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2024 ILCN Global Congress: Relationships for a Resilient World 
Deadline for proposals extended to February 15, 2024

The International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) is now organizing its fourth Global Congress. The Congress, which marks the ILCN’s 10th anniversary, will be co-hosted by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Canada’s leading national land conservation organization. Experts, practitioners and partners in private and civic land conservation will come together in Quebec in October 2024 to strengthen capacity through peer-to-peer learning, to sustain and nurture meaningful relationships amongst our participants, and to highlight Quebec and Canada’s remarkable conservation achievements for the world.

The 2024 Global Congress program will have an overarching theme of “Relationships for a Resilient World.” Speakers and participants will focus on how areas of primary importance – from securing sustainable financing for conservation to achieving long-term stewardship of conserved areas – depend upon acting collaboratively and relating ethically. Learn more about the Congress on our website.
The ILCN is now accepting proposals for Congress presentations and workshops through Feb. 15, 2024. For more information and to submit a proposal, please follow the links below.

Request for Proposals (English)                                                        Request for Proposals (French)
Submit a Proposal (English)                                                              Submit a Proposal (French)

                           
Featured Content
As India Grows Rapidly, Conservationists Seek New Strategies
 

Jon Gorey - Staff Writer, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
December 19, 2023

India makes up only 2.4 percent of the world's land area but hosts as much as 8 percent of its biodiversity as well as 17 percent of its human population. This makes it a uniquely challenging and important landscape for conservation. Early last year, a team from the International Land Conservation Network traveled to India to explore, on the ground, how a stronger private and civic land conservation community could benefit the region and the global fight to save biodiversity.

"What was really inspiring to us was to see that, in a unique context for civic efforts for land conservation, there were a huge number of initiatives and people who are making their best efforts using the laws and policies in place to protect the places that they love," said Chandni Navalkha, associate director for sustainably managed land and water resources at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. 

Read More
Art, Communication, and Science Intersect in Cheung's Environmental Work, Which Explores the Human-Nature Relationship
 


Lily Robinson – ILCN Program Coordinator 

When an Icelandic glacier's death made national news in 2014, photographer Joanne Cheung was inspired to tell a story of change and warning. That mission took her out onto the land, where she worked alongside glaciologists to document both the visible and invisible to create a more comprehensive picture of the glacier and its evolution under human-driven climate change. Cheung sees this kind of cross-sector collaboration as the best tool for tackling large-scale global issues and communicating them with both urgency and hope.

This artist profile is one in an ongoing series highlighting the role creative work plays in connecting people with nature and inspiring a culture of stewardship. If you are an artist whose work is inspired by nature and would like to be featured in a future ILCN newsletter, please reach out to lrobinson@lincolninst.edu. We consider visual fine art, photography, poetry, personal essay, music, and other submissions.

Read More

Notes From the Field
Updates from annual meeting
By Eurosite Staff
November 2023

Each year, conservationists from across Europe gather to share ideas, learn, and network at the Eurosite Annual Meeting. This year's event brought practitioners together in Amiens, France, around the theme of "Identity-based conservation for large-scale nature restoration". A few key participants shared their takeaways.

Report                                                     
Editorial
Australia Passes World's First Nature-Repair Market
By Cecilia Riebl
December 19, 2023

In December 2023, the Australian Parliament passed a bill that will establish the infrastructure for a market-based scheme to engage individuals and the private sector in land and biodiversity protection. The market is set to launch within the year, but experts are divided on whether it will have its intended impact.

Read More
Empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
By Kiragu Mwangi
January 4, 2024

The Community-led Conservation Congress in Windhoek, Namibia, brought together NGOs from 47 African nations to mark the launch of a new alliance focused on uplifting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities through land conservation.

Read More
First China Conservation Biology Conference Highlights CPAs and OECMs
Shenmin Liu
December 18, 2023

Held in Guangzhou, China, in November 2023, the event convened over 900 guests and explored emerging mechanisms for supporting private and civic land conservation across the nation. 


Read More
ILCN Ushers in a New, More Robust Network in Latin America
By Lily Robinson
January 4, 2024

In 2023, the ILCN and The Nature Conservancy teamed up on an initiative to leverage and build on existing qualities that make Latin America ripe for private and civic land conservation. The project's initial results are promising. 


Read More
South Africa Launches First Tax Incentive for Protecting Threatened Species
Lily Robinson
November 28, 2023

The ILCN's partner the Sustainable Finance Coalition was integral in establishing Section 37C(1) of the South African Income Tax Act, which uses Biodiversity Management Plans to qualify taxpayers for a deduction. It is expected to save taxpayers a collective $80,000 annually. 

Read More
What Does Collaborative Capacity Make Possible?
By Jamie Baxter & Seamus Land
November 2023

Collaborative conservation is the most promising path to achieving a healthier planet, but what does collaborative capacity look like in practice? A white paper and brief commissioned by the California Landscape Stewardship Network break this down and identify actions for practitioners, funders, and researchers. 

Read More

ILCN Updates
From Poughkeepsie to Amherst: the ILCN Canadian Study Tour
 

From this dramatic viewpoint overlooking the Hudson River, the ILCN's Canadian Study Tour group saw, firsthand, what large-landscape conservation looks like in the United States. ILCN Director, Jim Levitt, led Colleagues from the Centre for Land Conservation (CTC) in Toronto, Canada, through a productive week traversing the Northeast. The group traveled to the Scenic Hudson Land Trust in Poughkeepsie, New York; the Uplands to Lowlands Climate-Resilient Cores and Connectors coalition in Chatham, New York; the North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership in Athol, Massachusetts; and the Regional Conservation Partnership Gathering in Amherst, Massachusetts. 

Photo from left: Thom Unrau, director of community conservation for the Kawartha Land Trust; John Lounds, director of business development for CTC; Jim Levitt, director of the ILCN; Sarah Winterton, research lead for CTC; Robin Lawson, communications and engagement specialist for CTC. 
Two New Webinar Recordings are Available from the ILCN Resource Library

It's not too late to catch the presentations and discussions of the expert panels from two recent ILCN webinars. "Opportunities and Challenges for Voluntary Conservation in Latin America: Strengthening Our Network" and "Implementing Conservation Easements: Barriers and Opportunities in Europe" are now available as recordings:

Webinar: Opportunities and Challenges for Voluntary Conservation in Latin America    
Webinar: Implementing Conservation Easements

Upcoming Events
 Webinar: More than Just Green - Regenerative agriculture makes sound business sense

Too many farmers are sold the myth that regenerative agriculture means lower yields, less productivity, and lost income. New research shows that greener farming can actually increase farm profits by up to 60 percent, while also reducing supply-chain risks. Explore how and why these practices worked in Germany and why they translate across Europe and North America. 

This webinar is based on research by NABU and the Boston Consulting Group and facilitated by Eurosite's ABC Working Group.

Jan 16, 2024 11am-12:30pm (ET); 5:00pm-6:30pm (CET) - Virtual 
 
 Webinar: Nature Conservation on Vacation

Join Eurosite's Working Group on Nature and Recreation and the ILCN for a deep dive into the strategies and potential for voluntourism as a resource for on-the-ground nature conservation. The webinar will explore the results of a 4-year project lead by the German umbrella organization, Nationale Naturlandschaften e. V., which presents replicable models and lessons learned from their use. 

Jan 23, 2024 9am-10:30am (ET) - Virtual 
 
Call for Creative Content
 
The ILCN is looking for submissions of artistic work with a connection to land and land protection to feature on our website and in upcoming newsletters. We are open to poetry, short stories, personal essays, visual art, music, and more. Submissions can be sent to Lily Robinson at lrobinson@lincolninst.edu. Please include a short description of the relationship your piece shares with land, nature, or the environment. 
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.
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