Governance Assessment for Protected and Conserved Areas (GAPA). Methodology manual for GAPA facilitators

This manual provides detailed guidance for those who are using or considering using the Governance Assessment for Protected and Conserved Areas (GAPA) methodology. GAPA is a methodology that brings together stakeholders and rightsholders to assess the quality of governance at a specific protected or conserved area. To date there has been a lack of practical guidance on how to understand and assess governance and equity at protected and conserved areas - this manual aims to fill that gap.

The goal of GAPA is to improve governance over time through the generation and implementation of ideas for action. GAPA uses a combination of i) key informant interviews and focus group discussions to identify governance strengths and challenges and ideas for action, ii) stakeholder workshops to discuss and validate the results and review the ideas for action, and iii) an optional site-level governance scorecard to provide a quantitative assessment of the governance issues and the diversity of views on these issues within and across communities. GAPA is framed around 11 good governance principles, nine of which are also equity principles, so the methodology can also be used to assess and improve over time levels of equity associated with a protected or conserved area.

If you are a GAPA facilitator or convenor, this manual is your essential resource. We assume that you already have some experience of running group discussions and conducting interviews, but otherwise it is a comprehensive guide, starting with important background information and definitions of key concepts and taking you through the five phases of the GAPA process step-by-step.