ASSESSING AND IMPROVING EQUITY AND BENEFITS SHARING

What is protected area equity and benefits sharing?

Equitable benefits sharing is a recurring theme in multiple sectors, including health, commerce, and biodiversity conservation, yet despite two decades of debate, practitioners and policy makers alike have yet to agree upon a common definition (Schroeder, 2006).  Nonetheless, an operational definition is needed for the purposes of this guide.  Therefore, protected area benefits are defined as the material and non-material benefits, goods, values and services that flow to community members living in or near a protected area, and equitable distribution as the dispersal of a range of benefits to a variety of stakeholders based on principles of fairness, justice and ethical considerations.

What are different aspects of equitable benefits sharing?

There are several different aspects of equitable benefits sharing from protected areas (González and Martin, 2006; ten Kate and Laird, 1999), including:

• Equity in receiving fair compensation from economic uses of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage;
• Equity in sharing access to and benefits from genetic resources;
• Equity in sharing benefits derived from economic enterprises within the protected area (e.g., ecotourism);
• Equity in sharing benefits from ecosystem services (e.g., provisioning of food, water,  and regulating of services); and
• Equity in sharing power and authority in making decisions about protected areas.

What are general principles and best practices of equitable benefits sharing?

Based on case studies and research, the following is a set of emerging principles and best practices in the equitable distribution of benefits from protected areas (Dudley et al., 2006; Laird et al., 2003; González and Martin, 2006):

• Ensure that the protected area policy environment promotes equitable benefits sharing of goods and services;

• Ensure that indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices are safeguarded, particularly in the economic use of genetic resources;

• Ensure that sites of cultural significance are adequately protected, particularly where there are high levels of ecotourism;

• Reinvest a portion of protected area benefits toward poverty reduction of local and indigenous communities;

• Consider both legal and de facto tenure and use rights when determining equitable distribution of benefits;

• Establish multi-stakeholder groups when setting policies and monitoring practices related to benefits sharing;

• Ensure ethnic, intergenerational and gender representation when negotiating the distribution of benefits;

• Ensure that principles of full prior informed consent are maintained at all times during negotiations;

• Ensure that any resettlement of community members is fully compensated, and only with full prior consent;

• Ensure that laws and legal agreements are clear, transparent and fully understood by all parties, particularly those with limited educational backgrounds; and

• Develop clear policies and guidelines for sharing benefits within management plans.

References and resources on equitable benefits sharing within protected areas