The first hybrid in-person and virtual environmental event since the pandemic began, the Congress will drive action on nature-based recovery, climate change and biodiversity post-2020.

This September we can get humanity’s relationship with nature back on the right path. Governments, NGOs, indigenous peoples, businesses, experts and advocates come together for nature.

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June 2021 will see our Vital Sites platform host a number of exciting events, including a three-part series on Privately Protected Areas and a PANORAMA Solutions Webinar on Sierra de Guadarrama in Spain.

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We mark this year's International Day for Biological Diversity at a time of upheaval, in the midst of a continuing pandemic, a fast-changing climate, with biodiversity in steep decline. At the same time, we know that halting biodiversity loss is possible, and that it can open the way to a more serene, sustainable future.

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With the publication of the Protected Planet report by IUCN and UNEP-WCMA, IUCN welcomes the enormous progress made, particularly over the last decade, with protected areas covering a growing proportion of the globe. As biodiversity continues to decline, IUCN Director General Dr Bruno Oberle now calls for Parties at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming to set an ambitious target that will ensure protected area coverage of 30% of land, freshwater and ocean by 2030 - and these areas must be placed optimally to protect the diversity of life on Earth and be effectively managed and equitably.

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The United States, United Kingdom, Chile, Costa Rica, and France have announced a new global partnership to advance the role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a nature-based solution in the fight against climate change. The announcement comes ahead of the United Nations climate change (COP 26) and biodiversity (COP 15) conferences later this year.

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As the conservation community marks World Dugong Day on 28 May 2021, we recognise the stellar contribution of Sathish Sundaram, who has rescued numerous dolphins and dugongs from fishing nets and strandings in the Gulf of Mannar. He maintains close contact with local communities and has enlisted the help of fishers and local people to protect dugongs and their habitats.

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Ras Mohamed National Park, the cape that forms the southernmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula, has fascinated the world's diving community for decades. Established in 1983 as the first National Park in Egypt, it became among the first sites in Egypt to be on the IUCN Green List, globally recognised for its effective management and fair governance in 2018.

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Established in 1959 under the Multiple Land Use Model (MLUM), Ngorongoro Conservation Area combines three management objectives: conservation of wildlife, promotion of pastoralists’ development and fostering tourism sector. As a unique place where wildlife coexists with semi-nomadic Maasai pastoralists, challenges of population growth and land use change have necessitated the revision of the MLUM for enhancing NCA’s management strategy.

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The Alvarado Lagoon System area in Veracruz is the second largest mangrove zone in the Gulf of Mexico, providing various benefits such as water provision, disaster risk reduction, and habitat for species. The use of two government schemes - private conservation areas & communal environmental management areas - for the protection and sustainable use of mangroves has been fundamental to enhance the restoration of a considerable area of wetlands.

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While governments are allocating funds to recover their economies from the COVID-19 pandemic, nature has been largely neglected in existing stimulus packages. Unless much more stimulus is redirected to initiatives that protect and restore nature, recovery investments risk exacerbating the biodiversity and climate crises and so ultimately undermining economies in the future.

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For all of its novelty, COVID-19 is yet another iteration of a century-old trend. Since 1918, seven pandemics have caused the deaths of over 70 million people. Each one started with a virus that spilled over from animals, mainly from wildlife, to people. By clearing rainforests, trading wildlife, and raising domestic animals in close proximity to wildlife, we have created opportunities for viruses with pandemic potential to spill over to humans.

Our broken relationship with nature is the spark that ignites pandemics.

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La mise en place d'aire marine éducative, dite AME, est une initiative du Ministère de l'Education de Polynésie française, au travers de sa Direction Générale de l'Education et des Enseignements, à laquelle la Fédération Te Ora Naho (FAPE) s'est associée en 2017. La labellisation AME permet aux élèves de faire le lien entre culture polynésienne, savoirs scientifiques et préservation du littoral.

La FAPE a bénéficié d’une aide financière, dans le cadre du programme #BEST 2.0 en 2018 afin de déployer 5 AME à Tahiti (Mahina, Arue, Vairao, Punaauia) et Raroia.

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Many programmes and actions have been addressed to halt the loss of biodiversity and several conservation actions aim to control invasive species, protect threatened species, strengthen genetic variability and restore degraded habitat and landscapes. Learn how BIOPAMA is involved in these efforts around the world, through this multimedia-rich StoryMap.

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BIOPAMA recently awarded a 12-month grant to Ol Pejeta Conservancy to fund digitised data collection and construction of a new visitor management facility on the Conservancy. The first priority action will address the problem by shifting to a digital data collection system, supported by building staff capacity to competently implement it.

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The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) together with the IUCN Oceania Regional Office and the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) co-organised and delivered an online virtual training workshop on Introduction to the Global Database on Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME) and related data flows.

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MOOC Conservation students who are willing and who match the criteria may sit an extra exam and stand a chance to receive an Online Certificate in Protected Area Conservation from Senghor University. The third exam will take place on 17 June 2021.

Criteria: having successfully completed all the MOOC Conservation courses, and having access to a computer and an internet connection.

 If you wish to participate, please fill out this form.

We have one ocean, but the way it is protected and governed is splintered. We urgently need to create a better system, with collaboration at the heart of it. The IUCN Green List team is taking part in the Action Labs of The Ocean Race Summit Europe on 16 June 2021 to talk about MPA effectiveness. With confirmed participation of Dr Imen Meliane and other guest speakers.

Tune in to the live stream on the day here.

Learn more about The Ocean Race here and the Summits here.

The Pathfinder Award is designed to recognise outstanding solutions for protected and conserved areas developed and implemented by individuals, organisations or groups. The second iteration of the Pathfinder Award will highlight sites that demonstrate the successful and innovative generation of conservation and sustainable development co-benefits as it relates to health, climate and land management.

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Join passionate people involved in protecting our planet and share your love of a special protected or conserved area with the #NatureForAll People of Parks campaign.

Record a short video explaining why you love and protect nature and share it using the hashtag #NatureForAll.

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IUCN recommends two new inscriptions on the World Heritage List for sites in Georgia and Japan. Both places harbour a rich diversity of plant and animal species, many of which endemic. IUCN’s advice is part of a first release of documents by UNESCO for the 44th World Heritage meeting, taking place online from 16 to 31 July and hosted by China. A second set of recommendations will be issued later this month.

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More than 15,000 voices from over 170 countries spoke as one for nature during the IUCN One Nature, One Future Global Youth Summit. This huge virtual gathering featured more than 500 events, such as intergenerational plenary dialogues, thematic workshops, networking sessions, yoga, and informal meet-ups.

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The May 2021 issue of PARKS commences with an Editorial Essay that considers how protected and conserved areas can contribute to more ambitious conservation outcomes within the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. This issue also features papers on specific conservation efforts in Africa, Asia, the Americas, as well as the theme of equitable and effective area-based conservation.

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This pioneering, action-oriented guidance publication identifies myriad ways in which effective area-based conservation can be a pro-active tool for delivering SDGs. It documents 30 detailed case studies that illustrate how existing protected and conserved areas around the world are already delivering various SDGs in practice.

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This report presents the activities, results, challenges and lessons learned of the third phase of Connecting Practice, a joint project by ICOMOS and IUCN, both advisory bodies on World Heritage. Since its inception in 2013, Connecting Practice has provided a unique innovation platform for developing and testing new ideas to harness the interconnection of natural and cultural values of heritage landscapes and seascapes

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The new World Bank report, “Banking on Protected Areas: Promoting Sustainable Protected Area Tourism to Benefit Local Communities,” is being launched on June 14, 2021. The report estimates the economic impact of tourism in protected areas on the local economies and makes the case that the promotion of sustainable tourism in protected areas should be actively included in economic development and recovery strategies given its ability to support economic growth, generate jobs and conserve biodiversity.

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IUCN, through the BIOPAMA, BEST and Save our Species programmes and their partners are working with the local and national actors towards a sustainable future. Conserving nature is a non- negotiable prerequisite for achieving a more prosperous, just and equitable world. This stand will also present our solutions and success stories to tackle the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nature, people and their livelihoods.

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Bringing to life IUCN’s publication, Guidelines on Privately Protected Areas, this session will focus on PPA permanence, issues related to specific subtypes, and coordination with national protected area networks.

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Four showcase sessions will be held virtually on the following dates:

16 June 2021 - Regional Resource Hub Key Updates
23 June 2021 - Input Data into the RRH and Analytical Tools for protected areas  management and biodiversity conservation 
30 June 2021 - Outputs from the RRH that act as drivers of Knowledge to action 
7 July 2021 - What to look out for

Each session will be held mid-morning at 1100hrs to 1300hrs East African Time, with simultaneous interpretation from English to Portuguese and French and vice versa.

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This webinar will introduce the participants to the PANORAMA solution from Spain's Sierra de Guadarrama National Park. Speakers will present a set of tools to identify, compare and balance different visions, preferences, and tensions for protected areas management and power relations between stakeholders in order to move towards better social engagement in conservation governance.

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Join our upcoming webinar, which will feature exemplary PANORAMA Solutions and make the link with the decisions that will be taken later this year at UN Convention on Biodiversity COP15. We will also discuss PANORAMA’s potential for capacity development, knowledge management, and implementation in the context of the new post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Participants in this online seminar will learn how PANORAMA works, find out how to contribute to and benefit from the partnership.

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L’Observatoire des forêts d’Afrique centrale (OFAC) présente un bilan actualisé de l’état des aires protégées dans les dix pays membres de la Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC).

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The Central African Forests Observatory (OFAC) presents an updated assessment of the state of protected areas in the ten member countries of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC).

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Bringing to life IUCN’s publication, Guidelines on Privately Protected Areas, this session will focus on recording PPAs in the World Database of Protected Areas, the role of PPA networks, and PPAs in post-2020 targets.

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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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