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The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat was developed in 1971, and has established the world's largest network of protected areas. However, monitoring and reporting have been inadequate to fully achieve the goals of the Convention. We argue that current reporting mechanisms, including the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT), Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management (RAPPAM), and the R-METT reporting framework adopted at the 12th Conference of the Parties, are not well adapted to wetland systems and the objectives of the Ramsar Convention. This paper outlines one possible structure for a new reporting mechanism, explicitly focused on the Convention's objectives of maintaining ecological character and promoting wise use within the context of sustainable development. Through these lenses, we developed a 15-question framework that would have site managers compile the most pertinent information relating to these two points quickly, including providing operational definitions, identifying allowable uses, quantifying economic benefits, reporting fundamental monitoring data, and assessing stakeholder engagement opportunities. We argue that, if we are to provide an informed outlook for the next half-century of wetland conservation under the Ramsar Convention, we must begin by refining its information-gathering protocols for its system of wetlands of international importance., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Small-scale fisheries are important for preventing poverty, sustaining local economies, and rural livelihoods, but tend to be negatively impacted by traditional forms of management and overexploitation among other factors. Marine Areas for Responsible Fishing (Áreas Marinas de Pesca Responsable, AMPR) have emerged as a new model for the co-management of small-scale fisheries in Costa Rica, one that involves collaboration between fishers, government agencies, and NGOs. The primary objective of this paper is to elucidate some of the key variables that influence collective action among small-scale fishers in Tárcoles, a community in the Gulf of Nicoya. We examined collective action for the formation of a local marketing cooperative and participation in management through the AMPR. We apply the social-ecological framework as a diagnostic and organizational tool in the analysis of several types of qualitative data, including interviews with key informants, informal interviews, legal documents, and gray literature. Findings illustrate the importance of socio-economic community attributes (e.g., group size, homogeneity, previous cooperation), as well as that of social (e.g., equity) and ecological (e.g., improved stocks) outcomes perceived as favorable by actors. In addition, our work demonstrates the importance of certain kinds of external NGOs for facilitating and sustaining collective action.

Implementation of policy involves multiple agencies operating at multiple levels in facilitating processes and actions to accomplish desired results. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was developed and implemented to regulate and control international wildlife trade, but violations of the agreement are widespread and growing worldwide, including in Nepal. This study attempts to understand how domestic CITES policies are translated into action and what effect actions and processes have on compliance. In doing so, this study provides insights into the implementation and enforcement pitfalls of national legislation that explain CITES violations in Nepal. Primarily, we used 26 key informants interviews to learn opinions of experts, and the grounded theory approach for further qualitative data analysis. In addition, we used Najman's (1995) policy implementation analysis framework to explain gaps. Many interrelated variables in the content of the policy, commitment and capacity of the agencies, the roles of clients and coalitions and contextual issues were observed. Variables that emerged suggest pitfalls in the regulatory policy represented by low probability of detection, arrest and punishment. Moreover, redistributive policies in buffer zones of protected areas are needed into perpetuity to benefit locals. Also, conservation organizations' support for building public and political salience is imperative.

Civil wars are frequent in lesser-developed nations, wherein is harbored a disproportionate share of the world's biodiversity. These wars have had serious detrimental effects, direct and indirect, on conservation programs. From 2001 to 2005, we conducted site visits, personal interviews, and document searches bearing upon this problem as exemplified by Nepal's ongoing Maoist insurgency. Cases of insurgents usurping full control of several protected areas have come to light, as has a rapid increase in poaching and illicit wildlife trade nation-wide. Staff and infrastructure of conservation agencies and non-governmental organizations have been attacked. The Nepalese situation invites reassessment of traditional ''fortresses-and-fines'' conservation strategies as well as more modern ''community-based'' approaches that require local governmental offices to remain functional. Also called into question is the role of military force in the protection of parks and reserves. In times of civil strife, we conclude, robust conservation may most likely be achieved by nongovernmental organizations that are politically neutral and financially independent.

Like many developing countries, Nepal has adopted a community-based conservation (CBC) approach in recent years to manage its protected areas mainly in response to poor park-people relations. Among other things, under this approach the government has created new "people-oriented" conservation areas, formed and devolved legal authority to grassroots-level institutions to manage local resources, fostered infrastructure development, promoted tourism, and provided income-generating trainings to local people. Of interest to policy-makers and resource managers in Nepal and worldwide is whether this approach to conservation leads to improved attitudes on the part of local people. It is also important to know if personal costs and benefits associated with various intervention programs, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics influence these attitudes. We explore these questions by looking at the experiences in Annapurna and Makalu-Barun Conservation Areas, Nepal, which have largely adopted a CBC approach in policy formulation, planning, and management. The research was conducted during 1996 and 1997; the data collection methods included random household questionnaire surveys, informal interviews, and review of official records and published literature. The results indicated that the majority of local people held favorable attitudes toward these conservation areas. Logistic regression results revealed that participation in training, benefit from tourism, wildlife depredation issue, ethnicity, gender, and education level were the significant predictors of local attitudes in one or the other conservation area. We conclude that the CBC approach has potential to shape favorable local attitudes and that these attitudes will be mediated by some personal attributes.