IUCN reports deepening rhino poaching crisis in Africa

The number of African rhinos killed by poachers has increased for the sixth year in a row with at least 1,338 rhinos killed by poachers across Africa in 2015, according to new data compiled by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG). 
 
This is the highest level since the current crisis began to emerge in 2008. Since then poachers have killed at least 5,940 African rhinos.

Read more: https://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?22519/IUCN-reports-deepening-rhino-poaching-crisis-in-Africa

IUCN World Conservation Congress

The IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 will bring together several thousand leaders and decision-makers from government, civil society, indigenous peoples, business, and academia with the goal of conserving the environment and harnessing the solutions nature offers to global challenges. This is an opportunity not to be missed!

If you want to be part of the Congress and host an event during the Forum, the Call for Contributions (9 June to 15 October 2015) is your one and only entry point! This is a competitive process and successful events must meet a series of criteria.

There are a total of 560 slots available for hosting an event during the Forum (135 workshops, 200 Knowledge Café sessions, 200 posters and 25 training courses at the Conservation Campus). There is also a series of criteria that will be used to select the proposals that will make it to the final Congress programme. These include:

• The relevance of the proposal to the Congress Theme and to the draft IUCN Programme 2017-2020;
• The relevance of the proposal to the overall Congress objectives;
• Its contribution to one or more of the overall Forum targets: to showcase that conservation works, to promote interaction and participation, to catalyze new actions and transformative initiatives (higher ranking if the latter);
• Contribution to international conservation debates (SDG; CBD; UNFCCC, etc.);
• The different perspectives and positions on the topic addressed during the session; or
• The broad scope of stakeholders (including from a gender and an intergenerational perspective) associated with the topic. 

Click on the link to be redirected to the Congress Portal.

Keep it Fresh or Salty

Governments, international actors and local communities around the world are now increasingly engaging in wetland restoration or avoiding wetland degradation activities for climate change mitigation.

Despite this rapidly growing attention, finding the appropriate funding sources to set up a wetland carbon project or develop a national wetland carbon program is often a challenge.

This report provides guidance for program and project developers from, or working in, developing countries on the numerous funds and finance mechanisms that can provide carbon finance for wetland carbon conservation and restoration. It also highlights ways to access and link carbon activities with non-carbon based sources of financing.

Read Online: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/keep_it_fresh_or_salty_1.pdf

Greening Africa’s growth corridors could contribute to global Sustainable Development Goals, says IUCN

Building inclusive, resilient, green growth corridors is one way African countries can ensure their ambitious economic agendas support the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said IUCN at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) regional meeting held here 13-14 May.

 

Many African countries, including Mozambique and Tanzania, have created growth corridors to attract investment that will stimulate economic development, job creation, public revenue, and ultimately, contribute to the eradication poverty. By adopting long-term goals for these corridors that promote greater food, energy, water and climate security, as well as enhance livelihoods and well-being, governments will be better positioned to deliver tangible evidence of sustainable growth and development.

Through an innovative programme called SUSTAIN-Africa, IUCN is working with local, national and international partners to demonstrate the benefits of sustainably managed natural resources in these areas. With a particular emphasis on landscape management and restoration, the programme aims to support development of improved and diversified farm, forest and wetland production that links local communities to new business opportunities, fostering green growth throughout the corridor.  

Read more: http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?21346/GreeningAfricasgrowthcorridors

IUCN recommends action for natural World Heritage in danger

Key recommendations by IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, on new and threatened natural World Heritage sites are released today ahead of the World Heritage Committee meeting which takes place in Bonn, Germany from 28 June to 8 July. IUCN recommends that Colombia’s Los Katíos be withdrawn from ‘in-danger’ status. It also recommends inscription for a new site in Jamaica and major extensions to two listed sites in Viet Nam and South Africa. A second batch of reports is due at the end of May.

State of Conservation reports, prepared by IUCN jointly with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, monitor the condition of World Heritage sites affected by major conservation issues. About a quarter of the 228 natural sites currently listed are being examined this year. The reports released today present recommendations for 27 natural sites, including famous areas such as Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Conservation recommendations for 28 other sites will be issued on 29 May and will include the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Monarch Butterfly Reserve in Mexico andLake Turkana in Kenya. The World Heritage Committee, made up of 21 member states, will discuss the recommendations and make its decisions next month.

 

Read more: http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?21315/IUCN-World-Heritage-advice