Story | 18 Apr, 2018
Under the umbrella of the Save Our Mangroves Now! (SOMN!) initiative, IUCN and WWF German co-organised a scoping workshop on best practices in mangrove conservation. The workshop brought together participants from government ministries and agencies as well as scientific experts and project…
Story | 06 Feb, 2018
At the highest levels of international organisations and governments, policies and guidelines often support engagement with local stakeholders, and include their representation. These ideas are enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Target 16 which ensures responsive,…
Story | 12 Jan, 2018
The conservation and livelihoods power of a community fund in Uganda
The Community Environment Conservation Fund (CECF) is a conservation benefits sharing model developed and implemented by IUCN to address immediate community livelihood needs through a credit scheme. This in turn motivates and empowers communities to responsibly utilise and manage natural…
Story | 09 Oct, 2017
When you want to go far: farmers and foresters from 15 African countries unite in Tanzania
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. This African proverb was fittingly applied by Jeffrey Campbell, manager of the Forest Farm Facility, from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., during the opening of an African conference for forest and farm…
Story | 26 Jul, 2017
Gender equity is key to mangrove restoration
Women and men in coastal communities are often closely connected to their coastal ecosystems and gender roles are often traditionally identified and clearly divided. Women and men differ in how they interact and depend upon mangroves – how they use the ecosystem, which mangrove products they…
Story | 02 Mar, 2017
The building blocks of pledging to the Bonn Challenge – Cameroon’s story
Cameroon recently announced a 12 million hectare restoration pledge to the Bonn Challenge by 2030 – the largest thus far from Central Africa. The question arises, how do countries decide to commit? What is the groundwork that goes into it? We look closer at Cameroon’s experience.
Story | 26 Jan, 2017
World Wetlands Day: Strengthening resilience and collaboration to reduce disaster risk
On February 2nd the world celebrates its wetlands – complex ecosystems that provide a wide variety of services and benefits for people and nature. Wetlands such as estuaries, mangroves, marshes, and swamps play, beyond their biological role, a key part in helping people cope with disasters. Yet…
Story | 02 Nov, 2016
Until recently, the significance of forest dependence had not been well understood. It was generally assumed that the livelihood value of forests was primarily derived from cash commodities like charcoal – and particularly for poorer households, as a safety net to help them through hard times.…
Story | 10 Oct, 2016
Panorama – Solutions for a Healthy Planet
Panorama – a new online platform and strong partnership for conservation optimism
Story | 29 Sep, 2016
Enabling rights-based REDD+ frameworks in tropical countries
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) can improve lives, protect forests and biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. Forests serve as natural storage sinks for carbon, and deforestation is the second leading cause of carbon emissions contributing to climate…