OECMs in Policy and Practice

This working paper examines how other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are being translated from global policy into practice across Eastern and Southern Africa. Drawing on emerging national processes, policy alignment work, and site-level assessments in Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa, the paper identifies practical lessons for credible, equitable, and durable OECM implementation. It argues that OECMs are most effective when treated as a recognition mechanism rather than a new designation, when grounded in legitimate governance and rights-holder consent, and when linked to long-term sustainable finance that connects to people and places. The paper also highlights risks, including conceptual confusion, reporting-driven “paper OECMs,” institutional fragmentation, and the practical overlap between privately protected areas and OECMs. Eastern and Southern Africa’s experience offers transferable lessons for other geographies seeking to implement Target 3 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) without undermining existing governance systems or local stewardship.