On the 14th of December 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, assumed the role of APAP Co-Chair for the next three years (up to November 2023). India has a tremendous wealth of protected area experience to share with APAP.
OECMs are becoming an increasingly important topic in the discussions leading up to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. As a contribution to the dialogue, APAP chose OECMs as the subject for its very first webinar, held on the 23rd of April 2020.
Asia’s Protected Areas Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
In response to the global pandemic, APAP organised a webinar on COVID-19 and protected area management on 23 July 2020. More than 50 representatives from protected area agencies in Asia participated in the webinar, and shared their experiences and emerging best practices in responding to COVID-19.
More than 60 representatives from APAP member organisations and other PA staff from the region participated in the 6th APAP Technical Workshop, held virtually on 13 August 2020. The workshop highlighted the ways in which OECMs can complement and strengthen protected area systems.
APAP has developed a suite of resource materials on OECMs, in collaboration with Harry Jonas, Co-Chair of the IUCN WCPA Specialist Group on OECMs. These materials include a dedicated “landing page” on OECMs on the APAP website, a short briefing note, links to additional IUCN technical guidance, and a set of FAQ.
Survey Report on COVID-19 and Asia’s Protected Areas
APAP conducted a survey to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Asia’s protected areas. The survey revealed that most protected areas had been closed or partially closed, and that local communities in particular had been negatively affected. Many different management responses were reported, including increased use of technology in PA management.
On 11 January 2021, the Honourable Prakash Javadekar, Minister of MoEFCC India, released the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) scores for 146 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in the country. The results show that the mean MEE score is 62.01 per cent, compared to the global mean of 56 per cent. Between 2006 and 2019, MoEFCC successfully completed one full cycle of evaluating all of India’s terrestrial National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Korea was one of the first countries affected by COVID-19. However, the Korea National Park Service (KNPS) responded to the COVID-19 crisis by adopting innovative strategies, such as providing cutting-edge visitor services, expanding support for local communities, and improving working conditions for employees.
The Republic of Korea has announced that the 3rd of March each year will be National Park Day. The annual commemoration will raise public awareness about the importance of national parks and help to strengthen public support for the conservation and sustainable use of national parks.
