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| COMMISSIONS SEEK AND FIND SYNERGIES |
The six Commissions unite 10,000 volunteer experts from a range of disciplines. They assess the state of the world's natural resources and provide the Union with sound know-how and policy advice on conservation issues. Not only do Commissions collaborate within their specialties, they also work together across disciplines.
Anchoring global conservation to biodiversity
The Species Survival Commission informs the global community on the value of species to human wellbeing, the threats they face and technical aspects of conserving them. The Commission also mobilizes action for those species that are threatened with extinction. Our 7,000 members are delivering results and products, while the network structure is being rationalized and optimized. We have established working relations with component programmes, from Business and Biodiversity to Marine, Forests and regional programmes. We provide technical advice to Government and NGO members, and we are developing synergies with other Commissions.
Plunging into the sea; improving the best
The 1,300 members of the World Commission on Protected Areas promote the establishment and effective management of a worldwide representative network of terrestrial and marine protected areas. This year we helped stage the first International Marine Protected Areas Congress to help push ocean conservation. We set out to improve the World Heritage List, by assessing coverage of sites against rigorous criteria, and identifying potential future sites. And we prioritized the unique contribution of indigenous and traditional peoples to protect sacred areas of land and water that are rich in biodiversity and deliver key ecosystem services.
Helping forests breathe life into the Kyoto Protocol
The Commission on Environmental Law, with 800 members, advances environmental law by developing new legal concepts and instruments and by building the capacity of societies. Few people grasp the Kyoto Protocol's most powerful economic tool to reduce emissions; we have begun to guide decision makers through the complexity of the Clean Development Mechanism, in particular for afforestation and reforestation projects. Just in time: the first certified emission reductions are being issued. Carbon sequestration through forestry projects offers developing countries a chance to participate in emissions trading. They are using our guidance, based on four case studies.
Embedding conservation in academic curricula
The 600-member Commission on Education and Communication champions the strategic use of communication and education to empower and educate stakeholders for the sustainable use of natural resources. In Latin America, the World Conservation Learning Network has begun building capacity for environmental sustainability by developing and delivering new learning for sustainable solutions. It brings together conservationists and educators in a demand-driven network that matches demand for learning with supply of knowledge. It brings learning of good quality to where there is need, and fills the gaps with new resources and opportunities where needed.
Regional training on comanagement of marine protected areas
The 500-member Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy provides expertise and policy advice on economic and social factors for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. This year, we convened field-based training on comanagement for stakeholders from marine protected areas from six countries. The training improved their skills to develop co-management institutions and to recognize existing Community Conserved Areas, building on local knowledge. Participants developed plans of work for co-management in three newly established marine protected areas in Cap Vert, Guinea and Senegal. The plans are now being implemented.
Restoration as a social and biodiversity strategy
The 300-member Commission on Ecosystem Management provides expert guidance on integrated ecosystem approaches to the management of natural and modified ecosystems. This year our approach focused on restoration. Some worry that ecosystem restoration subtracts resources from protected areas. But without investments at the landscape level, much of the biodiversity in increasingly isolated protected areas will be doomed. The findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment show that restoration is also essential to maintain and regenerate the ecosystem services that people depend on. The Commission set the scene at the World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Zaragoza and collected 100 case studies of cost-effective restoration efforts benefiting both biodiversity and people.
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