Protected and conserved area(s) concerned

YUS Conservation Area

The BIOPAMA AC Objectives addressed

• Identification and updating of priorities for action in protected and conserved areas through assessment that also identifies the potential risks.​
• Enhance the management and governance of priority protected areas by addressing existing limitations.

Priority need addressed

• Through targeted assessments of the YUS Conservation Area’s management effectiveness (via METT) and assessing its positive and negative social impacts for the communities and customary owners throughout the YUS landscape (via SAPA), this project will provide TKCP and the YUS Conservation Area Management Committee with an updated, independent, well-rounded stakeholder perspective of the protected area’s status and the benefits it provides for the communities of YUS. Complementing and informing the YUS Conservation Area’s management plan for 2021-2025, the insights and results gained through these two assessments will form the basis for action, informing the YUS Conservation Area management and community-support activities led by TKCP, as well as those led by the communities themselves with government assistance provided through the YUS Conservation Area Management Committee. The assessment findings will therefore guide and inform both the allocation and future pursuit of funding, resources, expertise and partnerships to address the YUS Conservation Area’s priorities for action, with consideration for the continued protection of the area’s ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as the safeguarding of the YUS communities’ resilience and well-being for current and future generations.

The change the project implementation will bring for the protected area(s)

As customary landowners, the local communities of YUS are key stakeholders in the YUS Conservation Area’s management and represent the key beneficiaries of the social and environmental benefits the YUS Conservation Area provides. With the recent designation of the YUS Conservation Area at the landscape level – in accordance with Papua New Guinea’s recently developed Protected Areas Policy and IUCN’s Category VI protected area classification – the YUS communities’ management and implementation of ward-level Land-use Plans will play an increasingly vital and central role in the management of the YUS Conservation Area as a whole. The mosaic of the area’s 18 ward Land-use Plans collectively represents the YUS Conservation Area management plan, with key issues and trends informing the focus and provision of technical assistance through TKCP and other partners. Through the independent assessment of the YUS Conservation Area’s management capacity and effectiveness, both TKCP and community leaders/landowners in YUS will benefit from the identification of priorities and constraints, which will allow further discussion, planning, and response to strengthen the YUS Conservation Area’s cooperative management and governance. Given the YUS communities’ intricate relationship and heavy dependence on their local natural resources and ecosystem services, community resilience and sustainable resource management represent a core foundational objective for the YUS Conservation Area. The SAPA assessment process will provide opportunity for both the communities and TKCP to approach these impacts more directly and to work toward the development and integration of key social impacts into the YUS Conservation Area’s management, programmatic interventions and the communities’ pursuit of key government services and assistance.​

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