The IWC was established in 1946 as the global body responsible for management of whaling and conservation of whales. Today the IWC has 88 member countries. The mandate has not changed but many new conservation concerns exist and the IWC work programme now also includes bycatch & entanglement, ship strikes, ocean noise, pollution and debris, and sustainable whale watching.
KBAs are sites that ‘contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems’. KBAs are identified on the basis of species or ecosystems, according to five criteria and 11 subcriteria, all supported by quantitative thresholds. The KBA Global Standard details the criteria and subcriteria. KBA sites must meet one of the criteria and be clearly delineated. Proposed sites are independently reviewed and once accepted are included in the World Database of KBAs.
KBAs are normally identified by a KBA National Coordination Group (NCG). However, anyone with appropriate data may propose a site as a KBA, but they are they are encouraged to work with the NCG if one exists and consultation with relevant stakeholders at the local and national level is required and needs to be documented in the proposal. Where a KBA NCG has not yet been established, proposers submit a site proposal directly.
The Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership is composed of 13 leading international organizations including IUCN. It maintains a KBA Committee, Secretariat, a Technical Working Group, a KBA Consultative Forum, and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. An independent KBA Standards and Appeals Committee has been established under the authority of the elected SSC and WCPA Chairs.
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The governments of the world adopted the following definition of an OECM in 2018: “A geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in-situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio–economic, and other locally relevant values”. OECMs complement protected areas through sustained, positive conservation outcomes, even though they may be managed primarily for other reasons. These sites are documented in the World Database on OECMs. This definition was only recently adopted and most countries have not yet provided data, but this does not mean that no OECMs exist in those countries. The World Database on OECMs is available on the Protected Planet website.
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For IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) guidance on recognising OECMs:
https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2019.PATRS.3.en
To search for information on an existing site on the World Database on OECMs:
https://resources.unep-wcmc.org/products/4c1733823f2a451e8d5ecbaaef3f1a06WDPA
The PANORAMA platform documents and promotes examples of inspiring solutions on conservation and sustainable development topics. PANORAMA allows practitioners to share their experiences, increase recognition for successful work, and to learn how similar challenges have been addressed around the globe. Over 1200 case studies are presented in a standard format that identifies “building blocks” (key success factors) and the context in which solutions were implemented. Solutions consist of elements that can potentially be replicated or scaled up in other geographic, social, or sectorial contexts. The PANORAMA initiative has many partners. The partnership secretariat is jointly managed by IUCN and GIZ.
Species360 is a non-profit NGO working in wildlife care to improve animal welfare and species conservation. It mobilizes a network of more than 1,300 aquarium, zoo, university, research, and governmental members in 102 countries. A central part of is the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), the world’s leading resource for the collection and sharing of data on animals, enabling ex situ institutions to manage their collections effectively and contribute valuable information to global conservation initiatives. ZIMS is the world’s most comprehensive knowledge database on more than 22,000 species. In 2022, Species360 expanded its mission to include flora and extend its operations to horticultural record-keeping, with the addition of Hortis – a specialized software for record-keeping and management of botanical collections.
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Information on Species 360, ZIMS, and Hortis is available at: https://species360.org/about-us/about-species360/
To access Species 360 data it is necessary to register: https://species360.org/become-a-species360-member/
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.
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.
The Living Planet Index measures the state of the world’s biodiversity based on population trends of vertebrate species from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats. The LPI has been adopted by the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) as an indicator of progress towards its targets. The LPI is compiled by WWF and ZSL based on trends in thousands of population time-series data collected from monitored sites around the world. The Living Planet Database contains population time-series data on the abundance of tens of thousands of vertebrate species between 1970 and 2021. It is publicly available, except for some confidential records that cannot be shared.
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IMET is a Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) tool that allows an in-depth assessment of marine and terrestrial protected areas, regardless of their management categories and governance type. It is also a decision support tool that helps protected area managers take analysis-based management decisions for improved conservation outcomes.
METT was one of the first tools developed under the IUCN WCPA Framework for protected area management effectiveness (PAME). Several versions and many adaptations have been produced, reflecting lessons learned. By 2016 the METT had been applied in 127 countries. METT-4 is presented in Excel format to aid implementation and compilation of results. The METT Handbook covers management effectiveness, advice on best use of the METT, case studies, and links to improving the quality of METT assessments using SMART, and using the site-level assessment of governance and equity (SAGE) tool.
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Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS) started with a simple aim – tocontribute to the many efforts around the world to secure wild tigers. But such tasks are never so simple to implement. Developing CA|TS over the last ten years has involved a huge collaborative effort in standard setting, advocacy, software development, training, fundraising and much more. For the sites and people involved it has represented a major commitment in supporting national systems to implement CA|TS.
This report tells the story of the CA|TS journey from an idea to a global partnership of countries, sites, experts and conservation organisations implementing this mission across the tiger range.
In some parts of the world, whale products play an important role in the nutritional and cultural life of native peoples. Four IWC member countries conduct aboriginal subsistence hunts today: Denmark (Greenland), Russia (Chukotka), St Vincent and the Grenadines (Bequia) and the United States (Alaska and also potentially a resumption of hunts previously undertaken by the Makah Tribe of Washington State).
From the outset, the IWC recognised that indigenous or aboriginal subsistence whaling is not the same as commercial whaling. Aboriginal whaling does not seek to maximise catches or profit. It is categorised differently by the IWC and is not subject to the moratorium. The IWC recognises that its regulations have the potential to impact significantly on traditional cultures, and great care must be taken in discharging this responsibility.
In summary, the IWC objectives for management of aboriginal subsistence whaling are to ensure that hunted whale populations are maintained at (or brought back to) healthy levels, and to enable native people to hunt whales at levels that are appropriate to cultural and nutritional requirements in the long term.
The SMART platform consists of a set of software and analysis tools designed to help conservationists manage and protect wildlife and wild places. SMART can help standardize and streamline data collection, analysis, and reporting, making it easier for key information to get from the field to decision-makers.
SMART supports a broad range of conservation management activities, including biodiversity conservation, law enforcement, tourism and visitor management, natural resources use, intelligence, and performance and threat level assessments.
Our approach covers three areas: cutting-edge technology, building conservation capacity, and empowering a global network of SMART conservation practitioners. The SMART Approach is supported by a unique, long-term alliance of leading conservation organizations, offering powerful applications in conservation practice to ensure the survival of the Earth’s biodiversity for generations to come.
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