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| HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR 2006 |
PEEKING INSIDE THE ARAB LEAGUE
3 January – The Council of the Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment within the Arab League granted Observer Status to IUCN represented by the Regional Office for West and Central Asia and North Africa.
SAVING AFRICA’S PRIDE
13 January – IUCN and its partners convened a meeting with governments who agreed upon a new strategy to save the lion in southern and eastern Africa.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR ASIAN ELEPHANT
27 January – IUCN helped all 13 Asian elephant range states address the threats pushing the continent’s largest land mammal to the edge of extinction.
NO SHELL LEFT TO HIDE
2 February – IUCN found that Indonesia’s Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle Cheloldina mccordi has become all but extinct in the wild, due to the illegal capture and trade of these endemic reptiles.
A TALE WITH A STING
20 February – IUCN projected that the number of species of sharks and rays on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species will increase, based on its scientific findings that looked at the conservation status of the species in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters.
THINK RURAL, ACT URBAN
28 February – IUCN President Valli Moosa highlighted the decisive role of cities in biodiversity conservation, where he said the battle to save the Earth will be won or lost.
TRACKING DOWN, CRACKING DOWN
3 March – The World Conservation Union helped a global task force launch a global database to track down illegal fishing vessels and set new guidelines for fisheries’ regulators to manage ocean resources on the high seas.
LAND TENURE LINKED TO ILLEGAL LOGGING
10 March – The World Conservation Union found direct links between illegal logging and insecurity of land tenure and corruption, and showed how Forest Law Enforcement and Governance may turn trends around.
ROBUST REEF RECOVERY
14 March – In the most comprehensive report to date, IUCN found that most Indian Ocean coral reefs escaped serious damage from the Indian Ocean tsunami and could naturally recover within five to ten years if damage from human activities can be reduced.
CLARIFYING THE ROLE OF TREES
23 March – The World Conservation Union presented evidence on the role of forests in water-related natural disaster reduction to correct recent confusing media reports.
INVEST IN GREEN FOR ACCOUNTS IN THE BLACK
29 March – IUCN Director General Achim Steiner told ministers at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Brazil that “the environment should not be seen any longer as a cost, but rather an investment for development.”
UPHOLDING TRADITIONS
23 April – The World Conservation Union and its partners worked with Chinese leaders to practice conservation of ‘many highly threatened medicinal species.’
BAIKAL WATER AND OIL WON’T MIX IN RUSSIA
28 April – Following input from scientists and designations by the World Conservation Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the controversial oil pipeline that would have passed through the Lake Baikal World Heritage site will be rerouted to avoid the risk of high potential impacts to the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE WHO RELY ON FORESTS
4 May – A coalition informed by the World Conservation Union launched an international initiative advocating stronger community rights by the 1.6 billion who live in and should own and economize forest use.
SPOTTED
17 May – After decades in decline, critically endangered bowhead whales were recently spotted in Arctic waters by IUCN scientists, offering a glimmer of hope for their recovery.
UNDP + IUCN = MDGs
1 June – The World Conservation Union and United Nations Development Programme signed a new agreement to enhance collaboration on scientific studies, policies and programs.
CULTIVATING DRYLANDS
30 June – The World Conservation Union leveraged its economic and ecological studies into urging nations to invest more in ‘the hidden wealth of drylands’ which cover three quarters of Kenya, four-fifths of Central Asia and nine-tenths of Jordan.
TRAWLER WITHDRAWL
5 July – Following IUCN studies, four major fishing companies announced a voluntary halt to trawling in 11 deep-sea areas of the southern Indian Ocean to protect and conserve sea floor biodiversity.
HUMAN IMPACTS OF ‘NATURAL’ CATASTROPHES
30 August – The World Conservation Union demonstrated how well-managed ecosystems reduce the impact of extreme natural events, and urged collaboration between disaster response and conservation experts.
AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT
14 September – IUCN’s Mediterranean Red List of Threatened Species found that a quarter of the basin’s amphibians and significant numbers of reptiles could soon go extinct.
MANGROVES ENSURE THE FUTURE
15 September – More than 60 representatives of governments and international organizations expressed strong support for IUCN’s Mangroves for the Future Initiative , a sustainable coastal zone management plan in Indian Ocean countries.
EMPOWER THE POOR TO ENRICH BIODIVERSITY
21 September – The World Conservation Union concluded its Biodiversity in European Development Cooperation conference with a call to “give poor people more control over natural resources to reduce poverty and achieve the sustainable use of biodiversity.”
LUCRATIVE LIFE IN THE KALAHARI DESERT
12 October – IUCN President Valli Moosa urged Botswana to take advantage of its desert, adding: “in a future economy, the Kalahari could become as valuable as diamonds.”
WHOOPING GOOD NEWS
28 October – Members of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission helped wild whooping cranes nest in the American Midwest for the first time since 1890 with techniques they hope will bring similar success in Russia with the threatened Siberian crane.
WELCOME ABOARD
8 November – The 66 th IUCN Council meeting admitted 27 new members, including government agencies, international and national NGOs and affiliate members.
UPLIFT MOUNTAINS TO LOWER CLIMATE IMPACT
13 November – An IUCN workshop on mountain biomes proposed ‘mountain connectivity’ to buffer the impacts to retreating species and melting glaciers in one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate change.
CORAL BLEACHING STAINS WORLD’S POOR
16 November – The World Conservation Union said climate change puts at risk the livelihoods of at least 100 million people, mostly in developing countries, who depend on coral reef goods and services in order to survive.
CHANGE NOW, ‘IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE’
17 November – At the close of the UN Conference on Climate Change, the World Conservation Union called for justice and immediate investments in cost-effective adaptation measures to future climate change impacts.
NORTH AFRICA BRACES FOR TOURIST BOOM
5 December – IUCN co-organized a workshop on how North Africa can lay the groundwork to sustainably absorb the coming decades of unprecedented growth in tourism, expected to reach 100 million annual visitors by 2025.
ISLANDS ALL SET TO USE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH
21 December – IUCN showed how the ecosystem approach can be used as a framework for customary land owners and resource users to help establish and manage protected areas in Small Island States.
CAREFULLY TRACKING SIGNS IN THE WILD
21 December – IUCN Acting Director General Ibrahim Thiaw worried about a year where natural resources were exploited “at breakneck speed,” by “the only species capable of self-destruction”. But he was encouraged by political and economic figures taking a stand, and by a “clear increase in awareness within the private sector”. He called on all stakeholders, members and partners to work with renewed vigour to protect nature.
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