Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) offer a pathway for recognising areas outside protected areas that deliver sustained conservation outcomes. The framework helps communities, civil society organisations, researchers, businesses and public agencies contribute—from identifying potential sites and strengthening their management to preparing evidence for national consideration and sustaining conservation over time.
A shared at least 1% ambition
To translate this approach into a measurable contribution, the Coalition has proposed an ambition to support conservation across 1% of Thailand's terrestrial, inland water and mangrove area, and 1% of its marine and coastal area. The presentation expresses these as approximately 5,131 square kilometres and 3,235 square kilometres, respectively.
This ambition provides a practical focus for designing joint work between the Coalition and government. It helps partners identify potential sites, coordinate support and strengthen suitable areas towards national consideration. Individual sites must still meet national criteria and complete the relevant recognition process.
Working towards this ambition can also help test and improve cooperation, data collection, community support and monitoring before these approaches are expanded. Coalition members can contribute through their technical expertise, local relationships and resources, linking their work to a shared national direction.
Seven connected steps towards lasting conservation
The framework brings together seven steps. These form an adaptable pathway: identifying gaps may require partners to revisit governance, collect further evidence or improve management.
1. Screen potential OECMs. Identify areas with conservation potential and gather initial information about their boundaries, biodiversity, existing management and responsible actors. Communities and site managers can contribute knowledge of places they already conserve. The 30x30 Co-Map platform supports information collection and preliminary screening, helping partners identify areas for further investigation and assistance.
2. Strengthen governance, rights and consent. Clarify who manages the area, who holds rights and who uses or depends on its resources. Support meaningful participation, transparent decision-making and fair benefit-sharing, including the participation of groups whose voices may otherwise be overlooked. Free, prior and informed consent is a central consideration where applicable, helping ensure that participation rests on informed decisions and respect for rights.
3. Assess biodiversity, threats and conservation outcomes. Document the habitats, species and ecosystem functions the area supports. Combine scientific evidence with local and traditional knowledge, subject to appropriate consent, to establish a baseline. Identify threats and define conservation outcomes that management can maintain or improve, creating a basis for monitoring progress.
4. Strengthen management effectiveness. Examine whether management arrangements can deliver those conservation outcomes. Consider responsibilities, management practices, skills, resources and responses to threats. Partners can help address gaps through technical advice, capacity-building and practical improvements, while supporting the leadership of legitimate site managers and communities.
5. Assess OECM readiness. Review the site's evidence and management arrangements against ONEP's national OECM criteria. Identify what is sufficiently documented and what requires further preparation, such as biodiversity information, governance arrangements or monitoring capacity. This assessment guides support and referral into the national process. Readiness assessment does not itself confer OECM recognition.
6. Support long-term management. Establish the resources, incentives, skills and monitoring arrangements needed to sustain conservation. Use monitoring findings to adapt management as conditions change. Although presented as the sixth step, planning for long-term management should begin early and continue throughout site preparation and after recognition.
7. Connect sites with formal recognition and policy pathways. Help ready sites prepare and submit information through the relevant national procedures. The Coalition can coordinate technical support and facilitate communication, while communities and site managers retain a leading role in presenting their areas. Lessons from participating sites can also inform policy discussions, financing approaches and improvements to implementation.
Consistent communication runs across all seven steps. Shared terminology, accessible guidance and clear information about responsibilities help communities, supporting organisations and government work together.
Grounded in dialogue with ONEP
The framework builds on direct engagement with ONEP, the institution hosting Thailand's national focal points for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
At the meeting on 21 July 2026, ONEP's Deputy Secretary-General supported, in principle, the Coalition's contribution to advancing 30x30. The minutes identify practical roles for the network: finding potential sites, collecting and checking field information, conducting preliminary readiness screening, helping communities prepare documentation and forwarding information into the national process. They also record the Coalition's proposed 1% ambition for collaboration.
ONEP's guidance helped shape CO-MAP's intended role as a pre-screening tool, with readiness levels and expert verification supporting site preparation. The 20 August 2026 workshop developed these discussions into a draft Co-Action Framework, including attention to community rights, monitoring, incentives and sustained management, alongside plans for further discussion with ONEP.
These records establish a credible basis for collaboration: ONEP supported the Coalition's enabling role in principle, while the framework was being developed for further joint consideration. They do not establish formal endorsement of the completed framework. Formal OECM recognition remains within the national process involving ONEP and the relevant committee; the Coalition helps sites prepare for that process.
Contributing to Target 3
Target 3 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas, and marine and coastal areas, to be effectively conserved and managed by 2030. It also requires ecological representation, connectivity, equitable governance and respect for Indigenous Peoples' and local communities' rights.
The Co-Action Framework offers a practical way to support these ambitions in Thailand. Its shared 1% ambition gives partners a measurable focus, while the seven steps connect area identification with the evidence, rights, management capacity and resources needed for lasting conservation.
For ONEP, this approach can support a better-prepared pipeline of potential sites. For communities, civil society and other interested actors, it provides a clearer route to contribute in alignment with national criteria. By connecting local stewardship with national processes, the framework can help Thailand expand effective conservation while strengthening the participation of the people who sustain it.
