Local Action for Biodiversity (ICLEI World Congress 2009)

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

Local Action for BiodiversityCementing the IUCN and ICLEI partnership

George Greene, Councillor IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature

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Biodiversity =

Species,

Genes and

Ecosystems

Life on Earth

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Level of Biodiversity in the World in 2000Using Mean Species Abundance (MSA) indicator

Remaining MSA in %

Source: Ben ten Brink (MNP) presentation at the Workshop: The Economics of the Global Loss of Biological Diversity 5-6 March 2008, Brussels, Belgium.

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Source: Ben ten Brink (MNP) presentation at the Workshop: The Economics of the Global Loss of Biological Diversity 5-6 March 2008, Brussels, Belgium.

Level of Biodiversity in the World in 2050One Scenario of the future : OECD/Globio

Remaining MSA in %

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The 2010 Biodiversity Target

“to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth”

Decision VI/26 CBD Strategic Plan 2002

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A RAPIDLY URBANISING WORLD

• 1950: 30% people living in cities

• 2007: 50% people living in cities

• Separation of people from nature

• Cities cover 3% of global surface,…

• …but consume 95% of global resources

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WHY DOES LOCAL ACTION MATTER FOR BIODIVERSITY?

• Local governments manage large areas of land and biodiversity resources. They plan, make decisions, develop and control infrastructure and housing. These actions can threaten biodiversity or can contribute to its conservation through better informed decisions, better policies and better management practices.

• Local areas are very dependent on natural resources and biodiversity outside their boundaries, including in adjacent rural areas and around the globe. Through several tools, local governments can mitigate their impact and reduce their dependency on natural resources (e.g public procurement).

• Voters and political institutions at the local level have the potential to be a great voice and force for biodiversity conservation, if we can increase understanding of the key issues and change behaviours.

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BUT…

• While we are now starting to see some excellent cases of effective action at the local level

• Many local governments are only starting with local biodiversity action plans, and it is still a new field

• This is why a cooperation between ICLEI and IUCN in this area can build on our strengths to move forward on local action for biodiversity

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CEMENTING ICLEI-IUCN PARTNERSHIP

• Where do we come from?

• Where are we going?

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MISSION

To influence, encourage and assist societies

throughout the world to conserve the integrity and

diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural

resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable

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PROGRAMME

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AT A GLANCE

• A unique democratic union of more than 1,000 member organizations

• National states, government agencies and NGOs from over 160 countries

• 10,000 scientists in six commissions of expertise• 1,000 staff in 62 offices worldwide• A neutral forum for governments, NGOs, scientists,

business and local communities to find pragmatic solutions

• UN Observer Status

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IUCN LOCAL INITIATIVES

• IUCN Cities and Protected Areas Task Force (The Urban Imperative)

• Countdown 2010: since 2005 more than 350 local governments partners.

• Countdown 2010 has been working closely with ICLEI on Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB)

• Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity launched in Oct 2008 at IUCN World Conservation Congress

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Local Action for Biodiversity

To guide, support, capacitate and motivate local governments and their partners from across the world to integrate biodiversity into all aspects of policy and decision making and implementation activities to result in increased and more sustainable biodiversity conservation.

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ICLEI & IUCN: Building on Strengths

1. 2006: ICLEI World Congress – LAB established• Joint design workshop in Rome: LAB methodology• Joint LAB Cities recruitment• Joint Profiling of LAB Good Practices• Joint Project Development

2. 2007: IUCN ICLEI MoU • Matching the biodiversity know how of IUCN with ICLEI’s network• Awareness raising on the importance of biodiversity as a local issue• Sharing and disseminating good practices

3. 2008: Launch of Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity• New international support for local action (UNEP, UNESCO, CBD, Cities

and other international organisations)• ICLEI and IUCN are active drivers • IUCN mandate to strenghten its engagement with local governments

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CASE STUDIES

21 Pilot City Project

Five step approach to biodiversity:1. Assess biodiversity (biodiversity report)

2. Commit at the highest political level

3. Plan a local biodiversity startegy and action plan (LBSAP)

4. Commit to implement the LBSAP

5. Implement 5 new biodiversity initiatives

Case Study on Cape Town:• One of the three cities in the world to be a biodiversity hotspot• A UNESCO World Heritage site within a city border • Good Practice example for addressing invasive species

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STRUCTURE

Members

Council

Secretariat

Commissions

Steering Committees,

Specialist Groups, e.g. WCPA Task force on cities and protected areas

Regional & National Committees

Regional OfficesHeadquarters Country and Project OfficesSub-regional Offices

1. World Commission on Protected Areas2. Commission on Communication & Education3. Commission on Environment, Economic and

Social Policy4. Commission on Environmental Law5. Species Survival Commission6. Commission on Ecosystem Management

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BUILDING THE ICLEI- IUCN INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIP - OPTIONS

Programmatic – Possible Approaches

• Extend Local Action for Biodiversity

• Develop a joint program on urban biodiversity

• Establish liaison units in IUCN and ICLEI

Structural - Possible Approaches

Local governments/authorities as part of IUCN structure:• Members• Associate members• Members/participants in IUCN National Committees• Global network of local authorities

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BUILDING THE INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIP

IUCN Congress Resolution 2008• Including local and regional governmental authorities in the structure of

the Union• Recommend to the 5th Session of the World Conservation Congress

(2012) a reform to the IUCN Statutes to include local and regional authorities in the structure of the Union, as appropriate

IUCN Membership Views:• More decentralized countries supportive – local is where the action is• Federal and more centralized states have serious concerns• Implications to existing membership balance of NGO and Governments

IUCN Council with advice from its Commission on Environmental Law – developing options

Will consult with ICLEI

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HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED?

• Find out more about IUCN www.iucn.org• Become a partner of Countdown 2010 www.countdown2010.net• Join LAB www.iclei.org/lab