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Message from the Chair
Working alongside the Government of Rwanda, Africa Wildlife Foundation and the IUCN ESARO, IUCN WCPA successfully convened the First African Protected Areas Congress (APAC) in Kigali, Rwanda between July 18th and 23rd, 2022. The region’s leaders, practitioners and decision-makers from government, civil society, Indigenous Peoples and youth came together to collectively address some of the most pressing challenges facing area-based conservation in Africa. This was an exciting and inspiring event and we hope that the energy, enthusiasm and excitement generated in Kigali are maintained to deliver commitments for effective conservation. WCPA is committed to working with partners in the region to support implementation of follow up actions. Also at APAC, WCPA was proud to co-host the International Ranger awards in partnership with Conservation Allies, International Ranger Federation and Re:Wild, recognizing 12 winners from four continents, including five winners from Africa.
As nations around the world prepare for the upcoming Biodiversity and Climate conferences, this Congress helped to collectively build African momentum with bold commitments for the recovery of nature, setting an ambitious agenda for fair and effective biodiversity conservation for this coming decade and beyond. There’s much at stake and much work to do in the next few months with many WCPA members expected to attend the Biodiversity COP 15 meetings in Montreal in December.
In addition to the APAC, WCPA leaders have been busy with other fora such as the UN Oceans Conference. This Bulletin has other exciting news on updated Terms of Reference for the Governance, Equity and Rights Specialist Group, Vital Sites Seminars and upcoming celebrations of protected and conserved areas in the Latin America and Caribbean regions. Hope you enjoy this edition.
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Madhu Rao, Chair
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
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Biodiversity COP 15, Montreal, December 7–19, 2022
The upcoming Biodiversity COP 15 will be the second part of the UN Biodiversity Conference. This conference will finalise the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that was drafted earlier and revised through Open-Ended Working Groups. WCPA will be actively engaged here and will host side events as well. Click here for IUCN WCPA guidance related to the Framework and Draft Target 3.
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Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC), Kigali, July 18–23, 2022
WCPA co-hosted the 1st Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) and sponsored three Young Professionals from Africa to attend. The Congress was a major success, with over 2,400 participants from 53 countries and important regional representatives present. WCPA hosted the International Ranger Awards here as well, supported by Conservation Allies, International Ranger Federation, and Re:Wild; we awarded 12 winners from four continents, including five from Africa.
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Gold Medal: Society of Women Geographers
The Society of Woman Geographers (SWG) is thrilled to announce the recipient of its prestigious Gold Medal: Dr. Mechtild Rössler, a long-term member of WCPA, who pioneered a global understanding of the importance of protecting natural and cultural heritage during her 30-year career at UNESCO. She will receive it on October 15, 2022. Previous recipients include Sylvia Earle and Jane Goodall.
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Celebration of Protected and Conserved Areas in Latin America and the Caribbean
"The Celebration" (en español) fosters participation in activities for protected and conserved areas in Latin America and the Caribbean that support their natural and cultural value, sustaining processes towards social welfare and sustainable development. To guide people and strengthen capacities, we designed a series of self-paced training modules as well. Registrations are open until 17 October.
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U P D A T E S F R O M S P E C I A L I S T G R O U P S
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OECMs SG: OECM Site-Assessment Tool Feedback Request
In May, the SG shared a new draft of the assessment tool for evaluating potential OECM sites. We would like to draw on experiences in testing that tool in order to make further refinements as necessary. Please send any comments and feedback to wcpa.mitalisharma@gmail.com and cc wcpaoecm@wcpa.iucn.org by November 30, 2022.
For more information on OECMs, visit our site.
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Governance, Equity and Rights SG: TORs Updated
The Specialist Group has adopted amended Terms of Reference to guide its work over the coming years (English only, Spanish and French to follow).
Any WCPA member interested in gaining more information about the WCPA Specialist Group on Governance, Equity and Rights, or to join our dedicated email list, please get in touch with any co-chair or advisor (named in the TORs).
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Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas SG: Sacred Mountains of the World
A substantially updated 2nd edition of Sacred Mountains of the World by CSVPA Co-Chair Edwin Bernbaum has been published. It provides useful information for those who recognize the need to take the spiritual and cultural significance of nature into account when doing research and protecting the environment.
Another upcoming book from members is 'Religion and Nature Conservation: Global Case Studies'.
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Climate Change SG: Bonn Climate Change Conference, June 6–16, 2022
WCPA was represented by Virginia Young from this SG at the Bonn Climate Change Conference. Her main goal was to introduce the new ecosystem accounting framework SEEA, which is an important new tool that fills a gap in current accounting approaches. Her full report can be found here.
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Sustainable Finance SG: PA Business Planning Webinar in South East Asia
The SG facilitated a PA Business Planning Webinar for Southeast Asian countries in September. The purpose was to build readiness in creating protected area business plans. There were 62 participants from the Philippines, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and the United Kingdom. For more information on this, contact the Co-Chair of this SG, Charles Besancon, at charles.besancon@gmail.com. For general information on the Sustainable Finance SG, visit their site.
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U P D A T E S F R O M T A S K F O R C E S
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Beyond the Aichi Targets/Nature Beyond 2020 TF: Change in Leadership and Updated Website
The TF has had a change in leadership; from August 4, 2022 through Biodiversity COP 15, Stephen Woodley will serve as Interim Chair. Marie-Eve Marchand will continue to be responsible for Business Management and Strategies with a focus on Quebec. Harvey Locke will be on a leave of absence so he can serve as Special Advisor to Canada's Chief Negotiator for the Global Biodiversity Framework until the end of January 2023.
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Additionally, the TF has compiled a website with a comprehensive range of WCPA and related publications relevant to the CBD's Global Biodiversity Framework. If you see any missing material you would like to add, please send a link to woodleysj@gmail.com.
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U P D A T E S F R O M R E G I O N S
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WCPA Central and West Africa: "Les AMCEs (OECMs): qu'est-ce que c'est ? Qu'est-ce qui compte?" Webinaire
Le premier webinaire "Sites vitaux" sur les AMCEs (OECMs) pour les francophones sera animé par cette région le 19 octobre à 13h00 UTC (GMT+0:00). Ce webinaire examine les opportunités et les défis de la mise en œuvre du cadre AMCE et la nécessité de parler un langage commun sur ce qu'ils signifient et comment ils sont mis en œuvre, en mettant l'accent sur les pays francophones d’Afrique. Le lien d'inscription se trouve ici.
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U P D A T E S F R O M T H E M E S
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Marine: UN Oceans Conference, Lisbon, June 27–July 1, 2022
WCPA members participated in many fora at the second UN Oceans Conference this year, including discussions on 30x30 and many others. The Conference concluded with the political declaration "Our ocean, our future, our responsibility", calling for reinforcing and accelerating the development of global agreements on the high seas and Post 2020-Global Biodiversity Framework, and more.
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Marine: 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress, IMPAC5
IMPAC5, to be held in Vancouver, Canada, February 3–9, 2023, is the ultimate MPA congress to join efforts to strengthen best practices in the creation and management of MPAs and promote the conservation of marine biodiversity and cultural heritage of the oceans. Currently, WCPA is supporting Canada in developing the programme, the Leadership Forum and selecting the host of IMPAC6.
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Capacity Development: Universal Ranger Support Alliance (URSA)
URSA (WCPA is a founder) and WCPA held events to discuss ranger initiatives during the Asia Parks Congress and APAC. Following advocacy from WCPA, the Kigali Call to Action included clear commitments to rangers. An ongoing series of online workshops on the code of conduct has attracted over 300 participants from the Americas, Africa, and Oceania.
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World Heritage and Primary Forests: Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG), Nairobi, June 21–26, 2022
WCPA was represented at the OEWG by Virginia Young from this Thematic Group. Her goals were to: 1) Hold and increase support for language on primary forests in Target 1 or perhaps Target 8; 2) Ensure that Target 8 reflects the synergies and priorities identified at the IPBES/IPCC workshop and reinforced by IPCC WG’s 111 and 11. She says these will require considerable follow up to achieve.
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U P D A T E S F R O M T H E Y P N E T W O R K
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Aligned with the newly released IUCN Youth Strategy, WCPA has upheld our engagement with Youths and Young Professionals (YP) (ages 18–35). Earlier this year, WCPA recruited YP Regional Focal Points to work with our Regional Vice Chairs on projects in their regions and coordinate regional YP engagement. WCPA also sponsored 8 YPs from Asia to attend the Asia Parks Congress and 3 YPs to attend the APAC. WCPA also organized and co-hosted the Youth Pavilions at both the Asia and Africa congresses focused on youth and YP empowerment in conservation and protected areas. To learn more, contact the YP Network Coordinator at wcpa.drage@gmail.com.
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About this Bulletin
The ABC Bulletin is by, for and about the members of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas. It is a vehicle for us to communicate major progress amongst ourselves, and for the Chair to provide important updates. The scope is limited to items specific to the activities of the Commission itself. Other conservation news should continue to be submitted to the Protecting the Planet newsletter, published monthly by IUCN’s Protected and Conserved Areas Team.
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Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh.
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