Call for Proposals for the
2020 Global Congress of the ILCN and ELCN
BARCELONA, SPAIN, APRIL 22-24, 2020

We invite you to submit a proposal for a presentation, workshop, or panel discussion for the 2020 Global Congress hosted by the International Land Conservation Network (ILCN) and the European Land Conservation Network (ELCN) . Proposals selected by the 2020 Global Congress conference organizers will be presented to an audience of private and civic land conservation practiitioners  and decision-makers in Barcelona, Spain on April 20-22, 2020.

You can view the complete Call for Proposals on the ILCN website.

Proposals for presentations, workshops, or collaborative panels can be submitted in one of five areas of interest (conference tracks). These include:

• Conservation Finance
• Law & Policy
• Organization & Governance
• Land Restoration
• Stewardship & Management

Participation in the 2020 Congress, which will be attended by conservation practitioners and experts from around the world, will not require any registration fee. The deadline for proposal submissions is August 31, 2019.

ILCN releases "International Outlook for Privately Protected Areas" with UNDP

Privately protected areas (PPAs) constitute an important and growing segment of land conservation around the world.  However, it has often been difficult to understand the legal, policy, and institutional mechanisms supporting PPAs in different countries and how they compare with one another. 

That task has been made easier with the recent release by the ILCN and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) of “International Outlook for Privately Protected Areas.” Its publication culminates more than two years of research and examines the status of PPAs in geographies where privately protected areas have been comparatively understudied, including 30 countries in Latin America, Asia, the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa. 
 
The report was researched and compiled by staff at the ILCN, UNDP, and researchers and practitioners around the world, including experts based in the countries profiled in the publication.  It includes summaries of land-use and land tenure laws, examinations of how PPAs are incorporated into policy and planning in each nation, and legal mechanisms for establishing and protection privately conserved areas in each of the countries profiled. 

The report provides an overview of the impact that private and civic land conservation have had around the world and the differences in how PPAs exist and operate in different geographies.  It also examines what incentives, if any, are offered for the creation of PPAs in different geographies and what institutions and networks exist to support land protection and stewardship on the ground. 
 
The report can be found on the ILCN website's Resources and Education page—available to the researchers, practitioners, and the public at no cost.  Questions about the report can be directed to ILCN Program Manager Chandni Navalkha at cnavalkha@lincolninst.edu

ILCN and the Land Trust Alliance publish "International Framework for Establishing Standards and Practices in Private Land Conservation"

One of the strengths of the private and civic land conservation community is the diversity of organizations and stakeholders involved in land protection and stewardship—from local land trusts overseeing a few acres or hectares to national and international NGOs helping conserve whole landscapes.  However, this diversity of actors can also present a challenge when it comes to setting standards for conservation.   

The International Land Conservation Network (ILCN), in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance (LTA), recently released “Guidelines for Establishing Standards and Practices in Private Land Conservation: A Framework for International Application.”  The guidelines document, which is publicly available on the ILCN Resources and Education page, gives an overview of the emergence and application of standards and practices in the United States, Canada, Chile, and Catalonia, provides a step-by-step process guide for practitioners considering adopting standards and practices for their country or jurisdiction, and ties standards and practices into the international best practices put forth by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 
 
The case studies from around the world provide a look at the contexts, challenges, and successes that standards and practices have had around the world.  The Guidelines document also includes a deep-dive on the US-based Land Trust Alliance and its “Land Trust Standards and Practices,” which have existed since 1989, as well as its Land Trust Accreditation program, which approximately 420 land trusts in the United States have completed to-date.   
 
The goal of the Guidelines document is to provide helpful information for national and regional networks interested in issuing standards and practices for private land conservation in their jurisdictions.  This includes two templates for developing standards and practices based around different formats: the 12-standard format of Land Trust Standards and Practices from the LTA and the four broad categories format based around the areas in which private land conservation organizations do their work.  

The “Guidelines for Establishing Standards and Practices” document is free and available to the public in the “Resources” section of the ILCN website.  Any questions about the document can be directed to ILCN staff Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler at jsobrinhowheeler@lincolninst.edu or Chandni Navalkha at cnavalkha@lincolninst.edu. 

"Slow food" and cooperative conservation at ELCN workshop in Romania

From June 3-7, the European Land Conservation Network (ELCN) hosted a workshop for private and civic land conservation practitioners from across the content focused on successful cooperative models for private land conservation in Sighisoara, Romania.  A key theme of the conference was how working lands and agriculture can be used to promote biodiversity in private land conservation.

Because the workshop took place in close proximity to the Romanian countryside, discussion focused on how local and small-scale agriculture can be used to promote conservation.  Dessislava Dimitrova of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity presented on how collective and sustainable private land management and local food producers could preserve land, biodiversity, and habitat.  In the face of industrial agricultural, environmental degradation, and the homogenization of food production hastened by globalization, attendees highlighted the link between food, culture, and land conservation.

Frank Vassen, who serves as Environment Directorate-General for the European Commission, discussed how local food production and conservation fit into the EU’s Natura 2000 sites and the goal of a collective approach to sustainable land management and nature protection.  Local food production and conservation can remain intricately linked with local culture while contributing to sustainability goals across the continent.

Latin American Waterfund Partnership Biennial brings together public and private stakeholders in Mexico City

Water funds are conservation financing and governance mechanisms that address water security through the protection and restoration of source watersheds, and they are growing in number around the world. The third Water Funds Summit of the Latin American Water Funds Partnership took place from July 17-19, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico and brought together public and private partners working to promote innovation and practice in relation to partnerships, technology, governance, and communication in Latin America and beyond.

The summit launched the Water Funds Network of Latin America as a formal network consisting of the 14 Latin American countries with water funds in order to promote knowledge exchange, identification of best practices, and the development of skills to ensure the commitment of public, private, and civic society institutions to collaborate in achieving water security in Latin American cities and regions. A key focus of the partnership, and an area for collaboration and partnership among private and civic land conservation, will be to make the case for investment of resources to natural infrastructure solutions for water security.

Read more about the partnership here: https://www.fondosdeagua.org/en/

ALCA Private Land Conservation Conference
October 8-10, 2019
Adelaide, Australia

"Join us this year in Raleigh, NC, October 17-19, 2019, for a gathering packed with diverse topics to explore and great colleagues and friends to learn and share with. Rally has all of the resources you want to take your conservation skills further."

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