WCPA Members
| |
Appointment
of WCPA Members
Terms of Reference of WCPA Members
How to get involved
Membership
Guide
WCPA Membership Directory January 2008
WCPA
Members Meeting November 2004, Bangkok Thailand
As of October 2006, the WCPA
membership comprises some 1200 individuals from
over 140 countries. WCPA membership is by invitation,
on the basis of individual experience in relation
to protected areas as well as a willingness to
assist in a voluntary capacity with the work of
WCPA. In general, five types of people are members
of the Commission:
- managers of protected
areas, typically senior officials of protected
areas agencies, but also field practitioners;
- experts in relation
to the fields of WCPA's interests;
- academic specialists in areas relating to protected areas, resource
economics, biogeography wildlife management,
marine conservation and other related fields;
- officials from relevant
non-government organisations involved with
protected areas; and
- ex-officio members
from key partner organisations.
Appointment
of WCPA Members
All WCPA members
are approved by the WCPA Chair on the recommendation
of Steering Committee members. Vice-Chairs are
asked to identify appropriate members from within
their region and theme area and recommend them
to the Chair. Membership applications are sent
out by the IUCN Programme on Protected Areas (PPA).
Details from completed membership forms are incorporated
in a WCPA members database, which is maintained
by the PPA.
Terms
of Reference of WCPA Members
Members must contribute constructively
to the mission of IUCN and WCPA, in a voluntary
capacity and in particular to:
-
serve as the two way communication
link between in country professionals and
the Programme on Protected Areas at IUCN headquarters
to provide information and ideas relevant
to protected areas;
-
serve as a link between their
organisation/constituency and WCPA, to foster
a two way flow of information and ideas;
-
serve as a focal point for
collaboration with the UNEP/ WCMC to assist
updating of the World Protected Areas Database
and the preparation of the UN List of Protected
Areas;
-
provide support for international
initiatives relevant to protected areas in
their country, region, or theme area;
-
foster professionalism in
all aspects relating to the establishment
and management of protected areas;
-
respond to requests for information
or advice from WCPA Steering Committee members
and PPA on issues such as World Heritage Evaluations;
-
participate fully, where possible,
in relevant WCPA working sessions or other
activities organised by WCPA;
-
work cooperatively with IUCN
regional and country offices (RCO's) to support
their work in protected areas;
-
provide advice on requests
from people competent to serve in protected
area position where IUCN advice is sought.
Tips
for Getting Involved
- Contribute an article to the
WCPA Newsletter or PARKS. If you wish to share
your
experience with over 1500 of the world’s
leading protected area specialists and
organisations, send an email to wcpa@iucn.org
- Contact your Regional Vice
Chair
and ask if you can help with their regional
and/or national activities; WCPA Steering Commitee Members
- Contact Chairs of the WCPA
Task Forces or Theme Programmes, that match
up with your interests (refer to Members Guide
for contact details) and ask if you can help
their activities;WCPA Steering Commitee Members
- Consider setting up an informal
network within WCPA. For example, the WCPA informal
network on Grassland Protected Areas was set
up by Bill Henwood of Canada. Such networks
should be set up through placing a notice in
the WCPA Newsletter. While such networks are
set up on the understanding that there would
be no direct financial support from IUCN; WCPA
can serve as a useful vehicle for facilitating
contact between people interested in similar
issues; send an email to wcpa@iucn.org
- Advise the IUCN Protected Areas
Programme (David Sheppard or Pedro Rosabal),
or any member of the WCPA Steering Committee,
about protected area issues that you feel should
be addressed; send an email to wcpa@iucn.org
- Participate in WCPA Regional
Working Sessions held in your region, all of
which are
advertised well in advance in the WCPA Newsletter;
- Establish contact with the
PA Staff working in the IUCN Regional or Country Office close to you to see
if you can support their work in protected areas,
and, where possible, respond to requests for
advice and information;
IUCN PA Staff
- Explore possibilities for secondments
or volunteer for short periods of work with
the
Protected Area Programme in Switzerland. send an email to wcpa@iucn.org
- Make contact with other WCPA
members in other regions and countries. An updated WCPA Membership Directory is available online. We
suggest that you take this with you when you
travel and you make contact with members in
other parts of the world (apart from anything
else, it can be a good way to get improved insight
on any protected areas you may visit while on
holiday); and
- Initiate nominations for the
Fred Packard Award through your regional or
thematic vice chair (refer Members Guide).
There are, of course, many other ways in which
you can be involved. However the onus, as in all
volunteer networks, rests with you - the individual
member. We urge you to get involved. We would
also note that membership of WCPA is assessed
at the time of each IUCN World Conservation Congress
(previously the General Assembly) and that one
of the criteria in deciding which members are
re-invited is level of interest and activity.
We hope that many more members will get actively
involved with WCPA over the next triennium.
|
