Africa Ocean Forum Concludes with Promising Outcomes for Ocean Conservation and Governance

This document was developed by the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) to build global capacity to save biodiversity and share and understanding of what effective species conservation planning looks like. The document contains 7 fundamental principles and 8 practical steps, and presents a succinct philosophy and framework for good species planning based on CPSG’s over 40 years of experience in species conservation planning. USER GUIDE SIMPLE AND CLEAR USER GUIDE TO THE BASIC PRINCIPLES AND PROCESS OF

The IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) has developed several tools and resources to support planning. Teams are available to support this approach, including the use of modelling tools. Training in species conservation planning tools and processes is available through a combination of in-person and online courses. Training results in a certificate of completion. Extended mentoring opportunities also exist.

The One Plan Approach: requires that all available resources, all stakeholders and all populations of a species, are considered in conservation planning process. This approach is particularly effective at bringing together ex situ and in situ wildlife conservation practitioners and tools. Through CPSG, teams are available to support groups to apply this approach, which may include the application of the IUCN SSC Ex situ Guidelines as well as databases and modelling tools produced and maintained through key partners such Species360 and the Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative.

Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA): is a specific approach that integrates population viability analysis (PVA) into stakeholder-inclusive, multi-disciplinary planning projects. The PVA element helps all stakeholders to understand more a species’ life-history, threats, and the likely efficacy of potential conservation strategies. Facilitator-modeller teams are available through CPSG, to support groups to apply this approach.

Assess to Plan (A2P): is a process designed to bridge the gap between Red List assessment and conservation planning, for speciose groups. Using Red List data, assessors and other experts identify pathways to conservation action for taxa assessed as Threatened or Data Deficient. Outputs include recommendations for further planning or action for multi-species groups of taxa that can be expected to respond favourably to the same kinds of conservation action taken in the same areas and/or by the same groups of conservation actors.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, was adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) on 17 June 2022. It prohibits harmful fisheries subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks.

Members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiations on outstanding issues with a view to making recommendations by MC13 for additional provisions to further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund The Fund was established in 2008 with an initial endowment of €25,000,000 to: Provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives; Recognize leaders in the field of species conservation; and Elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate. The Fund provides small grants to boots-on-the-ground, in-the-field species conservation projects for the world’s most threatened species.

The Fund is open to applications for funding support from all parts of the world for direct conservation projects focused on threatened plant, animal, and fungus species. Grants are awarded according to criteria set by the Species Fund, and are for a maximum of $25,000.

The Vulture Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission gathers and collates data on historical and current incidents of wildlife poisoning to assess the scope and impact of this threat to vultures and other scavenging birds and wildlife on the African continent. The Database is accompanied by a map of poisoning incidents in Africa. A  webform and a data submission template have been designed to facilitate simple uploading of records of poisoning incidents.

BIOFIN was initiated ten years ago at CBD COP 11 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the European Commission in response to the urgent global need to divert more finance from all possible sources towards global and national biodiversity goals. BIOFIN demonstrates how nature-positive economies can work for people and the planet. Now present in 40 countries, BIOFIN is working with governments, civil-society, vulnerable communities, and the private sector to catalyse investments in nature protect and promote biodiversity. The BIOFIN Report: How Can Biodiversity Finance Plans Support NBSAPs? assists countries to develop, update, and implement national Biodiversity Finance Plans (BFPs) in support of their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).

BIOFIN does not provide funds directly. However, BIOFIN has partnered with several other organisations to set up the Finance Resources for Biodiversity (FIRE) platform to collate funding sources for all types of biodiversity projects, including for species. Over 300 funding opportunities for biodiversity conservation, both public and private, are listed. FIRE functions as a one-stop-shop, where a project leader can find a multitude of different opportunities matching specific criteria (country, range of funding, type of entity, etc.). Sources can be sorted using filters. Within the “ecosystems” filter there is an option to select Wildlife / Endangered Species.

How to use

Information on BIOFIN can be accessed at: https://www.biofin.org/

The BIOFIN brochure can be downloaded at: https://www.biofin.org/knowledge-product/biofin-brochure-0

The Report: How Can Biodiversity Finance Plans Support NBSAPs? can be downloaded at: https://www.biofin.org/knowledge-product/how-can-biodiversity-finance-plans-support-nbsaps

The FIRE platform can be accessed at: https://fire.biofin.org/

To obtain information on funding resources for species use the link:  https://fire.biofin.org/?ecosystems=Wildlife++Endangered+Species&name=

The FairWild Foundation’s mission is to enable transformation of natural resource management and business practices to be ecologically, socially, and economically sustainable along the value chains of wild-collected products. The FairWild Standard

includes principles and guidance for use throughout these value chains. Together with its system of certification, it provides assurance of ethical and responsible practices across three dimensions of sustainability – ecological, socio-cultural, and business. The FairWild Standard 3.0 contains 7 Principles and 24 Criteria. Adherence to the FairWild Principles ensures that businesses in value chains for wild harvest ingredients act ethically and sustainably and make a positive contribution to the conservation of biodiversity. The FairWild Standard Performance Indicators outline the factors that contribute to the risk of unsustainable wild collection of target species.

Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the International Association of Botanic Gardens have jointly published the BGCI and IABG Recovery Manual for Plants to guide projects on plant species recovery. The manual sets out the aims and purpose of species recovery and the steps involved, and indicates good practice. The manual is aimed at conservation practitioners but also includes comprehensive bibliographic references, which enable more in depth reading on the topics covered.