The last year has brought exciting developments, notably the launch of a dedicated thematic community on 'agriculture and biodiversity'; promoting solutions around sustainable land-use from Peru to Nepal. The PANORAMA web platform has been improved with a range of new features, including the assignment of solutions to multiple thematic portals to which they are relevant, leading to a major improvement in user friendliness and logic of the site’s structure.

Collaborations have been developed and expanded with like-minded initiatives such as #NatureForAll, and IUCN has established a process for engaging WCPA members as volunteer reviewers to ensure a high quality standard of “protected area solutions” on the web platform.

The way ahead is equally exciting, and several new thematic focuses (such as ‘business engagement solutions’ and ‘mountain solutions’) have been proposed to be added as dedicated ‘thematic communities’ under the umbrella of the broader partnership - both from within the existing partner institutions as well as by new prospective partners. At the same time, some of the projects that initially helped set up PANORAMA  in its current form will be ending soon.

The steering group made major advancements in defining the process and criteria for inviting new partners to coordinate new themes, ensuring expectations are clearly laid out, benefits and costs fairly distributed, and PANORAMA can grow sustainably yet maximise opportunities. Other key topics on the agenda included discussions on impact pathways in light of user needs; an evaluation of the user behaviour on the web platform; as well as business planning.

While IUCN will broaden its engagement in PANORAMA, the organisation will also continue leading the ‘protected area solutions’ theme: preparation of a ‘solution’ case study will be part of the application process for the IUCN Green List standard; PANORAMA will support knowledge management and communications for the BIOPAMA programme; and PANORAMA will increasingly serve as a vehicle for documenting and communicating success stories from IUCN’s protected area work in the regions.

The upcoming meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SBSTTA and COP), as well as other policy fora to be held in 2018, will provide a stage for highlighting how specific local and regional solutions contribute to the achievements of global targets; and promoting the importance of experience exchange through mechanisms like PANORAMA in working towards these goals.

Visit the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet website and discover innovative solutions from around the world!

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      Photo: PANORAMA