Story | 02 Jun, 2020
African Solutions: Gnanhouizounmè Sacred Forest villages ride out COVID-19 in Benin
Gnanhouizounmè Sacred Forest is a site that has been cared for by the local people for centuries. The people of Gnanhouizounmè are active managers of their own forest and implement an ongoing regeneration programme, with sapling nurseries in most of the local villages. To increase knowledge and…
Story | 02 Jun, 2020
The Punjab Urial roams freely in and beyond Padhri Game Reserve, and across the Salt Range hills of Western Jhelum, in the Punjab District, Pakistan. The Urial (Ovis orientalis punjabiensis) is rare outside well-protected landscapes, along with other rare mammals and bird species such as…
Story | 31 May, 2020
Participatory Conservation Economies in Kerala, India: A Stepping Stone to Resilience
CEESP News: by Aditi Bhardwaj, Anil Kumar Bhardwaj and Sunil C.G.*
The participatory Integrated Conservation Development Programmes in major Protected Areas of Kerala, India, have led to the gradual empowerment of the local communities. With financial, social, human and institutional…
Story | 30 May, 2020
Training of women wool workers on non- woven wool craft using innovative women friendly technology.
Household wool-craft industry languishing in Phojal watershed of Himachal Pradesh gets a new lease of life after a training programme on innovative non-woven woolen felt technology conducted by IUCN India. The training programme is a part of…
Grey literature | 2020
This report aims to provide an overview of the current status of protected area finance in the Southern and Eastern African region, covering 24 countries, to understand the extent of the challenge. The report also outlines the different innovative finance mechanisms that might be used to help…
Story | 29 May, 2020
Tributes to José Rafael García Acosta
IUCN Protected Areas joins the Venezuelan members of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the entire community of Venezuela's Protected Areas in mourning for the death of agronomist José Rafael García Acosta (1926-2020), founder of the Venezuelan National Park Service and its…
Story | 28 May, 2020
OECMs: a new conservation opportunity for Viet Nam
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which Vietnam is party, has agreed a new conservation designation that complements protected areas. Vietnam has an opportunity to extend and connect its conserved areas by identifying and legally…
Story | 27 May, 2020
The light in the forest: A lesson in optimism from conservationists in Brazil
CEESP News - by Lydia Cardona, Manager, Center for Communities and Conservation at Conservation International
An innovative workshop on conflict sensitivity and conflict transformation was held in Brazil in February. Supported by PeaceNexus Foundation, the workshop centered around…
Story | 25 May, 2020
Conserving Nature in a time of crisis: Protected Areas and COVID-19
Many of the threats facing biodiversity and protected areas will be exacerbated during, and following, the Covid-19 outbreak. The health of humans, animals and ecosystems are interconnected. An expanding agricultural frontier and human incursions into natural areas for logging, mining and other…
Story | 22 May, 2020
Réunion National Park, a World Heritage Site hosting new discoveries
Established in 2007, the Réunion National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010 as "Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island". This was based on 2 criteria - exceptional landscape and biodiversity. This makes it France's first overseas national park to benefit from this…