The CITES Virtual College was launched in 2011 and was developed to strengthen the understanding of CITES by Parties and others involved in its implementation and to increase awareness. During 2024, the Virtual College will be revamped with a new interface and a new set of online training courses. The online platform provides details of Training courses, Training materials, Identification guides, Non-detriment findings, References and tools.
Indonesia is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, with exceptionally rich fauna and flora. However, illegal wildlife trade has risen in the Maluku province, threatening endemic species. While this situation demonstrates the need to strengthen species conservation efforts, mobilizing funds for such activities is a challenge.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, with support from the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), accessed USD 2.7 million in green sukuk funds for the construction of the Maluku Conservation Center, dedicated to wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release into natural habitats. Green sukuks are sovereign bond-like Islamic finance instruments, and their application to biodiversity-related projects was previously limited.
In 2023-2024, 955 birds, 323 reptiles, and 319 other animals were treated and rehabilitated in the Maluku Conservation Center, contributing to the conservation of species and ecosystems.
The “Shark-Free Ceviche” seal is a benchmark that will certify fish ceviche products that have not been made with protein from elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) or other species threatened with extinction or protected by law in the countries where the seal is implemented. The aim is to inform consumers that the use of the fish species targeted by this initiative is rejected, to differentiate the companies that join the initiative, and thereby discourage their fishing, trade, and consumption. The challenge is to bring commercial allies on board, who often see the initiative as an increase in their operating costs, even though it is not as much as they think. The positive thing is that more companies want to join, and organizations similar to MarViva in other countries are beginning to show interest in partnering with the seal and implementing it.
An Ecosystem Approach for Fisheries (EAF) was adopted by municipalities in Misamis Occidental, Philippines, to improve small-scale fisheries management for poverty reduction. They belong to Iligan Bay Alliance of Misamis Occidental (IBAMO), an initiative providing governance frameworks for LGU collaboration. It aims to be a proactive, committed, dynamic alliance for sustainable coastal resource development and seeks to foster the wellbeing of the environment and the people depending on fishing.
The solution addresses the challenge of how to identify and ensure that legal fishing vessels pay their license fees to district authorities, which are important as they fund fisheries management and enforcement efforts of local government structures. It uses a color coded small plastic zip-lock cable tie to identify licensed vessels, enabling fisheries officers and local community-based structures to determine if a vessel is legal and has paid the relevant fees for a particular district.
Santa Cruz is a coastal community with about 26 thousands inhabitants with a strong past history of sea turtle slaughter and consumption as well as marine degradation. This solution addresses raising awareness and effectively engaging the community in endangered species protection and marine conservation.
Responsible control and surveillance aims at reducing threats and pressures while maintaining the integrity of the targeted sites. The approach has two components: (i) community control and surveillance (CCS), (ii) joint control with local and national authority (including representatives from the department of Fishery Control and Surveillance at the Ministry of Fisheries).
At each site, CCS members implemented weekly patrols to ensure law enforcement based on social conventions – named Dina – and MPA regulations. CCS members are equipped with canoe, binoculars, and uniforms; they use Cybertracker, a component of Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tools that gives on time the date, the location and types of offenses CCS members have faced. A protocol is generated for each patrol.
Based on the analysis of CCS reports, joint patrols are organized in case of important and repeated offences. Joint patrol members are entitled to arrest and seize illegal fishing gears.
The Caucasus Wildlife Refuge (CWR) is a privately protected area managed by the FPWC. Having grown from 400 to 20000 hectares since 2010, the refuge stretches along the border of Khosrov Forest State Nature Reserve (IUCN Ia category). The overall objective of the CWR is to contribute to efficient biodiversity protection in Armenia by improving the conservation measures in the reserve’s previously unsustainably managed buffer zones and wildlife migration corridors. This is done by interlinking sustainable community development, conservation and behaviour change.
FPWC maintains a permanently manned ranger station in the area (6 rangers are employed from the community), which is sufficiently equipped to protect the territory against any negative human impact. The rangers are patrolling the 8000ha at a 24/7 regime preventing any illegal activity in the area, as well as monitoring the animals by applying newest technologies. CWR is the only project of this type in the entire South Caucasus.
Education is a long-term priority for the conservation of chimpanzees and other wildlife. In 2007, the MPI conservation group, and the WCF, created Club P.A.N for schools in West Africa. The project’s aim is to discourage children living near wild chimpanzee habitats from consuming bush-meat and to enable them to be pro-active in biodiversity conservation. Club P.A.N. is active in schools around the Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire and schools in Guinea from around the newly approved Moyen-Bafing National Park.
The Tanoé Forest in Ivory Coast harbors an exceptional wealth of biodiversity. It also is the only place where 4 of the rarest West African primate species are thought to still co-exist. Recently, the forest has been threatened by conversion into an oil palm plantation. Inza Koné started a campaign to save the forest, ranging from engagement with the local community to political campaigning, resulting in the development of a community-based conservation program.
The International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF) conducted a ranger training at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in 2010. The poor conviction rate for rhino poachers at the time was largely attributed to poor collection and presentation of evidence from the field to the Police and the Courts. The IAPF training thus focused on crime scene preservation and management, drawing clear delineations in responsibility according to level of training that each ranger had received.
The Changqing Nature Reserve is located in Yangxian County on the Southern slope of the middle section of the Qinling Mountains, which is also located at the source of the Youshui River, a tributary of the Han River, and is adjacent to 9 administrative villages. The community situation is complex and human activities occur from time to time. In order to improve this situation, since 2014, the reserve has innovatively applied far-infrared cameras to resource management and protection, and combined with community visits, daily inspections, laws and regulations publicity, project introduction and so on, which has greatly reduced the frequency of human access to the reserve in community, ensured the safety of wild animal and plant resources in the jurisdiction, and also alleviated the conflicts between communities and protected areas.
Different strategies such as the Special Management Strategies of prevention, control and surveillance, as well as environmental education strategies are being implemented, both designed to resolve the problem of illegal fishing.
