International Land Conservation Network Newsletter, March 2021
In this Newsletter:
Fundación Tierra Austral Advances Private Land Conservation in Chile Through "Real Right of Conservation" Agreement with Colbún
The Power and Potential of Peer Learning
Networking Working Landscapes
Gayini and Emerging Models for Permanent Private Land Conservation in Australia
EU Biodiversity Strategy- Getting to Implementation
IUCN Ministerial Panel on Nature-Based Solutions for Recovery
ILCN Webinar Recording Now Available: Civically Protected Areas in China
How Can Private Landowners Contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030?
More Than 900 Participants Join Australia's 10th Annual Women in Conservation Breakfast
What We're Reading
Upcoming Events
Fundación Tierra Austral Advances Private Land Conservation in Chile Through "Real Right of Conservation" Agreement with Colbún Henry Tepper, Strategic Conservation Advisor and Victoria Alonso, Executive Director, Fundación Tierra Austral
For more than a decade, Fundación Tierra Austral, Chile’s most prominent land trust, has been leading efforts to create practical tools to enable private landowners to take voluntary action to protect their properties. Tierra Austral has been instrumental in the passage of a new law known as the Derecho Real de Conservación or ‘Real Right of Conservation’ (DRC), which is similar to the conservation easement agreements in the United States and conservation covenants in Australia. The tool, unique in Latin America, ensures the long-term conservation of privately-owned land that is of high ecological, scenic or cultural significance.
In a first-of-its-kind agreement, the Chilean electricity company Colbún has recently announced its intention to sign a DRC agreement with Fundación Tierra Austral. The agreement will restrict development and preserve 430 hectares located on the shores of Lake Chapo, in the Los Lagos Region of Patagonia. These lands have high ecological value within the biological corridor connecting Alerce Andino National Park and the Llanquihue National Reserve.
Victoria Alonso, the Executive Director of Tierra Austral comments that “Tierra Austral views the Lago Chapo project as an important example of how we can partner with Chilean companies, and it shows that the DRC can be an attractive and practical conservation tool for industries throughout the country. In addition to our collaboration with Colbún on the protection of Lago Chapo, we're pleased to have recently signed three other DRC agreements protecting pristine landscapes in other parts of Chile, including the globally rare Mediterranean habitat of the Central Valley."
The Power and Potential of Peer Learning: Launching the ILCN's Second Large Landscape Peer Learning Exchange Shawn Johnson, ILCN Regional Representative for North America
As practitioners work to build knowledge and skillsets to address the complexity of conservation in the 21st century, many of us are looking for a support system that can provide insight, guidance, and camaraderie as we wrestle with uncomfortable, complex issues. A more deliberate and focused approach to peer learning can have power and impact in creating this system, and building understanding, transferring knowledge, solving challenging issues, and transforming communities and landscapes.
Networking Working Landscapes Anton Gazenbeek, ILCN Steering Committee
Working lands are a major part of the biodiversity and climate crises. Networks between private owners and users of working lands, whether farms or forestry or quarries, are valuable partners and sources of innovation on how working lands can be part of the solution to these crises.
In many countries, national associations representing farmers or foresters, have existed for decades. Besides these classic sector lobbies, there are also, here and there, associative networks of farmers working for climate and biodiversity. This article introduces two: Farming for Nature (FFN) in Ireland, and the Nature Friendly Farming Network in Great Britain.
Gayini and Emerging Models for Permanent Private Land Conservation in Australia: Managing Country for Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture and Indigenous Heritage Cecilia Riebl, ILCN Regional Representative for Australasia
Biodiversity Conservation in Australia is increasingly focused on integrated land management in productive landscapes. This approach is necessary to conserve some of the country’s most endangered landscapes (for example, grasslands) and to support the ecosystem services upon which our farmers, and the wider public, depend. Achieving restoration, protection and management of nature on farming lands is a delicate balance between the various, and sometimes conflicting, priorities of primary production and environmental conservation, and requires innovative partnerships and collaborations. Gayini, a vast 87,816 hectare agricultural property in southwest New South Wales, sets a new standard for what can be achieved for conservation in these productive landscapes.
EU Biodiversity Strategy- Getting to Implementation Tilmann Disselhoff, Eurosite President
In the run up to the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity which will likely take place in China later this year, the momentum for biodiversity conservation around the world is growing, as important political commitments are already being made by dozens of countries to protect 30% of land and waters by 2030. The European Commission has formally adopted the 30x30 target in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and has additionally pledged that one third of the protected areas should enjoy “strict protection.”
These ideas have received enthusiastic support from the conservation community and criticism from landowner and land user interest groups. The fervour of the critics is largely explained by the fact that a large share of Natura 2000 – the European protected area network – is privately owned. Affected landowners fear that in strictly protected areas, commercial land uses would have to be severely limited, if not stopped altogether. Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, in the next few months the European Commission will finalize non-binding technical guidance on how the protected area targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy should be interpreted and implemented in the EU member states.
IUCN Ministerial Panel on Nature-Based Solutions for Recovery Shenmin Liu, ILCN Regional Representative for Asia
As the leading organization on Nature-based Solutions for Societal Challenges (NbS), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is working with its members and partners across the world in making NbS a central component for national Post-COVID19 recovery plans and policy frameworks. Capitalizing on NbS for recovery can also enhance pathways and positive impacts for addressing the climate crisis as well as biodiversity loss crisis. IUCN's ambition is to work with its 91 state members in achieving cross-sectoral policy alignments, whereby NbS can be leveraged at scale for multiple, simultaneous benefits for people and nature.
On March 3, 2021, the IUCN hosted ministerial panels on Nature-based Solutions for Recovery. High-level officials from eight countries joined IUCN's Director General, Dr. Bruno Oberle, in two informative sessions about the current progress and future potential of leveraging nature-based solutions for post-pandemic recovery. Ministers emphasized the urgency and importance of biodiversity protection and climate change adaptation and mitigation. They advocated for mainstreaming nature conservation in national plans and policies, increasing investment in nature protection, and promoting comprehensive green economic and social development. Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the “30 By 30” goal. The discussion provided momentum for the upcoming COP15, to be held in Kunming, China later this year. The Ministry of Natural Resources of China will deepen cooperation with IUCN to jointly build an Asia Center for Nature-based Solutions, promoting the application of NbS global standards, and exchanging international experiences.
A recording of the first session, featuring ministers from China, Egypt, Portugal and South Africa can be viewed here.
A recording of the second session, featuring ministers from Costa Rica, Peru, Russia and Senegal can be viewed here.
ILCN Webinar: Civically Protected Areas in China
The recording of ILCN's January Webinar: Civically Protected Areas in China is now available. This webinar explores civic conservation efforts in China, presents several case studies, and share progress and challenges in the run-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference.
Speakers 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.
How can Private Landowners Contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030?
The new EU Biodiversity Strategy proposes that 30% of the total land area of the European Union should be protected by 2030. Achieving this goal is possible only with the active participation of private landowners. But are the necessary tools and instruments in place for private landowners to contribute to reaching this target?
To address this question, The Nature Conservancy and the European Landowners Association hosted a session on “New Tools and Instruments for Private Land Conservation in Europe” as part of the 2021 Forum for the Future of Agriculture Solutions Week. Presenters from the US and EU shared perspectives from the LIFE+ project “Land is For Ever” on existing and potential tools for private land conservation and their use in Europe. Panelists offered feedback on the suite of tools that might be most effective in engaging more European private landowners in nature conservation.
To learn more about the insights into impactful policy recommendations at the European level shared during the session, you can watch a recording of the webinar here.
More Than 900 Participants Join Australia’s 10th Annual Women in Conservation Breakfast
Trust for Nature (Victoria) and Bush Heritage Australia were proud to present the 10th annual Celebrating Women in Conservation Virtual Breakfast on Thursday 4 March 2021.
Having shared a challenging 2020 with the devastating Black Summer Fires and the global pandemic, more than 900 participants from Australia and many other countries around the world listened to an inspiring group of women sharing their experiences and reflecting on how connection to County and people can help us stay resilient through crisis recovery.
To learn more, watch a recording of the event on Bush Heritage Australia’s website here.
What We're Reading
Greg Moore, an advisor to the ILCN’s Large Landscape Peer Learning Exchange and Director Emeritus of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (GGNPC), along with Jo Hopkins, an Australian open space expert who works with Parks Victoria have co-authored an article on “Urban Parks and Protected Areas: On the Frontlines of a Pandemic.” The article appears in a recent special issue of PARKS Journal, published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The issue, co-edited by Brent Mitchell, another ILCN participant and friend, is devoted to COVID-19 and its effects on the natural world, parks, and people. It was released in March 2021, on the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.
The IUCN’s Private Protected Areas Specialist Group recently shared a report developed by the Programme on African Protected Areas and Conservation (PAPACO) on how to optimize the contribution from the private sector to protected area conservation in Francophone Africa. The report, written by Daniel Brugière, is available in English and in French.
In 2016, France passed legislation enabling the use of a new instrument for the protection and management of biodiversity: real environmental obligations (ORE). This contractual mechanism, adapted from conservation easements in force in Anglo-Saxon countries, is currently being discussed in the French Parliament. To promote the use of tax incentives to increase the use of OREs in France, the French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB) has just published the first results from a study about the use of conservation easements and tax incentives. The publication, “How to Develop Real Environmental Obligations (ORE) in France?” was authored by Guillame Santeny and Louise Dupuis.
In January, the French Agency for Development, Global Canopy and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability launched “The Little Book of Investing in Nature.” Co-authored by Andrew Mitchell and John Tobin, it is an essential guide to the latest innovations in biodiversity finance drawing on case studies and novel investment approaches from around the world. You can also listen to Mitchell’s podcase, Don’t Mess with Nature, here.
Large landscape conservation is an emerging movement all over the globe. Building on the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group’s 2020 Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity publication, the Center for Landscape Conservation has updated Globescapes, a global map of landscape conservation initiatives, with the 25 case studies sharing unique stories and approaches to conserving connectivity.
Events
Voices of QLF: Miquel Rafa, Marta Subira, and Jordi Pietx on Conservation in Catalonia 18 March 2021
12:00pm Eastern Time (US)
Quebec Labrador Foundation (QLF) Alumni Miquel Rafa, Marta Subirá and Jordi Pietx will share their stories about their QLF-inspired experiences protecting land in the Catalonia region of Spain.
Miquel Rafa Forniele is Director of Territory and Environment at the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation where he manages the largest system of private land conservation areas in Catalonia. He participated in one of QLF’s first exchange programs for young conservation professionals from Europe. Miquel was a key partner and Host of the 2016 QLF Alumni Congress in Barcelona.
Marta Subirà i Roca is the Secretary of Environment and Sustainability for the Government of Catalonia. Her office was instrumental in developing a land stewardship network, which with assistance from QLF, has grown to include other regions of Spain and much of Europe. Marta’s office is also the lead agency on climate change for the autonomous province. Marta presented at the 2016 QLF Alumni Congress in Barcelona.
Jordi Pietx i Colom is a consulting specialist utilizing innovation and networking to address socio-environmental challenges. He is the founder of the Catalan Land Stewardship Network, now the Nature Conservation Network (XCN). In 1995, Jordi studied land protection and stewardship strategies at the QLF headquarters in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
The Land Back Movement and the Future of Land Relations in the Dawnland 29 March 2021
3:00pm Eastern Time (US)
Join Dr. Darren Ranco for a roundtable discussion about the Land Back movement and the future of indigenous land relations in Maine. Dr. Ranco will be joined by John Banks, Director of the Department of Natural Resources for the Penobscot Indian Nation; Lucas St. Claire, President of the Elliotsville Foundation which recently returned 735 acres to the Penobscot Nation; and Peter Forbes co-founder of First Light, a land-back collaboration. Panelists will discuss the recent return of land to the Penobscot Nation, the importance of the land and its history, the need for reconciliation in the conservation movement and the possibility of new land relations in Maine.
The Future of Landscape Conservation: Pathways to a Just and Equitable Future 31 March 2021 1:00pm Eastern Time (US)
The Network for Landscape Conservation is convening a virtual policy forum on Wednesday, March 31st, to focus on the fundamental importance of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in collaborative landscape conservation.
The purpose of this forum is to explore opportunities (and examples) for building a broad-based and enduring constituency for landscape conservation, and for the many essential services nature provides for all people, in all places.
ILCN Webinar: New Models for Collaboration in Conservation- Innovations from Australia 31 March 2021
4:30pm Eastern Time (US)
7:30am AEDT April 1
This webinar will showcase private land conservation in Australia, and in particular ways in which Australia is demonstrating leadership through collaboration with the non-conservation sector.
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.
For more than a decade, Fundación Tierra Austral, Chile’s most prominent land trust, has been leading efforts to create practical tools to enable private landowners to take voluntary action to protect their properties. Tierra Austral has been instrumental in the passage of a new law known as the Derecho Real de Conservación or ‘Real Right of Conservation’ (DRC), which is similar to the conservation easement agreements in the United States and conservation covenants in Australia. The tool, unique in Latin America, ensures the long-term conservation of privately-owned land that is of high ecological, scenic or cultural significance. 
As practitioners work to build knowledge and skillsets to address the complexity of conservation in the 21st century, many of us are looking for a support system that can provide insight, guidance, and camaraderie as we wrestle with uncomfortable, complex issues. A more deliberate and focused approach to peer learning can have power and impact in creating this system, and building understanding, transferring knowledge, solving challenging issues, and transforming communities and landscapes.
Working lands are a major part of the biodiversity and climate crises. Networks between private owners and users of working lands, whether farms or forestry or quarries, are valuable partners and sources of innovation on how working lands can be part of the solution to these crises. 
Biodiversity Conservation in Australia is increasingly focused on integrated land management in productive landscapes. This approach is necessary to conserve some of the country’s most endangered landscapes (for example, 
In the run up to the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity which will likely take place in China later this year, the momentum for biodiversity conservation around the world is growing, as 
The recording of ILCN's January Webinar: Civically Protected Areas in China is now available. This webinar explores civic conservation efforts in China, presents several case studies, and share progress and challenges in the run-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference.
Trust for Nature (Victoria) and Bush Heritage Australia were proud to present the 10th annual Celebrating Women in Conservation Virtual Breakfast on Thursday 4 March 2021.
Greg Moore, an advisor to the ILCN’s Large Landscape Peer Learning Exchange and Director Emeritus of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy (GGNPC), along with Jo Hopkins, an Australian open space expert who works with Parks Victoria have co-authored an article on “
In 2016, France passed legislation enabling the use of a new instrument for the protection and management of biodiversity: real environmental obligations (ORE). This contractual mechanism, adapted from conservation easements in force in Anglo-Saxon countries, is currently being discussed in the French Parliament. To promote the use of tax incentives to increase the use of OREs in France, the French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB) has just published the first results from a study about the use of conservation easements and tax incentives. The publication, “
Large landscape conservation is an emerging movement all over the globe. Building on the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group’s 2020 
