Story | 30 Jun, 2017
Advancing Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction into Sustainable Development
Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Community (EPIC), funded by the German government’s BMU’s International Climate Initiative (ICI), aims to document the role of – and improve – ecosystem management for disaster risk reduction (DRR). This concept is also referred to as Ecosystem-based…
Story | 26 Jun, 2017
New tools to assess vulnerability of wetlands in the Mekong
From June 19 to 21, IUCN staff, partners, and local officials from the Xe Champhone and Beung Kiat Ngong Ramsar sites in Lao PDR gathered in Champhone District for a training on the use of a new series of tools to assess the vulnerability of the areas’ wetlands. The…
Story | 07 Apr, 2017
COMPACT workshop: engaging local communities in world heritage stewardship
A three-day training workshop on “Engaging indigenous peoples and local communities in participatory management of protected areas and benefit sharing” took place from 28 February to 2 March 2017 at the Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand. The…
Story | 24 Mar, 2017
Stakeholders come together to advance restoration efforts in India
Forests are undoubtedly amongst the most valuable ecosystem service providers in the world. Their role extends to securing sustainable energy, supporting biodiversity, safeguarding food and water security and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Despite this there has change in global…
Blog | 21 Mar, 2017
Blog: Bangladesh has 268 wild elephants. What does it mean to us?
On this year’s International Day of Forests (21 March), the Government of Bangladesh has unveiled two new publications on Asian Elephants in the country. These books reveal the latest estimates of Bangladesh’s elephants along with their distribution, routes, and corridors. Haseeb Md. Irfanullah…
Story | 31 Jan, 2017
IUCN and DMCR collaboration continues to strengthen
After a year of strategic cooperation between the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Thailand and IUCN Thailand, a meeting was held on 26 December, 2016 at the DMCR office in Bangkok to discuss the progress of the collaboration and provide updates on IUCN-led marine and coastal…
Story | 17 Jan, 2017
People-centred governance and restoration
Restoration of the world’s ecosystems is a huge challenge. In many cases, restoration processes occur at a landscape scale and so require the coordinated decision making of many stakeholders and landowners including communities, governments and the private sector. Working across so many sectors…
Story | 11 Jan, 2017
It started with ten farmers sitting around a fire: a tale of a community forestry enterprise
Nearly a decade has passed since a small group of farmers gathered around a fire to lament the increasing costs of their trade, and the toll that modern practices and inputs was taking on their land. As the embers of the fire settled, they resolved to take action to improve their farms,…
Story | 12 Dec, 2016
Value we see in trees: innovation and the exchange of ideas
Innovation is a key to improving the rights and livelihoods of farmers and small land holders while encouraging them to plant trees and effectively restore landscapes. During a regional knowledge exchange in Thailand, the Tree Bank offered one such innovation.
Blog | 28 Nov, 2016
Over the last decade, conflicts between humans and elephants have been a serious concern in Bangladesh, especially near the central-north border with India. Collaboration between the two neighbours and community-based initiatives can play a crucial role in managing such challenges.