Protected areas

Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs) are a cornerstone for conserving biodiversity and ecosystems and crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation and in combating land degradation. Our involvement in projects related to Protected and Conserved Areas is strongly linked to the strategic and social dimensions of conservation.

We have analysed more than 60 different PCAs with consultations carried out inside PCAs. We have led SESAs and ESIAs, and developed ESMPs and ESMFs for the modification or management of these areas in 10 countries across LAC and Africa.

Our work with Protected and Conserved Areas is also cross-cutting, integrating their role and importance into various national strategies and plans. We have worked directly with PCA managers, communities living inside PCA and rangers, developing principles for a safeguarding framework for rangers and the communities they come into contact with, along with guidance for the use of these principles. We rely on our strong safeguards and gender teams to conduct meaningful consultations alongside national experts, particularly in isolated areas and conflict-prone areas where several of our projects are located.

Over the years we have supported more than 60 Protected Areas, equivalent to +70 million hectares,  that is 1.5% of hectares protected worldwide

Services offered:

• PCA assessments:  Conduct assessments, including environmental and social baselines and legal analysis;
• Environmental and social safeguards screenings:  Deliver screenings to identify the risks and impacts associated with the work to be carried out in the PCA as well as other contextual threats;
• Stakeholder and rights holder analysis and engagement: Prepare stakeholder mapping and analysis as well as engagement strategies and implementation inside PCAs and in their buffer zones;
• Safeguards instruments: Develop safeguards approaches and instruments to avoid or, if not possible, minimise and mitigate risks and impacts in the PCA;‍
• Natural resources management: Develop tools to manage natural resources and address threats to biodiversity, such as Biodiversity Management Plans and Frameworks.