Assessing the adaptive management process in SMART sites: Lessons learned
Alexander Wyatt, Rohit Kumar Singh, Charlotte Read · PARKS · 2023
The effective management of protected and conserved areas is crucial to the preservation of much of the world's biodiversity.The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) is one of the world's most utilised protected and conserved area management tools, used to inform research, tourism management, natural resources use, intelligence, threat analyses, and more.Through surveying staff at 49 protected and conserved areas across 14 countries, we examine how SMART is being implemented in terms of eight key factors in data management and decision-making.Results indicate room for improvement in all aspects of the adaptive process, particularly relating to the planning of systematic patrols as well as the role of management in the adaptive process.Additionally, many sites provide low levels of training and suffer from insufficient staffing.This information will help develop guidance on what is required by protected and conserved areas for the effective implementation of SMART.