IUCN MOURNS THE LOSS OF LIFE CAUSED BY THE ASIA QUAKE
December 28, 2004
IUCN – The World Conservation Union joins the world in mourning the tragic loss of life in the wake of the tidal wave that hit eleven countries across Asia and Africa on Sunday 26 December, with the reported death toll now as high as 40,000. IUCN Director General Achim Steiner has expressed condolences on behalf of IUCN and the global conservation movement, which only four weeks ago met for its World Conservation Congress in Thailand, to everyone who has been affected by one of the biggest and most devastating natural disasters in recent memory. “As an international organization, we shall mobilize our collective resources to help our friends and colleagues and the thousands of communities affected by these events as best as we can,” he said. Steiner also added that IUCN will play its part in the rehabilitation and recovery efforts of the countries affected.
Full statement // IUCN in Asia

WCPA AND PARTNERS ANNOUNCE TWO NEW AWARDS FOR YOUNG CONSERVATIONISTS
December 23, 2004
The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) announces two new awards to young people working in protected area and biodiversity conservation. The first, an annual award for young conservation leaders, will be offered jointly by WCPA and the International Rangers Federation (IRF). The second award is made available through WCPA and the Consortium for International Protected Area Management (CIPAM) and will give two training scholarships to young professionals in protected areas each year. “We hope that the rest of IUCN will learn from the example set by WCPA,” said Cassie Wright, IRF Youth Development Officer. Both awards are results of a long process within WCPA to involve more young professionals in conservation. “There are too many grey heads and few youthful ones,” Mr Nelson Mandela said at last year’s Vth IUCN World Parks Congress. A series of meetings at the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress (Bangkok, Thailand, November 2004) led to the establishment of the two new awards.
Full story // IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas // Vth IUCN World Parks Congress // International Rangers Federation

IUCN RECEIVES RENEWED VOTE OF CONFIDENCE BY DENMARK
December 22, 2004
Denmark, which has been a long standing supporter of IUCN, has given the organization its seal of approval once again by signing the 2005-2008 Joint General Framework Agreement. The collaboration between the Danish Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, represented by Danida, and IUCN began in the late 1980s and has evolved into a strong and productive partnership. Last week, the IUCN Director General Achim Steiner and the Danish Minister for Integration and Development Cooperation Bertel Haarder signed the Agreement which provides support for the implementation of IUCN’s Programme. This was approved by IUCN’s 1,000 plus member organizations at the recent 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. Denmark is one of six donors with whom IUCN has signed a Joint General Framework Agreement.
IUCN Framework Donors // IUCN Programme // Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs // Denmark’s Environmental Strategy

INTERNATIONAL ACTION COULD SPELL HOPE AT LAST FOR THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SAIGA ANTELOPE
December 21, 2004
For the first time, representatives from the main Range States of the Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica) – Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – and China have come together to discuss urgent action to save this Critically Endangered nomadic species from imminent extinction. An informal meeting, organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and IUCN’s European Sustainable Use Specialist Group at the third IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, saw experts and officials share deep concern and express support for a range of conservation actions. The plight of this herding antelope featured prominently in the launch of the 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in which it was listed as Critically Endangered, the highest category of threat. A recent report based on data provided by the Darwin Initiative saiga project confirmed that Saiga population numbers had plummeted from 1 million around 1990 to some 31,000 individuals in 2003, including the sub-species Saiga tatarica mongolica.
Full story // IUCN Species Survival Commission // IUCN Red List of Threatened Species // 3^rd IUCN World Conservation Congress

IUCN WORLD HERITAGE PANEL DISCUSSES NEW NOMINATIONS FOR NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE STATUS
December 17, 2004
This week, the IUCN World Heritage Panel has reviewed twenty new nominations for the prestigious World Heritage status. The Panel, comprised of international experts, met at IUCN headquarters to technically review nominations submitted by State Parties to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and to discuss the outcomes of the expert missions that were carried out over the last six months. Out of this year’s twenty nominations from all over the world that IUCN is required to examine, ten are for natural sites, three for mixed sites and seven for Cultural Landscapes. IUCN, as the official Advisory Body on Natural Heritage to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, carries out a rigorous review of the nominations for World Heritage status each year. This includes an expert field evaluation mission to each of the sites proposed under natural criteria, desk reviews by international experts, often from the IUCN Commissions and especially the World Commission on Protected Areas, and the preparation of a data sheet by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
Full story // IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas // IUCN World Heritage activities // World Heritage Nominations 2004-2005

IUCN HEADQUARTERS DESIGN COMPETITION BEGINS
December 16, 2004
IUCN, in cooperation with the Building Foundation for International Organizations (FIPOI) in Geneva, has announced a design competition for an extension to the existing headquarters building situated in Gland, Switzerland. This will provide a long-term strategy for accommodating the current and future needs of the Union, the Ramsar Secretariat and other IUCN partners. Architectural firms are invited to submit their expressions of interest for design of the extension to the current headquarters building. The extension must be designed in accordance with all relevant criteria of sustainability (materials, energy, etc.) and broadly allow for an increase in capacity from 110 to 230 work places with related infrastructure and services.The deadline for expressions of interest is 10 January 2005.
More information // FIPOI

TOUT SAVOIR SUR LES GRANDS MAMMIFERES DU COMPLEXE WAP
December 15, 2004
« Les grands mammifères du complexe WAP » [parcs du W, d’Arly et Pendjari]. Tel est le titre d’un ouvrage que vient de publier le Programme parc régional W/ECOPAS-UE , avec la collaboration, entre autres, de l’UICN. Naguère peu connue, la richesse faunique du Complexe impressionne par sa diversité et son importance. Tous les grands mammifères terrestres qui peuplent le complexe WAP y sont décrits dans leurs moindres détails : classification, caractères biométriques, description morphologique, mode de reproduction, mode de vie, habitats… Document abondamment illustré, l’ouvrage présente des photographies de chaque espèce décrite tout en reprenant les différentes dénominations de ces espèces dans quelques langues locales des trois pays concernés, à savoir le Bénin, le Burkina Faso et le Niger. Par ailleurs, l’ouvrage s’inspire fortement de la Liste rouge de l'UICN qui permet de classer les espèces dans diverses catégories en fonction de la menace éventuelle qui pèse sur elles.
Article complet // Bureau régional de l'UICN pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest // La Liste rouge de l'UICN des espèces menacées

IUCN: A MODEL FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE?
by Remi Parmentier
December 14, 2004
This month the United Nations General Assembly is discussing a number of reforms proposed by Kofi Annan to increase the involvement of civil society in its work. These are based on the recommendations of a panel appointed by the Secretary General, one of which is to embrace “multi-constituency multilateralism” by extending involvement in UN global policy making to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), parliamentarians, local authorities, academics, churches and the private sector. This would be a critical development in ensuring that the UN remains relevant and effective in its approach to global governance, but it is not a new idea. One international body has been achieving this multi-constituency multilateralism approach since 1948. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has a unique membership and structure which includes governments, government agencies and NGOs.
Full story // 3^rd IUCN World Conservation Congress // IUCN Membership Relations
and Governance // The Varda Group for Environment and Sustainability

THE WORLD'S MOUNTAINS: FROM CONFLICT TO COLLABORATION
December 10, 2004
The world is celebrating International Mountain Day on 11 December this year, under the theme “Peace: key to sustainable mountain development”. Through its work on trans-boundary management of mountain areas in regions as far apart as the Balkans, the Great Lakes of Africa and the Himalayas, IUCN not only furthers its biodiversity conservation goals, but also makes a modest contribution to rebuilding trust between former enemies. Mountains cover 24% of the land surface of our planet, and are home to 12% of the global population. “More than half the world’s population relies on mountain water not just for drinking, but also to grow food, produce electricity and sustain industries”, said Martin Price, Chair of the IUCN CEM/WCPA Mountain Initiative Task Force.
Full news release // Conservation and SustainableDevelopment in Mountain Areas // IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management

EL SALVADOR SE UNE A UICN COMO ESTADO MIEMBRO
December 9, 2004
Durante el 3^er Congreso Mundial de la Naturaleza de la UICN - Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza, efectuado en Bangkok, Tailandia del 17 al 25 de noviembre, la República de El Salvador se unió formalmente a la membresía de esta organización, convirtiéndose en el Estado miembro número 82 de la Unión en el mundo y el sexto en la región estatutaria de Meso y Sur América. La lista de Estados miembro de la UICN-Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza continúa creciendo; desde agosto pasado se unieron la República Islámica de Irán, la República de São Tomé y Príncipe, la República de Guinea Ecuatorial, y la República de Angola; las tres últimas de África Occidental.
Noticia completa // Oficina Regional de la UICN para Mesoamérica

DR LUC HOFFMANN HONORE PAR L’UICN
December 8, 2004
La médaille J.C. Philips est probablement à la conservation de la nature ce qu’est le prix Nobel à la paix. C’est par une « standing ovation » de plusieurs minutes que les milliers de délégués au Congrès de l’UICN ont exprimé leur reconnaissance à M. Luc Hoffmann. L’homme aime la nature et s’y consacre sans relâche depuis six décennies. A 81 ans, M. Hoffmann consacre une grande partie de sa vie, de ses moyens financiers et de ses réflexions à la cause de la nature. Et il obtient des résultats concrets ou probants. A 25 ans déjà, il achète le domaine de la Tour du Valat -dans le Sud de la France-, une station biologique qui, aujourd’hui a une renommée européenne et mondiale. Avec ses collègues chercheurs, il y a conduit les premières études sur les populations d’oiseaux d’eau et l’écologie des zones humides.
Article complet // Dr. Luc Hoffmann’s acceptance speech // Note biographique sur Dr L. Hoffmann // List of Recipients of the John C. Phillips Medal // Bureau régional de l'UICN pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest

CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL OF SPAIN DECLARED THAT REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE THE EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY TO MANAGE SPANIARD’S NATIONAL PARKS
December 6, 2004
In Spain, the National Park category (Category II, IUCN, 1994) offers the highest degree of protection to a natural area and also enjoys the greatest recognition and prestige. In essence, the use and effective management of a territory under this category suppose a guarantee to the conservation of its natural values and surrounding landscapes. The Constitutional Tribunal of Spain (in decision STC 194/2004, of 10 November 2004) has ruled in favour of the Autonomous Communities of Spain (regional governments) – giving them the exclusive competence for managing National Parks. This landmark decision implies new challenges and opportunities for the future of Spain’s National Parks Network, considered until now as one of the best models of shared management responsibility of this protected area category – and one of the most emblematic worldwide.
Full story // IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas // UICN Centro de Cooperación del Mediterráneo

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