Story | 13 Oct, 2017
“The longest and most useful trip to a cave I have ever had”
Ha Long Bay has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO twice for its outstanding universal values. But what are those values and why do they make Ha Long Bay so special? Such information seems only to be known by a few scientists and experts while the vast majority of visitors are…
Story | 11 Oct, 2017
Respect sacred Natural Sites to guarantee Human Rights, says new African Commission Resolution
CEESP News - by Fiona Wilton, The Gaia Foundation
Deep in Ethiopia's Rift Valley, a group of African custodians met in 2015 to discuss how to protect the continent's sacred natural sites and territories. Their voices were taken to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, where…
Story | 11 Oct, 2017
Ramsar-World Heritage report building on IUCN study highlights nature-culture links
People’s cultural values and community participation contribute to positive conservation outcomes in exceptional wetland areas with dual World Heritage and Ramsar status, according to a new report by the Ramsar Convention Secretariat in cooperation with UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre. Building…
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 | 05 Oct, 2017
Bonn Challenge Asia Roundtable Report
In May of 2017, Asia's first High Level Roundtable meeting on the Bonn Challenge was held in South Sumatra, Indonesia. The two-day meeting was coordinated, in cooperation with IUCN, by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of South Sumatra. The…
Story | 11 Sep, 2017
New farming methods secure livelihoods of communities in India
Pampa Dolui is from Udayan, a small village among the mangroves of Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha, India. Her early childhood memories are of her family’s rice paddy fields and clear water ponds. As a 15-year-old, Pampa also experienced the devastation of the 1999 Odisha cyclone – reckoned…
Story | 08 Sep, 2017
Guardians of the Tonle Sap; Cambodian youth learn about importance of protecting the environment
In Peak Kantiel, a floating village in the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, an outdoor education programme engages the village’s nearly 200 children. These children participate in indoor and outdoor classes, including bird watching, and learn about floating gardens and waste…
Story | 29 Aug, 2017
IUCN and Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment sign agreement to promote closer collaboration
Phnom Penh 23 August 2017 — IUCN Cambodia and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) strengthened their cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in areas of natural resources conservation and local livelihood improvement. IUCN’s Asia Regional Director, Ms Aban Marker Kabraji, and…
Story | 29 Aug, 2017
IUCN’s work on World Heritage benefits and ecosystem services to help sustainability action
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is undertaking pilot assessments of ecosystem services in two natural World Heritage sites in Uganda and Sri Lanka, as part of its Benefits of Natural World Heritage project. The aim is to test practical tools and methods which can be…
Story | 28 Aug, 2017
Nature Lovers return mangroves to Pulau Dua
Well-known for its importance as a breeding site for water birds, Pulau Dua was established as a nature reserve in 1937. Unfortunately, in recent decades, much of Pulau Dua’s mangroves were cleared for shrimp farms. With coasts deteriorated, fish that had previously used the mangroves as…