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. The latest videos can be found here:

Fred M. Packard Award 2021 - Online Ceremony

Webinar: Introduction to the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT-4)

Webinar: Using the new Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT-4)

Next-Gen Solutions: African innovation in financing for nature conservation

This ceremony will see the announcement of this year's 10 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.

Register here

The Fred M. Packard Award is an international merit award presented for outstanding service to protected and conserved areas. The awardees of the 2021 Fred Packard Award are: James Barnes, Silvana Campello, Penelope Figgis A.O., Sarat Babu Gidda, Dan Laffoley, David MacKinnon, Denise M. Rambaldi, Pedro Rosabal and Romeo Trono.

Read more and watch the ceremony here

Once a degraded and loss-making coconut plantation with uncontrolled exploitation of threatened species such as turtles and seabirds, Cousin Island in Seychelles was restored into a world-class award-winning reserve for species conservation. The reserve is being supported during the COVID-19 pandemic through a BIOPAMA grant, and will soon enter the application phase of the IUCN Green List process.

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On the occasion of the International Day of Forests 2021, celebrated on 21 March, this Inspiring Solution showcases an example of forests participatory restoration by local communities from Matsés National Reserve, Peru.

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Protected and conserved areas around the world are restoration areas for mangroves and forests. In Palk Bay, mangrove degradation is due to lack of awareness about the benefit of mangroves. OMCAR Foundation address this issue by involving the local community in participatory mangrove conservation practices.

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The IUCN WCPA COVID-19 Protected Areas Task Force aims to collate information and insights on the impacts of COVID-19 on protected and conserved areas and to collate and disseminate principles and good practice for rescue, recovery, and rebuilding to strengthen and expand systems of protected and conserved areas which contribute to human health and welfare.

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Addressing the multiple global challenges of the pandemic, climate change, and biodiversity loss, demands a new global investment in nature. This interactive feature written by Mike Wong, WCPA Regional Vice Chair for North America, offers readers a path forward.

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Around 1.6 billion people live in the proximity of forests. Around 60% of them are in tropical countries. In addition, 18% of the global forest area falls within protected and conserved areas. Tools implemented with the support of BIOPAMA are used in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific to monitor the state of conservation, support decision-making, and provide direct financial support for actions on the ground.

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The Van Long Nature Reserve is the first protected area to receive the IUCN Green List certificate in Viet Nam and in Southeast Asia. The reason behind this success? Local communities continue to be at the heart of decision-making and are shaping their sustainable future. The Green List governance assessment process culminated in the creation of the Van Long Cooperative, a governance forum that will review issues regularly, ensuring effective and equitable conservation in the wetland in the long term.

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This parallel event to the 46th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC46), presented and discussed the report "Human rights depend on a healthy biosphere" of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment, presented to the UN General Assembly in 2020. Trevor Sandwith, Director, IUCN Global Protected and Conserved Areas Programme provided his perspectives as one of the speakers.

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Africa is alive with innovation and next-generation entrepreneurs investing in green development opportunities. This session on "African Innovation in financing for nature conservation", held on 25 March during the Investment in the Great Green Wall e-conference organised by IUCN, featured promising and inspiring PANORAMA Solutions in Africa linking finance and nature conservation.

Watch here

PANORAMA was recognised for its contribution in supporting the implementation of the long-term strategic framework for capacity development and the knowledge management component of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The statement was provided by IUCN on behalf of the PANORAMA partnership during the informal session of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Implementation on 11 March 2021.

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Papaco’s latest Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Marine Protected Areas, MOOC-MPA, will be launched on 12 April 2021. This MOOC completes the six other existing MOOCs, all of them covering very broad topics on protected area management.

Enrol here

The first IUCN Green List mentor training programme in Malaysia was organised by WWF-Malaysia for 22 volunteers from governmental and non-governmental organisations, in collaboration with the national Expert Assessment group for the Green List (EAGL) and the IUCN Green List global team.

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National Park Day was designated as a legal anniversary following the amendment of the Natural Park Act in June 2020. To raise public interest in the value of national parks, the date was selected through online voting by the public. The date was chosen in recognition of 3 March 1967, when the national park system was first established in Republic of Korea.

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The NAPA n°150 is about Private-Public Partnerships and their role in the conservation of protected areas.

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Part memoir, part critique, and paean to the value of national parks, American Covenant distills the experience and insights from two long careers in conservation. Michael A. Soukup and Gary E. Machlis show how the national parks are essential to maintaining the essence of the USA's national heritage, and key to the country's future in a changing climate and political landscape.

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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.

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6 April, 3-4 pm UTC: PANORAMA Live Story Slam (English).
13 April, 9-10 am UTC: Why do we need standards for conservation success? Global goals in focus coffee chat with the IUCN Green List.
14 April, 9-10 am UTC: PANORAMA Live Story Slam (French).
15 April, 3-4 pm UTC: Why do we need standards for conservation success? Amazon in focus coffee chat with the IUCN Green List.

Register here

This webinar is jointly organised by the IUCN WCPA and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on 13 April 2021. Learn more about OECM Specialist group here.

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IMPAC5 is an opportunity to bring together Indigenous peoples and cultures from around the world to embrace a collaborative approach and learn from Indigenous leadership in ocean conservation.

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UNESCO’s extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee has now been confirmed for 16-31 July 2021. It will be held fully online from Fuzhou (China).

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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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