Abstract:

Background & Aim: To optimize the management of China’s new protected area system with national parks as the mainstay and to support the Global "30 by 30" Target for priority area conservation. This study systematically reviews mainstream domestic and international methodologies for evaluating the management effectiveness of protected areas, as well as the current status of assessments within China. 

Progress: The assessment framework has evolved into a pattern of parallel progression between internationally accepted paradigms and localized Chinese explorations; Assessment tools have become increasingly diverse, yet methods specifically targeting nature parks under the new system remain underdeveloped; While existing indicators generally emphasize foundational safeguards, management processes, conservation outcomes, and negative impacts, they lack sufficient responsiveness to the differentiated positioning of various protected areas categories. Domestic assessments reveal high management standards in national parks and national-level nature reserves, whereas the coverage and research depth for provincial-level nature reserves and nature parks require urgent enhancement to meet the demands of refined management in the new era; and management effectiveness is driven by multiple factors—including natural attributes, socio-economic conditions, and management indicators—although their coupled mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. 

Perspectives: It is imperative to construct a modular assessment system characterized by "unified core indicators and adaptive flexible indicators," expand empirical research on all types and levels of protected areas, and build a tiered-coordinated, periodically implemented assessment mechanism and a national shared platform for assessment data. Furthermore, future efforts should strengthen the analysis of multi-factor driving mechanisms behind management effectiveness and promote the dynamic alignment of indicator systems with laws, policies, regulations, and technical standards. These steps are crucial for systematically enhancing the comprehensive management efficacy of China’s protected areas.

Key words: protected areas, management effectiveness evaluation, valuation frameworks, evaluation methods and indicators