WCC 2016 Res 087 - Activity Report

Submitted by Graeme.WORBOYS on Fri, 01/05/2018 - 19:20

General Information

Awareness of connectivity conservation definition and guidelines

IUCN Constituent:

0807BCBC-EC6D-E711-B126-005056BA6623

IUCN Constituent type:

IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas 2017-2020

Period covered:

2017

Geographic scope:

Global

In implementing this Resolution your organization has worked/consulted with...

IUCN Members:

Centre Régional de Recherche et d`Education pour un Développement Intégré ( CREDI ) / Benin

Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas ( IPE ) / Brazil

Canadian Council on Ecological Areas ( CCEA ) / Canada

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society ( CPAWS ) / Canada

The Nature Conservancy of Canada ( NCC ) / Canada

Asociación Centro Científico Tropical ( CCT ) / Costa Rica

Fundación Pro-Bosque ( FPB ) / Ecuador

Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine ( FoProBiM ) / Haiti

The Corbett Foundation ( TCF ) / India

Wildlife Institute of India ( WII ) / India

Wildlife Trust of India ( WTI ) / India

1FA5712D-B8A3-E011-96D3-002655853524

Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature ( RSCN ) / Jordan

African Wildlife Foundation - Kenya HQ ( AWF ) / Kenya

Nature Kenya - The East Africa Natural History Society ( EANHS ) / Kenya

Hustai National Park Trust / Mongolia

9A9A7E6D-B307-E411-AC33-002655853524

Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd ( SFCSB ) / Malaysia

Rewilding Europe ( RE ) / The Netherlands

National Trust for Nature Conservation ( NTNC ) / Nepal

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ( ICIMOD ) / Nepal

Asociación Peruana para la Conservación de la Naturaleza ( APECO ) / Peru

Fundatia Carpati ( CWF ) / Romania

Endangered Wildlife Trust ( EWT ) / South Africa

Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera / Spain

15423A63-B8A3-E011-96D3-002655853524

Tanzania National Parks ( Tanapa ) / Tanzania

Zoological Society of London ( ZSL ) / United Kingdom

The WILD Foundation ( WILD ) / United States of America

World Wildlife Fund - US ( WWF - US ) / United States of America

Conservation International ( CI ) / United States of America

Society for Conservation Biology ( SCB ) / United States of America

The Nature Conservancy ( TNC ) / United States of America

George Wright Society ( GWS ) / United States of America

Wildlife Conservation Society ( WCS ) / United States of America

US Department of the Interior (Fish and Wildlife Service) ( FWS ) / United States of America

Cornell Botanic Gardens / United States of America

Center for Large Landscape Conservation ( CLLC ) / United States of America

Wilburforce Foundation / United States of America

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative ( Y2Y ) / United States of America

1D1BDC4D-BBA3-E011-96D3-002655853524

IUCN Commissions:

F717E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623

F917E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623

FB17E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623

IUCN Secretariat:

Yes

Other non-IUCN related organisations:

The Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group has over 450 members representing 75 countries. There are over 400 institutions represented in this community including large, medium, and small nonprofits, universities, government and indigenous agencies, the private sector, and community-based organizations.

Implementation

Indicate and briefly describe any actions that have been carried out to implement this Resolution:

Action	Description	Status
Convene stakeholders/Networking	In the past year, the CCSG has convened workshops at the International Society for Conservation Biology Meeting (Columbia), the Society for Ecological Restoration Meeting (Brazil), the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (US), the Cambridge Conservation Forum (UK), the National Forum on Landscape Conservation (US), and the Conference on Road Ecology and Climate Change Adaptation (Canada), as well as 2 Online global conference calls. CCSG members have also spoken at numerous conferences and workshops and the leadership continues to recruit new members and solicit feedback on connectivity guidelines. Meetings in Kenya, Tanzania, the UK, Australia, and Bhutan are planned for 2018.	Completed
Convene stakeholders/Networking	The CCSG has recruited a global membership of over 450 connectivity conservation practitioners from 75 countries, as well as a stellar coordinating committee. The CCSG has a regular newsletter, a collaborative worksite on Basecamp, and a website that keeps the membership informed about new advances in connectivity science and relevant case studies (www.conservationcorridor.org/ccsg).	On-going
Education/Communication/Raising awareness	CLLC contracted the production of an animated video to explain what connectivity conservation is and why it is important. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cswQpkHiPOs&t=1s CLLC has also produced two trifolds – one for the CCSG and one for the TWG – which are distributed at member meetings, as well as to prospective members. CCSG Newsletters were sent out in July and October (attachments below). The CCSG website was also updated with case studies of work being done by members. http://conservationcorridor.org/ccsg/connectivity-in-action/	Completed
Fundraising	The Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) has received seed money from IFAW and the Leonardo DiCaprio foundation to pursue a global consultation process on 6 continents around the world to build a constituency to support the new connectivity conservation targets in the next round of the Convention on Biological Diversity.	Completed
Policy influencing/advocacy	One of the most exciting achievements of the year was the input the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC) had on behalf of the CCSG in developing the first ever business call to action for landscape connectivity conservation. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Switzerland, which includes some of the most notable multinational corporations in the world, presented a report stating that business interests pursuing sustainable efforts need to incorporate connectivity conservation.	Completed
Policy influencing/advocacy	The CCSG established a subgroup called the Transport Working Group (TWG), focused specifically on linear infrastructure development such as roads, rail, and canal development in high biodiversity countries. This expert community of transportation planners, engineers and ecologists have already engaged others in India, Gabon, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexicoand Europe. Specifically, this group is engaged with members of the Asian Elephant and Specialist Group and tiger conservationists to develop mitigation recommendations for transport infrastructure to minimize the impact of vehicle and train traffic on endangered species inAsia. It is also in the process of developing trainings for wildlife professionals in Latin America and Asia to mitigate wildlife vehicle collisions. Finally, the leadership of the TWG has developed a working draft outline for a document titled, “Design, Development, and Mitigation Guidance for Transport Systems within Areas of Connectivity Conservation.” The membership of the TWG will be instrumental in writing and editing this guidance document. Lastly, they seek to develop series of case studies of best practices from around the world that can be compiled into a publication or to distribute from the TWG website.	On-going
Policy influencing/advocacy	The leadership of the CCSG has written the draft standards for a new conservation designation called “Areas of Connectivity Conservation” (ACCs). ACCs will protect natural and semi-natural landscapes, fresh-waterscapes, and seascapes that exist outside of the standard protected areas definition. The purpose of the standards is to delineate the definition, types, selection criteria, and governance (including guidance on securing, implementing, and monitoring) of ACCs. These standards will aid on the ground practitioners in linking landscapes, enabling migrations, reducing fragmentation, and sustaining ecosystems.	On-going

Please report on the result /achievement of the actions taken:

Great progress has been made on the draft ACC standards by the core leadership team, and after a global consultation with CCSG members, the ACC standards will be ready for presentation to the IUCN in mid-2018. Over the past year, the membership of the CCSG has grown rapidly, both creating an opportunity for practitioners to share best practices in connectivity conservation, but also creating a community which can champion the ACC standards upon their adoption. The TWG has also made great progress in establishing a scope of work, and in writing an outline for a new guidance document for transportation infrastructure within ACCs.

What challenges have you encountered in implementing this Resolution and what measures have you taken to overcome them?:

The Center for Large Landscape Conservation has been providing the capacity to advance the work of the CCSG. We’ve received no funds from IUCN WCPA for our work and had to raise modest resources to accomplish our work plan. We seek a dedicated point person in the IUCN Secretariat who sees the need to address the ecological connectivity conservation and build conservation networks.

Identify and briefly describe what future actions are planned for the implementation of this Resolution:

Future Action	Description
Convene stakeholders/Networking	The CCSG will continue to build its membership to solicit input on the ACC guidelines and create an interconnected group of global specialists focused on connectivity conservation. Efforts will be made to recruit members from areas not currently represented through on-the-ground meetings in East Africa (Kenya & Tanzania) and Asia (Bhutan and China). Members of this group will lead implementation of ACCs post adoption by the IUCN.
Policy influencing/advocacy	A core team from TWG will be formed to develop a guidance document that informs infrastructure development within ACCs. Guidance will incorporate recommendations on wildlife crossing design, community engagement, best practices, key policies and other pertinent information for both retrofitting existing poorly designed roads and for new construction or re-construction.
Policy influencing/advocacy	After soliciting consultation from around the globe on the draft guidelines for ACCs, the leadership of the CCSG will bring the final ACC standards to the IUCN Governance Council for approval and adoption in mid-2018. Once adopted, we will then be holding global workshops to guide methods for implementation of ACCs and for developing conservation policies often missed by traditional protected area designations.
Policy influencing/advocacy	The CCSG has been asked by the WCPA to develop ambitious targets and goals for the next strategic plan 2020 to 2030 of the Global Convention on Biological Diversity. At present the CBD states that 17% of the world lands and 10% of the world oceans need protection. The WCPA believes these targets are too small and need to be significantly enhanced. As part of a bold vision for nature the WCPA will recommend enhanced targets for PAs and ACCs.

Additional Information

External link(s):

CCSG October Newsletter

CCSG Logo

CCSG Website

Center for Large Landscape Conservation

Connectivity Animation

Log in

Main menu

You are here

WCC 2016 Res 087 - Activity Report