Overlaps in Protected Area Designations: A Case Study in the Engiadina Bassa / Val Müstair

Worldwide, over a quarter of all protected areas are designated by two or more designations. What does this tell us about the utility of protected areas as spatial conservation instruments?
by Alexandra Murphy

Four parks for one region

For my thesis, I conducted a case study involving four partially overlapping protected areas: Unesco Biosfera Engiadina/Val Müstair, Regional Nature Park Biosfera Val Müstair, Swiss National Park, and Pro Natura PAs. Content, institutional and discourse analysis of collected documents (legal frameworks and documentation regarding PA establishment) and expert interviews with representatives from each PA revealed minimal implications of overlaps on conservation measure implementation by responsible management authorities.

Overlapping protected areas as complex systems

By utilizing two theoretical frameworks — ecological governance systems (Siltanen et al., 2022) and socio-ecological systems (Cumming et al., 2015) — it was shown that the trajectories of protected areas (incl. discourses and governance setups) are crucial for the interplay between different management authorities and the complexities arising from their overlap (e.g. collaboration or confusion about designation types). Thus, multi-designated areas are complex systems involving actors, institutions, and resources on various intertwined spatial scales and levels.

The implications of multiple designations

The results of my thesis indicate that there are few implications on the implementation of conservation measures for management authorities of overlapping protected areas. In the context of climate change, biodiversity loss, or urbanization, this raises questions about the utility of protected areas as spatial conservation instruments and their relevance in socio-ecological systems.