On 11 November 2024, Bangladesh launched its first ‘Plant Red List of Bangladesh’. This list includes 1,000 plant species, assessed to create a comprehensive Red List of plants in Bangladesh, following the Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This is the result of tremendous efforts of around 100 scientists, academics and four renowned professors who served as lead assessors over the past four years.
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Primary tools and resources
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) is an intergovernmental programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves is an interactive network of sites of excellence that foster harmony between people and nature for sustainable development, respect for cultural values, and society’s ability to cope with change. There are 748 biosphere reserves in 134 countries, including 23 transboundary sites. Sites can be proposed by all Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO. Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and designated under the intergovernmental MAB Programme following the decisions of the MAB International Coordinating Council.
How to use
To obtain further information on the MAB programme and existing MAB sites, or to download the Requirements and Nomination forms, visit: https://en.unesco.org/biosphere
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a supplementary international agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003.
The Protocol establishes an advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to the import of such organisms into their territory. The Protocol also establishes a Biosafety Clearing-House to facilitate the exchange of information on living modified organisms and to assist countries in the implementation of the Protocol. The Biosafety Clearing-House is an online platform for exchanging information on living modified organisms and is a key tool for facilitating the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. It includes national information published by countries (primarily Parties to the Protocol) as well as virtual library of biosafety resources, information on different living modified organisms as well as laboratories for their detection.
How to use
Further information on the Cartagena Protocol is available at: https://bch.cbd.int/protocol
The Biosafety Clearing House can be accessed at: https://bch.cbd.int/en/
The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC)
The GSPC – A Plan to Save the World’s Plant Species – highlights the importance of plants and the ecosystem services they provide for all life on earth, and aims to ensure their conservation. The GSPC includes 16 targets for plant conservation. An updated GSPC was formally adopted at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD.
International Ranger Federation Code of Conduct
The mission of the International Ranger Foundation is ‘To develop, advance and promote throughout the world community, the Ranger profession, and its critical role in the conservation of natural and working cultural resources’. The IRF Code of Conduct provides a common definition for a ranger and templates for ranger values and codes of conduct and is available in several languages. The aim is for rangers to uphold the values and commit to the Code of Conduct.
The Sustainable Food Systems Programme
The One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food System (SFS) Programme contributes to a transformation towards sustainable food systems that was called for at the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021. The SFS Programme is a partnership focused on urgent transformation towards sustainable food systems as a critical strategy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The SFS Programme has four objectives and five cross-cutting themes to support its goal of accelerating the shift to sustainable food systems. The Programme has developed a range of tools to providing guidance for the transformation to sustainable food systems.
Planning Principles and Steps
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
IUCN SSC guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence : first edition
As human-wildlife conflicts become more frequent, serious and widespread worldwide, they are notoriously challenging to resolve, and many efforts to address these conflicts struggle to make progress. These Guidelines provide an essential guide to understanding and resolving human-wildlife conflict. The Guidelines aim to provide foundations and principles for good practice, with clear, practical guidance on how best to tackle conflicts and enable coexistence with wildlife. They have been developed for use by conservation practitioners, community leaders, decision-makers, researchers, government officers and others. Focusing on approaches and tools for analysis and decision-making, they are not limited to any particular species or region of the world.
International policy framework for blue carbon ecosystems
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes, are some of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth, and are vital to mitigating the impacts of climate change. They are also critical for coastal biodiversity, food security, livelihoods and human well-being, in addition to climate adaptation – protecting millions of people globally from the impacts of storms, coastal flooding and erosion. However, these ecosystems are threatened – half of global mangrove forests have already been lost – and once these ecosystems are degraded or destroyed, their carbon stores are released as carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change. This policy framework, developed by Conservation International and IUCN, provides an overview of the intersections and opportunities for blue carbon ecosystem conservation and restoration in the relevant international policy processes.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
WH Sites identify, protect, and preserve cultural and natural heritage around the world that is considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. Sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria to be included on the World Heritage List. The criteria are regularly revised by the Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.
These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage.
How to use
To download the text of the Convention, operational guidelines for implementation, and to search the map and individual sites: https://whc.unesco.org
To explore the WHS criteria and download the operational guidelines:
The IUCN Restoration Barometer
The IUCN Restoration Barometer is designed for use by countries that have committed to restore landscapes under international goals or agreements. It is used by governments to track the progress of restoration targets across all terrestrial ecosystems including coastal and inland waters. The Barometer allows governments to simplify and streamline reporting on their restoration commitments and it to track and record progress towards global goals, including The Bonn Challenge, the 30×30 target under the Post-2020 GBF, the Paris Agreement, and the Land Degradation Neutrality Target. Ecosystem restoration interventions are classified according to the IUCN Restoration Intervention Typology for Terrestrial Ecosystems (RITTE) and categorization of ecosystems by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The Barometer has eight indicators and records the size of the area being brought under restoration as well as the corresponding climate, biodiversity, and socio-economic benefits. Currently, only government focal points can create accounts on the Barometer website. New users can request an account and after verification, restoration related data can be entered securely. A set of simple tutorials is provided to assist the process.
The Global Platform for Sustainable Cities
This World Bank initiative presents the scientific basis for why and how incorporating biodiversity and nature into urban design is crucial for achieving sustainability and resilience in cities and beyond. The report defines key terms and concepts, explores what urban leaders can do to promote them, and offers practical tools and approaches for incorporating urban nature and biodiversity into decision-making.
Species+
The Species+ website was developed jointly by UNEP-WCMC and the CITES Secretariat to assist Parties to implement CITES, CMS and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Species+ contains information on all species listed in the Appendices of CITES and CMS, other CMS Family listings, and in the Annexes to the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations. The species pages contain information on legal, species names and distribution, Appendix listings, references, and other documentation.
The data can be searched by species, location, or Convention. The “Locations” filter allows a search for a species or group of species occurring in a particular country, territory, or region.
Key species lists can be downloaded in an Excel-ready format as a csv file. The terms of use should be reviewed prior to downloading.
Rufford Small Grants
The Rufford Foundation provides funding for nature conservation projects in developing countries. Grants start at £6,000 and increase to £15,000 for projects that successfully complete each stage. To be eligible, species must be considered threatened. Applicants
should be in the early stages of their conservation career.
IUCN Important Marine Mammals Areas (IMMAs)
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.
Alliance on Zero Extinction (AZE) sites
An AZE site must contain 95% of the population of an ‘Endangered’ or ‘Critically Endangered’ species and have a definable boundary. These criteria are the equivalent of Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) criterion A1e.
How to use
- To see the list, description, and map of existing AZE sites see: https://zeroextinction.org/
- To submit a site for AZE status, complete the form at: https://zeroextinction.org/get-involved/submit-a-site/
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) is an intergovernmental programme that aims to establish a scientific basis for enhancing the relationship between people and their environments. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves is an interactive network of sites of excellence that foster harmony between people and nature for sustainable development, respect for cultural values, and society’s ability to cope with change. There are 748 biosphere reserves in 134 countries, including 23 transboundary sites. Sites can be proposed by all Member States and Associate Members of UNESCO. Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and designated under the intergovernmental MAB Programme following the decisions of the MAB International Coordinating Council.
How to use
To obtain further information on the MAB programme and existing MAB sites, or to download the Requirements and Nomination forms, visit: https://en.unesco.org/biosphere
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF)
The purpose of 1995 FAO Code of Conduct is to set international standards of behaviour for responsible practices to ensure the effective conservation, management and development of aquatic resources, the ecosystem, and biodiversity. These standards may be implemented at the national, subregional, and regional levels.
Transboundary conservation : a systematic and integrated approach
Approximately one-third of all terrestrial high-biodiversity sites straddle national land borders, yet few man-made boundaries are fixed, and international boundaries often alter over time or disappear altogether. This publication makes the compelling case for transboundary conservation approaches and promotes an array of innovative methods based on contemporary principles. It has been developed primarily to provide transboundary conservation managers with advice on how to work more effectively and how to address the challenges that are specific to transboundary conservation.
EDGE Protected And Conserved Area Fund
The EDGE of Existence programme was the first global conservation initiative to focus specifically on threatened species that represent a significant amount of unique evolutionary history.
Using a scientific framework to identify the world’s most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species, the EDGE of Existence programme highlights and protects some of the most unique, extraordinary, and overlooked species on the planet. EDGE species have few close relatives on the Tree of Life and are often extremely unusual in the way they look, live and behave, as well as in their genetic makeup. They represent a unique and irreplaceable part of the world’s natural heritage, yet an alarming proportion are on the verge of extinction.
To safeguard these species, we are committed to supporting, strengthening, and diversifying conservation leadership in critical regions. The EDGE Fellowship exemplifies this commitment. It is a 28-month fellowship for local early-career conservationists from lower- and middle-income countries. We equip these emerging leaders—EDGE Fellows—with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities required to advance their careers and spearhead effective conservation efforts for the world’s most unique and extraordinary species.
The extinction of species is a call to action for all of us, and we stand ready to answer that call and contribute to a healthier and vibrant planet for all species.
EDGE metric and EDGE lists
A consistent methodology for prioritising species conservation efforts based on extinction risk data (the Red List) and phylogenetic information; EDGE lists, representing the most evolutionarily distinct and threatened species on Earth, are currently available for all amphibians, birds, mammals, ray-finned fish, reptiles, sharks and rays, freshwater crayfish, and gymnosperms, with lists for other groups, including all angiosperms, forthcoming
WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
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.
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)
An ESIA is a statement about the likely impacts of a proposal and how the identified negative impacts can be mitigated and managed and how the positive impacts can be enhanced. The purpose of this review procedure is to ensure that the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports provide adequate assessment and protection measures to manage environmental and social impacts. A systematic approach to review is needed to ensure that the environmental and social impact assessment reports comply with requirements, are consistent with standards of good practice, and provide good quality information to support decision making.