Conservation Leadership Programme

Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a partnership of three of the world’s leading biodiversity conservation organisations.

Drawing upon the expertise of conservation professionals from across the globe, we direct project funding and training to early career leaders from developing countries who are tackling priority conservation challenges.

For 38 years we have been providing important career stepping stones to over 3,100 individuals who now form an extensive global network of conservation practitioners.

What we do

We support high-priority biodiversity conservation by building the leadership skills of early career conservationists who are striving to overcome major threats to nature in places where capacity and access to resources is limited.

To achieve this, we identify and engage exceptional young conservationists, invest in their professional development through grants, training and mentoring, and help them to multiply their impact across the conservation sector.

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CBD voluntary guidelines on Traditional Knowledge and ILPCs

The UN Convention on Biodiversity has developed sets of detailed guidance on ILK. These include the Tkarihwaié:ri Code of Ethical Conduct to Ensure Respect for the Cultural and Intellectual Heritage of Indigenous and Local Communities Relevant to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity; the Mo’otz Kuxtal Voluntary Guidelines for the development of mechanisms, legislation or other appropriate initiatives to ensure the “prior and informed consent”; and The Rutzolijirisaxik Voluntary Guidelines for the Repatriation of Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Relevant for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity

IPBES ILK Approach

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has developed the IPBES ILK Approach  to guide work on indigenous and local knowledge. The IPBES Global Assessment (GA) was the first global scale assessment to engage systematically with ILK and showed that existing knowledge is fragmented and lacks integration between social and natural sciences and that integrating different world views in requires increased dialogue and agreement. IPBES has established an ILK Task Force and Technical Support Unit.

GEF Small Grant programme Youth Participation

Young people can play an active role in protecting and improving the environment. They can change their lifestyle and how it affects the environment. They can make their homes, schools and youth organizations more environmentally friendly by adopting environmentally friendly practices, recycling of different materials as well as preserving resources such as water and electricity. Engaging youth in environmental protection not only creates direct impact on changing youth behaviors and attitudes, but possibly influence their parents, relatives and families.

SGP privileges the participation of children and young people as the bearers of future commitments and efforts for the global environment and sustainable development. SGP projects with environmental education and raising awareness components almost always involve schoolchildren. Children and youth actively participate in campaigns to protect species and local habitats, tree planting, creating home and community gardens, and renewable energy initiatives that provide solar power for studying – and television watching – among others.

IUCN Conservation Congress Global Youth Summit

The virtual IUCN One Nature, One Future Global Youth Summit took place April 5-16, 2021. The Summit strengthened connections between young leaders and their existing global networks, encouraged interdisciplinary learning, provided a space for broader storytelling on conservation, and added momentum to growing youth movements for nature and climate.

During this unique time of history, virtual spaces open the opportunity for greater inclusivity. Youth from around the world were invited to participate in youth-led capacity-building workshops, networking events, and contribute to an outcome document to be delivered to IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in 2021.

Young people are the engine of change. To realize the world we want, it is critical to engage and empower the voice of youth.

Global Youth Biodiversity Network

Recognized and supported by the CBD Secretariat, the Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN) represents the voice of global youth in the negotiations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), raises awareness among young people of the values of biodiversity, and connects individuals and youth organizations in order to build a global coalition to halt the loss of biodiversity.

World Wildlife Day

On 20 December 2013 at the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), March 3 was declared United Nations World Wildlife Day (WWD). This day holds significance as the day that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973. The UNGA Resolution designated the CITES Secretariat as the facilitator for the global observance of this special day for wildlife on the UN calendar. UN World Wildlife Day has now become the global annual event dedicated to wildlife.

People everywhere rely on wildlife and biodiversity-based resources to meet our needs – from food, to fuel, medicines, housing, and clothing. For us to enjoy the benefits and the beauty that nature brings us and our planet, people have been working together to make sure ecosystems are able to thrive and plant and animal species are able to exist for future generations. So, let’s celebrate wildlife and the important conservation work being done around the world!

Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing

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

ICCA Consortium

The ICCA Consortium grew out of the movement promoting equity in conservation in the decades around the turn of the Millennium. It was officially established in Switzerland in 2010 as an International Association under the Swiss Civil Code. It is a membership-based civil society organisation supported by an international semi-volunteer Secretariat based in twenty-two countries. Below, you can find out about its origins, mission, vision, governance and strategy.

SSC Guidelines on Applying ILK in the Red List

The aim of this document is to examine thoroughly all the issues and general principles surrounding the application of indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, and to outline some key steps to enhance use of this information in Red List assessments. The document builds on and draws from discussions over at least the last decade between the IUCN CEESP-SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group and the IUCN SSC Red List Committee, including earlier unpublished draft guidance, and complements this with insights gained from the development of the IPBES ILK Approach. The draft document was subject to two rounds of consultation, each lasting two months, within IUCN and among Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC) networks.

IUCN Climate Change Gender Action Plan

Climate Change Gender Action Plans (ccGAPs) build on a country’s national development and climate change policy or strategy, and identify gender-specific issues in each priority sector. The participatory, multi-stakeholder methodology includes creating action plans to enhance mitigation and resilience for women and men throughout the country.

Having developed the world’s first gender-responsive national strategies and roadmaps on climate change, IUCN has published its CGAP methodology and approach, containing GAPs from around the world, detailed case studies, roadmaps and more. As the title suggests, implementation of international agreements in individual countries is an art, not a science. There are diverse factors and challenges at play, including political will, adequate finance, and complex governance arrangements. The art of implementation is a journey toward the realisation of important ideas, a bridging of the gap between our aspirations and our achievements, and a continuous learning curve.

ASAP Women in Conservation Leadership Programme

The IUCN SSC Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP) is a partnership platform with the mission of halting species extinctions in Southeast Asia. In 2021 we launched the ASAP Women in Conservation Leadership Programme.

Whilst the inclusion, active participation, and voice of women is linked with improved conservation outcomes, women in conservation often face gender related work place challenges. Gender bias and harassment can negatively impact confidence, erode an individual’s ability to reach their full potential, and block or hinder career advancement and entry into senior positions. We believe that tackling these challenges and empowering women conservationists in this region is critical for long-term, sustainable and successful conservation of ASAP species.

Through the ASAP Women in Conservation Leadership Programme, we are providing opportunities for shared learning and knowledge with targeted training to strengthen leadership skills. The ASAP programme provides opportunities for experienced and aspiring women conservation managers and leaders. Enhanced leadership qualities can help shift organisational mindsets and question traditional hierarchical structures, and ultimately leads to more effective work and greater impact on the ground.

The programme brings together participants from across the region, and is providing opportunities for structured learning alongside peer-to-peer learning and networking, providing a support mechanism beyond the leadership programme. We also work with each individual to help champion and support their work.

Gender Action Plan

At their twelfth meeting held in October 2014, the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) welcomed the 2015-2020 Gender Plan of Action prepared by the Secretariat. The plan updates the 2008 Gender Plan of Action under the Convention, to align with the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This plan includes possible actions for Parties to undertake in implementing the Convention, as well as a framework of actions for the Secretariat to integrate gender into its work. Parties are requested to report on actions undertaken to implement the Gender Plan of Action.

Four Strategic Objectives are key for integrating gender in the implementation of the Convention:

  • Integrate a gender perspective
  • Promote gender equality
  • Demonstrate the benefits of integrating gender
  • Increase the effectiveness of implementation efforts