Authors: Geldmann, Jonas;

In this talk, I will examine the role of study design and the quality of data on the ability to assess effectiveness and impacts of protected areas. Protected and conserved areas are enshrined in the Convention on Biological Diversity and are amongst the most important tools for safeguarding nature. This had led to a proliferation of sites under formal or informal protection with more than 250,000 sites now designated across the globe and covering over 15% of the terrestrial surface. However, to what extend these protected areas are having an impact and are effective in delivering positive conservation outcomes is debated. Addressing this question has proven difficult for at least two interconnected reasons. One; lack of data on changes in the state of nature, and two; difficulties with implementing experimental setup at scale or applying appropriate quasi-experimental methods on the data available. In this talk, I will examine the experiences from published studies and synthesis of the effectiveness of protected areas at the global and regional levels, to explore how increasingly sophisticated statistical methods and better data have changed our perception of the impact and effectiveness of protected areas.