Protected area management and the role of research

Citation

Lanjouw A, Edwards A & White L (2007) Protected area management and the role of research. In: White L & Edwards A (eds.) Conservation research in the African rain forests: a technical handbook. New York, NY, USA: Wildlife Conservation Society, pp. 1-14. http://bioko.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/whiteedwards2000.pdf

Abstract
First paragraph: In order to manage the different ecosystems in a protected area efficiently and securely one needs to know and understand how they function and what impact humans may have upon them. During a regional evaluation of training needs in 14 African countries many protected area managers expressed the need for more training in methods of biological inventory and collection of ecological data (Pitkin, 1995). This manual is intended to help protected area managers (and conservation scientists) working in the African rain forest to evaluate and monitor animal and plant populations and to assess the impact of humans on the ecosystem. It is a tool which should help the reader to better understand the natural resources for which they are responsible. It will not only guide the reader through the processes of research design and data collection, but will also cover the preliminary analysis and interpretation of data and the key phase of presentation of results. Furthermore, it may well help the reader to obtain either financial or political support for sound land management, be it species protection, resource extraction, leisure, maintenance of ecosystem functioning or some combination of these.