MERI Frameworks help Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous Ranger Programs tell their story

MERI frameworks are crucial to adaptive management, identifying critical indicators describing how we evaluate and improve management. The development of MERI plans is straightforward when the underlying adaptive management framework has a structure that links inputs with outputs and outcomes.

A good MERI framework helps projects to better tell their story by explaining the Theory of Change of proposed conservation interventions. They ultimately create confidence in a project’s ability to achieve the outcomes it proposes – important both for a project’s ability to access funding and comply with funding requirements.

This FLYER outlines how the clear and transparent structure of Healthy Country Planning allows projects to develop robust MERI frameworks that help us respond to three crucial questions:

·        Are we following our plan? Are we implementing the actions and strategies for our work plan?

·        Are the things we are doing leading to the expected results -  are we achieving the intended outcomes?

Mid-Term and Full Cycyle Review of Indigenous Protected Area Management Plans

Addressing complex systems like the environment, community and culture, plans of managements for Indigenous Protected Areas need to be adaptive - and as such reviewed from time to time to ensure that the plan is still appropriate for the context.

This PDF resource (DOWNLOAD HERE) shows how the tools of the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation / Healthy Country Planning can help Indigenous Protected Area projects through the process of monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement (MERI).