Earth Day 2021 was celebrated around the world on 22 April 2021, with the theme 'Restore Our Earth'.

This month, we focus on restoration efforts around the world.

7 April 2021 saw the first edition of the new IUCN WCPA International Ranger Awards celebrate 10 winners, in an online award ceremony. Awardees included Indigenous communities, pioneering women rangers, volunteer teams, and conservation veterans who have braved many hardships in their devotion to protected and conserved areas around the world.

Read more and watch the ceremony here

The four winners of this year's Frankfurt Conservation Awards (Bruno H. Schubert Prize), the highest endowed private environmental prize in Germany, have all contributed in their own way to keeping the Amazon rainforests away from their critical 'tipping point'.

Among these are Julia Miranda Londoño, WCPA Deputy Chair and former Director of the Colombian National Parks Authority, as well as Silvana Campello, one of this year’s WCPA Packard Award winners.

Read more and watch the ceremony here

About 500 sites in 50 countries are working to meet the 17 requirements on good governance, planning, management and preservation of nature to achieve IUCN Green List status.

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10 protected and conserved areas in France, Italy, and Switzerland were admitted to the IUCN Green List this month. Three existing Green List sites in the Republic of Korea and one in Italy also saw their status renewed. The IUCN Green List now counts 59 sites in 16 countries around the world.

“As IUCN and the global community call for the protection of 30% of our planet’s surface by 2030, IUCN Green List sites provide the best examples of effectiveness and inclusiveness, which are essential for our efforts to succeed,” said IUCN Director General Dr Bruno Oberle.

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Chile's National Forestry and Parks Agency (CONAF)  and IUCN have agreed to start a formal and gradual Green List certification for the country’s National System of Protected Areas (SNASPE). This announcement on International Earth Day marks a milestone in Chile’s conservation history and an essential step towards the sustainability of the region’s system of protected areas.

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En la Costa Occidental de Quintana Roo, México, la acción emprendida por especialistas para la restauración de arrecifes usando estructuras de cemento y PVC para proporcionar una superficie a la cual los corales pueden adherirse y crecer. Ello involucró el mantenimiento de un vivero de coral con 4500 fragmentos de coral en desarrollo con una tasa de supervivencia del 90%.

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UNDP has partnered with the Government of Belarus and international organisations to create a model of peatland rehabilitation. Since 2009, over 50,000 ha of peatlands have been restored through this model. There has been a stabilisation of water-bird populations at the restored sites and almost complete cessation of peat mineralisation and fires.

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To mark International Day for Biological Diversity, the WHO Regional Office for Europe will launch an overview report on nature’s relevance to human well-being and how depletion of natural resources can turn into threats for human health. This will be followed by a moderated question and answer session with experts on the need to prevent and reduce human impacts on nature.

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Fully implementing nature conservation objectives would cost 100 to 1,000 times less than a single pandemic like COVID-19, according to the former Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, in this radio programme.

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The Seabird Macaronesian Sound (SMS) project aims to update the information on seabird distribution and population size in the Macaronesian islands of Azores and Madeira, targeting 26 potential colonies and five seabird species, by using a low-cost and standardised passive acoustic methodology.

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Three years after field actions against the fire ants (Wasmannia auropunctata), the Maruapo Valley in Tahiti has been declared ant-free, facilitating the successful protection of half of the world population of a critically endangered bird, the Tahiti Monarch (Pomarea nigra). The species seems to have reversed the curve with a growth rate of 1% in 1998 that rose to 17% after 2016.

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Grants to the total value of EUR 684,461 have been awarded to four organisations in Madagascar to address biodiversity conservation needs. These IUCN Save Our Species and the BIOPAMA Action Component grants, in collaboration with national and local authorities, are contributing actively to conserve and restore ecosystem functions in wetlands and forest areas across Madagascar.

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Earth Day 2021 falls upon a dazed and different world. For the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the 2021 celebration comes on the heels of the global pandemic –that almost every country is still dealing with– and a volcanic eruption. We are reminded of our fragile planet Earth. Stina Herberg, Director of the Richmond Vale Academy, talks about their regenerative farming strategies, and the way forward for the island nation.

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Marine protected areas (MPA) are managed on the same basis as terrestrial protected areas. However, the specific nature of these ecosystems require special measures and considerations.

This MOOC covers topics such as the design and creation of MPA networks, governance, ecological monitoring, but also surrounding economic activities, and how to include all this to MPA management.

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In an engaging event on 26 March, as part of the virtual conference on ‘Mobilising Private Investment in the Great Green Wall’, a session led by the IUCN Global Protected and Conserved Areas Programme attempted to weave the wetlands and water back into the narrative of the Sahel.

Read more and watch here

The PANORAMA initiative is expanding to include a new thematic community that will profile solutions around forest landscape restoration, and will be launched in June 2021.

Stay tuned here to explore our thematic communities, featuring solutions from around the world.

Inspired by #NatureForAll, this campaign spearheaded by Canadian NGO Exploring By The Seat of Your Pants aims to provide an easy, fun and engaging experience that will inspire people around the world to learn more, get excited about the natural world and want to take action to make a positive difference for conservation.

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Lake Urmia is one of the largest inland lakes located in northwestern Iran. This vast hyper-saline lake is a Ramsar Site, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a National Park.

The White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) is listed as an endangered species on Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and are under threat from a range of factors - including lack of water supply sources, human activities such as poaching and fishing, and pollutants entering the wetlands.

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The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) welcomes the historic investments in nature conservation announced as part of the 2021 federal budget. These plans reaffirm Canada’s promises for protecting 25% of land and ocean by 2025, and commits to working towards protecting 30% by 2030, while creating good jobs in the green economy along the way.

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From creating sustainable livelihoods and food systems to protecting endangered species and the climate, the business case for putting people and nature first is becoming clear. And blue natural capital is a Nature-based Solution that investors are getting behind.

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Launched on 28 April 2021, this report analyses the progress in the fulfillment of the components of Aichi Target 11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 51 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Este informe analiza el progreso en el cumplimiento de los componentes de la Meta 11 de Aichi del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica, en 51 países, islas y territorios de Latinoamérica y el Caribe.

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This month’s NAPA 151 focuses on Marine Protected Areas because of the upcoming launch of our new MOOC on this topic. Read more about what the course is about, as well as an excerpt from the MPA chapters from the IUCN Guidelines on Protected Area Governance and Management.

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El Grupo Especialista de Conservación de la Conectividad de la CMAP recientemente publicó los primeros lineamientos globales que buscan impulsar buenas prácticas para proteger las conectividad entre las áreas protegidas y conservadas y restaurar los ecosistemas degradados y fragmentados.

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There is a need to protect the Vjosa River Valley along its full length, including its tributaries - confirms a new IUCN WCPA authored study. Based on IUCN protected area standards, it provides insight into the rationale and feasibility of declaring a protected area for the Vjosa Valley in Albania, along with the management objectives and associated protected area categories that would ensure the conservation of its key values.

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To celebrate Earth Day 2021, EarthxTV and the Post-2020 Pavilion present the 'Global Goals for Nature, Climate, and People TV' programme, with the IUCN WCPA Beyond the Aichi Targets Task Force and WWF International leading the co-production. This programme aims to explore our pathway towards an equitable, carbon-neutral, nature-positive future.

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IUCN has issued a Request for Proposals for a consultancy to provide support on Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMS).

Closing date and time: 5 May 2021 at 23:59 CEST.

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L’Observatoire pour la Biodiversité et les Aires Protégées en Afrique de l’ouest (OBAPAO) lance deux appels à candidatures. La vision proposée pour OBAPAO est : «Les pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest améliorent à long terme la conservation et l’utilisation durable des ressources naturelles ».

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The 2021 George Wright Society Student Summit will bring student thought leaders together virtually via Zoom to consider the intersection of socioenvironmental justice and place-based conservation. At the Summit, student attendees will examine socioenvironmental justice topics that account for equity, dignity, and rights of all members of the interlocking human and environmental community.

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At present, there are no recognised OECMs within the Caribbean Region, thus the Caribbean Protected Areas Gateway (CPAG; BIOPAMA programme) is working with UNEP-WCMC and the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) to host a series of regional online webinars related to OECMs. These webinars are intended to raise awareness around OECMs and jumpstart the process of identifying OECMs within the Caribbean region. The first, an introductory webinar to OECMs, is scheduled for 18 May 2021.

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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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The Government of Rwanda will in March 2022 host the inaugural IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) to discuss conservation of the continent’s protected areas. This comes after the relaunch of APAC in Kigali, Rwanda on 20th April 2021.

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Watch the relaunch event

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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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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