ENVISION team members from Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) have just published a report focused on a toolbox to provide protected areas managers and practitioners with tools for fostering stakeholder inclusion and active participation in conservation decision-making (see Toolbox summary here). The tools were applied to the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain) case study as part of a collaborative research approach between scientists and local actors. From the feedback collected throughout the research activities (e.g., interviews, surveys, and workshops), researchers from the ENVISION project shaped a set of participatory research tools for inclusive conservation in the National Park. These tools included: i) A set of graphic tools, ‘Streamline’, ii) Participatory mapping, iii) Deliberative processes within a participatory scenario planning exercise, iv) Mental, emotional, and power maps, v) Context-specific boundary object to call for action, and vi) Governance arrangements matrix. National Park decision-makers and stakeholders evaluated the applicability of these six participatory research tools in management. Findings from the evaluation revealed that local decision-makers and experts on protected areas perceive that the participatory research tools can potentially be applied to the management of the National Park; however, they also see major challenges to be addressed before ensuring that these tools can be used as instruments for participatory governance. These findings helped us propose recommendations for operationalizing and scaling up the applicability of the decision-making toolbox to other protected areas. Please check out the Toolbox summary here, and full details of the toolbox will be published in late 2022.
