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Why do we lose protected areas? Factors influencing protected area downgrading, downsizing and degazettement in the tropics and subtropics
Author(s) -
Symes William S.,
Rao Madhu,
Mascia Michael B.,
Carrasco L. Roman
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.13089
Subject(s) - tropics , robustness (evolution) , subtropics , population , context (archaeology) , biodiversity , geography , situated , environmental resource management , ecology , economics , biology , demography , computer science , sociology , biochemistry , archaeology , artificial intelligence , gene
Protected areas ( PA s) are an essential tool for the conservation of biodiversity globally. Previous studies have focussed on the effectiveness of PA s and the design of optimal PA networks. However, not all PA s remain intact permanently; many PA s undergo downgrading, downsizing and/or degazettement ( PADDD ), a fact largely ignored until recently. The drivers of enacted PADDD events and the factors influencing its spatial occurrence are poorly understood, potentially undermining the efficacy of PA s and PA networks. Here we examine the spatial relationship between PADDD and economic, demographic and structural variables, using a 110‐year data set of 342 enacted PADDD events across 44 countries in the tropics and subtropics. We find that the probability of an enacted PADDD event increases with the size of the PA and through a synergistic interaction between PA size and local population densities. Our results are robust to the under‐reporting of enacted PADDD events that occur among smaller PA s and in regions with lower population density. We find an economic motive for PADDD events, given that the opportunity costs associated with larger PA s are higher, on average, than smaller PA s. Our findings suggest a need for conservation practitioners to better consider PA characteristics, as well as the social, economic and political context in which PA s are situated, to aid the creation of more efficient and sustainable PA networks. In particular, the dynamics of enacted PADDD events highlight the need to explicitly consider PA robustness as a core component of systematic conservation planning for PA networks.