IUCN Guidelines on Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations

Welcome to the GNUSLETTER Special Issue Number 2, which is exclusively dedicated to the Scimitar-horned Oryx. This Special Issue has been produced to celebrate the positive change in status of the Scimitar-horned Oryx on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. Scimitar-horned Oryx became extinct in the wild by the end of the 1980s or early 1990s. Animals from the large ex situ population were re-established in fenced protected areas in Tunisia beginning in 1985 and in Senegal in 1998. The programme to reintroduce a fully free-living population in Ouadi Rime – Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve (OROAFR, Réserve de faune de Ouadi Rimé – Ouadi Achim) in Chad began in the early 2000s. The first group of captive-bred Scimitar-horned Oryx was transferred from Abu Dhabi to Chad in March 2016 and placed in an acclimatisation enclosure. Twenty-one oryx were released into the wild in August 2016 and the first wild birth was recorded in September. Eight more releases have occurred and young oryx have been born every year since 2016.

This is the first volume in the WCPA Good Practice Guidelines that is predominantly by rangers, for rangers. The editors worked with partners to collect good practices and stories from rangers worldwide, reflecting global experience and lessons learned. The text focuses on actions that rangers, and to a lesser extent managers, can do themselves. It does not address institutional changes that would need intervention at government level. Whilst the latter are often necessary, decisions are out of the hands of individual rangers. Nor is the guide the last word on the state of play, another global ranger survey is being carried out simultaneously with the production of these guidelines and we will continue to learn about ranger needs, strengths and challenges in the future.

The Global Species Action Plan (GSAP) is a critical initiative developed to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), to address the increasing biodiversity loss worldwide. The GSAP outlines strategic interventions and actions to conserve and sustainably manage species while ensuring equitable benefits. Emphasizing the critical role of species in ecosystem stability, human livelihoods, and cultural heritage, the GSAP seeks to prevent extinctions, reduce threats, and ensure equitable benefits from species use. Implementation involves diverse stakeholders, including governments, Indigenous peoples and Local communities, NGOs, academia, and businesses, fostering cooperation at global, regional, and local levels. The GSAP underscores the collective responsibility to safeguard Earth’s rich biological heritage for future generations.

Nature (covering the water, biodiversity, soil/land, and air/climate realms) continues to decline with significant negative impacts on society. Businesses need to understand their impacts and  dependencies on nature, manage their nature-related risks and embed the value of nature into their decision making to identify and implement opportunities that contribute towards the nature-positive global goal. Achieving nature-positive requires collective action across sectors, value chains and landscapes. Fundamentally, nature-positive represents a systemic and transformative shift rather than ‘re-shaping’ of current practices. Utilising prioritisation approaches can enable businesses to identify areas where they can have a material and meaningful  contribution from the outset as systemic and transformative change is adopted through the business.

La nature (l’eau, la biodiversité, les sols et l’air/le climat) continue de décliner, ce qui a des impacts négatifs considérables sur la société. Les entreprises doivent comprendre leurs impacts sur la nature et leurs dépendances envers elle, gérer leurs risques naturels et intégrer la valeur de la nature dans leur processus décisionnel pour repérer et mettre en oeuvre les occasions contribuant à la réalisation de l’objectif mondial positif pour la nature. Fondamentalement, le positif pour la nature représente un changement systémique et transformateur plutôt qu’un « remodelage » des pratiques actuelles. Le recours à des méthodes  d’établissement des priorités peut permettre aux entreprises de cibler des domaines où elles peuvent apporter une contribution importante et significative dès le début de l’adoption d’un changement systémique et transformateur au sein de l’entreprise.