Assessment of protected area management effectiveness (Protected Area Management Effectiveness – PAME) is defined by the World Commission on Protected Areas as an evaluation of how well a protected area is managed, that is, to what extent it safeguards its values and achieves its established objectives. Effective management of protected areas is fundamental for achieving long-term biodiversity conservation. However, despite the establishment of more than 140,000 protected areas across the European Union, as well as over 25,000 Natura 2000 sites, designation and establishment alone do not guarantee successful conservation of all values.

For this reason, the LIFE PAME-Europe project was launched with the aim of establishing a framework for a broader European system for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of protected area management. Project partners include the EUROPARC Federation (Europe), DHP Conservation s.r.o. (Czech Republic), Metsähallitus, Parks & Wildlife Finland (Finland), Nationale Naturlandschaften e.V. (Germany), and the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition (Spain). The project runs from 2024 to 2028, while the testing phase of the tool, i.e. the management effectiveness assessment framework, will take place in pilot areas across Europe and beyond the European Union from 2026 to 2027.

To ensure that the Framework is fit for purpose, 47 Protected Areas across Europe are putting it to the test! After an open call, Pilot Sites were carefully selected to represent a broad geographical range, as well as various degrees of experience with PAME.

Representatives of these LIFE PAME-Europe Pilot Sites came together in Prague to kick-start their co-learning journey. Over the course of 2 days, 75 Protected Area professionals were able to dive into the draft LIFE PAME-Europe Framework and provide their feedback. Through interactive sessions and presentations from the project’s Advisory Board, the event served as the starting point for the Pilot Sites to familiarise themselves with the project, its objectives, and also get to know their peers starting this journey with them.

Apart from an extensive interrogation of the draft PAME-Europe Framework, participants could also provide their feedback on what success would look like for the project. In an interactive session led by Ben Ross from NatureScot, who is also part of the project’s Advisory Board, the main outcomes identified by participants include:

• Site managers define success primarily in terms of better management, not better reporting.
• The main barriers to effective management relate to resources, governance and stakeholder context rather than lack of knowledge.
• The Framework must be simple, useful and flexible if it is to be widely adopted.
• Participants favoured a system that supports learning and improvement rather than one focused primarily on accountability.
• Managers expect the Framework to help demonstrate the value of Protected Areas and support decisions at multiple levels.

These insights are incredibly valuable for the project partners. They provide a good understanding of what is required to ensure the outcomes of the project are of use for practitioners, and also to inform the training needs for Pilot Sites.

What next?

The feedback gathered will now be assessed by the LIFE PAME-Europe project partners, resulting in a second draft of the PAME-Europe Framework and accompanying documents. The draft Framework will though continue to be developed and evolve based on the Pilot Sites’ experiences throughout the remainder of 2026. Furthermore, to ensure that the Pilot Sites are well-equipped to start the piloting of the Framework, they are receiving tailor-made online training delivered through the European Nature Academy. Until the end of June, this training will prepare the Pilot Sites for their implementation of the PAME-Framework. Over the Summer, they will begin the Framework self-assessments and provide feedback on its strengths and weaknesses.

Based on this feedback, the LIFE PAME-Europe project partners will adapt the Framework. All this will ensure that the final result will be of actual benefit to Protected Area managers and – by extension – biodiversity.  Equally, working in close collaboration with DG Env of the European Commission and the European Environment Agency, the project aims to produce a Framework that can enhance PAME reporting so that we are able to measure more confidently the state of progress towards biodiversity targets and priorities.  

Medvednica is one of a total of 47 pilot sites from 26 countries.

Another pilot site from Croatia is Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Pilot sites participate either at the level of individual locations—such as a protected area or a Natura 2000 site—or at the system level (ministries, agencies), where the tool is tested across, for example, all protected areas under their jurisdiction.

In the coming period, pilot sites are tasked with testing the tool through a self-assessment process, supported by online workshops and assistance from the project team. Within the set timelines, they will go through chapters covering the verification and completion of data with information on the site, conservation objectives, pressures, conservation measures, monitoring, and conservation outcomes.