The pandemic has significantly impacted nature conservation around the globe, including job losses among protected area rangers, reduced anti-poaching patrols, and environmental protection rollbacks, according to a collection of new research papers which have just been published in a special issue of PARKS, the journal of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

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After a series of well-received events to start off the revamped Vital Sites 2021, the following weeks will bring two award ceremonies in recognition of outstanding service in protected areas: the Fred M. Packard Award and the International Ranger Award.

Missed out on the previous events? Catch up with them through our recordings on YouTube, collected and regularly updated on the Vital Sites web page.

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The Packard Award is given to individuals or groups to recognise outstanding service to protected and conserved areas.

Tune in from around the world as the award ceremony is held virtually for the first time, amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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This event will announce the first ten winners of the new IUCN and WCPA International Ranger Awards, recognising outstanding individual rangers and ranger teams from across the world.

Join us on 7 April 2021 to congratulate and learn about each of the inaugural winners of this award.

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Learn how Ugandan projects are implementing a range of activities to alleviate the impacts of COVID-19, including diversifying livelihoods to absorb the loss of tourism income, implementing health protocols and monitoring to protect gorillas, clearing invasive species to secure rhino habitats, and transforming poachers' snares into sculptures.

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The Transboundary Biosphere Reserve in the Mono Delta aims to conserve biodiversity and drive sustainable use of ecosystem services in the delta across Benin and Togo, while at the same time contributing to the sustainable development of local communities.

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The IUCN Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC) project in the Saloum Delta Biosphere Reserve in Senegal uses local knowledge in reforestation, restoring degraded lands and regulating natural resource use.

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IUCN’s online portal COMPASS (Community of Protected Areas Sustainability Standard) is an essential digital platform for the IUCN Green List. It is a vital tool to implement the IUCN Green List process in all jurisdictions and sites, enabling sites to upload information that is readily accessible to the Expert Assessment Groups of the Green List (EAGLs) for evaluation.

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PANORAMA will host two storytelling sessions, one each in English and French, at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Youth Summit, aimed at bringing together youth for one nature and one future. 

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The Open Knowledge Foundation has recognised the PANORAMA platform's contribution to the field of environmental open data. PANORAMA has received an Open Data Day mini-grant from the Foundation, to highlight the theme 'open data for climate action'.

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In 2019, IUCN PAPACO launched an ambassador programme, where pro-active MOOC students were selected to represent and assist students from their own cities and countries. Since then, the programme has grown from five initial ambassadors to 33 across Africa and Haiti today.

Thanks to our ambassador Kevin Kassouwin in Benin, professors at a local university have decided to use MOOC content as materials for their classes, and validated MOOCs to count for university credits.

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Despite the high level of protection that comes with their status, World Heritage glaciers respond to climate change in exactly the same way as their neighbouring glaciers. Nature conservation tools used locally to restrict human activities in these sites are powerless to limit the consequence of a global process like climate change. So, what can we do to protect them? Listen to Jean-Baptiste Bosson as he shares his vision for the safeguarding these icy giants during a TEDxTalk in Zürich.

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This special issue of PARKS is devoted to the impact and implications of COVID-19 on the world’s protected and conserved areas.

11 peer-reviewed papers and 14 essays have brought together the knowledge and findings of numerous experts from all parts of the world, supported by several wide-ranging surveys.

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These guidelines respond to a growing need to make conservation more inclusive, effective and socially just by accommodating multiple worldviews; by treating natural and cultural heritage as interlinked; and by suggesting ways for engaging and empowering all relevant groups and stakeholders in protected area design, governance and management.

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New dates – 3-11 September 2021 in Marseille

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the French government have agreed to hold the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020 from 3 to 11 September 2021 in Marseille. The event, originally scheduled for June 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world is increasingly recognising the inextricable link between biodiversity conservation and human and economic well-being, a connection made all the more visible by the COVID-19 pandemic. The IUCN Congress will be a key milestone for nature conservation and the development of a new global framework for biodiversity. The French government and IUCN remain steadfast in their commitment to these goals.

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Join youth from around the globe at the fully-virtual IUCN One Nature, One Future Global Youth Summit! Help us shape a healthier, more resilient post-pandemic world, from city centres to rural communities to the most remote protected areas.

While the focus is for youth aged 18 to 35, people of all ages are welcome to participate to allow for meaningful intergenerational collaboration and exchanges. Participation is entirely free of charge.

Register here

In response to worldwide disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Geographic Society is providing funding for projects focused on how humanity and the natural world have reacted to and are living through the unparalleled circumstances created by COVID-19.

This fund invites research, conservation, and technology projects on (1) community-based and inclusive conservation and (2) impacts of tourism changes on cultural heritage sites, wildlife, and communities.  

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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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