About the World Commission on Protected Areas
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WCPA Strategic Plan (2005-2012)
Statement by the Chair
WCPA's Mission
Work of the WCPA
Get Involved - 10 Tips on Contributing to WCPA
Organisation of the
WCPA
Dedication of the Website
The World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected area expertise. It is administered by IUCN's Programme on Protected Areas and has over 1,200 members, spanning 140 countries.
WCPA's international mission is to promote the establishment and effective management of a world-wide representative network of terrestrial and marine protected areas as an integral contribution to the IUCN mission.
WCPA works by helping governments and others plan protected areas and integrate them into all sectors; by providing strategic advice to policy makers; by strengthening capacity and investment in protected areas; and by convening the diverse constituency of protected area stakeholders to address challenging issues. For more than 50 years IUCN and WCPA have been at the forefront of global action on protected areas
 Mr
Nikita LOPOUKHINE
Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
c/o Parks Canada - Parcs Canada
7th Floor
25 Eddy Street
Gatineau
Quebec K1A 0M5
Canada
Tel: ++1 819 956 9908
Fax: ++1 819 994 5140
Email: nik.lopoukhine@pc.gc.ca 
Mr
David Sheppard
Head
IUCN Programme on Protected Areas
Rue Mauverney 28
CH - 1196 Gland
Switzerland
Tel: ++41 (022) 999 0165
Fax: ++41 (022) 999 0015
Email: aee@iucn.org
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Statement
by the Chair
 After
more than 35 years of work with the Canadian federal
government, IUCN Commissions and international
projects, Nik Lopoukhine will now devote nearly
100 percent of his time to WCPA.
His priorities are to implement
recommendations from the 2003 World Parks Congress
and the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas.
"The CBD now recognizes very clearly the
advice from WCPA," he said. "This will
need to be adequately resourced - for example
through countries seeking the advice, the CBD
Secretariat and the GEF." He would also like
to expand partnerships with foundations, development
agencies and the private sector including the
tourism industry.
Within IUCN, the new WCPA chair
plans to work very closely with other commissions,
especially the Commission on Ecosystem Management.
With the Ecosystem Approach and its application
to protected areas also included in the CBD Programme
of Work on Protected Areas, he would like to expand
the work on protected areas within the broader
ecosystem context. "If a protected area is
healthy, then the surrounding ecosystem is healthy
as well - let's promote protected areas in this
context," he said.
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WCPA
Mission
WCPA's international mission is to promote
the establishment and effective management
of a world-wide representative network of
terrestrial and marine protected areas,
as an integral contribution to the IUCN
mission.
The organization has the
following objectives:
-
to help governments
and others plan protected areas and
integrate them into all sectors, through
provision of strategic advice to policy
makers;
-
to strengthen capacity
and effectiveness of protected areas
managers, through provision of guidance,
tools and information and a vehicle
for networking;
-
to increase investment
in protected areas, by persuading public
and corporate donors of their value;
and
-
to enhance WCPA's capacity
to implement its programme, including
through co-operation with IUCN members
and partners.
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Work
of the WCPA
 To
achieve its objectives, WCPA's strategic
plan is built around the following priorities, each
of which will be addressed by the WCPA network and
the protected areas staff of IUCN in an integrated
way. Priority programmes in the 2005-2008 period
will include:
- Conservation of biodiversity through completion of systems of protected areas, particularly in the marine biome, as well as promotion of ecological networks and the ecosystem approach to enhance biodiversity conservation and, where appropriate , sustaible use of biodiversity
- knowledge generation and the integration of conservation science, including traditional knowledge, in management effectiveness, conservation tools and mechanisms, protected area management categories, and the setting and maintenance of standards for protected areas
- building awareness, promoting effective conservation edudation and building up practitioner's skills, developing strategies for sustainable financing, and generating and disseminating knowledge - including through PALNet
- improved governance of protected areas; promotion of the full range of governance types for protected areas; increased participation of indigenous peoples and local communities, promotion of contribution of protected areas to human well-being
A number of other programmes will
be developed by and driven through the volunteer
network of WCPA.
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Organisation
of the WCPA
WCPA has some 1200 members from
over 140 countries.WCPA is centrally coordinated
by a steering committee and supported by the Programme
on Protected Areas (PPA). It is organised geographically,
thematically and functionally. WCPA has:
Sixteen
(16) Regions
Australia/New Zealand;
Brazil; Caribbean; Central America; East Asia;
Eastern Africa; Southern Africa; Europe; North
Africa/Middle East; North America; North
Eurasia; Pacific; South America; South
Asia; Southeast Asia; and Western and Central
Africa
Two
Biomes
Mountains and Marine
Four
Strategic Directions
- Science and Management
- Capacity Development
- Governance, Equity and Livelihoods
- Conserving Biodiversity
Convention
on Biological Diversity
World
Heritage
These sections are further described
in the corresponding pages of this website
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Get Involved - 10 Tips on Contributing to WCPA
10 ways of actively contributing to WCPA's activities. Click here (pdf, 192K
 Dedication
This web site is dedicated to
the memory of Dr. Nancy Foster whose conservation
advocacy and environmental stewardship help to
preserve our natural heritage for future generations.
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