Land-use and land-cover change shape the sustainability and impacts of protected areas.

Protected areas (PAs) remain the dominant policy to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services but have been shown to have limited impact when development interests force them to locations with lower deforestation pressure. Far less known is that such interests also cause widespread tempering, reduction, or removal of protection [i.e., PA downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD)]. We inform responses to PADDD by proposing and testing a bargaining explanation for PADDD risks and deforestation impacts. We examine recent degazettements for hydropower development and rural settlements in the state of Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon. Results support two hypotheses: (i) ineffective PAs (i.e., those where internal deforestation was similar to nearby rates) were more likely to be degazetted and (ii) degazettement of ineffective PAs caused limited, if any, additional deforestation. We also report on cases in which ineffective portions were upgraded. Overall our results suggest that enhancing PAs' ecological impacts enhances their legal durability.

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement as a threat to iconic protected areas.

Protected areas (PAs) are expected to conserve nature and provide ecosystem services in perpetuity, yet widespread protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) may compromise these objectives. Even iconic protected areas are vulnerable to PADDD, although these PADDD events are often unrecognized. We identified 23 enacted and proposed PADDD events within World Natural Heritage Sites and examined the history, context, and consequences of PADDD events in 4 iconic PAs (Yosemite National Park, Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, Yasuní National Park, and Virunga National Park). Based on insights from published research and international workshops, these 4 cases revealed the diverse pressures brought on by competing interests to develop or exploit natural landscapes and the variety of mechanisms that enables PADDD. Knowledge gaps exist in understanding of the conditions through which development pressures translate to PADDD events and their impacts, partially due to a lack of comprehensive PADDD records. Future research priorities should include comprehensive regional and country-level profiles and analysis of risks, impacts, and contextual factors related to PADDD. Policy options to better govern PADDD include improving tracking and reporting of PADDD events, establishing transparent PADDD policy processes, coordinating among legal frameworks, and mitigating negative impacts of PADDD. To support PADDD research and policy reforms, enhanced human and financial capacities are needed to train local researchers and to host publicly accessible data. As the conservation community considers the achievements of Aichi Target 11 and moves toward new biodiversity targets beyond 2020, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers need to work together to better track, assess, and govern PADDD globally.

Cambios de Categoría, Reducción del Tamaño y Eliminación de las Listas de Protección como Amenazas para las Áreas Protegidas Icónicas Resumen Se espera que las áreas protegidas (PAs, en inglés) conserven la naturaleza y proporcionen servicios ambientales a perpetuidad, sin embargo las extensas prácticas de reducción del tamaño, eliminación de las listas de protección y cambios de categoría de las áreas protegidas (PADDD, en inglés) pueden poner en riesgo a estos objetivos. Incluso las áreas protegidas icónicas son vulnerables a los PADDD, aunque estos eventos de PADDD comúnmente no se reconocen. Identificamos 23 eventos de PADDDD promulgados y propuestos dentro de sitios de Patrimonio Natural Mundial y examinamos la historia, el contexto y las consecuencias de los eventos PADDD en cuatro PAs icónicas (el Parque Nacional Yosemite, el Santuario del Oryx Árabe, el Parque Nacional Yasuní y el Parque Nacional Virunga). Con base en el conocimiento obtenido de investigaciones publicadas y talleres internacionales, estos cuatro casos revelaron las diferentes presiones que traen consigo los intereses en competencia por desarrollar o explotar los paisajes naturales y la variedad de mecanismos que faciliten las PADDD. Existen vacíos de conocimiento en el entendimiento de las condiciones a través de las cuales las presiones del desarrollo se transforman en eventos PADDD y los impactos que tienen, parcialmente debido a la falta de registros completos de los eventos PADDD. Las prioridades de las próximas investigaciones deberían incluir perfiles completos a nivel regional y nacional y un análisis de riesgo, impactos y factores contextuales relacionados con los PADDD. Las opciones políticas para gobernar de mejor manera los PADDD incluyen la mejora del rastreo y del reporte de eventos PADDD, el establecimiento de procesos políticos transparentes para los PADDD, la coordinación entre los marcos de trabajo legales y la mitigación de los impactos negativos de los PADDD. Para apoyar la investigación de los PADDD y las reformas políticas se requiere de una mayor capacidad humana y financiera para entrenar a los investigadores locales y para acoger datos accesibles para el público. Conforme la comunidad de la conservación considera los logros del Objetivo 11 de Aichi y se posiciona hacia nuevos objetivos para la biodiversidad más allá del 2020, los investigadores, los practicantes y los legisladores necesitan trabajar en conjunto para rastrear, evaluar y gobernar de mejor manera los PADDD a nivel mundial.

The uncertain future of protected lands and waters.

Protected areas are intended to safeguard biodiversity in perpetuity, yet evidence suggests that widespread legal changes undermine protected area durability and efficacy. We documented these legal changes-protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) events-in the United States and Amazonian countries and compiled available data globally. Governments of the United States and Amazonian countries enacted 269 and 440 PADDD events, respectively. Between 1892 and 2018, 73 countries enacted 3749 PADDD events, removing 519,857 square kilometers from protection and tempering regulations in an additional 1,659,972 square kilometers; 78% of events were enacted since 2000. Most PADDD events (62%) are associated with industrial-scale resource extraction and development, suggesting that PADDD may compromise biodiversity conservation objectives. Strategic policy responses are needed to address PADDD and sustain effective protected areas.