Bangladesh launches its first Plant Red List

Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) are defined as discrete portions of habitat important to marine mammal species that have the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation. IMMAs consist of areas that may merit place-based protection and/or monitoring. IMMAs are identified through an independent, expert process.

These Guidelines define terms and set out guidance on the justification, design, and implementation of any reintroduction or conservation translocation, including (i) reinforcement and reintroduction within a species’ indigenous range, and (ii) conservation introductions, comprising assisted colonisation and ecological replacement, outside a species’ indigenous range. The Guidelines focus on conservation translocations, namely a translocation that yields quantifiable conservation benefit. For this purpose, the beneficiaries should be the population or the ecosystem of the translocated species. Translocation needs rigorous justification. Feasibility assessment should include a balance of the conservation benefits against the costs and risks of both the translocation and alternative conservation actions. There are multiple  risks in a translocation, affecting the focal species, their associated communities and ecosystem functions in both source and destination areas; there are also risks around human concerns. Any proposed translocation should have a comprehensive risk assessment.

How to use

• To download the guidelines: https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/10386
• To seek advice on translocations, and for details of training courses, contact the IUCN SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group at: https://iucn-ctsg.org/
• A comprehensive set of reintroduction case studies covering a wide range of flora and fauna is included in a series of books Reintroduction Perspectives. These are available to download at: https://iucn-ctsg.org/resources/

This WWF report is part their contribution to boosting nature-positive production at scale. The report outlines changes that are needed to create food systems that support rather than exploit nature, with a focus on agricultural production systems. It also feeds into the advocacy for the UNFCCC 26 (Climate CoP). The report highlights that nature positive production of food can and must be part of the solution for addressing biodiversity loss.

The Treaty was developed by FAO. The objectives of the Treaty are the conservation and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food security and agriculture, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use. The Treaty puts 64 of the most important crops that together account for 80% of the food derived from plants into an easily accessible global pool of genetic resources that is freely available to potential users in the Treaty’s ratifying nations for some uses. The Treaty ensures that access to genetic resources already protected by international property rights is consistent with international and national laws.

How to use

The Treaty and further information can be accessed at: https://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/en/

The capacity development strategy of the international treaty 2023–2030 are available at: https://www.fao.org/3/nk298en/nk298en.pdf

Competence frameworks are widely used in many professional sectors, helping to develop capacity by defining and recognising the required skills, knowledge and personal attributes. Registers of competences have been developed within the conservation sector. A global register of competences for threatened species recovery practitioners is a register of competences in the form of a directory of the possible skills, knowledge and personal attributes required by practitioners working in threatened species recovery programmes around the world, in both in-situ and ex-situ contexts. This register has the potential to transform approaches to capacity development within threatened species recovery and help improve the effectiveness of this branch of conservation. Its structure largely follows that of A global register of competences for protected area practitioners (Appleton, 2016).

The TRAFFIC Wildlife Trade Portal is an interactive tool that displays TRAFFIC’s wildlife seizure and incident database. The results are displayed as a list and as a dashboard, showing, for example, a summary in a chart or on a map. Clicking on individual records shows more in-depth information about a specific incident, such as the species, commodities and locations involved. The results can be exported to CSV format for further analysis. Relevant data or files can be uploaded and checked by TRAFFIC before their inclusion in the Portal.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) produced  Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Sustainable Development for biodiversity policymakers and practitioners in developed and developing countries, as well as development co-operation agencies and other national ministries. The report highlights examples of good practice and remaining challenges in four key areas: mainstreaming biodiversity at national level; mainstreaming biodiversity in the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors; development co-operation and biodiversity mainstreaming; and monitoring and evaluating biodiversity mainstreaming. Examples and insights are included from 16 predominantly megadiverse countries which span the full range from high-income to lower-income economies. The national level entry point for biodiversity mainstreaming is important and elements to encourage mainstreaming and its implementation in practice across relevant national plans and strategies.

How to use

The policy highlights report can be downloaded at: https://www.oecd.org/environment/resources/Policy-Highlights-Mainstreaming-Biodiversity-for-Sustainable-Development.pdf

Further information on the OECD is available at: https://www.oecd.org/

These principles were developed by the FAO, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, and the Society for Ecological Restoration to support implementation of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The second edition of was produced by the Society Ecological Restoration in 2019. These Standards provide a guide for everyone involved in restoring degraded ecosystems — whether terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, or marine. They present a robust framework for restoration projects including effective design and implementation. The Standards support development of ecological restoration plans, contracts, consent conditions, and monitoring and auditing criteria. The Standards establish eight principles that underpin ecological restoration and recommend performance measures for restoration activities for industries, communities, and governments to consider. The second edition also includes an expanded glossary of restoration terminology.

The Convention on Biological Diversity’s Ecosystem Approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water, and living resources to promote conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. It is the primary framework for such action under the CBD and it contains 12 core principles. The Ecosystem Approach Sourcebook contains a Beginner’s Guide, Advanced Guide, Tools and resources, a Case Study Database, and Operational guidance for applying the 12 principles of the Ecosystem Approach.

How to use

To access the EA Sourcebook and operational guides: https://www.cbd.int/ecosystem/

To download and subscribe to the CBD Ecosystem Newsletter: https://www.cbd.int/ecosystem/ea-newsletters/

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.

This document is a directory of the skills, knowledge and personal attributes required by practitioners working in threatened species recovery programmes, in both in-situ and ex-situ contexts. Its structure consists of 19 categories of competence arranged in three main groups: Planning, Management and  Administration; Threatened Species Recovery; and General Personal Competences. Within each of the three categories, specific competences are defined for up to four professional levels: Executive, Senior Manager, Middle Manager/Technical Specialist and Skilled Worker.

The Declaration is a comprehensive instrument detailing the rights of indigenous peoples in international law and policy. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, wellbeing and rights of the world’s indigenous peoples.

The Declaration addresses both individual and collective rights; cultural rights and identity; rights to education, health, employment, language, and others. It outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them.

It also ensures their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own priorities in economic, social and cultural development. The Declaration explicitly encourages harmonious and cooperative relations between States and indigenous peoples.