A DRAFT CODE OF PRACTICE FOR RESEARCH AND MONITORING IN PROTECTED AREAS

Protected areas are favoured sites for ecological research and monitoring and responsible, well-managed research can help to improve management effectiveness and enhance conservation outcomes. Many countries have formalized processes for approving and monitoring research within their protected area systems. There are already a number of codes addressing ethical and social issues with respect to research in protected areas, sacred natural sites and in the traditional territories of indigenous peoples and local communities. However, less attention has been paid at a global scale to the ecological impacts of and access to information from ecological research within protected areas. There are numerous examples of research that is of little value to management or is poorly planned, where the results are not shared with the protected area, and even where research causes significant ecological (and / or social) damage. This paper contains a draft code of practice for those carrying out research in protected areas, which we believe should provide a basis for discussions on minimum standards for academic and other researchers in the future.