Systematic conservation planning is a scientific method of prioritising scarce resources to minimise the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The approach aims to consider social, economic and political imperatives, and may be used by municipalities to designate their (predominantly) natural open space systems, in the form of a conservation plan. However, the multidimensional outcomes of implementing these conservation plans — in terms of both positive and negative ecological, social, and institutional dimensions — are rarely critically evaluated. We present a practical approach to assess the outcomes of implementing natural open space plans in urban areas, especially for the local (municipal) level where resource challenges may hinder assessment. The approach, drawn from comparisons of existing conservation assessment frameworks, considers the following outcome categories: ecological/natural; social/human; financial (institutional); and management (institutional). The approach is tested on a South African case study, and factors (challenges and opportunities) affecting the outcomes of implementing natural open space plans are identified. The results underscore how ecological outcomes are negatively affected by habitat transformation attributed to urbanisation and inappropriate land use management; and transgressions such as illegal, exploitive land uses. In respect of the social/human outcomes, collaborative partnerships with civil society, and the involvement of champions, are pivotal to implementation success. We found that financial and management institutional constraints contribute to inadequate investment in natural open space planning exacerbated by budget alignment to short and medium-term socio-economic and political priorities. The inter-dependence of the different outcomes emphasises the complexity of social-ecological systems and the need for a holistic assessment. Understanding the factors affecting the outcomes of implementing natural open space plans allows local government to respond to the emerging knowledge of changing ecological and socio-economic conditions, facilitating the institutionalisation of adaptive management approaches, which appreciate the intertwined nature of social-ecological systems. This can, in turn, enhance decision-making processes, and advance conservation outcomes, ecosystem resilience and resulting flows of ecosystem services provided by nature, which are essential for human well-being.

系统保护规划是一种优先考虑稀缺资源以尽量减少生物多样性和生态系统服务损失的科学方法。该方法旨在考虑社会、经济和政治要求，并可被市政当局以保护计划的形式指定其（主要）自然开放空间系统。然而，实施这些保护计划的多维结果——在积极和消极的生态、社会和制度方面——很少受到批判性评估。我们提出了一种实用的方法来评估在城市地区实施自然开放空间计划的结果，特别是在资源挑战可能阻碍评估的地方（市政）层面。该方法来自对现有保护评估框架的比较，生态/自然；社会/人类；金融（机构）；和管理（机构）。该方法在南非案例研究中进行了测试，并确定了影响实施自然开放空间计划结果的因素（挑战和机遇）。结果强调了生态结果如何受到归因于城市化和不当土地使用管理的栖息地转变的负面影响；和违法行为，例如非法、剥削性的土地使用。在社会/人类成果方面，与民间社会的合作伙伴关系以及拥护者的参与对于实施成功至关重要。我们发现财务和管理体制限制导致对自然开放空间规划的投资不足，而预算与短期和中期社会经济和政治优先事项的调整加剧了这种情况。不同结果的相互依赖强调了社会生态系统的复杂性和整体评估的必要性。了解影响实施自然开放空间计划结果的因素，使地方政府能够对不断变化的生态和社会经济条件的新知识做出反应，促进适应性管理方法的制度化，从而理解社会生态系统的相互交织的性质。反过来，这可以加强决策过程，促进保护成果、生态系统恢复力和自然提供的生态系统服务的流动，