For those who missed out on tuning in live, we are pleased to have made the full broadcast of the Kenton R. Miller Award ceremony available online, through the IUCN YouTube channel. Watch the moving and joyous ceremony, and listen to the stories of the two winners and their teams, who have set an example for innovation in protected areas worldwide.

Watch here

October offers one of our richest agendas yet, with seven events to look forward to, and counting! Next week will see three of these, covering a range of topics:

- People and parks: the pathways for social and ecological recovery

- How Antarctic and high seas protection can save half the planet

- TAPAS - Socio-cultural dimensions of protected areas and COVID-19

Explore the full list of upcoming Vital Sites events here.

IUCN and the World Commission on Protected Areas are sad to announce the passing of one of the most dedicated of WCPA Commission members, Dr Graeme Worboys, AM. Graeme epitomised the nature of those who are committed to conservation, and to serving the cause of conservation as a selfless volunteer.

Please feel free to reflect on your own experience and memory of Graeme, and we will make this available to his family and friends, who will be pleased to know how Graeme touched their lives and work.

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Colombia’s Chingaza National Natural Park, Vietnam’s Van Long Nature Reserve, and French Guiana’s Ile Du Grand-Connétable National Nature Reserve have been recognised as meeting the IUCN Standard for fair and effective protected and conserved areas, through the IUCN Green List.

Two protected areas in China – Mount Huangshan and Wudalianchi Geological Park – also successfully renewed their IUCN Green List status, first achieved at the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 in Sydney.

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The Shouf Biosphere Reserve designed and implemented its own Forest Landscape Restoration Project, based on the IUCN definition, wherein "the ongoing process of regaining ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes. It is more than just planting trees – it is restoring a whole landscape to meet present and future needs and to offer multiple benefits and land uses over time, aiming at restoring cultural practices and developing new methods to improve the use of local raw materials in a sustainable way."

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The Côte Bleue Marine Park was created in 1983 on the basis of an experimental cooperation between local public authorities and professional small scale fishermen to implement a programme for the sustainable development of fishing activity and protection of the marine environment.

The Park is a local initiative and was founded through a “bottom-up” approach, based on a strong process of dialogue with fishermen.

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In light of the celebration of the inaugural Day of
the Protected Areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held on 17 October 2020, Claudio C. Maretti looks back on CAPLAC III, held in Lima on 14 to 17 October 2019.

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El pasado 27 de agosto se realizó el webinar “Lista Verde de Áreas Protegidas y Conservadas, soluciones inspiradoras desde la Amazonía” en el que se registraron más de 300 simpatizantes de la Lista Verde de la UICN. En el evento expertos y actores locales compartieron sus enriquecedoras experiencias sobre la Lista Verde y cómo la plataforma Panorama es una herramienta mundial útil que resalta los factores que contribuyen a la gobernanza efectiva desde experiencias locales.

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A learning series titled ‘Communities Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade’ has been launched in East Africa. The series is designed to support wildlife conservation and management authorities, relevant non-governmental and community-based organisations in East Africa to effectively engage local communities in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. 

The learning series kicked off on 15 September and will be conducted in phases until December 2020, followed by a second phase of physical trainings and practical learning activities in 2021.

The learning series follows the successful development and piloting of the Local Communities: First Line of Defence against Illegal Wildlife Trade (FLoD) methodology.

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Six protected areas in two reserves receive a grant from the BIOPAMA programme to improve management and governance in Senegal.

The Direction des Parcs Nationaux (DNP) of Senegal has just signed a contract with the BIOPAMA programme to obtain a grant of EUR 400,000 over three years, which will help the institution improve the management of protected areas in two of the country's biosphere reserves (PAGERE): the Senegal River Delta Biosphere Reserve and the Saloum Delta Biosphere Reserve. The intention is to optimise conservation for the benefit of local communities, by strengthening the existing governance system.

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En savoir plus

In order to preserve Réunion's exceptional yet threatened natural heritage, the French National Forestry Office (ONF) and the General Council of La Réunion, owner of Réunion's public forests, presented the BEST project: "Creation of new protected areas in public forests in Réunion Island and in Mayotte" in 2012.

This mission was accomplished in June 2020 with the formal creation of two new reserves: the Managed Biological Reserve (RBD) of the Bois de couleur des Bas forest and Saint-Philippe coast.

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En savoir plus

The new session of PAPACO MOOCs started on 14 September with another record-breaking number of enrolments. Most students are French speaking, but we hope to attract more English-speaking students, especially thanks to our Nigerian, Zambian, Rwandan and Kenyan ambassadors.

To enroll, visit mooc-conservation.org

Registrations close on 1 December 2020.

A new paper indicates that impacts on natural World Heritage sites from invasive alien species, such as house mice, Argentine ants and rainbow trout, may be greater than previously assessed. It presents results of a proposed framework tested in seven affected sites, recording the presence of more invasive alien species in almost all cases. The authors, a team of international scientists, including several from IUCN, call for improved monitoring and reporting as a first step towards more effective protection.

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Whether it’s about a volunteer park ranger program in Paraguay or preserving cycads in Colombia, #NatureForAll is helping conservationists and environmentalists share their love and inspiration of parks and protected areas to a global audience.

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To meet societal challenges, such as climate change, disaster risk reduction, economic and social development, human health and water security, and environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, the concept of nature-based solutions (NbS) has been launched. At the core of NbS is to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems. This paper analyzes how the three issues of “wilderness,” “rewilding” and “Nature Needs Half” can contribute to NbS.

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The transformation of nature, and especially of primary ecosystems, has increased the exposure of humans to pathogens originating in wildlife. Together with the industrialisation of food production both on land and at sea and the conversion of land for farming and extractive industries, conversion has accounted for almost half of all global zoonotic infectious diseases.

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IUCN Congress postponed - New dates will be announced in due course

In view of the health situation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, France and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have decided to postpone the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which was to be held in January 2021 in Marseille. New dates for the event will be announced in due course.

France and IUCN remain fully committed to the development of a global framework for the conservation of biodiversity and will continue to act towards this objective.

To receive IUCN Congress updates, subscribe here.

Covid-19 has brought tourism revenues across Africa to a halt, leaving a huge deficit in conservation funding. Wildlife Rangers are now uniting around the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a race with one goal: to raise money to support thousands of rangers and protect iconic African wildlife such as elephants, pangolins, rhinos, and lions.

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This October, join us in celebrating the inaugural the Day of
the Protected Areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, as we recognise the importance of protected areas for the well-being of people and sustainable development in the region.

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Download the celebration guide in English

BIOPAMA is organising a series of virtual learning events and trainings on specific financing mechanisms outlined in the report "Closing the Gap - Financing and resourcing of protected and conserved areas in Eastern and Southern Africa". These events aim to provide tangible solutions for how to increase revenue and diversify income in order to help protected area authorities develop more resilient financial models for conservation. The events build on live case studies and real world examples to illustrate best (and worst) practices, and to foster deeper engagement and connection with participants.

The next event, as part of Vital Sites: The Journey to Marseille, will be on Payment of Ecosystem Services.

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Currently, PANORAMA operates within five thematic communities: (1) Protected areas, (2) Marine and coastal, (3) Ecosystem-based Adaptation, (4) Agriculture and biodiversity and (5) Business engagement. To further enable cross-sectoral learning, the partnership is happy to announce the launch of the new Nature-Culture thematic community.

The Nature-Culture thematic community will promote place-based and people-centered solutions with a focus on the relationship of nature and culture. For more information on this new thematic community, join the webinar on 22 October.

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Inclusive conservation is an approach for accommodating and balancing different visions for protected area management. It aims to achieve socially relevant, economically productive, and environmentally sustainable outcomes in protected areas. This session will explore how inclusive conservation can become part of the long-term strategy for a more harmonious alignment of different user interests and for the development of shared visions.

Register here

Since its establishment in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. IUCN’s new legacy gift options will help ensure IUCN keeps playing this essential role for years to come.

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