This learning material, building on the Site-level tool for identifying other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) and Guidance on other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), was developed with the aim to strengthen IPSI members’ understanding of OECMs, and, in doing so, support the alignment between the IPSI Strategy and Plan of Action 2023–2030 and GBF Target 3.
The content of this learning material was developed and finalised in consultation with IPSI members, and supported by experts from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Dong Hwa University.
Both SEPLS and OECMs are global forms of recognition for conservation efforts implemented on the ground. Both highlight approaches in which human activities and nature conservation are integrated in a sustainable, balanced and sometimes mutually reinforcing ways.
To foster an understanding of the linkages between the two, this learning material provides information on both SEPLS and OECMs and explores the practical contextualisation and application of these frameworks for achieving GBF Target 3. The learning material is presented in a question and answer (Q&A)-style format, with additional relevant information and case studies in the Annexes.
About IPSI and SEPLS
The International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative (IPSI) was established during the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) as a global collaborative platform dedicated to realising societies in harmony with nature. In its Decision X/32, the Satoyama Initiative was recognised by the CBD as a “potentially useful tool to better understand and support human-influenced natural environments for the benefit of biodiversity and human well-being.” Since its launch, IPSI has supported the implementation of the CBD’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which were adopted at the same conference. Its successor, the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in 2022, now guides the effective implementation of the Convention through four overarching goals and 23 targets. Among these, GBF Target 3, also known as the “30x30” target, calls for the effective conservation of at least 30% of terrestrial, inland waters and coastal and marine areas by 2030 through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and OECMs.
Following the GBF, the IPSI Strategy and Plan of Action 2023–2030 was adopted in 2023. It sets out five Strategic Objectives aligned with the framework, including Strategic Objective 3, which emphasises the contributions of socio‑ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) to area-based conservation measures.
About This Collaboration
IUCN has been appointed as the lead organisation for Strategic Objective 3 of the IPSI Strategy and Plan of Action 2023-2030. In addition to capacity building and developing learning materials, key activities include coordinating discussions and implementation of the Strategic Objective 3 priority actions of the IPSI Actionable Implementation Plan (AIP).