Glossary

A

Area PADDDed

For enacted PADDD: area (spatial extent) no longer protected due to downsizing or degazettement; area (spatial extent) of reduced protection due to downgrading.

For proposed PADDD: proposed area (spatial extent) that would no longer be protected due to downsizing or degazettement; proposed area (spatial extent) that would have reduced protection due to downgrading.

C

Cause

The proximate, or most closely associated, driver of enacted or proposed PADDD.

Conservation Planning

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from legal changes that are designed to enhance the conservation efficiency and efficacy of a class, group, or geographically distinct set of protected areas. Involves simultaneous reallocation of lands or regulatory changes to multiple protected areas. Does not include individual instances of degraded protected areas (see “Degradation”); excision of settlements (See “Rural Settlements”); or excision of protected area land that no longer serves a conservation purpose (see “Other”). Excludes protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement to attain non-conservation ends or divest from protected areas no longer serving a conservation function.

Country

Follows the UN statistics division’s definitions of countries. See http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49alpha.htm

D

Degazette

Loss of legal status for a protected area under government administration (national, state, provincial, or local). Further operational criteria for qualification as a degazettement include:

  • An elimination of protected area status must be legally documented by the relevant authoritative body.

  • If a protected area is degazetted and then immediately regazetted as a protected area with fewer restrictions, this may be a downgrade.

  • When there is a legal transfer of a protected area to private, community, or indigenous group ownership, 100% of the protected area territory (i.e. area) must be legally transferred while losing government protection to qualify as a degazettement. For transfers of less than 100%, see “Downsize.”

  • When there is a legal transfer of a protected area to a private, community, or indigenous group, and the associated transfer of authority is partial or ambiguous, it qualifies as a degazettement only if the protected area is removed from the relevant government authority’s official list of protected areas.

  • When there is a legal transfer of a protected area to a private, community, or indigenous group, and the associated transfer of authority is partial or ambiguous, it does not qualify as a degazettement if the protected area remains on the relevant government authority’s protected area list.

  • Protected areas that are no longer legally considered to be a part of a protected area system by the applicable authority (national, state, provincial, or local), but are still managed that authority, are degazetted.

  • E.g.  An existing category of protected area is no longer considered by a country’s government to be part of their protected area system, but the area is still held as federal land.

  • A protected area “shut down” for war, political unrest, or budgetary constraints does not qualify as degazetted, unless the above definition and applicable criteria have also been met.

Degradation

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement in response to the degradation of the ecological, biophysical, touristic, symbolic, or other functions of a protected area, such that the protected area no longer fulfills its intended purpose(s). Includes degradation as a result of human activities or natural processes. Does not include degradation due to settlements in Protected area (see “Human Settlements”).

Downgrade

A decrease in legal restrictions on the number, magnitude, or extent of human activities within a protected area by the relevant authority. Note that an activity may be only authorized; it need not be implemented or practiced.  

Clarification of Terms:

  • Types: more types of activities are permitted.

  • Magnitude: the maximum permitted limit of activity amount or intensity is increased.

  • Extent: the maximum limit of area on which activities are permitted is increased.

  • Note that multiple authorities may have jurisdiction over protected areas. For example, the above-ground resources in a protected area may be under the authority of the Environmental Ministry, while all materials under the ground are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Mines. In such cases, both would be considered relevant authorities capable of increasing the types, magnitude, or extent of human activities permitted in a protected area.

  • Further operational criteria for qualification as a downgrade include:

    • If an activity is carried out and is not in violation of existing laws, this does not constitute a downgrade. For example, if a permit for oil exploration is issued when oil exploration is legally permitted, this does not constitute a downgrade (as the authorizing legislation already exists, and no legal change has taken place). However, a national or protected area level decision to allow an activity when it was not previously allowed constitutes a downgrade.

    • An increase in activities in a protected area due to lack of enforcement of rules/laws or poor management does not constitute a downgrade.

    • The area must still be legally recognized as a protected area by that country. If the protected area status is legally eliminated for some or all of the PA, this qualifies as a downsize or degazettement (not a downgrade).

    • Devolution of authority from higher to lower levels of government (e.g. federal to state, or state to community) constitute downgrades only if the devolution of power is accompanied by a legal increase in types, magnitude or extent of human activities permitted in a protected area and if the land remains a part of the national protected area system.

    • If the land is no longer a part of the protected area system after transfer of authority to a private group, this is a downsize or degazettement. 

    • Devolved authority from state actors to private ownership constitute downgrades only if the devolution of power is accompanied by a legal increase in types, magnitude or extent of human activities permitted in a protected area, and if the land remains a part of the national protected area system.

    • If the land is no longer a part of the protected area system after transfer of authority to a private, community, or indigenous group, this is a downsize or degazettement. 

    • An increase in illegal activities does not constitute a downgrade.

  • For example, an increase in illegal quarrying does not constitute a downgrade.

  • However, if an appropriate authoritative body provides a legal permit to quarry when quarrying is otherwise illegal according to the governing law, this constitutes a downgrade.

  • Downgrades can be reflected in the protection status given to the protected area by the country’s authority, such as a change in name and protection from a “National Park” to an “Extractive Forest Reserve”, or when the new legal framework authorizes an increase in the type, magnitude, or extent of human activities.

  • A downgrade event cannot be accepted solely on the basis of differing management plans, where an earlier plan explicitly prohibits an activity, but a later management plan does not make explicit mention of the prohibition. Declarative statements acknowledging a legal increase in type, magnitude, or extent of prohibited activities are required to confirm a downgrade.

  • Changes in IUCN category alone do not count as a downgrading event by themselves; additional supporting documentation is required to demonstrate legal increase in the types, magnitude, or extent of human activities permitted.  

Downsize

A decrease in size of a protected area as a result of excision of land or sea area through a legal boundary change. Further operational criteria for qualification as a downsize include:

  • The change in size of a protected area must be enacted (or proposed) through legal, regulatory, or legislative means and documented as such by the appropriate authoritative body.

  • If less than 100% of the protected area territory is legally transferred to private, community, or indigenous group ownership while losing government protection, it qualifies as a downsize.

  • If less than 100% of a protected area is absorbed into a new or existing protected area(s), it qualifies as a downsize.

  • For example, if Park X of 100 km2 is legally degazetted and two smaller parks of 45 km2 each are gazetted within the former boundaries of Park X, it qualifies as a downsizing of 55 km2 for the purposes of this project.

  • Protected area boundary changes resulting solely from the correction of cartographic, GIS, or survey error do not represent a downsize.

  • A downsize event cannot be accepted based solely on the basis of differing areas, where an earlier listed area is larger, and a later area is smaller. Declarative statements acknowledging legal reduction in area are required to confirm a downsize.

E

Enacted

A PADDD event is enacted when downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement has been legally executed (i.e. approved) by a relevant government authority. A PADDD event is considered enacted when the downgrade, downsize, or degazettement has been signed into law, even if the legal decision has not been implemented.

E.g. The laws governing a protected area have been changed to allow mining. Even if mining activity has not commenced, this is considered an enacted downgrade.

Event

A specific instance of enacted or proposed protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement. See Downgrade, Downsize, and Degazette for details.

F

Fisheries

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited industrial or semi-industrial scale wild-capture fishing operations. Includes fishing licenses, territorial use rights, and related activities for the harvest of marine and freshwater plants and animals. Does not include aquaculture or mariculture (see “Industrial Agriculture” or “Subsistence”).

Forestry

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited industrial or semi-industrial scale forestry operations. Includes forestry concessions, timber plantations, logging activities, timber operations, logging camps, and related forestry activities. Does not include mills and other timber processing facilities (see “Industrialization”); non-timber plantations such as oil palm (see “Industrial Agriculture”); or forest clearing for agricultural expansion (see “Industrial Agriculture” or “subsistence”).

I

Industrial Agriculture

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited industrial or semi-industrial scale (i.e. mechanized) operations for agriculture or aquaculture. Includes industrial or semi-industrial row crops, tree crops, ranching, grazing, and other forms of animal husbandry, captive breeding of wildlife, and related activities. Also includes agricultural activities where scale is unspecified. Does not include small-holder agriculture (see “Subsistence”). 

Industrialization

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited industrial or semi-industrial scale non-extractive enterprises involved in the production or delivery of goods and services. Includes factories, mills, large scale real estate development (e.g., hotels, golf courses), urban housing projects, etc. Does not include factory farms (see “Industrial Agriculture”), sports facilities and stadiums (see “Infrastructure”). 

Infrastructure

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited structures that form the system of public works of a country, state, or region. Includes dams, roads, railways, pipes, electrical grid, power-generation facilities, telecommunications towers, transportation facilities, hospitals, schools, sports facilities, etc. Does not include churches and other religious institutions (see “Other”); tourism facilities (see “Industrialization”).

IUCN Category Post-PADDD

For enacted PADDD: IUCN category of protected area after PADDD occurred.

For proposed PADDD: Proposed IUCN category of protected area if proposal were enacted.

IUCN Category Pre-PADDD

For enacted PADDD: IUCN category of protected area before PADDD occurred.

For proposed PADDD: IUCN category of protected area at the time that PADDD were proposed. 

L

Land Claims

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from legal restoration of full or partial rights to indigenous peoples or other local residents previously displaced or divested of de jure or de facto rights as a result of protected area establishment or management. Includes rights of access, withdrawal, management, exclusion, and alienation (Schlager & Ostrom 1992; Mascia & Claus 2009). Does not include excision of human settlements from protected areas (See “Rural Settlements”).

M

Mining

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited industrial or semi-industrial scale mining operations. Includes open-pit mines, underground mines, riverbed mines, quarrying, subsurface mines, and related activities for the extraction of metals, minerals, coal, rock, stone, sand, and other non-renewable resources, excluding oil and gas. Does not include coal-seam gas (see “Oil and Gas”); peat harvesting (see “Subsistence” or “Other” depending on scale of operation) or artisanal mining (see “Subsistence”).

O

Oil and Gas

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited industrial or semi-industrial scale operations for exploration or extraction of fossil fuels other than coal. Includes all surveying and exploration, onshore and offshore drilling, and related activities. Does not include oil and gas refineries and other petrochemical operations (See “Industrialization”); gas pipelines (see “Infrastructure).

Other

Any proximate cause of downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement that cannot be classified in any other cause category.

P

PADDD

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement.

PADDD Offset

Simultaneous establishment or upgrade of a protected area to compensate for the loss or downgrading of protected lands or waters due to PADDD. For enacted PADDD: was a different parcel of land protected to explicitly offset PADDD? For Proposed PADDD: is there a formal proposal to protect a different parcel of land to explicitly offset PADDD? 

PADDD Reversal

The process of re-establishing legal protection previously eliminated due to protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement. For enacted PADDD: was the legal change later reversed? This includes partial and complete reversals of a downgrade, downsize, or degazettement. For proposed PADDD: was the proposal later voted against, withdrawn, expired, or canceled? This includes partial and complete reversals of proposals to downgrade, downsize, or degazette. 

Proposed

A PADDD event is proposed when a plan to downgrade, downsize, or degazette is formally under consideration by a relevant government authority (e.g. the Parliament, Senate, Congress, or other ruling body) but has not yet been enacted. This includes but is not limited to:

Proposed PADDD does not include:

  • Demands to downgrade, downsize, or degazette, by citizens, NGOs, or other non-government actors who do not have authority over protected areas.

  • Statements by relevant authorities discussing proposals for PADDD.

Protected Area

A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values. Source: Dudley, N. (2008). Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

Protected Area Name (Others)

All other names associated with the protected area. This includes all past names of the protected area, name of the protected area if it was changed after a PADDD event, local names, and alternative spellings for the protected area.

Protected Area Name (Primary)

Name of protected area at the time PADDD was enacted or proposed. 

R

Refugee Accommodation

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited camps for the accommodation of refugees or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Does not include temporary refugee accommodation.

Rural Settlements

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited rural human habitation. Includes settlements associated with migration to frontier regions. Does not include refugee accommodation (see “Refugee Accommodation”) or restoration of rights to displaced persons (see “Land Claims”).

S

Shifting Sovereignty

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from change in sovereignty over/ownership of a parcel of land among nation-states, state/provinces, or local political jurisdictions. Includes changes in sovereignty as a result of shifting geopolitical boundaries, war or other armed conflicts, or related events. 

Size Post-PADDD

For enacted PADDD: Spatial extent of protected area after PADDD occurred. For proposed PADDD: spatial extent of protected area if PADDD proposal were subsequently enacted. 

Size Pre-PADDD For Enacted PADDD

Size of protected area before PADDD occurred. For Proposed PADDD: size of protected area when PADDD was proposed.

Sources

Sources should list all materials used in the “Supporting Details." Please provide the date accessed for all URLs.

Status

The legal standing of an order to downgrade, downsize, or degazette. For details, see Enacted and Proposed.

Subsistence

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, or degazettement resulting from the legal authorization of previously prohibited non-commercial or small-scale commercial, artisanal, or non-industrial (non-mechanized) extraction or production activities. These activities are often (but not always) for local or personal consumption. Includes small holder farming and grazing, non-timber forest product harvesting, fuel wood harvesting, hunting, fishing, artisanal mining, and related activities.

Supporting Details

Detailed notes about the PADDD event. Wherever possible, use block quotes from sources. Supporting details should include, but need not be limited to: Detailed explanation of the cause of the PADDD event; any context that provides relevant insight; any notes on reversals, offsets, or systemic changes associated with the PADDD event. Report all available information (in cases of conflicting accounts of the same event, report all accounts).

Systemic Change

For Enacted PADDD: was this instance of PADDD a part of a change that affected multiple protected areas at the same time?

For Proposed PADDD: is this part of a proposal that will affect multiple protected areas at the same time if it is enacted? 

Y

Year Gazetted

The year in which the protected area was legally established.

Year PADDDed

For enacted PADDD: the year in which PADDD was legally authorized. For proposed PADDD: the year in which PADDD was first proposed. 

Year Reversed

For enacted PADDD: The year in which PADDD was reversed. This includes partial and complete reversals of a downgrade, downsize, or degazettement. For proposed PADDD: the year in which the PADDD proposal was withdrawn or canceled. This includes partial and complete cancellations of proposals to downgrade, downsize, or degazette.