Protected Areas and OECMs
Strengthening area-based conservation across the region
Primary forests are protected through a diversity of area-based approaches. Formally designated Protected Areas and Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs) provide critical frameworks for conservation, while many effective practices on the ground, including community-governed areas and Indigenous-managed lands, remain outside formal recognition systems. Whether formally recognised or not, these areas safeguard ecological integrity, natural and cultural values, and ecosystem services, while preserving the knowledge and livelihoods of those who have stewarded these forests for generations.
Protected areas currently cover around 21 percent of primary forests in the region, leaving the majority under other governance and management arrangements. Spatial coverage alone does not guarantee conservation impact: variability in governance quality, management effectiveness, financial sustainability, and equitable benefit-sharing continue to limit outcomes in many areas. Many primary forest landscapes also span national boundaries, yet mechanisms for cross-border cooperation remain limited.
Our approach
The SEAP Forests IP strengthens the governance and management effectiveness of Protected Areas, enhances ecological connectivity through corridors and buffer zones, and supports the recognition and operationalization of OECMs- that demonstrably deliver long-term in-situ biodiversity conservation outcomes, while respecting spiritual and cultural values.
This includes promoting recognized standards and assessment tools to improve to improve management effectiveness, equitable governance, transparency and accountability across Protected Areas and OECMs, and supporting countries to identify, assess, and report OECMs in line with global guidance, ensuring that recognition remains voluntary, rights-based, and grounded in the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The program promotes inclusive, gender-responsive, and community-led conservation approaches that recognize and support diverse governance models. At the regional level, it advances structured transboundary cooperation, including harmonized monitoring, joint management planning, coordinated law enforcement, and cross-border knowledge exchange.
Key objective
A more connected and resilient network of primary forest landscapes, conserved through strengthened Protected Area systems, recognized OECMs and community-based conservation mechanisms that together expand effective conservation across the region.
