International Land Conservation Network Newsletter, January 2021
In this Newsletter:
ILCN Webinar: Civically Protected Areas in China
ILCN/ELCN Global Congress Postponed
Over 50 Countries Commit to Conserving 30% of the Planet by 2030
Introducing the Eurosite-ELCN Secretariat
Private Land Conservation in Latin America
Status of Africa Civil Societies in the Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation Space
Advancing Collaborative Leadership to Achieve Conservation Outcomes
Upcoming Events
ILCN Webinar: Civically Protected Areas in China
Efforts by civil society to protect land in China have been ongoing since the mid-1990s. Years of work and coordination by conservation practitioners and supporters came to fruition in 2011, when the first land trust in China – the 27,325-acre Laohegou Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province – was established. In 2017, 23 non-governmental organizations and foundations, including The Nature Conservancy China and the Paradise Foundation, launched the China Civic Land Conservation Alliance (CCLCA) in Beijing, aiming to protect 1% of China’s total land area through civic land conservation by 2030.
Today, NGOs and private individuals are a rising force for land conservation in China. As the country prepares to host the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15) in 2021, the contribution of civic land conservation to achieving global land and biodiversity conservation targets is ever more relevant. Join the ILCN and leading practitioners from the field to learn more about civic protected areas (CPAs) in China. Speakers will offer an introduction to CPAs in China, present several case studies, and share progress and challenges in the run-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference.
Speakers will include Dr. Tong Jin, Science Director at The Nature Conservancy China Program; Fangyi Yang, Director of the Conservation Alliance at the Paradise International Foundation; and Dr. Kui Peng, Program Manager of the Biodiversity Conservation and Community Development Program at Global Environmental Institute.
Originally rescheduled to April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ILCN/ELCN 2020 Global Congress has been further postponed to late 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into even greater focus the importance of land and biodiversity conservation to well-being for human and natural communities. The ILCN and ELCN remain committed to convening the event this year, virtually or in person, to share experience and best practices as we move forward in our work. An announcement regarding the new dates for the Congress will be coming soon, and information regarding the Congress will be updated regularly on the ILCN's website: https://landconservationnetwork.org/.
Over 50 Countries Commit to Conserving 30% of the planet by 2030
Over 50 countries, belonging to the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, and representing 6 continents, pledge to conserve 30% of land and ocean by 2030. This target is one currently gaining steam globally, as many organizations see it as a minimum target to preserve global biodiversity, prevent mass extinctions, and preserve green infrastructure. This commitment came ahead of the One Planet Summit, which occured on January 11, 2021, with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People officially launching at that event.
Introducing Eurosite-ELCN Secretariat By Carolina Halevy, ILCN Regional Representative for Europe
Last year, the European Land Conservation Network (ELCN), the European regional partner network of the ILCN, merged with Eurosite, a European network of nature conservation practitioners. Born in 1989 out of the conviction that networking improves the quality and impact of conservation, Eurosite offers its members opportunities to compare their practices, exchange and share information, and learn about effective approaches to natural site management. Currently, Eurosite comprises of 71 governmental, non-governmental and individual members from 24 European countries (19 EU Member States).
By joining forces with Eurosite, the ELCN laid the basis for further growth, thereby also strengthening its capacity to support the development of the ILCN going forward. In this spirit, Eurosite-ELCN has recently become the European partner in ILCN’s regional representative program.
For that reason, we would like to shortly introduce Eurosite’s secretariat staff to you. In the last ILCN newsletter, you already met Carolina Halevy (photo, middle right), project officer of the recently launched LIFE project “European Networks for Private Land Conservation” (ENPLC). Carolina will act as the secretariat’s main contact point for all matters ILCN. She will be supported by Harm Schoten (top right) who joined the organisation as new Director earlier this month. Senior Project and Finance Officer Carlijn Poirters (bottom left), Communications and Membership Officer Jelke Brandehof (middle left), and Project Officer Wojciech Mróz (top left) complete the team. All of them will be closely involved in the implementation of LIFE ENPLC and will continue to expand Eurosite’s networking capacities for private land conservation. Please feel free to reach out to any of them for questions or ideas for cooperation: info@eurosite.org or chalevy@eurosite.org.
Private Land Conservation in Latin America By Hernán Mladinic, ILCN Regional Representative for Latin America
Latin America is the most biodiverse region in the world. It is home to 40% of the Earth's species, a quarter of all forests and a third of all fresh water. Its indisputable natural heritage contributes not only to the conservation and stability of the planet, but is also the main asset for the sustainability of the region and the well-being of its inhabitants. Therefore, conservation not only makes sense to protect the ecosystems and species with which we share the broad community of life, but because their destiny is inextricably linked to ours. This vital interrelation cannot be better reflected than in the origins of the global Covid-19 pandemic, when ecological limits are exceeded and wildlife is abused. According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the health emergency caused by the corona virus has not only meant the largest contraction in world GDP since 1946, but the worst economic, social and productive crisis that Latin America has experienced in the last 120 years, and in a 7.7% drop in regional GDP. But not only that. If the health, social and inequality indicators are also added and compared, Latin America is the worst hit region in the emerging world, concentrating, with only 8% of the world's population, 28% of global deaths from COVID.
Status of Africa Civil Societies in the Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation Space By Kiragu Mwangi, ILCN Regional Representative for Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic seems to maintain a ruthless relentlessness in 2021 similar to the height of the outbreak in 2020. In Africa, there has been a delayed peak of infections compared to the other continents representing 2.5% confirmed cases globally by January 2021.
As reports of COVID-19 emerged from Wuhan, China, in December 2019, African governments started to prepare for the introduction of the first cases that would eventually arise from its close connections to China, a primary trade partner and host to more than 80,000 African students. Statistical models based on air-travel data from China identified Egypt, Algeria and South Africa as the countries at highest risk of initial introductions and spread in Africa.
Drawing experience from the 2014 Ebola virus disease crisis in West Africa, African leaders were keenly aware that failure to contain COVID-19 would threaten health, prosperity and security. African Union (AU) Member States rapidly focused on preventing COVID-19 importation and containing onward transmission within countries. As early as 2 January 2020, Ivory Coast, soon followed by other African countries, started implementing enhanced surveillance at airports, screening all passengers with a recent history of travel to China. In turn, most African airlines suspended direct flights to and from China.
This approach initially seemed to pay off: the first COVID-19 case on the continent, with notification by Egypt on 14 February 2020, was a contact of a person with a history of travel to China. By the end of the first week of March, nine African countries (Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Tunisia) were reporting over 40 cases. Most index cases originated in Europe, where the epicentre had shifted by 13 March, and these drove early spread of the pandemic on the African continent.
Advancing Collaborative Leadership to Achieve Conservation Outcomes By Shawn Johnson, ILCN Regional Representative for North America
Like many of you, I tend to start a new year reflecting on the past and looking toward the future. I try to be honest about the challenges facing the conservation community and realistic about what is possible. As someone who spends part of my professional life on a university campus, I also think about the generational dynamics of the conservation profession. Where were we a generation ago? Where will we be a generation from now?
As I go through this habitual exercise at the start of 2021, it’s hard not to see conservation challenges in the United States through the lens of our social and political divisions. We seem more divided than ever, not just in the positions we take, but also in our worldviews and in our facts. Even before the most recent episodes, capped by the dramatic attack on the US Capitol on January 6, our social and political divisions were mounting. As Michael Whitfield noted in his 2019 Working Paper on holistic landscape conservation, “The barriers to our work together are multitude: rural versus urban, rich versus poor, working land owners versus recreationists, and on and on.” To address these barriers, Whitfield suggests “[w]e need more bridges and fewer barriers.” Moreover, he notes that our time is “a critical time for finding ways to couple stewardship of our natural landscapes with stewardship of our society.” (Michael Whitfield, “Toward Holistic Landscape Conservation in the 21st Century,” Working Paper WP19MW1, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2019, p. 1). I couldn’t agree more.
Protected Areas Under Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities 19-21 January 2021 Online
Protected areas (PAs) have long been the cornerstone of conservation. However, some authors question their utility in a world where species distributions are changing in response to climate change. New species of conservation concern may move into reserves, meaning PAs will remain valuable but for different reasons.
This therefore raises the question of whether the current system of designation is fit for purpose. Can a new system be designed to allow for species movement and community change? Could this allow protected areas to remain effective in a changing world, balancing the increased demand for Nature Based Solutions and considering management options to aid adaptation to climate change?
ILCN Webinar: Civically Protected Areas in China 27 January 2021
Online
Efforts by civil society to protect land in China have been ongoing since the mid-1990s. Years of work and coordination by conservation practitioners and supporters came to fruition in 2011, when the first land trust in China – the 27,325-acre Laohegou Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province – was established. In 2017, 23 non-governmental organizations and foundations, including The Nature Conservancy China and the Paradise Foundation, launched the China Civic Land Conservation Alliance (CCLCA) in Beijing, aiming to protect 1% of China’s total land area through civic land conservation by 2030.
Today, NGOs and private individuals are a rising force for land conservation in China. As the country prepares to host the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15) in 2021, the contribution of civic land conservation to achieving global land and biodiversity conservation targets is ever more relevant. Join the ILCN and leading practitioners from the field to learn more about civic protected areas (CPAs) in China. Speakers will offer an introduction to CPAs in China, present several case studies, and share progress and challenges in the run-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference.
Speakers will include Dr. Tong Jin, Science Director at The Nature Conservancy China Program; Fangyi Yang, Director of the Conservation Alliance at the Paradise International Foundation; and Dr. Kui Peng, Program Manager of the Biodiversity Conservation and Community Development Program at Global Environmental Institute.
The Stewardship Network Conference 2021 27-29 January 2021
The Stewardship Network Conference is where theory meets practice and curiosity leads to solutions. Each year, hundreds of professionals, students, and volunteers from an array of environmental fields connect to share their setbacks and successes; technological advancements and analytical techniques; diverse perspectives and artistic expressions as we collectively find the best ways to care for our land and water. The Stewardship Network provides the structure, space, and catalytic resources for meaningful collaboration that benefits our natural world. This interdisciplinary conference harnesses the power of the network to build bridges between knowledge, culture, and community in order to support the ecosystems around us that are continually threatened and changing. Sessions include topics such as restoring oak openings, heat islands, wild rice, community engagement, invasive species management, project case studies and an entire track on collaborative leadership. The Stewardship Network Conference prides itself on cultivating a welcoming and accepting atmosphere. Come as you are and be ready to explore new thoughts and perspectives. Whether you’re new to the environmental field or seasoned veteran, there’s something for everyone at our Network’s annual gathering! See the full agenda for more information.
IUCN World Conservation Congress 3-11 September 2021
Marseille, France
The world is increasingly recognising the inextricable link between biodiversity conservation and human and economic wellbeing, a connection made all the more visible by the COVID-19 pandemic. The IUCN Congress will be a key milestone for nature conservation and the development of a new global framework for biodiversity. The French government and IUCN remain steadfast in their commitment to these goals.
As a reminder, the IUCN World Conservation Congress brings together the global nature conservation community, including top international experts in conservation science, policy and practice. Held every four years, the Congress allows IUCN's 1,400 Member organisations, including States, civil society and indigenous peoples, to democratically determine the most pressing issues in nature conservation and actions to address them. The IUCN Member’s Assembly will conclude on 10 September.
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.
Efforts by civil society to protect land in China have been ongoing since the mid-1990s. Years of work and coordination by conservation practitioners and supporters came to fruition in 2011, when the first land trust in China – the 27,325-acre Laohegou Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province – was established. In 2017, 23 non-governmental organizations and foundations, including The Nature Conservancy China and the Paradise Foundation, launched the China Civic Land Conservation Alliance (CCLCA) in Beijing, aiming to protect 1% of China’s total land area through civic land conservation by 2030.
Over 50 countries, belonging to the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, and representing 6 continents, pledge to conserve 30% of land and ocean by 2030. This target is one currently gaining steam globally, as many organizations see it as a minimum target to preserve global biodiversity, prevent mass extinctions, and preserve green infrastructure. This commitment came ahead of the 
For that reason, we would like to shortly introduce Eurosite’s secretariat staff to you. In the last ILCN newsletter, you already met Carolina Halevy (photo, middle right), project officer of the recently launched LIFE project “European Networks for Private Land Conservation” (ENPLC). Carolina will act as the secretariat’s main contact point for all matters ILCN. She will be supported by Harm Schoten (top right) who joined the organisation as new Director earlier this month. Senior Project and Finance Officer Carlijn Poirters (bottom left), Communications and Membership Officer Jelke Brandehof (middle left), and Project Officer Wojciech Mróz (top left) complete the team. All of them will be closely involved in the implementation of LIFE ENPLC and will continue to expand Eurosite’s networking capacities for private land conservation. Please feel free to reach out to any of them for questions or ideas for cooperation: 
Latin America is the most biodiverse region in the world. It is home to 40% of the Earth's species, a quarter of all forests and a third of all fresh water. Its indisputable natural heritage contributes not only to the conservation and stability of the planet, but is also the main asset for the sustainability of the region and the well-being of its inhabitants. Therefore, conservation not only makes sense to protect the ecosystems and species with which we share the broad community of life, but because their destiny is inextricably linked to ours. This vital interrelation cannot be better reflected than in the origins of the global Covid-19 pandemic, when ecological limits are exceeded and wildlife is abused. According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the health emergency caused by the corona virus has not only meant the largest contraction in world GDP since 1946, but the worst economic, social and productive crisis that Latin America has experienced in the last 120 years, and in a 7.7% drop in regional GDP. But not only that. If the health, social and inequality indicators are also added and compared, Latin America is the worst hit region in the emerging world, concentrating, with only 8% of the world's population, 28% of global deaths from COVID.
