Rethinking biodiversity conservation effectiveness and evaluation in the national protected areas systems of tropical islands: The case of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic

A ''two-case'' case study was designed to provide a new perspective on the concept of effective biodiversity conservation and its evaluation with respect to tropical islands. The first goal was to provide empirical and theoretical knowledge of the critical components of effective terrestrial biodiversity conservation in national protected areas systems and the second goal was to abstract this knowledge into an island-specific framework for effective biodiversity conservation that can be used to assess the conservation outcomes of protected areas management.;Jamaica presented a smaller fragmented landscape with concentrations of terrestrial biodiversity; a knowledge base inclusive of conservation biology yet underexposed to the science of protected areas management; adoption of 'universal' concepts of biodiversity, protected area, conservation networks and management effectiveness; and a complex protected areas management structure due to overlapping jurisdictions. The Dominican Republic presented a much larger fragmented landscape with concentrations of terrestrial biodiversity; a knowledge base under-exposed to both conservation biology and the science of protected areas management; adoption of 'universal' concepts of biodiversity, protected area, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) system of protected areas categories and conservation networks; and a centralized protected areas management structure.;The research findings for both Jamaica and the Dominican Republic indicate that the transferability of 'universal' concepts on in situ biodiversity conservation to tropical islands is dependent on the ecological and socio-economic contexts of the islands. The contemporary design of a protected areas system based on ecological representation in conservation networks is not facilitated by the small, highly fragmented landscapes such as that mapped for Jamaica, with restricted distribution ranges for several island species. Traditional conservation values and practices have focused conservation planning on select species and forest ecosystems in both study locations rather than on as wide a range of biodiversity as is practically possible. Conceptual challenges with and a narrow local knowledge base for biodiversity conservation are masked by the assumptions of a 'universal' perspective for in situ biodiversity conservation. Consequently, there have been difficulties with application of the IUCN categories in the Dominican Republic and limited identification of conservation outcomes in both study locations. Successful biodiversity conservation is limited to increasing population numbers for the Jamaican Iguana and maintaining the variety of types of forest in both study locations.;The island-sensitive framework that has been developed through this research presents another perspective on biodiversity conservation by: (1) Highlighting the critical biogeographical and ecological features, for protected areas design and conservation outcomes that would perpetuate tropical island biodiversity; (2) Pointing out the need for more attention to the socio-economic aspects of biodiversity protection and use in the planning and evaluation of biodiversity conservation; (3) Establishing the importance of harmonizing management of a PAS at national level with management of individual protected sites. (Abstract shortened by UMI.);A theoretical framework for biodiversity conservation effectiveness in the terrestrial protected areas system of a tropical island was constructed. Specific propositions of the framework are that the achievement of conservation outcomes is dependent on: (1) Critical relationships between concepts of biodiversity conservation, conservation goals and objectives, the associated management institutions and governance of a protected areas system. (2) Ecological and socio-economic contexts representative of tropical islands. (3) Critical linkages between conservation effectiveness at the system and site levels of protected areas management. The case study, located in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, was used to a) validate and revise the theoretically-derived framework for achievement of biodiversity conservation in protected areas system on tropical islands and b) explain how the framework's criteria and indicators can be used to assess conservation effectiveness.