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WCC 2012 Res 019 - Activity Report

Submitted by Nisha.OWEN on Thu, 11/28/2019 - 16:14
General Information
Halting the loss of evolutionarily distinct lineages
IUCN Constituent: 
395427E4-F0EC-435D-81F6-158B5460544B
Period covered: 
2019
Geographic scope: 
Global
In implementing this Resolution your organization has worked/consulted with...
IUCN Members: 
Zoological Society of London ( ZSL ) / United Kingdom
IUCN Commissions: 
455DC7B3-D2A1-E611-B6EC-005056BA6623
IUCN Secretariat: 
No
Other non-IUCN related organisations: 
On the EDGE Conservation, Australian Museum
Implementation
Indicate and briefly describe any actions that have been carried out to implement this Resolution: 
ActionDescriptionStatus
Convene stakeholders/NetworkingThe IUCN SSC Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force was established in 2019, with global representation. On-going
FundraisingOn the EDGE Conservation is in the process of developing a small grants programme with the SSC Chair's Office to support assessment of high-ED species, re-assessment of EDGE species, and conservation action plan for EDGE species. On-going
Policy influencing/advocacyTask Force members worked to incorporate PD and EDGE into the IPBES Global Assessment 2019 and executive summary for policy-makers. Completed
Please report on the result /achievement of the actions taken: 
The Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force's aim is to provide leadership and guidance on the inclusion of phylogenetic diversity in conservation strategies. By providing the necessary scientific and technical expertise, we will promote wider adoption and greater understanding of this approach by conservation practitioners, decision-makers, and the public.
IPBES Global Assessment (2019) officially recognised phylogenetic diversity as an indicator of one of ‘Nature’s contributions to people’, NCP 18: maintenance of options; and used the EDGE metric to estimate expected PD losses.
What challenges have you encountered in implementing this Resolution and what measures have you taken to overcome them?: 
The primary barrier to the conservation of evolutionarily distinct lineages is the understanding of why these are important and how to identify them for conservation planning and practice, which the Task Force aims to overcome through education and expertise.
Identify and briefly describe what future actions are planned for the implementation of this Resolution: 
Future ActionDescription
Education/Communication/Raising awarenessProduce guidance documents that will address current challenges to the use of PD-based metrics (e.g. the EDGE metric) to inform conservation, through consultation with other Specialist Groups, interested academics and practitioners.
Policy influencing/advocacyDevelop and support knowledge-exchange and consultation between academics, practitioners and policy-makers interested in conserving evolutionary history, such as in the CBD Post-2020 Framework, through IPBES, and applied to the KBA prioritisation process.
Scientific/technical activitiesCompile information on the applied use of PD in conservation around the world to assess the current extent of application of PD-based metrics. Identify gaps in knowledge or application of PD-based metrics and encourage the scientific and conservation community to undertake scientific research and conservation applications to address these.
Additional Information
External link(s): 
Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force