Bridging the gap: A call for collaboration in African conservation

The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Practical Guide to Responsible Sourcing of Goods and Services outlines standard procurement steps to appropriate RBA tools and resources, to help give buyers confidence the products that they procure from RBA members are made in socially and environmentally responsible ways.

GBIF is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world’s governments. It provides open access to data on all types of life on Earth. GBIF provides data-holding institutions around the world with common standards, best practices and open-source tools enabling them to share information on species. The data derive from many sources, from museum specimens collected in the 18th and 19th centuries to DNA barcodes and citizen science smartphone photos.

The network collates these diverse data sources through data standards, including Darwin Core, which forms the basis for most of GBIF’s index of hundreds of millions of species occurrence records. Publishers provide open access to their datasets using machine-readable Creative Commons licence designations, allowing scientists, researchers, and others to apply the data.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity. is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Nagoya Protocol sets out core obligations for its contracting Parties to take measures in relation to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance. The Nagoya Protocol addresses traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources with provisions on access, benefit-sharing, and compliance. It also addresses genetic resources where indigenous and local communities have the established right to grant access to them. Contracting Parties should take measures to ensure these communities’ free, prior, informed consent, keeping in mind community laws and procedures as well as customary use and exchange. The Nagoya Protocol entered into force on 12 October 2014.

How to use

The Nagoya Protocol is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian at: https://www.cbd.int/abs

Nagoya Protocol Factsheets on access and benefit sharing can be downloaded at: https://www.cbd.int/abs/factsheet

The STAR metric assesses the potential of particular actions at a specific location to contribute to reduce species extinction risk / global targets for species. It measures the potential contribution of two kinds of action: threat abatement / reduction and habitat restoration using data on the distribution, threats, and extinction risk of threatened species contained in the IUCN Red List. It helps governments, the finance industry, investors, and companies to target their investments and activities to achieve conservation outcomes for threatened species. The STAR metric can be applied to any location. It is maintained under the authority of the IUCN Red List Committee.

The CITES trade database currently holds 7 million records of trade in wildlife and 50,000 scientific names of taxa listed by CITES. It is managed by UNEP-WCMC on behalf of the CITES Secretariat. Trade data can be searched by year, taxon, purpose, or importing / exporting country. The complete database can be downloaded (version 2023.1).

The CITES Trade Database can be queried using the novice querying route (a step by step by wizard) or the expert query route (for those already familiar with CITES trade data).

A Guide to Interpreting Outputs from the UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database is available.

This programme of work contains four interlined, cross-cutting elements and 16 programme goals. It is intended to assist Parties in establishing national programmes of work with targeted goals, actions, specific actors, time frame, inputs and measurable outputs. Parties may select from, adapt, and/or add to the activities suggested in the current programme of work according to national and local conditions and their level of development.

Anthropogenic ocean noise is identified as one of the priority threats in the Strategic Plan of the IWC Conservation Committee. In 2018, the IWC agreed a Resolution that recognised the increasing concern over ocean noise, and clarified next steps to better understand and manage the threat. In 2022 the IWC endorsed a Workplan on Anthropogenic Ocean Noise. The Scientific Committee is also undertaking research on the impact of noise on cetaceans, and the effectiveness of different approaches to reduce exposure.

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.

Societies around the globe harvest wild species, to a greater or lesser extent, for food, building materials, healthcare, medicines, pest control, ornamentation, income, recreation, and cultural and spiritual purposes. While this use of wild species directly contributes to the well-being of billions of people globally, over-exploitation of wild species is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss. The IUCN Guidelines on harvesting threatened species advise decision-makers on whether, how and what to harvest to ensure the sustainable use of threatened animal, plant and fungal species. Drawing on insights from the IPBES Sustainable Use Assessment, they complement and expand on existing guidance and tools, such as the Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of IUCN Red List Data in Harvesting of Threatened Species and recent CITES guidance on the conduct of Non-Detriment Findings.

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.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity. is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Nagoya Protocol sets out core obligations for its contracting Parties to take measures in relation to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing and compliance. The Nagoya Protocol addresses traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources with provisions on access, benefit-sharing, and compliance. It also addresses genetic resources where indigenous and local communities have the established right to grant access to them. Contracting Parties should take measures to ensure these communities’ free, prior, informed consent, keeping in mind community laws and procedures as well as customary use and exchange. The Nagoya Protocol entered into force on 12 October 2014.

How to use

The Nagoya Protocol is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian at: https://www.cbd.int/abs

Nagoya Protocol Factsheets on access and benefit sharing can be downloaded at: https://www.cbd.int/abs/factsheet

Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a fundraising and grant-giving nature conservation charity.

Three types of WFN grant enable grassroots conservationists to scale up their work and make a global impact. Whitley Awards provide £40,000 in project funding over one year as well as profile and training. Follow-on grants enable previous winners to expand effective projects, respond to changing needs, and collaborate with other conservationists, with grants worth up to £100,000 over two years. In 2020 WFN introduced a new strand of Continuation Funding for nature-based solutions that will help secure a sustainable future for wildlife, ecosystems and people. The Whitley Gold Award is worth £100,000.