Story | 23 Jan, 2018
IUCN reviews eight World Heritage nominations for 2018
The IUCN World Heritage Panel recently gathered in Gland, Switzerland to review eight natural areas nominated for potential inscription on the World Heritage List in 2018. Among these sites, three are in Asia, two in Europe, while the remaining three are located in North America, South America…
Story | 16 Jan, 2018
MOOCs and protected areas capacity building – where we stand
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are now an undeniable part of the education landscape. Their development really started to take off in 2012 and there are now over 7,000 of them mainly from European and North American universities. MOOCs are a revolutionary opportunity for everyone across the…
Story | 15 Jan, 2018
An analysis of non-state protected area governance in Kenya
By Phil Franks, IIED
IUCN-Papaco and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) conducted a survey of non-State protected areas in Kenya where this type of governance is fairly common. These kinds of governance arrangements deserve to be better known as they may…
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 | 21 Dec, 2017
Endangered primate discovered in threatened Atewa Forest, Ghana
Scientists have discovered the globally threatened White-naped Mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus) in Ghana’s Atewa Forest. The mangabey, a rare terrestrial monkey, is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, but a recent assessment of its population points toward it…
Story | 28 Nov, 2017
Transforming business engagement in Ghana
Businesses rely on natural resources to operate, which can create impacts and risks as well as opportunities and benefits. A recent training workshop in Ghana explored how civil society organisations (CSOs) can engage companies to ensure the sustainable use of these…
Press release | 28 Nov, 2017
Protected areas across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific boosted with €60 million investment
The European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States have invested €60 million in the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) Programme over the next six years – making it one of the largest EU biodiversity programmes. The programme is being…
Story | 27 Nov, 2017
Engaging civil society in land use planning to safeguard Tanzania’s water sources
Competing land uses around Tanzania’s Lake Rukwa threaten the water quality and quantity in this already dry area. Unsustainable agriculture, mining and inconsiderate upstream dam constructions put the water supply –and therewith the food security- at risk.
Story | 22 Nov, 2017
SUSTAIN’s interest-driven partnerships: a win-win for river flow and farmers’ fields
Until very recently, the Katuma river in Tanzania was on the verge of drying-up. The main reasons for the reduced river flow were illegal abstractions by smallholder farmers and irregular and reduced rainfall due to climate change.
Story | 16 Nov, 2017
Bonn, Germany – At the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP23) in Bonn, Germany, IUCN shared its plans for increased effort to enhance countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by building on the Bonn Challenge and existing forest landscape restoration commitments.