Development of management effectiveness indicators and their evaluation for Cu Lao Cham-Hoi an biosphere reserve in Vietnam

Abstract Vietnam has 11 Biosphere Reserves (BRs) designated by UNESCO where evaluation of management effectiveness plays an important role to promote sustainability for these areas. We propose a set of indicators suitable to Vietnam’s social-ecological conditions based on the IUCN concepts of management effectiveness and the consultation dialogues with relevant BR stakeholders. This set includes 58 indicators, 20 headline indicators according to 6 management elements of BR: Context, Planning, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Outcomes. Management effectiveness value is divided into 5 levels (0, 25, 50, 75, 100) and thereafter categorised into 4 ranges according to the corresponding value (Very low: 0–25 points; Low: 25–50 points; Average: 50–75 points; High: 75–100 points) with the higher the value, the greater the effectiveness. Based on the indicators, we evaluated the management effectiveness of Cu Lao Cham-Hoi An BR (designated in 2009). The results of evaluating management effectiveness for this BR have determined that the overall management effectiveness for the whole BR is 78.2 out of 100 scores, equivalent to high management effectiveness. Results for management elements: element 1 (Context-85.8 score), element 2 (Planning-83.5 score), element 3 (Inputs-73.4 score), element 4 (Process-76.3 score), element 5 (Outputs-68.3 score) and element 6 (Outcomes-81.9 score). Although the indicators presented a useful analysis of management effectiveness in this particular case, owing the diversity of BRs in Vietnam in terms of socio-ecological conditions, total area, governance model and administration, caution should be applied in the treatment and/or selection of these indicators for all BR cases and the 58 indicators should be used as a guide for each specific BR.