WCC 2012 Res 019 - Activity Report

On the Edge hosts the IUCN SSC Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force established in 2019, with global representation.

On the Edge hosted and presented in a symposium on ‘Safeguarding evolutionary history to secure a better future: the role of the Tree of Life in global
biodiversity policy and practice’, at the Society for Conservation Biology 2021, alongside several IUCN SSC PDTF members.

On the Edge was a lead partner in the SSC Reverse the Red Pavilion at the World Conservation Congress in 2021. As part of this, On the Edge hosted a panel discussion on 7 September 2021, on ‘Conserving the Tree of Life’. On the Edge also developed and produced two short videos, Saving the Tree of Life and The Weird, the Wonderful and the Overlooked, demonstrating the applied use of PD in conservation, for the Pavilion screening.

On the Edge undertook the first in a series of Regional Campaigns in 2021, committing £228,000 over 3 years to conservation of EDGE species and important landscapes in the Western Ghats, India. In parallel we supported local storytellers to produce communications and awareness raising mini-documentaries highlighting the little-known species, habitats, and conservationists in the region.

On the Edge has funded an internal grants programme, commencing in 2020, with the SSC Chair's Office to support the assessment of high-ED species, re-assessment of EDGE species, and conservation action plans for EDGE species. In 2020-2021 we committed a total of $136,530, supporting 15 SSC groups, and we estimate it will benefit 18 EDGE species and 429 ED species, including under-represented taxa such as plants, fungi and reptiles with a focus on range state involvement.

On the Edge is committed to supporting the conservation of EDGE species. Between 2018 - 2021, we have disbursed almost £1m in grant funds towards science and conservation projects on these species. These grants covered activities in 14 countries and 7 EDGE zones, predominantly in the global south. Projects contributed to the conservation of at least 23 EDGE species, plus an additional 21 threatened but non-EDGE species.

On the Edge has actively engaged with national-level stakeholders in the UK, including participating in several workshops organised by the Government Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) who invited NGOs to provide their views on the CBD monitoring framework. In 2020, On the Edge hosted a virtual parliamentary panel event, featuring Al Gore, David Lammy, Zac Goldsmith, Jonathan Baillie, Nisha Owen, hosted by Ayesha Hazarika, on the biodiversity crisis; as well as convening 9 UK organisations to write to the Minister for the Environment to call for a focus on evolutionarily distinct species and lineages.

On the Edge, as host and part of the IUCN SSC Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force is working towards incorporating PD and EDGE into the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and has attended the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) and Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) virtual meetings.

As part of the PDTF, On the Edge has contributed to the production of the expected PD loss indicator and EDGE Index, both proposed for inclusion in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) post-2020 global biodiversity framework. These indicators fill an important current gap in the draft monitoring framework relating to Nature’s Contributions to People.

On the Edge has led scientific research into EDGE Zones, in collaboration with ZSL, to identify regions of the world that are particularly important for evolutionary history and EDGE species. These regions will form the focus of our strategic grant-making and communications in future.