Training workshop for the elaboration of Management Plans through Open Standards for Conservation.

Professionals from Fundación Mar Adentro, Fundación Rompientes and other organizations related to conservation participated in this workshop that, through a practical approach, addressed how to prepare management plans with the Open Standards methodology for conservation, using as a case study our area under private protection (APP) Bosque Pehuén, located in Alto Palguín, Pucón, La Araucanía, and the multiple experiences of Photosynthesis, in the elaboration and implementation of management plans of different protected areas throughout the country.

It was a training instance that included concepts to define the purpose, scope, vision and team of a conservation project; how to carry out the selection of conservation targets (CT) and their feasibility analysis, and the identification and qualification of threats; elaboration of management objectives for CTs; theory of change and chains of results; goal setting; and identification of actions to comply with and evaluate conservation results, among other contents.

This workshop had the objective of training our team and other organizations in the Open Standards methodology and its proper use for nature conservation, in order to update the Management Plan of our PPA, share experiences and promote good practices in the territory.

For some years now, Bosque Pehuén has guided its conservation project with the Open Conservation Standards, which has allowed us to establish various actions to mitigate threats and protect flora, fauna and fungi in the area to promote effective and long-term conservation of the temperate rain forest and the hydrographic basin that protects Bosque Pehuén.

Protected areas and conservation standards

The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) defines a protected area as “a clearly defined geographical space, dedicated and managed by legal and other effective means to achieve the long-term conservation of nature and cultural values and associated ecosystem services” (IUCN, 2019).

This organization states that “protected areas are essential for the conservation of biodiversity, a cornerstone of practically all national and international conservation strategies, which are intended to maintain operational natural ecosystems, act as refuges for species and maintain ecological processes unable to survive in land and sea environments with a higher level of intervention. Protected areas act as indicators that allow us to understand human interactions with the natural world. They are often the last hope we have to prevent the extinction of many threatened or endemic species” (IUCN, 2008).

According to the Chilean Ministry of the Environment (MMA), the Open Standards for Conservation developed by the Conservation Measures Partnerships (CMP) are a methodology that helps teams to be systematic in planning, managing and monitoring their projects for nature conservation.

In the country, this methodology is officially used by the Ministry of the Environment, MMA, and the National Forestry Corporation, CONAF, to design and carry out management plans for protected areas, as well as conservation plans for species or ecosystems. More and more, people and civil society organizations dedicated to nature conservation are using this management framework as a guiding tool to ensure the effective and long term conservation and management of these areas, because it is a practical and effective guide that includes specific topics such as legal, governmental and financial agreements.

IUCN. (2008). Guidelines for the application of management categories of protected areas. Retrieved from: https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/paps-016-es.pdf

IUCN. (2019). Guidelines for areas under private protection. Retrieved from: https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/PAG-029-Es.pdf