EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT IN NATURAL PROTECTED AREAS IN THE NORTHERN AMAZON OF ECUADOR

Abstract

This research aimed to describe and evaluate the Management Effectiveness of protected areas in the Northern Amazon of Ecuador in relation to the areas of context management, planning, inputs, processes and outputs, to establish challenges, respectively. For developing this study, different methodologies were used; with respect to the diagnosis of the current situation of the protected areas, bibliographic review and gray literature techniques were applied. Consequently, to evaluate Management Effectiveness, interviews with semi-structured questions were conducted to learn about the achievements and progress in management activities and processes, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the protected areas. Finally, to establish the main challenges faced in the management of protected areas, an expert judgment validation technique was carried out, mainly comprised of teachers, researchers and students related to the topic. The main results indicate that the Management Effectiveness of the six protected areas studied are in the satisfactory and very satisfactory range. However, there are specific problems in certain protected areas, such as the availability of financial resources to meet all the needs of the protected areas in terms of personnel capacity and establishment of infrastructure and equipment. Finally, the study concludes that Limoncocha Biological Reserve (91.52%), Yasuní National Park (83.62%) and Cuyabeno Wildlife Production Reserve (91.37%) have the best management performance, which means that their management effectiveness is very satisfactory and therefore allows them to fully meet their creation objectives.