Strengthening the global system of protected areas post-2020: A perspective from the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas

Protected areas are the cornerstones of biodiversity conservation and have never been more relevant than at the present time when the world is facing both a biodiversity and a climate change crisis. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) has been helping to set global standards and best practice guidelines in protected area planning and management for 60 years. Following this guidance, many countries have made significant progress toward their Aichi Target 11 commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The global community will be coming together at the 15th Conference of the Parties of the CBD to set new biodiversity conservation targets for the next decade, as milestones to 2050 and a vision of “a world living in harmony with nature.” This paper lays out the WCPA perspective on priorities for supporting effective protected and conserved areas for the post-2020 era

Tourism as a tool for community-based conservation and development

Two buses of World Park Congress delegates, well togged up in safari gear and cameras, dodged the potholes approaching the famed St Lucia Wetlands World Heritage Area. From the bus we could see small roadside stalls selling elaborate, decorative root systems and carved animals. When we dismounted briefly at a river to see hippos, a gaggle of small boys clutching some charming, but crudely carved, rhinoceroses began a vigorous sales pitch which descended into pleading when a sale seemed unlikely. We questioned our guide about the souvenir trade and he regretted that whole trees died in harvesting the roots and that the need for carving wood was decimating the local forests outside the park. The small amount of money for the hours of work involved, the ethical and social dissonance of a poor black child begging affluent Europeans, the environmental damage - surely this was not an example of a protected area delivering sustainable 'benefits beyond boundaries' to local communities

Keeping the Outstanding Exceptional: the future of world heritage in Australia

[Extract] This year, 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, or the World Heritage Convention by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1972. It is with great pride that I can say that Australia ratified the treaty in 1974 and was one of the first nations to enact legislation to carry out its responsibilities under the Convention

Addressing the existential threat: climate change as a catalyst for reform in World Heritage

Climate change is putting cultural and natural assets of the world at risk, and Australia is no exception with many of our World Heritage properties at high risk from climate change. The challenges that climate change poses to World Heritage properties is complex, requiring multidisciplinary expertise including technical and legal experts in natural and cultural heritage, climate change, and diplomacy. The ideas generated by this roundtable aim to help the World Heritage community address the threat of climate change by addressing collective challenges, rather than on a property-by-property basis