation faces unprecedented challenges, our results highlight the importance of on-site management for maintaining protected area integrity.This work was funded by the Academy of Finland (grant no. 333518), the Helsinki Institute for Sustainability Science, and the Kone foundation (JE), the Faculty of Sciences, University of Helsinki (APJ), a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (AB), the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Climate and Resilience Framework Programme (JPGJ and OSR), and the Independent Research Fund Denmark’s Sapere Aude programme (grant no. 0165-00018B) (JG). We thank Anni Virolainen for graphic design of figures 1, 3, and 4. We thank Tiana Andriamanana, Solo Hervé, Fenohery Rakotondrasoa, Seheno Ramanantsoa and Cynthia Raveloson for helpful discussions about the results and the evolving protected area management situations in Madagascar since the start of the pandemic

In-country practitioner insights from Madagascar to inform more effective international conservation funding

Bending the curve on biodiversity loss will require increased conservation funding and a wiser resource allocation. Local conservation practitioner expertise will be vital in decision-making processes related to funding. Yet, the integration of their insights into funder priorities and strategies is often insufficient, particularly in countries where international funding comprises the bulk of support for conservation. More generally, the role of funding remains under-analyzed in conservation and opportunities for funder-practitioner dialogue at a broad strategic level are limited. We seek to address these critical gaps by presenting results from a participatory workshop of conservation practitioners in Madagascar, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Five major areas of need emerged, and these challenges need to be addressed if we are to see long-term solutions to the biodiversity crisis: (1) strengthen law and policy implementation; (2) ensure sustainability of funding; (3) improve coherence and coordination within and beyond the conservation sector; (4) support self-strengthening of local communities; and (5) invest in capacity development. This article elaborates on these thematic areas and their implications for international donors in Madagascar and beyond. Our approach demonstrates a way for amplifying in-country practitioner voices in a collaborative way and highlights the need for their inclusion at all stages of conservation program development so that funding priorities better reflect local needs and aspirations while enhancing prospects for enduring conservation outcomes. RésuméPour infléchir la courbe de la perte de biodiversité il est nécessaire d’augmenter le financement pour la conservation et d’assurer une allocation plus stratégique des ressources. L'expertise des praticiens de la conservation locaux sera vitale dans les processus décisionnels liés au financement. Toutefois, l'intégration de leurs connaissances dans les priorités et les stratégies des bailleurs de fonds est souvent insuffisante, en particulier dans les pays où le financement international représente la majeure partie du soutien à la conservation. Plus généralement, le rôle du financement reste sous-analysé dans le domaine de la conservation et les possibilités de dialogue entre bailleurs de fonds et praticiens à un niveau stratégique général sont limitées. Nous cherchons à combler ces lacunes essentielles en présentant les résultats d'un atelier participatif des praticiens de la conservation à Madagascar, l'un des points chauds de la biodiversité mondiale. Cinq grands domaines de besoins ont émergé et ces défis doivent être relevés si nous voulons voir des solutions à long terme à la crise de la biodiversité : (1) renforcer la mise en œuvre des lois et des politiques ; (2) assurer la durabilité du financement ; (3) améliorer la cohérence et la coordination ; (4) soutenir l'auto-renforcement des communautés locales ; et (5) investir dans le développement des capacités. Cet article développe ces domaines thématiques et leurs implications pour les bailleurs de fonds internationaux à Madagascar et au-delà. Les défis persistants identifiés sont par exemple le rôle de l'État et sa faible capacité à faire respecter la loi, la difficulté à trouver des financements pour les coûts opérationnels et la gestion de base, ainsi que les lourdes exigences en matière de rapports, et les capacités et ressources nécessaires à cet effet. La communauté des bailleurs devrait reconnaître que les solutions profitables pour les deux parties sont rares à court terme, et démontrer une plus grande volonté d'accepter et de discuter d’un échec comme un moyen d'avancer au lieu de le stigmatiser. Une plus grande coordination au sein et entre les différents groupes et secteurs est nécessaire pour éviter que les efforts ne soient dupliqués, que les lacunes restent non comblées ou que les échecs de mise en œuvre ne se répètent. En raison d'une mauvaise conduite, ou par crainte de celle-ci, de nombreux donateurs semblent avoir évité de travailler avec des acteurs étatiques, favorisant plutôt les ONG internationales de conservation. Cette approche n'est cependant qu'une solution à court terme, car elle ne contribue qu’à renforcer faiblement la capacité nationale à aborder et à surmonter la corruption dans le secteur de la conservation. Pour aller de l'avant, il est essentiel de donner une voix plus forte à ceux qui connaissent le mieux le contexte spécifique et la mémoire institutionnelle des projets précédents. Le processus de réflexion et d'interaction dans l'atelier a permis de dégager des perceptives concrètes pour Madagascar, mais pertinentes pour les autres pays tropicaux où le financement international prédomine dans le domaine de la conservation. Cette approche démontre une manière d’amplifier les voix des praticiens nationaux de manière collaborative et souligne la nécessité de les inclure dans toutes les étapes du développement des programmes de conservation afin que les priorités de financement reflètent mieux les besoins et les aspirations locaux tout en améliorant les perspectives de résultats durables de la conservation. 

Insights from Practitoners in Madagascar to Inform More Effective International Conservation Funding

Bending the curve on biodiversity loss will require increased conservation funding and a wiser resource allocation. Local conservation practitioner expertise will be vital in decision-making processes related to funding. Yet, the integration of their insights into funder priorities and strategies is often insufficient, particularly in countries where international funding comprises the bulk of support for conservation. More generally, the role of funding remains under-analyzed in conservation and opportunities for funder-practitioner dialogue at a broad strategic level are limited. We seek to address these critical gaps by presenting results from a participatory workshop of conservation practitioners in Madagascar, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Five major areas of need emerged, and these challenges need to be addressed if we are to see long-term solutions to the biodiversity crisis: (1) strengthen law and policy implementation; (2) ensure sustainability of funding; (3) improve coherence and coordination within and beyond the conservation sector; (4) support self-strengthening of local communities; and (5) invest in capacity development. This article elaborates on these thematic areas and their implications for international donors in Madagascar and beyond. Our approach demonstrates a way for amplifying in-country practitioner voices in a collaborative way and highlights the need for their inclusion at all stages of conservation program development so that funding priorities better reflect local needs and aspirations while enhancing prospects for enduring conservation outcomes