This workshop is an initiative of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Programme, supported by the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) are the organisations behind this event.

Park managers, biodiversity conservation experts, protected area management coaches, environmental consultants, national park authorities and others, representing about 35 countries and 6 continents, will share their professional expertise, knowledge and success stories on how to enable and measure improved performance in protected and conserved areas worldwide.

To date, BIOPAMA has supported many of the 79 countries in the ACP region to better integrate good analysis and evaluation of data and assessments into decision-making for protected area sites and systems. Since 2012, BIOPAMA has included protected areas system data into regional reference information systems (RRIS) across the ACP and has supported over 100 protected areas to understand and enable improved management effectiveness.

This workshop provides the opportunity to share the experience of existing methodologies, gain understanding of the global trends in the application of such tools and ultimately provide the guidance protected and conserved areas need to enhance their performance, from beyond the 79 countries where BIOPAMA works in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Examples from Colombia, Vietnam, Australia, Egypt, among others, will be shared with this global audience.

Italy is one of the countries with inspiring examples of well-managed and well-governed protected and conserved areas. The host of this event, the Gran Paradiso National Park, is one of the first protected areas to be recognised for its good governance, sound design and planning, and effective management, achieving the IUCN Green List status in 2014.

All the workshop materials and updates are available on this page.