IUCN and IUCN world commission on protected areas have given a strict and exclusive definition of protected areas. This definition has to be taken into account when working in these areas in order to avoid making the confusion with lands dedicated to other activities which can be conflicting.
Thus, if a land does not have to be a protected area in order to contribute to conservation, however, a land is recognized as protected area if and only if its primary objective of classification (or recognition) is conservation.

IUCN recognizes six management categories for these protected areas. The matter is not to reduce the multiple ways of managing these lands, but to offer to managers and their partners a simple typology to find their way and organize themselves. However, IUCN recognizes that many non protected areas contribute to the preservation of the environment in many areas?but they are simply not priority targets for PAPACO!

Protected areas are a tool for land management. Due to their history, importance, reputation also? today they are intimately linked to the notion of biodiversity conservation and are generally the main pillar. Depending on the biotope they cover, their method of management, their objectives…they can have many forms which cannot be all presented in this document. We have focussed on some particular types of areas, such as community areas , marine areas and transboundary areas .

Many references are available at the World Commission on Protected Areas Web site for passionate readers.

Because they are important for us in the region, we also present some specific aspects of protected areas management such as equity , ecotourism , mining risks or the modes of financing protected areas.

In our publications and studies , there is other information on the management of these lands. And of course the page protected areas of the region provides specific information on the main sites?