Over 40% of coral species face extinction – IUCN Red List

This document was produced by the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) in 2016. It provides guidance on enhancing the positive and minimizing the negative impacts on biodiversity of climate change mitigation and adaptation activities, based on recent literature, case studies, and experience.

Section I presents the main principles of enhancing positive and reducing negative impacts of climate change adaptation activities on biodiversity. Section II provides guidance on enhancing positive and minimizing negative impacts of climate change adaptation activities, with specific examples from different sectors and ecosystems. Section III provides examples of tools to enhance the benefits and reduce the negative impacts of mitigation on biodiversity, with references to other reports where additional information can be found.

A Ramsar site is a wetland designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention (The Convention on Wetlands). The convention provides for national action and international cooperation on the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Sites are identified according to any one of nine criteria. The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Types has been developed by the Ramsar Convention. There are currently more than 2,400 Ramsar Sites around the world, covering over 2.5 million km².  The Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS) provides online information on wetlands that have been designated as internationally important.

How to use

• For further information on the Convention visit: https://www.ramsar.org
• For an overview of the Ramsar Sites network or to obtain information on a specific Site, visit
• https://rsis.ramsar.org/
• The Administrative Authority of a Contracting Party can submit or update Ramsar Site information using the new online RIS by logging in or registering – instructions at: https://rsis.ramsar.org/sites/all/modules/custom/rsiswp_main/data/RSIS_Instructions_E.pdf

The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is a user-friendly framework for the verification, design, and scaling up of NbS. The Standard contains 8 Criteria and 28 Indicators and  aims to provides users with a robust framework for designing NbS. The Standard is designed to support users to apply, strengthen, and improve the effectiveness, sustainability, and adaptability of their NbS interventions. It also provides a mechanism for developing a consistent approach to NbS.

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 (PCCB) is the convening authority for capacity-building matters under the UNFCCC (UN Climate Change). This toolkit to assess capacity building gaps and needs to implement the Paris Agreement was developed as a resource for developing country officials and partners in the assessment of relevant capacity needs and gaps. This capacity assessment toolkit presents an overview of tools that support the assessment of capacity needed to address climate change.

It identifies key points and steps involved in the assessment process from design to evaluation, and is supported by case studies. It also  includes examples of approaches that have been successfully adopted as well as links to additional resources that may be accessed via the UNFCCC capacity building portal and other online sources.

This new tool has been developed by the CITES Secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) to support CITES Management and Scientific Authorities, Customs officials, and all others involved in implementing and enforcing CITES. It contains six volumes: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles-Amphibians-Fish-Invertebrates, Plants, and Parts and Derivatives (2 volumes).

In addition, over 4000 identification resources are available in different formats.

A capacity building programme to support emerging leaders spearhead conservation action for the most unique, extraordinary, and overlooked species on Earth (can indicate for same targets as CLP)

IBAT is a biodiversity impact assessment tool that enables companies and other users to screen the potential risks to biodiversity and key sites from proposed development. IBAT is

based on three global datasets, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, World Database on Protected Areas, and World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas]. IBAT provides data, tools, and guidance to assist organisations in acting on biodiversity-related risks and opportunities, and provide sustainable funding to support biodiversity datasets. IBAT has a GIS download service which is available through five plans, ranging from free to USD 35,000 /year, according to the level of access required. Data can be downloaded at global level or at more local levels. Biodiversity data reports can be generated as a pdf document, or as raw data in CSV format, and/or map files. IBAT report templates include a simple proximity report, a World Bank Group risk report, and a freshwater report.

Connectivity 101 is a free, self-paced course provided by the Wildlife Connect Initiative – a partnership of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC), IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas – Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG), and Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), designed with UNDP’s Learning for Nature.

Connectivity 101 teaches the basics of ecological connectivity conservation. The course will present general and replicable best practices for connectivity conservation and context-sensitive case studies worldwide. The course will focus on an audience of conservation practitioners but will also be accessible to a general audience. A certificate will be awarded to those who complete the course. Currently, the course is offered in English. Translations to other UN languages may be available in the future.

The Darwin Initiative is a UK government grants scheme that helps conserve biodiversity and support the communities that live alongside it through locally led projects worldwide. It is one of the Biodiversity Challenge Funds (BCFs) – the collective name for three of the UK Government’s competitive grants that also includes the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and Darwin Plus, aimed at conserving biodiversity and safeguarding the environment for local people.

Successful Darwin Initiative projects are likely to include:

• delivering outputs that will achieve both biodiversity conservation and multidimensional poverty reduction
• demonstrated an understanding of GESI within their context, and effectively reflected this in their approach to deliver sustained outcomes
• enhancing the capability and capacity of national and local partners and stakeholders, to help ensure a project’s long-term legacy
• strengthening, promotion and use of evidence to inform and scale the action
• the implementation of a novel or significantly improved approach
• scalable approaches that have the potential to deliver greater impact

Since 1993, the Darwin Initiative has awarded over £230m to more than 1,275 projects across 159 countries.

A Ramsar site is a wetland designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention (The Convention on Wetlands). The convention provides for national action and international cooperation on the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Sites are identified according to any one of nine criteria. The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Types has been developed by the Ramsar Convention. There are currently more than 2,400 Ramsar Sites around the world, covering over 2.5 million km².  The Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS) provides online information on wetlands that have been designated as internationally important.

How to use

• For further information on the Convention visit: https://www.ramsar.org
• For an overview of the Ramsar Sites network or to obtain information on a specific Site, visit
• https://rsis.ramsar.org/
• The Administrative Authority of a Contracting Party can submit or update Ramsar Site information using the new online RIS by logging in or registering – instructions at: https://rsis.ramsar.org/sites/all/modules/custom/rsiswp_main/data/RSIS_Instructions_E.pdf

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.