Turkish Journal of Forestry (Dec 2023)
Determining the level of sustainable management effectiveness in protected areas: The case of national parks
Abstract
It is necessary for a sustainable management to continuously evaluate the management effectiveness and take remedial measures by ensuring the protection-use balance in the protected areas. The aim of this study is to determine and evaluate the level of management effectiveness of protected areas in Turkey. The Spil Mountain National Park, the Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, and the Marmaris National Park in the Aegean Region were selected as the sample area in the study. The Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT-4), one of the tools widely applied globally, was used to determine the management effectiveness level of these areas. The material of this study consists of the long term development plans, interviews with managers and data obtained from the METT-4 application of the three national parks. In the application of the METT-4, the opinions of the National Park Directors, Deputy National Park Directors and National Park Chiefs who are responsible for the management of the areas are included. The obtained data were shown in tables, and percentage calculations and averages were used to evaluate the data. As a result of the evaluations, the management effectiveness level of Spil Mountain National Park was found to be 58% (medium level), Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park was 63% (good level) and Marmaris National Park was 48% (medium level). The arithmetic average of the management effectiveness level of the three national parks is 56%, indicating a medium level of effectiveness. It was determined that while they are at their best with an average level of 70% in planning, which is one of the elements that determine management effectiveness in the areas in question, they had lower levels of effectiveness in Inputs (59%), Processes (52%), Outputs (62%) and Results (42%). Therefore, it can be said that the management effectiveness level of the protected areas subject to this study is not sufficient. It was determined that this result is affected by inadequacies in many issues such as legislation, budget/financing and coordination, especially the lack of sufficient number and quality of personnel. Consequently, it was determined that in order to ensure the sustainable management of protected areas in Türkiye, the necessary studies must be carried out decisively to improve the level of management effectiveness and to solve the current problems.
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