Protected Areas (PAs) are clearly defined geographical spaces that are recognised as and dedicated to achieving the long-term conservation of nature. They encompass a wide variety of natural and semi-natural environments and can take many forms from indigenous communities’ sacred sites to national parks and nature reserves.   

Europe has the largest number of PAs in the world with over 100,000 designated sites. PAs are currently at the core of several EU strategies, including the EU biodiversity strategy, the EU Green deal, and the EU Covid recovery plan, with a target to protect 30% of land and 30% of water by 2030. PAs can contribute to several socio-ecological priorities including climate change adaption, economic recovery of local communities and social equality.   

Achieving these targets is a significant challenge and often obstructed by conflicts between local stakeholders and low levels of acceptance for PAs by local stakeholders. There are growing calls to develop new tools to assess the social impacts of PAs, to map how these impacts are distributed across different groups and find ways to mitigate negative social impacts. Social impacts can be divided into seven categories: wellbeing; social equity; livelihoods; social relations; local tradition; knowledge; and human rights. Currently there are limited tools available to assess these impacts, which are founded on research contributions from environmental social sciences.   

A University of Warwick project, supported by the policy support fund and led by Dr Nikoleta Jones, aimed to develop a prototype tool, that can be used across Europe, to assess the social value of PAs. This tool has been developed in collaboration with policy makers, practitioners, and researchers via two workshops co-organised with EUROPARC federation. It was piloted in a European PA and disseminated to conservation organisations involved in the management of over 200 PAs. This enabled policymakers and practitioners to assess these impacts taking into consideration key priorities in the European policy agenda.  The tool is available onlineLink opens in a new window and includes case study examples.     

The tool has been disseminated to other PAs with the potential to be applied to additional case studies across the Global North. Dissemination activities are being undertaken including online promotional events with the support of EUROPARC and the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD). A user guide is being finalised and will be made available on the website.