WWF International

It has become clear during recent global deliberations on biodiversity conservation that achieving Protected Area (PA) financial sustainability will require major changes in the way that PA funding is conceptualized, captured and used.

IUCN, WWF and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed this guidebook to assist marine protected area (MPA) managers in assessing the performance of their MPA. Based on this assessment, it shows how necessary changes can be made to improve management measures.

There is today a growing awareness that many wetlands are more valuable in their natural, or only slightly modified state, than if drained, dyked or built upon. Past neglect of wetlands has meant that there is insufficient material available on policy guidance, planning techniques, or management methodologies for their conservation and sustainable use in different regions.

There is today a growing awareness that many wetlands are more valuable in their natural, or only slightly modified state, than if drained, dyked or built upon. Past neglect of wetlands has meant that there is insufficient material available on policy guidance, planning techniques, or management methodologies for their conservation and sustainable use in different regions.

The workshop was hosted by WWF Caucasus Programme Office and was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, 31 May – 2 June 2008. During the three day workshop, the participants agreed on a long-term vision for the conservation of the leopard in the Caucasus ecoregion as: “Leopards and all wildlife prosper in natural habitats across the Caucasus ecoregion in harmony with people”.

Over the last few years, two key environmental issues, closely related, have been on the top of the environmental agenda: climate change and deforestation. Forest is a subject for these two concerns. Deforestation, estimated at above 13 millions hectares a year, or an area roughly equivalent to the size of Greece, has immediate consequence in terms detraction of livelihoods for people, increased carbon emissions, and loss of biological diversity to mention few.