International Land Conservation Network Newsletter, April 2020 Edited by Robin Austin, Project Coordinator for Land Conservation Programs
at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, raustin@lincolninst.edu
In this newsletter:
ILCN/ELCN Earth Day Online Plenary on April 22, 2020-- Earth Day at 50
ILCN/ELCN 2020 Webinar Series
Wilderness Foundation Africa- Innovative Finance Fiscal Solutions Project
ILCN Webinar: Sylvia Bates on Standards and Practices for Land Trusts
ILCN Webinar: Michael Whitfield on Holistic Landscape Conservation
ILCN/ELCN Earth Day Online Plenary on April 22, 2020 --the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day
Join the International Land Conservation Network (ILCN), the European Land Conservation Network (ELCN), and Fundació Catalunya la Pedrera for an ILCN/ELCN Earth Day Online Plenary on April 22, 2020 --the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.
April 22, 2020
9:30-10:30 Eastern Daylight Time (US)
15:30-16:30 Central European Time (Spain)
Since 1970, people in 192 countries have celebrated Earth Day to demonstrate worldwide support for environmental protection and to raise awareness regarding key environmental challenges, including pollution, endangered species and, in the 21st century, climate change.
In this spirit, the ILCN/ELCN Earth Day Online Plenary will highlight the importance of leadership at all levels of society to protect natural and cultural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. On the fiftieth anniversary of what has become a global tradition, this raising of awareness and moving forward with appropriate urgency and resolve is more important than ever.
Two leaders in building the resilience of our places and our planet, Marta Subirà, Secretary of Environment and Sustainability of the Government of Catalonia and Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources, will share reflections on the achievements of the nature conservation community, current challenges, and paths towards a brighter future in their regions. The session will conclude with an introduction of an ILCN/ELCN webinar series that will take place over the course of 2020, and a collective celebratory toast to thank all present for their dedication and contribution.
In these times of almost unimaginable change across countries and communities, we are looking forward to bringing together the global civic land conservation community using the tools at hand to reflect on our work, support our colleagues, and reinforce our commitment to voluntary private and civic action.
We hope you will join us online to celebrate this important milestone with our extraordinary network of individuals and organizations.
Please note that if you are unable to participate in the Earth Day Online Plenary, a recording will be available on the ILCN’s Global Congress website.
In light of the postponement of the Global Congress, the ILCN and ELCN will offer a series of webinars over coming months to continue to engage this community of practice. Registration for the first five ILCN/ELCN Webinars is now open. Please see below for webinar descriptions and registration information.
Please note that if you are unable to participate in a webinar of interest, a recording of each session will be available on the ILCN’s Global Congress website at https://landconservationnetwork.org/global-congress.
Conservation Tools and Strategies in Common Law Jurisdictions 16:00 ET April 29, 2020
Law and Policy
Organisations and conservation practitioners in common law jurisdictions use a number of agreement types to protect private lands, other than outright fee simple ownership. Webinar panelists will discuss the core agreements used in their country, including conservation covenants in Australia and New Zealand and conservation easements in the United States. Panelists will discuss the similarities and differences of their respective agreements, addressing such issues as the agreements’ unique suitability to their jurisdictions, their special focus on protecting ecological features or working landscapes, or both, their accommodation or prohibition of limited development, the importance of financial incentives to landowners, and new challenges to enforceability and to permanence in the face of climate change.
This webinar will be hosted by Laura Johnson of the International Land Conservation Network and chaired by Victoria Marles, Chief Executive Officer of Trust for Nature. Panelists include: Victoria Marles; James Fitzsimons, Director of Conservation for the Australia Program at The Nature Conservancy; Mike Jebson, former Chief Executive at the QEII National Trust in New Zealand; and Jessica Owley, Professor of Law at the University of Miami, United States.
Peer Learning and Collaborative Leadership in Large Landscapes 09:30 ET May 6, 2020
Large Landscape Conservation
Over the past two years, the International Land Conservation Network has convened the first cohort of the Large Landscape Peer Learning Initiative (LLPLI) to share insights and strategies regarding finance, governance, law and policy, and stewardship. These exchanges and in-depth strategic collaborations between large landscape conservation leaders from California, the Appalachian Trail in the eastern United States, Chile’s Mediterranean Zone and Chilean Patagonia have generated a variety of significant, strategic and replicable results. Come meet several of the key participants and learn along with them regarding the power of peer exchange and collaborative processes.
The webinar will be hosted by Jim Levitt, Program Director of Land and Water Conservation at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and will be chaired by Shawn Johnson, Managing Director of the Center for Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Montana. Panelists will include: Greg Moore, CEO Emeritus and Special Advisor to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy; Sharon Farrell, Executive Vice President of Projects, Stewardship & Science at the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy; Wendy K. Janssen, Superintendent of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail at the U.S. National Parks Service; Hernan Mladinic, former executive director of the Friends of the Parks of Patagonia; Victoria Alonso, Executive Director of Fundacion Tierra Austral; Henry Tepper, senior advisor to Fundacion Tierra Austral; and Bill Labich, Senior Conservationist at Highstead.
Using EU LIFE Funding for Private Land Conservation 09:30 ET May 13, 2020
Conservation Finance
This webinar will provide a programme manager’s perspective on LIFE funding opportunities for private and civic land conservation projects. Organisations that have developed projects and received EU LIFE funding will share experiences and insights from the conservation practitioner and LIFE project manager perspective. The webinar will conclude with an extensive Q and A session with the panelists – participants’ chance to ask everything you want to know about their next LIFE funding proposal on private land conservation.
The webinar will be hosted by Tilmann Disselhoff, Project Coordinator of the European Land Conservation Network, and chaired by Angelo Salsi, Head of Unit of the European Commission’s LIFE Programme & CIP eco-Innovation at the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). Angelo and Tilmann will be joined on the panel by Stefano Picchi, Adjunct Professor of Conservation Finance at University of Bologna and Project Manager, WWF-OASI.
Utter Opposites? Conservation in a Commercial Farming Context 14:00 ET May 20, 2020
Land Stewardship and Management
In many countries, the share of land used for commercial agriculture is rising and ranks highest as compared to other land uses. Farmers, whether owners or lessors, can therefore potentially make an enormous contribution to nature conservation. However, intensification of farming, driven by economic imperatives and technological change, is having increasingly negative impacts on nature and biodiversity. Through what tools and strategies can farmers foster nature on their farms and minimise negative impacts, without compromising their quality of life and the economic health of their farm? What motivates farmers to conserve landscapes and biodiversity, particularly in an intensive farming context? In this webinar, panelists will present different approaches, from three corners of the world, of how and why farmers are succeeding in combining biodiversity protection with well-run, modern and economically sustainable farms.
The webinar will be hosted by Jim Levitt, Program Director of Land and Water Conservation at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and will be chaired by Anton Gazenbeek, Steering Committee member of the International Land Conservation Network. Panelists will include: James Ryan, General Manager at New Zealand Farm Environment Trust; Ilana Moir, Director of Conservation at the Colorado West Land Trust; and Martin Lines, UK Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.
Connecting Universities with Land Conservation Organizations 12:00 ET May 27, 2020 Organization and Governance
Academic communities can be a powerful force for positive environmental change locally and globally. Connecting university researchers with land conservation organisations and managers can leverage the strengths and benefits of each to achieve conservation outcomes. This webinar will focus on efforts underway to understand and foster university/land conservation organisation partnerships. The discussion will include questions such as: What are barriers to and facilitators of such partnerships? What makes a good partnership? When are university researchers best able to answer or address questions for land conservation organisations? When and why aren’t they? What kinds of successful partnerships already exist, and what support exists for those? Panelists will share perspectives from their experiences in the academic community and as land conservation practitioners.
The webinar will be hosted by Jim Levitt, Program Director for Land and Water Conservation at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and will be chaired by David Foster, Director of the Harvard Forest at Harvard University. Panelists will include: Marianne Jorgensen, Coordinator for Academics for Land Protection in New England (ALPINE); Nicole Ardoin, Sykes Family Director of the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University; and Lluis Brotons, Senior Researcher at the Ecological and Forestry Applications Research Centre.
Wilderness Foundation Africa- Innovative Finance presents testimonials from their Fiscal Solutions Project
Innovative Finance within Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA) has published testimonials outlining the success of their projects to support Privately Protected Areas through biodiversity tax incentives in South Africa. This program is helpful not just to improve access to funding for conservation partners, but also helps create a conducive environment for attaining the NDP 2030 Goals. The work is critical to supporting the nature of South Africa as well as its social and economic benefits.
Photo Courtesy of Wilderness Foundation Africa
To learn more about this program, view the resource here.
ILCN Webinar: Sylvia Bates on Standards and Practices for Land Trusts
As private land conservation initiatives grow and mature around the world, organizations and networks in many countries are considering establishing standards and practices to build trust and ensure the integrity of their work. This webinar recording features Sylvia Bates, Director of Standards & Educational Services at the Land Trust Alliance, a conservation leader who has been instrumental in the establishment, promulgation and revision of Land Trust Standards and Practices, the ethical and technical guidelines developed by the Land Trust Alliance for the responsible operation of a land trust in the United States. Sylvia describes the history and context of the development of the U.S. standards, and discusses her insights from the experiences of land conservation organizations and networks in different jurisdictions, including Canada, Catalonia and Chile, in adapting and establishing standards and practices in their locales. The webinar draws from Sylvia’s 2019 publication “Guidelines for Establishing Standards and Practices in Private Land Conservation: A Framework for International Application,” a resource for private and civic land conservationists striving for excellence in their operations and activities worldwide.
As our planet faces environmental and social crises and a massive loss ofbiodiversity, efforts to conserve nature are often seen in conflict with efforts to provide access to housing and adequate food, clean air and water, and outdoor recreation. The emergence of landscape conservation through robust, collaborative efforts by individuals and communities that provide for the interests of wildlife and nature is a necessary approach to meet these daunting challenges. Across the United States, there are many examples of conservation success through landscape collaboration, but the concept is hindered by incomplete application and a lack of suitable measures of program outcomes.
In this webinar, 2019 Kingsbury Browne Fellow Michael Whitfield makes a case for holistic landscape conservation efforts, discusses elements of holistic landscape collaboration that meet both ecological and social goals, and examines the consequences of their implementation in multiple settings. This webinar, which is moderated by Jim Levitt, draws from Whitfield's 2019 working paper, "Toward Holistic Landscape Conservation in the 21st Century".
We are excited to share stories from ILCN members. If you have a successful conservation initiative, story, event, or webinar to share, then please contact us at ILCN@lincolninst.edu.
The mission of the International Land Conservation Network is to connect organizations and people around the world that are accelerating voluntary private and civic sector action that protects and stewards land and water resources.
Learn more at landconservationnetwork.org.
Two leaders in building the resilience of our places and our planet, Marta Subirà, Secretary of Environment and Sustainability of the Government of Catalonia and Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources, will share reflections on the achievements of the nature conservation community, current challenges, and paths towards a brighter future in their regions. The session will conclude with an introduction of an ILCN/ELCN webinar series that will take place over the course of 2020, and a collective celebratory toast to thank all present for their dedication and contribution.
