SHORT COMMUNICATION: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STANDARDISING REPORTING OF SITE-BASED ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM PROTECTED AND CONSERVED AREAS

Abstract

A new report from the Convention on Biological Diversity details 36 case studies highlighting tangible benefits which contribute to local livelihoods and conservation management costs from individual conservation areas worldwide. The study focuses on direct economic gains linked to biodiversity which do not undermine the area’s conservation objectives. One unexpected finding from the research was the lack of standards for reporting the economic benefits and the wide range of reporting approaches encountered. This short communication provides a background discussion to the issue and makes recommendations relating to eight reporting procedures which could help provide clarity on the amount and distribution of site-based economic benefits. These could also aid attempts to compare, aggregate or help further understand the importance of these benefits from conservation initiatives. The paper is a contribution to ensuring equity of costs and benefits of conservation, the financial sustainability for conservation areas and for allowing successful initiatives to be undertaken at scale and into the long term.