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Vth World Parks Congress - 7-17 September 2003, Durban, South Africa

The Homepage www.iucn.org/wpc2003/ contains a brief introduction as to what the WPC is and links to the main sections -
This section contains information about the WPC, ranging from the concept of parks congresses with a historical overview of previous congresses, to logistical information such as details of the congress location, dates, organizers, and a brief description of the WCPA
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This is where new documents are posted and news disseminated. As well it host the daily coverage of the congress events and gives useful updates in the build up to the WPC. It includes links to the PARKS newsletter and a section for the Media, covering press releases, media briefs and details of media accreditation
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"LINKAGES IN THE LANDSCAPE/SEASCAPE"

WORKSHOP STREAM 1

Linkages between protected areas and surrounding landuses

Abstract of the WPC Stream Linkages in the Landscape and Seascape

Stream leader: Peter Bridgewater

Protected areas are often seen as "hermetically sealed bubbles" or "islands of conservation in an ocean of destruction". But unless protected areas are part of well-managed landscapes/seascapes, there will be nothing to protect. Protected areas cannot be "untouchable islands", isolated from the rest of the world. Like every other part of the biosphere, protected areas, as part of a global matrix, depend on a wide variety of factors for their survival. It would be archaic to think that a National Park won't be affected by impacts in its surrounding landscape, and vice versa. Today few of the Earth's ecosystems are effectively managed or maintained. Global fisheries are depleted, forests undervalued and clear-cut, soils eroded, biodiversity threatened and vital ecosystem processes disrupted. Protected areas have an important role to play in buffering these destructive processes. Although they are cornerstone of biodiversity conservation efforts, they are insufficient in scale and number in either the land or sea to significantly influence landscape/seascape management outside their boundaries. Networks and linkages are vehicles for benefits of protected areas to be provided beyond park boundaries. Protected areas need to be connected or reconnected to the surrounding landscape. Only by placing them in a landscape context can we meet conservation goals, and ensure effective land, water and marine ecosystem planning. Understanding linkages in the landscape is not just about good ecological science; such science must be coupled with an understanding that cultural and biological diversity are inextricably linked.

To help park managers around the world achieve this outcome, the WPC Stream on Linkages in the Landscape and Seascape looked at five key elements of linkages to and from protected areas - ecological, economic, institutional, cultural, as well as the effectiveness of these linkages in benefiting protected areas. Through seven in-depth sessions, participants helped develop a 'recipe book' on integrating linkages in land use planning, and techniques to ensure that these linkages support protected areas designation, human needs and maintenance of ecological services. These areas, where conservation and sustainable development go hand in hand, enjoy increasing interest and recognition, widening the 'traditional' vision of protected areas. They are classified as Category V: Protected Landscapes / Seascapes by IUCN and have unequal distribution worldwide, with the largest share found in Europe, where they account for about two thirds of the protected area estate. In this International Year of Freshwater, one session also dealt with integrated catchment and coastal management, and explored how the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance is helping link science and policy. One session also looked at the 'international game board' - identifying key players in the field of building linkages, and exploring the role of international conventions and agreements in this arena.

Another key topic on the workshop stream agenda was human-wildlife conflict, where case studies from countries as diverse as Kenya, Sri Lanka and Brazil were presented. These case studies will feed into the discussion on human interactions in the landscape. In previous decades, and at previous World Parks Congresses, the creation of protected areas was often justified on aesthetic grounds alone, or with only the addition of specific conservation objectives. But now scientific, economic, and cultural rationales are used as well. In the future, as natural resources are becoming evermore scarce, it is likely that protected areas will be established solely for their importance to water quantity and quality. Fifty years ago protected areas were almost only a national responsibility; now they are seen as a concern at all levels, from local to international. Internationally, Ramsar sites, Biosphere Reserves, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites are key examples. The workshop stream showcased Transboundary Biosphere Reserves as examples of best practice in protected areas straddling national borders. Protected areas in the next ten years will look very different; in addition to government-run protected areas, there will be more innovation as civil society and private enterprise play their role. As the concept of linkages settles in our psyche, our perceptions of protected areas will change: when thinking of these areas in the future we will be also thinking about the landscape surrounding and supporting them.

The stream was organized through two plenary sessions on the first morning and the last afternoon. On the afternoon of the first day, participants split into three panel sessions, after being presented a general "plenary" presentation on "Linkages in Practice". On day two and morning of day three, participants were given the opportunity to analyze "in depth" the key issues relevant to the linkages concept through seven concurrent breakout sessions.

Full report - Word Document - 160KB
Linkages in the Landscape / Seascape Brief - PDF Document
More information in the IUCN-CEM website - http://www.iucn.org/themes/cem

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Output of the Linkages Workshop - The Durban Link

Strengthening Protected Areas: Ten Target Areas for Action in the Next Decade

It became clear during IUCN's Vth World Parks Congress in Durban that the key to linkages is that parks exist not as unique islands, but as places in a matrix.
An effective system of protected areas is essential for conserving biodiversity but is not efficient: protected areas need to be planned and managed as an integral part of the global bio-cultural matrix. Protected areas both need, and can provide for, ecological, cultural and social resilience. They are indeed the "resilience parachutes" of the world, concentrates of biological and cultural diversity.

In THE DURBAN LINK ten target areas for action to strengthen protected areas are listed that were recognised by IUCN's Vth World Parks Congress. These ten target areas for action are essential steps for achieving more sustainable protected areas - while solving other pressing social and environmental issues.

THE DURBAN LINK has been launched by Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, at the 25 years celebration of the Tri-lateral Wadden Sea Cooperation on 22 October 2003 in Willemshafen, Germany. For this occasion THE DURBAN LINK has been translated into the official languages of the countries involved: Dutch, German and Danish.

THE DURBAN LINK:

The Durban Link - Strengthening Protected Areas: Ten Target Areas for Action in the Next DecadeEnglish version - PDF Document - 600KB
French version - PDF Document - 600KB
Spanish version - PDF Document - 2MB
Dutch version - PDF Document - 600KB
German version - PDF Document - 600KB
Danish version - PDF Document - 600KB
Catalan version - PDF Document - 2MB

Peter Bridgewater's speech for the Wadden Sea
Word Document - 59KB

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Stream Focus

Stream examined ecological and socio-cultural linkages at different scales. It investigated the application of the ecosystem approach to protected areas (PAs) and the new governance mechanisms necessary to achieve this.Special focus on:

  • linkages for marine PAs;
  • integrated coastal management;
  • bioregional approaches;
  • transboundary conservation.

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Programme

Linkages in the Landscape & Seascape
Leads: Peter Bridgewater, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention

Programme Overview // Programme Detailed - PDF Document

Thursday 11 // Friday 12 // Saturday 13

Time // Place
09:00-12:30
ROOM
HALL 1A

Plenary
Introductory speech: Hilary Masundire, Chair, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management
Chair: Hermelindo Castro, Director General, RENP, Andalucia
Five presentations on key aspects of Linkages:
-
Ecological aspects: M.A. Sanjayan, The Nature Conservancy
- Institutional aspects: Marshall Murphree, Zimbabwe
- Cultural aspects: Driss Fassi. Chair, UNESCO-MAB International Council
- Economic aspects: Eugenio Figueroa, Universities of Santiago/Alberta
- A donor perspective: Thora Amend & Rolf Mack, GTZ

14:00-17:30
Simultaneous panel discussions

Three simultaneous panel discussions:
- Adaptive response for nature conservation to climate change - ROOM 3A-1 // Brett Orlando, IUCN // Agenda
- Linkages design and restoration - ROOM 3A-2 // David Lamb, CEM Theme Leader on Ecosystem Restoration // Agenda
- Community conservation issues - ROOM 3A-3 // Jessica Brown, QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment, USA and Maryam-Niamir Fuller, Senior Technical Advisor on Land Degradation, UNDP // Agenda

One global presentation:
- Linkages in practice - HALL 1A // Graham Bennett, The Netherlands, expert centre for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources
18:00-19:30
HALL 1A
Book launch
"Linkages in the landscape - The role of corridors and connectivity in wildlife conservation"

Launch of a congress reprint of Linkages in the Landscape by Andrew Bennett.
09:00-12:30
Event leaves (workgroups)
Concurrent work groups will discuss the following aspects of linkages:
a) Planning the linkages in the landscape - ROOM 3A-1 // Kathy McKinnon, World Bank
How can we integrate linkages in land use planning, and how can linkages better fit Protected Areas designations, human needs and ecosystems services? What is the role of the private sector in this and how can they help establish or maintain linkages? // Agenda
b) Protecting landscape and seascape: IUCN Categories V, World Heritage Cultural Landscape and other designations - ROOM 3A-2 // Jessica Brown, QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environmen, Maine, USA. // Agenda
How will linkages affect the IUCN Protected Areas categories? (especially categories V and VI, including considerations of World Heritage Cultural Landscapes).
c) The fresh water issue - ROOM 3A-3 // Bill Phillips, Mainstream Consulting, Australia // Agenda
How can we link marine, coastal freshwater and terrestrial protected areas and landscape/seascape management policies?
In this International Year of Freshwater, the session will deal with integrated catchment management, integrated coastal management and with scientific issues of special relevance to freshwater and marine ecosystems.
More information: http://www.mainstream.com.au/WaterProgram.htm
d) Benefits of MPA networks for fisheries & endangered species: experiences & innovation in scaling up to build networks - ROOM 2FE-1 // Ghislane Llewellyn (U.K.), Hugh Logan (New Zealand) // Agenda
e) The international game board - HALL 1A // Jane Robertson, UNESCO // Agenda
What key players can be identified in the field of building and supporting linkages in the land and seascape? More specifically: what role does international conventions and agreements play in this arena?
f) Creating coexistence between humans and wildlife - ROOM 3A-5 // Francine Madden, Terralingua // Agenda
How do human interactions in the landscape influence linkages? This session will deal with human-wildlife conflicts, the existing tools to manage them and the experience gained in this domain.
g) Integrating biodiversity conservation and mining to land use planning and management strategies - ROOM 3A-4 // Scott Houston, ICMM // Agenda
How can the private sector help in managing landscape. A special overview of the IUCN/ICMM Joint Programme
14:00-17:30
Event leaves (continuing…)
Second part of the event leaves started in the morning:
a) Planning the linkages in the landscape - ROOM 3A-1 // Kathy McKinnon, World Bank
b) Protecting landscape and seascape: IUCN Categories V, World Heritage Cultural Landscape and other designations - ROOM 3A-2 // Jessica Brown, Atlantic Centre, Maine, USA.
c) The fresh water issue - ROOM 3A-3 // Bill Phillips, Mainstream consulting, Australia
d) The international game board - HALL 1A // Jane Robertson, UNESCO
- Creating coexistence between humans and wildlife - ROOM 3A-5 // Francine Madden, Terralingua
e) Integrating biodiversity conservation and mining to land use planning and management strategies - ROOM 3A-4 // Scott Houston, ICMM
Saturday 13
09:00-12:30 // 14:00-17:30
09:00-12:30
Event leaves (workgroups)
Six concurrents groups will discuss the main issues of linkages:
a) Planning the linkages in the landscape - ROOM 3A-1 // Kathy McKinnon, World Bank
b) Protecting landscape and seascape: IUCN Categories V, World Heritage Cultural Landscape and other designations - ROOM 3A-2 // Jessica Brown, Atlantic Centre, Maine, USA.
c) The fresh water issue
- ROOM 3A-3 // Bill Phillips, Mainstream consulting, Australia
d) The international game board
- HALL 1A // Jane Robertson, UNESCO
e) Creating coexistence between humans and wildlife
- ROOM 3A-5 // Francine Madden, Terralingua
f) Implementing MPA networks to sustain the world's large marine ecosystems
- ROOM 3A-4 // Kenneth Sherman (USA)
14:00-17:30
HALL 1A
Wrap-up plenary
Chair:
Peter Bridgewater
Final plenary in which the conclusions from the different workgroups will be synthesized. A final reference document will be agreed for the whole stream, as well as the text of the recommendations to be included in the Durban accord. Specific statements, inter alia, on cultural issues, freshwater issues, the role of the private sector in parks and protected areas may be developed during this session.

The "linkages" stream is a partnership between IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas, IUCN's Commission on Ecosystem Management, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, UNESCO-MaB, WWF, Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

More detailed information in the linkage's workshop Website:
http://www.iucn.org/themes/cem/linkages.htm

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Documents

Abstract of the WPC Stream Linkages in the Landscape and Seascape // Full report
Word document - 173KB

Reprint of Andrew Bennett's book 'Linkages in the Landscape: The role of Corridors and Connnectivity in Wildlife Conservation'
Link to CEM Website // Link to IUCN Bookstore

Reloading the matrix - WPC Linkages Stream presentation by Peter Bridgewater
Online Presentation - 7MB

Linkages in practice: a review of their conservation value - WPC Presentation of Graham Bennett
Online Presentation - 5MB

Programme of the WPC Linkages Stream: General Overview // Detailed Overview
Word Document - 120KB // 309 KB

Programme of the Workshop Stream 1: Linkages in the Landscape and Seascape -
PDF Document - 122KB

Agenda of the Joint Panel in Streams 1 & 3: The Role of Communities in sustaining Linkages in the Landscape and Seascape,
(Thursday 11 September 2003) - PDF Document - 104KB

Agenda of the subtheme of the Stream 1 Workshop: Protecting Landscapes & Seascapes - IUCN Category V, world Heritage Cultural Landscape and Other Designations,
(Thursday 11 September 2003) - PDF Document - 118KB

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Short courses related to this stream :

Conservation planning with software and expert judgement: targets, gaps and priorities
Important Bird Areas: connecting 'local' and 'global' for sustainable biodiversity conservation and protected area management
Strategic Participatory Communication: Achieving Results for Protected Areas

The linkages stream has its own website for more information click here

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Seven Workshop Streams will be conducted over 3 days in workshop plenaries and smaller break out groups. Three important areas have also been identified which cut across the 7 workshop streams. The Cross Cutting Themes will be expected to produce specific Congress outputs. Congress participants who have a special interest in these themes may follow an interest thread throughout the programme.There is also a workshop on Mountains which will be held before the Congress.

Back to the Workshop main page

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This section contains information about the WPC, ranging from the concept of parks congresses with a historical overview of previous congresses, to logistical information such as details of the congress location, dates, organizers, and a brief description of the WCPA.
sur le CMPSobre el CMP
Idea, concept, history of the WPC

- symposia
- workshops
- side events
- media events
- short courses
- exhibition

Welcome at the WPC 2003
What's the World Commission on Protected  Areas
Vth World Parks Congres - Benefits Beyond Boundaries

 

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