Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Protected Areas are considered key policy strategies for biodiversity and ecosystem recovery. The surface of terrestrial Protected Areas (PAs) increased significantly recently. However, little is known about their regulatory past/track-record and how well regulations are serving bio-environmental objectives. This paper answers two research questions: 1) What regulatory patterns can be distinguished throughout history for PAs, globally? This is addressed by distinguishing three periods and three regulatory aspects: the presence and hierarchical status of bio-environmental objectives; PA management plans; and concessions - as key tools for regulating human access and resource extraction. This helps us gauge variations in 'regulatory baselines' for various PA types and the magnitude of the regulatory tasks ahead, in the context of increasing populations and pressures for economic uses of PA lands. 2) How can we assess the bio-environmental effectiveness of current and future PA regulations? Given that tourism is considered compatible with almost all PA types in the IUCN typology, this is answered by means of a theory of concessions-based regulation for tourism, focused on the three regulatory aspects mentioned above.

The paper draws on extensive literature reviews across disciplines (history, conservation biology, public policy, regulation theory tourism and recreation, PA management) and puts forward a theoretical framework that can help both design PA regulatory frameworks and evaluate whether they are futureproof in the context of the current bio-environmental crises and intensifying land-use demands. Examples are offered from New Zealand and Hawaii.