WCC 2020 Res 080 - Activity Report

The IUCN WCPA OECM Specialist group held a number of webinars, consultations and workshops on OECMs globally in 2023 to develop a common understanding of the OECM criteria established in CBD decision 14/8.

The IUCN WCPA OECM Specialist Group aimed to broaden the effective global expertise on OECMs to promote IUCN guidance. To that end, regional expert groups for Latin America, Europe and Africa and thematic groups for Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems were established in 2023. In addition, a consultative group for all NGOs to share ideas, tools and expertise was also formed.

A significant achievement of the IUCN WCPA OECM Specialist Group in 2023 was the publication of the “Site-level tool for identifying other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)” (Jonas, H.D., MacKinnon, K., Marnewick, D. and Wood, P., 2023. Site-level tool for identifying other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): Gland, Switzerland. https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/51296). This responds to the expressed needs of government, private entities, NGO and Indigenous and community groups for a clear, criteria-based tool to identify OECMs. This responds to a request from the CBD for IUCN to provide additional guidance. This document is now available in English, French, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese, and Mandarin.