A newly established Protected Areas Network (PAN) of Palestine marks a substantial advancement in national conservation frameworks and significantly reshapes earlier management approaches. Within this framework, two protected areas have been designated along the eastern slopes of the West Bank: the Jerusalem Wilderness Protected Area (JWPA) and the Dead Sea Protected Area (DSPA). This study examined the faunal and floral composition, habitat characteristics, and major threats in both areas, while addressing management challenges within the context of ecosystem services and the region’s complex socio-political conditions. Despite geographical proximity, the two areas exhibit markedly distinct ecological assemblages. Only four rare plant species are shared between JWPA and DSPA, whereas 19 rare species occur exclusively in JWPA and 34 in DSPA. Although all bird species recorded in JWPA were also documented in DSPA, an additional 34 species, along with several mammalian taxa, were restricted to DSPA. Threats and management challenges were assessed against international conservation standards, and potential habitats for rare plant species were modelled using MaxEnt. The most critical threats identified include desertification, drought and habitat fragmentation. Based on zonation analysis, the study recommends strict protection of the natural oasis of Ain Fashkha in DSPA, a grazing management plan in JWPA, and the development of sustainable ecotourism initiatives.
Effective communication, education and public awareness (CEPA) are essential for collaborative management of protected areas, particularly in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts where conventional, lecture-based approaches often have limited impact. This paper presents a practice-based case study from Hoang Lien National Park, an ASEAN Heritage Park in northern Vietnam, examining the use of animation-based communication as a CEPA tool to support biodiversity awareness and stakeholder engagement. Between 2023 and 2025, a short, multilingual animation was co-developed using locally relevant storytelling and visual representations of the park’s ecosystems and was integrated into training and outreach activities with park staff, teachers, and ethnic minority communities in the buffer zone. Data from pre- and post-training assessments, participant evaluations, focus group discussions and direct observations indicate improved understanding of biodiversity values and climate change impacts, high levels of engagement, and positive perceptions of the approach compared to conventional communication methods. The animation also supported dialogue between park authorities and local communities by providing an accessible basis for discussion. The findings suggest that culturally adapted animation can be a useful and scalable addition to CEPA strategies in protected areas facing linguistic diversity and varying literacy levels, when embedded within facilitated and participatory engagement processes
Canada’s ability to fulfil international marine conservation commitments, notably Aichi Target 11, depends on transparent, consistent and inclusive monitoring of marine protected areas (MPAs). This study identifies persistent discrepancies between the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD), World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and Oceans Act MPAs despite recent efforts to establish a national baseline for coastal protected and conserved areas. Using spatial overlay analysis and a Decision Support Tool (DST) framework, we show how fragmented governance and inconsistent reporting hinder assessment of coverage targets, particularly at the land–sea interface. Findings highlight underrepresentation of Indigenous-led protected and conserved areas and the need for harmonised terrestrial-marine reporting, clearer procedures for overlapping designations, and Indigenous-led pathways to recognise Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) in national and international databases.
