New IUCN report provides critical guidance on conserving land, water, and coastal areas through OECMs

The 112-page report, Guidance on OECMs, focuses on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), which are managed areas that provide effective conservation of biodiversity – despite it not being the primary goal.  

While protected areas, for example, must have conservation as a primary objective, OECMs can be managed for different objectives – such as protecting areas of cultural or historical importance – while delivering conservation outcomes. They can also be implemented by a diverse set of actors, from Indigenous Peoples and government agencies to the private sector. 

OECMs are an important tool for achieving Target 3 of the GBF, which calls on countries to conserve at least 30% of terrestrial, inland waters, and coastal and marine areas by 2030. While progress has been made towards this goal, a recent report from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre and IUCN found that over the next six years the global network of conserved areas will need to be expanded by 12.4% on land and 21.6% in the ocean. 

This new publication presents easily accessible guidance on OECMs, including clearly articulated good-practice statements, that will guide governments and other actors in their engagement with the OECM framework. It features 29 diverse case studies from around the globe, which illustrate the various governance and management systems that deliver effective conservation outcomes outside of protected areas.  

Identifying, reporting, monitoring and strengthening OECMs offers a significant opportunity to promote and support de facto effective long-term conservation that complements conservation efforts from designated protected areas. OECMs can generate a range of positive conservation outcomes, including conserving ecosystems and wildlife corridors, supporting the recovery of threatened species, enhancing resilience, and strengthening links between local communities and ecosystems. 

“The OECM framework is enabling the better recognition of conservation efforts occurring outside of protected areas in ways that respect local contexts. Research on the early contribution of OECMs to GBF Target 3 demonstrates that OECMs are governed by diverse actors – including Indigenous peoples and local communities – and have increased the coverage of Key Biodiversity Areas and ecological connectivity within conservation networks,” said Harry Jonas, Senior Director of Conservation Areas for WWF and one of the report’s authors. 

Guidance on OECMs is part of the Good Practice Guidelines Series produced by IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas. It was developed by the WCPA Specialist Group on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures with input from experts from all around the world in response to a request from Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity for guidance to support government agencies, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and private entities to engage with the OECM framework. 

The Guidance on OECMs is designed to be read in conjunction with the Site-tool for identifying OECMs to enable diverse actors to identify, report, monitor and strengthen OECMs in ways that result in long-term conservation of biodiversity in locally appropriate ways.