IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i19p8734-d1760711.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Governance of Protected Areas Based on Effectiveness and Justice Criteria: A Qualitative Study with Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Coding

Author

Listed:
  • Javier Orozco-Ospino

    (Faculty of Engineering and Basic Sciences, Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina, Valledupar 200005, Colombia)

  • Gloria Florez-Yepes

    (Faculty of Accounting, Economic and Administrative Sciences, Universidad de Manizales, Manizales 170001, Colombia)

  • Luis Diaz-Muegue

    (Faculty of Engineering and Basic Sciences, Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina, Valledupar 200005, Colombia)

Abstract

Effective and fair governance of protected areas (PAs) is essential for their ecological and social sustainability, particularly in contexts of high biodiversity and sociopolitical tensions. This study assessed the governance system of the Serranía del Perijá Regional Natural Park (SPRNP) in Colombia using criteria of effectiveness and justice, through a qualitative methodology grounded in thematic analysis. The research was based on semi-structured interviews and a focus group, with intentional coding supported by artificial intelligence using ATLAS.ti 25 software, which enhanced efficiency and pattern recognition in the construction of a semantic network. This AI-assisted coding approach represents an innovative methodological contribution to the qualitative assessment of PA governance. The findings highlight centralized governance, weak community participation, limited institutional presence, and power asymmetries that undermine equity in decision-making. The exclusion of the Yukpa people from the PA declaration process illustrates broader challenges of Indigenous recognition in Latin American governance contexts. Based on these findings, the study proposes three prospective governance scenarios—community-centered, inter-institutional coordination, and public–private articulation—which offer practical pathways for transforming governance. The study concludes that achieving more equitable and inclusive governance requires institutional strengthening, power redistribution, and the recognition of local knowledge. A viable solution may emerge from an adaptive combination of the proposed scenarios.

Suggested Citation

  • Javier Orozco-Ospino & Gloria Florez-Yepes & Luis Diaz-Muegue, 2025. "Governance of Protected Areas Based on Effectiveness and Justice Criteria: A Qualitative Study with Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Coding," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:19:p:8734-:d:1760711
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8734/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/19/8734/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qian Dong & Bo Zhang & Xiaomei Cai & Alastair M. Morrison, 2021. "Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Heloise Michelle Nunes Medeiros & Quêzia Leandro de Moura Guerreiro & Thiago Almeida Vieira & Sandra Maria Sousa da Silva & Ana Isabel da Silva Aço Renda & José Max Barbosa Oliveira-Junior, 2021. "Alternative Tourism and Environmental Impacts: Perception of Residents of an Extractive Reserve in the Brazilian Amazonia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-29, February.
    3. Michelle Bonatti & Sabeth Bayer & Kamila Pope & Luca Eufemia & Ana Paula Dias Turetta & Crystal Tremblay & Stefan Sieber, 2023. "Assessing the Effectiveness and Justice of Protected Areas Governance: Issues and Situated Pathways to Environmental Policies in Río Negro National Park, Paraguay," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, January.
    4. Claudia Múnera-Roldán & Matthew J. Colloff & Jamie Pittock & Lorrae Kerkhoff, 2024. "Aligning adaptation and sustainability agendas: lessons from protected areas," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(7), pages 1-24, October.
    5. Yang Yang & Liran Ma, 2025. "Artificial intelligence in qualitative analysis: a practical guide and reflections based on results from using GPT to analyze interview data in a substance use program," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 2511-2534, June.
    6. Georgina V. E. Wilson & Brandon P. Anthony, 2023. "Opportunities and Barriers to Monitoring and Evaluating Management Effectiveness in Protected Areas within the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Sean L. Maxwell & Richard A. Fuller & Thomas M. Brooks & James E. M. Watson, 2016. "Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers," Nature, Nature, vol. 536(7615), pages 143-145, August.
    8. Nkansah-Dwamena, Ernest, 2025. "Aligning conservation goals with forest livelihood needs: Using local perspectives to inform policy and practice in Ghana," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    9. Rosse Marie Esparza-Huamanchumo & Yefferson Llonto Caicedo & Carla Ethel Gamarra Flores & Pablo Cesar Romo Román & Benoit Mougenot, 2024. "Perceptions of stakeholders and challenges faced by ecotourism management in a natural protected area in Peru," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 20757-20780, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kristian Steensen Nielsen & Theresa M. Marteau & Jan M. Bauer & Richard B. Bradbury & Steven Broad & Gayle Burgess & Mark Burgman & Hilary Byerly & Susan Clayton & Dulce Espelosin & Paul J. Ferraro & , 2021. "Biodiversity conservation as a promising frontier for behavioural science," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(5), pages 550-556, May.
    2. Yutong Zhang & Wei Zhou & Danxue Luo, 2023. "The Relationship Research between Biodiversity Conservation and Economic Growth: From Multi-Level Attempts to Key Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Emblemsvåg, Jan, 2022. "Wind energy is not sustainable when balanced by fossil energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    4. Amanda Balasooriya & Darshana Sedera, 2025. "Top Management Challenges in Using Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development Goals: An Exploratory Case Study of an Australian Agribusiness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-19, July.
    5. Jan Streeck & Quirin Dammerer & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Fridolin Krausmann, 2021. "The role of socio‐economic material stocks for natural resource use in the United States of America from 1870 to 2100," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(6), pages 1486-1502, December.
    6. Marie Lassalas & Sabine Duvaleix & Laure Latruffe, 2024. "The technical and economic effects of biodiversity standards on wheat production," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 51(2), pages 275-308.
    7. Gyan Charitha de Silva & Eugenie Christine Regan & Edward Henry Beattie Pollard & Prue Frances Elizabeth Addison, 2019. "The evolution of corporate no net loss and net positive impact biodiversity commitments: Understanding appetite and addressing challenges," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 1481-1495, November.
    8. Siying Chen & Zhixiong Tan & Maozhi Chen & Jingwei Han, 2024. "Knowledge Mapping of Tourism Footprint: A Bibliometric Review Based on CiteSpace," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.
    9. R. C. Rodríguez-Caro & E. Graciá & S. P. Blomberg & H. Cayuela & M. Grace & C. P. Carmona & H. A. Pérez-Mendoza & A. Giménez & R. Salguero-Gómez, 2023. "Anthropogenic impacts on threatened species erode functional diversity in chelonians and crocodilians," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Fabrício Otávio do Nascimento Pereira & Graciliano Galdino Alves dos Santos & Anderson Borges Serra & Cleuton Lima Miranda & Guilherme da Silva Araújo & Emil José Hernández Ruz, 2023. "Composition of the Anuran Community in a Forest Management Area in Southeastern Amazonia," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-13, July.
    11. Verena Haider & Franz Essl & Klaus Peter Zulka & Stefan Schindler, 2022. "Achieving Transformative Change in Food Consumption in Austria: A Survey on Opportunities and Obstacles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-15, July.
    12. Häusler, Mara-Magdalena & Zabel, Astrid, 2024. "Sites side by side: Can an agglomeration bonus with an adjacency rule connect agri-environmental sites?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    13. Marcelia Castro Cardoso & Helionora da Silva Alves & Izaura Cristina Nunes Pereira Costa & Thiago Almeida Vieira, 2021. "Anthropogenic Actions and Socioenvironmental Changes in Lake of Juá, Brazilian Amazonia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    14. Hirschmann, Mirko & Fisch, Christian & Farny, Steffen, 2025. "Biodiversity loss and entrepreneurship: Empirical evidence on threat perceptions among primary-sector entrepreneurs in 28 European countries," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    15. Chindu Chandran & Prodyut Bhattacharya, 2024. "Tourist's level of awareness and attitude about destination ecotourism development: a case study of Munnar, Kerala, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 26607-26622, October.
    16. Rigal, Stanislas & Calvet, Coralie & Tardieu, Léa & Roussel, Sébastien & Vaissière, Anne-Charlotte, 2025. "The hidden dimension of low-carbon public transport policies: From biodiversity conservation to user preferences," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    17. Kazi Kamrul Islam & Md. Saifullah & M. Golam Mahboob & Kazi Noor-E-Alam Jewel & S. M. Kamran Ashraf & Kimihiko Hyakumura, 2024. "Restoring Soil Fertility, Productivity and Biodiversity through Participatory Agroforestry: Evidence from Madhupur Sal Forest, Bangladesh," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, March.
    18. Dhiaulhaq, Ahmad & Hepp, Catherine M. & Adjoffoin, Laetitia M. & Ehowe, Corine & Assembe-Mvondo, Samuel & Wong, Grace Y., 2024. "Environmental justice and human well-being bundles in protected areas: An assessment in Campo Ma'an landscape, Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    19. Hao Li & Hongyu Chen & Minghao Wu & Kai Zhou & Xiang Zhang & Zhicheng Liu, 2022. "A Dynamic Evaluation Method of Urban Ecological Networks Combining Graphab and the FLUS Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, December.
    20. Sébastien Boillat & Jean-David Gerber & Christoph Oberlack & Julie G. Zaehringer & Chinwe Ifejika Speranza & Stephan Rist, 2018. "Distant Interactions, Power, and Environmental Justice in Protected Area Governance: A Telecoupling Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-30, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:19:p:8734-:d:1760711. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.