IUCN’s Global Protected Areas Programme and the World Commission on Protected Areas are pleased to present "Vital Sites: The Journey to Marseille", a 6-month series of online events and multimedia content to run between June 2020 and the rescheduled World Conservation Congress in January 2021.

See below for reports on the first exciting steps in the journey on our new journey for protected and conserved areas on our new digital platform.

Next steps in the journey

The conservation community has not been spared by the COVID-19 pandemic, as we face a range of challenges in the midst of this crisis, including for protected and conserved areas and the communities that depend on them. This has prompted calls for thought leadership from the conservation community, based on the understanding that most zoonotic disease pandemics originate from a breakdown in the relationship between humans and the natural world, caused by unsustainable exploitation of nature. It is with this background that 35 experts from the global conservation community have weighed in with a bold new vision.

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IUCN welcomes Pakistan’s “Protected Areas Initiative”, which will create nine new national parks and strengthen management and governance in six other parks to create an effective protected area network and stimulate economic development.

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Kenya has lost 70% of its wildlife in 30 years, but conservancy schemes could halt the decline – and benefit local communities. 240 landowners gave up their highly valued grazing land to create the Ol Kinyei conservancy, which in 2018 achieved IUCN Green List status for its good governance, sound design and planning, and effective management. Now, in the greater Mara region, more than 14,000 landowners have embraced the idea by forming 15 conservancies that offer close to 142,000 hectares of refuge to wild animals.

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Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary is the ninth largest marine protected area in the world and a natural World Heritage Site, and also an Important Bird Area. It is recognized as a Global Ocean Refuge as well as a Mission Blue Hotspot. This vast marine site is the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, providing a critical habitat for internationally threatened marine species, and is a major source of nutrients resulting in large aggregations of marine biodiversity.

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An innovative financial incentive mechanism to compensate livestock owners for reducing grazing is the solution for saving the endangered Atlas Cedar tree in the Ifrane Park, Morocco.

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Engaging fishing communities in this Fiji island's conservation plan resulted in a hybrid set of management rules, made of traditional and scientific knowledge. This ensures community rights to access fishing grounds while also allowing marine resources to recover, in Nasoata Island.

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BIOPAMA, Conservation Capital and partners hosted an online discussion about financing and resourcing of protected and conserved areas, with a focus on case studies from Eastern and Southern Africa. This event is part of the IUCN and WCPA "Vital Sites: The Journey to Marseille".

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Bottom-up inclusive approaches such as Educational Managed Marine Area (EMMA) and Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) aim to enable and empower local communities in marine conservation and resource management. This webinar gave the stage to EMMA and LMMA practitioners from the Pacific to present their solutions, share good practices and challenges, and discuss potential uptake.

Watch the webinar here

Further to the first LIFE4BEST call for proposals, 18 new BEST projects and new organisations have been selected under the EU BEST Initiative. Enabling new activities on the ground, these new projects will be implemented in European Outermost regions in Amazonia, Caribbean, Macaronesia and the Indian Ocean.

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Latin America and the Caribbean has a varied, vibrant and growing experience in implementing the IUCN Green List. In this sense, and with the start of the Green List Amazon project this year, a series of virtual meetings were held in June. Over 500 experts and interested public from the region exchanged experiences and lessons learned about its implementation and benefits of getting involved. 

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On 18 June, the first exam for the online Certificate on Protected Area Conservation was held. The Certificate is granted by Senghor University. 26 students had the opportunity to test-drive the system, and a good number of them succeeded.

What is it about? Students who completed all PAPACO MOOCs and one IFDD’s three MOOCs (Sustainable development, Environmental law or Economy and environmental management) may sit a single exam that includes all topics. If they succeed, they will receive a Certificate on Protected Area Conservation from Senghor University.

Learn more about our MOOCs at mooc-conservation.org

We know that connecting with nature offers many health benefits, from releasing stress to improved mental and physical health. But more and more, we are realizing that simply listening to the sounds of nature can also have similar benefits. 

There is also a growing realization that recording nature’s sounds is an important component of nature conservation. It is a way for scientists, conservationists and biologists to track how ecosystems change.

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The latest edition of IUCN’s Marine News magazine is out. This magazine comprises a colourful roundup of all the main marine and polar activities from across IUCN, including regional offices and IUCN Commissions. This issue reports on IUCN’s work on marine plastics, climate change, sustainable financing solutions, high seas governance and deep sea mining to name just a few.

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In June 2020, IUCN WCPA Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group released Version 2.0 of the ‘Diagnostic tool for transboundary conservation planners: Suggested questions to determine feasibility for transboundary conservation’. The Diagnostic tool is a valuable asset in supporting the decision-making process in establishing and implementing transboundary conservation initiatives that might ultimately lead to the institutionalization of transboundary conservation, i.e., the establishment of Transboundary Conservation Area.

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Le patrimoine mondial naturel en Afrique: ce rapport offre une synthèse des principales informations sur la mise en oeuvre de la Convention sur le patrimoine mondial en Afrique, ainsi que des orientations sur la façon dont la Convention peut contribuer aux efforts mondiaux en faveur de la conservation et au développement durable à l’avenir.

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The NAPA n°143 presents some ideas to improve the governance and management of protected areas in Africa, in the light of the current COVID crisis.

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La NAPA n°143 présente quelques pistes pour améliorer la gestion et la gouvernance des aires protégées d'Afrique, à la lueur de la crise du COVID.

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The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has prepared thematic studies in colloboration with IUCN Protected Area staff, in support of the report titled "The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture". The objectives of these thematic studies were to review available knowledge and experience in addressing key issues relevant to the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, and to identify actions required, including research needs and priorities.

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Humanity’s relationship with the natural world is more important than ever. At the IUCN Congress, experts showcase the latest conservation science, policy and best practice. IUCN’s government, civil society and indigenous peoples’ Member organisations vote to set priorities for nature conservation and sustainable development actions for the decades ahead.

IUCN and France have postponed the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020 to 7-15 January 2021. Registration for the IUCN World Conservation Congress is now open here.

To receive IUCN Congress updates, subscribe here.

The Call for Proposals for Rapid Response Grants of the BIOPAMA Action Component will run until 31 December 2020. These grants aim at increasing the resilience of protected areas and local communities’ livelihoods facing the risks and difficulties of the global COVID-19 pandemic in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. It is aimed that the final decision on awarding the grant will be taken within 6 weeks of the receipt of proposals.

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As part of Vital Sites: The Journey to Marseille, we will be co-hosting a four-part webinar series on protected area management effectiveness.

22 July, 2020 - Exploration of approaches and tools used in Protected Area Management Effectiveness from around the world

23 July 2020 - Closing the loop: ensuring management effectiveness assessments lead to better conservation outcomes

29 July 2020 - IUCN Green List: achieving success in nature conservation

30 July 2020 - From local to global: the use of management effectiveness information to improve global targets and actions for conservation of nature

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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