Assessing good governance in protected areas (PA) co-management: A case study of the Sundarbans mangrove forests of Bangladesh

Co-management has been adopted in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh

since 2008 toward biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvement

of local communities. However, we have limited research on how

good governance was maintained and practiced in co-managed mangrove

protected areas (PA). Drawing on a case study, this research

assessed stakeholders’ perception on good governance in PA comanagement

in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh. We adopted a ‘good

governance framework’ consisting of six governance principles (stakeholders’

participation, transparency, responsiveness, legitimacy, fairness

and organizational capacity) and deployed both qualitative (11

key-informants’ interviews and 4 focus group discussions) and quantitative

methods (135 structured interviews) for data collection. Median,

frequencies (percent), contingency table chi-square tests were performed

for quantitative data. About 30–35% of the respondents perceived

neutral in their responses to good governance principles

(stakeholders’ participation, transparency, responsiveness, legitimacy,

fairness and organizational capacity) indicating moderate level of

governance in PA co-management in the Sundarbans. This study has

demonstrated a wider implementation gap between the ambitious

intent enshrined in the new policy framework and actual rollout of PA

governance on the ground. These results would be useful to policymakers,

development agencies and PA managers in formulating and

implementing effective policies for PA co-management in Bangladesh

and elsewhere.

• Supervision