Management Effectiveness Assessment for Ecuador’s National Parks

Ecuador belongs to the group of 17 megadiverse countries on the planet, and the Ecuadorian national system of protected areas covers around 20% of the country’s territory. Despite some initiatives for protected areas management effectiveness evaluation, the information on this matter is scarce and a general overview is missing. In this context, this study aims at investigating problems faced by National Parks in Ecuador and developing a base level management effectiveness evaluation for possible comparative assessments in the future. Focusing on all 12 legally established National Parks, this study used the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT), an internationally consecrated methodology based on a scorecard questionnaire that includes six elements of management cycle: context, planning, inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. The questionnaire was applied to Ecuadorian National Parks management teams through face-to-face interviews. The resulted overall management effectiveness indices are between 40.6% and 99.0%. The general condition of biodiversity value was considered as good in line with the legal status and National Parks design but topics related to budget allocation, tourism arrangements, communities and indigenous people received lower scores. The low enforcement emphasis is not necessarily the best way to improve management effectiveness; the identified issues should be addressed by including communities and indigenous people in the decision making and benefits sharing as well as strategic allocation of budgetary resources, with proper adaptation to Natural Parks’ specific conditions.

Legal and managerial solutions of public sector authorities for preserving ecosystem services of the lakes

Although the problem of ecosystem diversity loss is of a global nature, the measures to solve it must be implemented at the national level. As a member of the European Union, Lithuania needs to have a clear position regarding the application of proposed socio-economic measures. The problems of lake ecosystem utilisation analysed in the article are based on the scientific knowledge which complies with the specifics of regional natural environment. The aim of the article is to systematize scientific knowledge about modern lake ecosystem services by explaining the fundamental adaptation patterns of ecosystems and their components. The article provides a complex assessment of the services provided by lake ecosystems, reveals management problems related to optimization of the use of lake ecosystems, presents recommendations on the improvement of legislation related to lake ecosystem services, regulations for protected areas, management plans, etc.