Durban, South Africa, 15 September 2003 (IUCN) - The heads of IUCN and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) signed today a landmark agreement at the World Parks Congress which is set to strengthen the conservation of hundreds of species ranging from the Siberian crane to the Mediterranean monk seal. IUCN and CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention, have had a close working relationship in working to conserve the world’s migratory species since the Convention was created in 1979. The IUCN Environmental Law Commission and Programme took the lead in drafting the Convention text with work starting in 1974. A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC), to be signed on Monday 15 September, formalizes the relationship, builds on the many areas of collaboration that have already evolved and provides a framework that will make IUCN’s contribution to implementation of the Convention more effective. It will be signed by Achim Steiner, IUCN Director General, and Arnulf Müller-Helmbrecht, CMS Executive Secretary. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 15 September 2003 (IUCN) - A remarkable change in the policy of the Chinese government in its approach to protected areas is emerging at the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban. “The Chinese government simply declared 44 sites protected in 1982. Now, these are increasingly designated in consultation with, or even by communities themselves”, says Mr. Li Rusheng, Division Chief of the Office of National Parks, Ministry of Construction, China. In 1982, 100 % of the protected areas were designated by the State, now that percentage is down to 80. Communities and lower levels of government increasingly identify new sites. Mr. Zhu Guangqing of the State Environmental Protection Agency explains the trend: “Local government and local communities increasingly understand environmental issues and engage on nature conservation. New laws and frameworks as well as increased funding for conservation stimulate their participation”. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 15 September 2003 (IUCN) - One of the biggest new messages coming out of the World Parks Congress is that governments are not the only ones attempting to protect biodiversity. Indigenous peoples, mobile peoples, and local communities across the world are conserving habitats and species in a bewildering diversity of ways….across perhaps several hundred million hectares. A considerable part of the earth’s biodiversity survives on territories under the ownership, control, or management of indigenous people’s and local (including mobile) communities. However, the fact that such people’s and communities are actively or passively conserving many of these sites through traditional or modern means, has hitherto been neglected in formal conservation circles. (...)

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Durban, South Africa, 15 September 2003 (IUCN) - The Vth IUCN World Parks Congress is tackling key issues that affect both conservation and development including the movement of diseases between wildlife, humans and their livestock. In response to this growing problem, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), IUCN, and other organizations are launching a new programme designed to prevent and minimize the ecological and economic damage introduced diseases can cause. “As the list of diseases affecting domestic animals and people that originate in the wild grows longer, we begin to realize that a more holistic approach is needed to manage the interface between wildlife, livestock and humans,” said Dr. William Karesh, head of WCS’s Field Veterinary Programme and Co-chair of the Veterinary Specialist Group of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission.(...)

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Durban, South Africa, 15 September 2003 (IUCN) - The Earth’s ecosystems are facing numerous pressures, including those found within protected areas. Measuring their health status is important in improving biodiversity, managing protected areas appropriately and directing limited resources to where they are most needed. Like a canary in a coalmine, ill-health in protected areas can be an indicator of an unhealthy planet. To improve biodiversity and natural systems, it is important to assess the features of the ecosystems most necessary for their survival. This allows specialists to set quantifiable and credible objectives for conservation projects, and to develop priority monitoring and research needs. Experts at a Vth IUCN World Parks Congress workshop this week have been discussing the health status or ‘ecological integrity’ of protected areas, delving into the tools and techniques that can be used in measuring it. (...)

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Durban, Afrique du Sud, 15 Septembre 2003 (IUCN) - Au Congrès Mondial des Parcs de l’UICN en Afrique du Sud, le Dr. Luc Hoffmann a annoncé aujourd’hui l’engagement de la Fondation MAVA pour un montant de 5 millions d’euros afin de construire un réseau d’aires marines protégées sur la zone côtière Ouest Africaine. "Je suis convaincu que cette approche régionale, qui permet une gestion plus cohérente des grandes écosystèmes et des problématiques communes aux différents pays, constitue la meilleure réponse possible au défi du développement durable. Par son caractère novateur et l’esprit qui la guide, cette initiative africaine devrait pouvoir servir d’exemple à d’autres régions du monde. C’est cette conviction qui m’amène aujourd’hui a vous annoncer l’engagement de la Fondation MAVA en faveur du PRCM pour un montant de 5 millions d’euros pour les cinq prochaines années, aux côtés des autres bailleurs ayant déjà formulé leur intérêt de principe à la conservation de la zone côtière Ouest Africaine au bénéfice des populations", a dit le Dr. Hoffmann.(...)

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