The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF) has awarded the International Union for the Conservation of Nature a grant to support the implementation of the Green List Programme until 2030, with the objective of implementing the new Global Biodiversity Framework Targets and the 30x30 ambitions to secure biodiversity and climate benefits.

The Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas is an initiative for successful nature conservation. At its heart is the Green List Standard, a global benchmark to help achieve fair and effective nature conservation results in protected and conserved areas. The Standard is based on four components (good governance, sound design and planning, effective management, and successful conservation outcomes), each of them supported by criteria and indicators to measure achievement. The Green List currently counts 77 listed sites and more than 600 candidate sites.

The project will allow to scale-up IUCN Green List in all dimensions, including enabling conditions, capacities, and essential components, taking into account its regional priorities. Three outcomes are expected out of this initiative:

• Outcome 1: Engaging countries and key sites in the Green List program, at a level of ambition that will have a catalytic effect on all area-based conservation worldwide, with the strategic engagement of the most significant sites for biodiversity. The aim is to have at least 50 countries actively participating in the programme.
• Outcome 2: Strengthening the financial, technical and human resources that will guarantee the self-sustainability of the system.
• Outcome 3: Enabling sites to improve effectiveness and to monitor their progress against the Green List Standard. To that end, IUCN will help develop knowledge and technical tools that can strengthen the quality of the evaluation process.

For three days, starting on the 14^th of March, over 40 participants from IUCN Secretariat, experts from the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), and external experts in the field of the Green List will come together to get to know the project, discuss priorities and commit to the implementation of the work plan.

The event will be hosted in the Technological Headquarters of the International University of Andalusia, an organisation with which the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation shares a Chair on Nature Conservation since 2020. The Chair promotes the use of Nature-based Solutions for the effective conservation of biodiversity. This workshop falls into its activities on fostering technical and scientific knowledge.

After the end of the workshop, a field visit to Sierra de las Nieves National Park is organised, where participants will have the chance to explore the home of the Mediterranean fir. A meeting with the management authority of the park will be also arranged with the aim of presenting the Green List initiative and the different steps to achieve its certification.

For further enquiries, please contact carla.danelutti@iucn.org