Authors: Loos, Jacqueline;

To counteract the global biodiversity loss, the designation and extension of protected areas (PAs) is a core conservation strategy. However, their effectiveness is challenged for a variety of social and ecological reasons. Despite their stark increase in amounts and coverages over the past decades, the goal to safeguard biodiversity seems to be at the brink, as many PAs face continuing wildlife losses and land cover changes. At the same time, PAs have been accused of disrupting human-nature relationships, violating human rights, and putting a massive burden on riparian communities. At the same time, protected areas are also expected to contribute to human well-being, including those living in their surroundings. Within this paradox situation, the increasing recognition of PAs as social-ecological systems offers an opportunity to unravel interactions between people, governance, land-use changes, and biodiversity loss. Backed up by systematic literature searches, this presentation will exemplify social-ecological interactions and their potential influence on PA effectiveness referring to three empirical case studies from Romania, Tanzania, and Zambia. The approach behind elucidating these place-based insights may guide further explorations of PA effectiveness through a social-ecological perspective and help to identify the leverage potential of key interactions for integrative conservation and development planning.