Nature Education and Protected Area Management

The role of education in protected area sustainable governance

Violeta Orlovic-Lovren

Violeta Orlovic-Lovren, (2011) "The role of education in protected area sustainable governance", Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 22 Iss: 1, pp.48 – 58

Education plays a key role in protected area management. This paper is based on the author’s experience in Serbia but has connotations that have relevance elsewhere. The author says the role assigned to education in promoting sustainability by international documents is yet to be applied to national strategies in many countries.

The focus of this paper is to promote a strategic approach and to identify techniques for analysis to be used in development of quality education programs, tailored to specific needs in protected areas and to sustainability goals in a particular social context.

The author uses an adult education approach and social science methodology to come up with a proposal for a research framework and hopes that this will pave way for better understanding of the role of education in improving sustainable protected area governance.

The existing gap in the field is discussed and a brief review of the issues present in Serbia as a country in transition is also given.

The author concludes that the approach detailed in the paper may be modified to specific contexts and goals, and applied with this purpose to other similar social environments, especially in countries in transition within the region. She is sure that this will lead lead to creating more adequate education programs and increased capacities for managing protected areas.