Indicators: A deceptively simple word: The workshop
From 6 – 10 October, teams from SANParks and the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) met at the Iroise Marine Nature Park, in France, for a collaborative workshop that was focused on improving the design and use of indicators in the management of protected areas.
The workshop took a comparative and interactive format where the two teams shared experiences, compared approaches, and explored practical ways to make indicators more useful for monitoring and decision making. Although SANParks and OFB operate in different ecological and governance contexts, both organisations face similar challenges, creating common ground for many discussions.
The discussions revealed that indicators need to be clear, relevant, grounded in local ecological context, developed with the right partners, and linked directly to management objectives and/or actions to ensure that they are meaningful and easy to interpret. Another central theme was the importance of good data. Long-term monitoring and complementary data sources help managers, scientists, and others understand environmental change and avoid misinterpreting natural variability.
Capacity was identified as a key factor in developing effective indicator systems. Two case studies from protected areas in France were shared and they showed how having dedicated staff and technical support can significantly improve the development of indicators and dashboards. This highlighted the fact that well-resourced teams are better equipped to link monitoring results to management responses.
The workshop included real-world group exercises, allowing the teams to apply these ideas, using examples from African Penguin conservation and objectives from the Iroise PNM and Table Mountain National Park MPA. These exercises demonstrated the value of simplifying objectives, separating themes, and ensuring each indicator has a clear purpose.
By the end of the workshop, both teams expressed a stronger, more practical understanding of indicators, not viewing them as just technical tools, but as essential components of adaptive management. The workshop also strengthened collaboration between SANParks and OFB, building on the existing foundation for continued learning and shared progress in conservation monitoring.
SANParks participants included: Alison Kock, Stef Freitag-Ronaldson, Andre Riley, Sinothando Shibe Aseeqah Davids, Rushdi Ariefdien, Jessica Hayes, and Cloverly Lawrence.
