On October 19, Natural Justice attended a side event on implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), hosted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). The facilitators were Trevor Sandwith (head of IUCN Global Protected Areas Programme) and Nik Lopoukhine (chair of IUCN-WCPA). Nigel Crawhall (chair of IUCN-TILCEPA) called for more recognition and support for Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) and sacred natural sites. Jennifer Koinante Yiaku Ntorobo (vice-president of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee) noted the need to better represent and support traditional knowledge and customary laws in protected areas.
Nigel Dudley (IUCN-WCPA) indicated that IUCN should continue to provide and increase support and guidance for protected area managers. Eduard Müller (vice-chair of IUCN-WCPA Mexico, Central America and Hispanic Caribbean) illustrated plans to develop a full training syllabus and accreditation system on protected areas by 2012. Penny Figgis (IUCN-WCPA Australia) called for increased commitment to connectivity conservation and undertaking the landscape and seascape approach. Mark Hockings (IUCN-WCPA) discussed the global study of protected area management effectiveness. The study found that strengths included protected area establishment, appropriate design, and conservation of protected area values; weaknesses were in adequacy of funding and staffing, programme of community benefit, and monitoring and evaluation. Karen Keenleyside (Parks Canada and IUCN-WCPA Taskforce on Ecological Restoration) indicated plans to develop best practice guidelines on restoration by 2012. Ali Stattersfield (BirdLife International) introduced the new joint task force on biodiversity and protected areas between the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the WCPA to support increased coverage of protected areas of key biodiversity. Two representatives of the IUCN-WCPA Young Professionals Group highlighted the importance of intergenerational partnerships and the promotion of young people’s involvement in protected areas management.
