A synthesis of the March 2001 conference on the viability of transboundary protected areas at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Efforts to protect land on an ecosystem scale have led to the creation of numerous transboundary protected areas, often called international peace parks. In some cases, the appropriate leadership, infrastructure, community support, and political and legal frameworks exist to achieve the objectives of a transboundary protected area, and to realize the benefits of transboundary management across national borders despite the inherent costs and risks involved. There is a danger, however, that regional conservation initiatives may be pursued in inappropriate situations or with strategies that do not respect the rights of local populations. The challenge is to determine under what conditions transboundary approaches might be appropriate and what factors can help us make these approaches more effective at achieving their site-specific goals. This paper synthesizes the experiences and perspectives of a diverse group of managers, social and natural scientists, consultants, local leaders and policy makers who met at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies on March 30 and 31, 2001 to discuss if, when, where and how transboundary protected areas should be pursued. The sharing of these individual experiences enabled us to explore when and where transboundary approaches may be appropriate and how they might be more effective. We found that transboundary approaches may be more effective when: (1) a careful analysis of costs and benefits in light of the local context is conducted, (2) people living on both sides of the border share elements of a common vision that is in both of their best interests, (3) the majority of the actors involved are committed to a long-term strategy, (4) strong leadership for transboundary initiatives exists within border communities, and (5) managers of transboundary protected areas are particularly aware of tensions between multiple scales, which helps them ensure that the rights of local populations are not usurped.