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| June 3, 2009
Dear WCPA North America and Caribbean Members,
I would like to introduce myself as the new WCPA Vice Chair for the Region and provide an update on WCPA activities now that the first Steering Committee meeting of this next quadrennial has been held (in Quito in May). My background is in law and policy, and I am currently Vice President for Policy at The WILD Foundation. WILD is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, though I work from home in Berkeley, California. In addition to working with WILD, half of my time is spent working on climate policy at Conservation International (where I worked prior to joining WILD). I very much look forward to working with WCPA North America and Caribbean membership – the case for protected areas has never been stronger, and ours is a region has demonstrated great leadership in protecting nature. These are very challenging but very exciting times!
WCPA North America and Caribbean Region
As some of you may know, the WCPA Steering Committee has been reduced in size by consolidating a number of regions. As a result, the North American region has been expanded to include the non-Spanish speaking countries of the Caribbean (the Spanish speaking countries have joined the Meso-American region).
To facilitate management of new, larger regions, Nik Lopoukhine, the WCPA chair, has suggested that Regional Vice Chairs identify Deputy Regional Vice Chairs (DRVCs). Stephen Woodley, Chief Scientist, Parks Canada and Dave Harmon, Executive Director of the George Wright Society, have very kindly agreed to act as DRVCs for Canada and the U.S. respectively. We are currently in the process of identifying a DRVC for the non-Spanish speaking countries of the Caribbean, and will likely set up a small committee for this subregion as well. Please email me (with resumes if possible) if you have suggestions. Dave Harmon has also agreed to continue to run the listserve – many thanks to Dave for continuing this important function. All emails to the WCPA North America and Caribbean membership should be sent to Dave for forwarding to the listserve.
IUCN Secretariat: Protected Areas Program (PPA)
As some of you have also heard, the IUCN Secretariat decided to make the position of head of the Protected Areas Programme redundant due to budgetary constraints. This was to say the least a very surprising decision, all the more so given that IUCN membership passed several strong resolutions in favor of protected areas at IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in October of last year – including one which expressly called on IUCN management to direct further investment to the PPA (Resolution 3.35). Under the new structure, the PPA is combined with the Species Programme under the leadership of Dr. Jane Smart. Nik has expressed his strong objection to this decision, and the WCPA Steering Committee was able to do so as well at the Steering Committee meeting in Quito, given that Dr. Smart was in attendance representing the IUCN Secretariat. There have also been numerous negative responses to this decision from around the world, including criticisms from many protected areas agencies.
At this point, it’s probably safe to say that the WCPA’s unhappiness with this decision has been clearly and forcefully conveyed to the IUCN Secretariat. However, it might be worthwhile for membership to contact their regional Councillor on this issue if they want to register their concern.
IUCN has responded to the criticism by proposing a review of the PPA and has asked WCPA to endorse the review. The WCPA Steering Committee responded last week with a conditional endorsement of the review process, emphasizing that the review must be based on the premise that IUCN membership supports stronger invetsment in the PPA, that the decision to abolish the position of head of the PPA has created a sense of crisis, and that the review be truly independent and transparent. IUCN is currently reviewing the substance of WCPA’s requests.
Steering Committee Activities
The Steering Committee is working on the following activities:
•An action plan on the CBD, including a workshop in September to review lessons learned on the PoWPA to date and possible next steps to inform the CBD Secretariat’s regional workshops in October and November;
•Input to the UNFCCC process including a paper on the value of protected areas for climate change mitigation and adaptation for use by WCPA members – which will likely be adapted for use at WILD9 (please see below);
•A capacity building strategy;
•A Youth strategy, for possible launch at WILD9;
•Populating MPAs listed on Google earth with data and images – please add information on Google Earth if you can;
•A new communications and publications strategy – a survey to WCPA members will be circulated for input on communications preferences;
WCPA has a number of task forces and specialist groups that run work programmes related to various issues, biomes and policy objectives; a full list is available on the WCPA website. We encourage all WCPA members to contribute to one or more of these action-orientated groups if possible.
WILD9
Please note that WILD9 – The 9th World Wilderness Congress, organized by The WILD Foundation and Unidos para la Conservacion, will be held in Mexico (Merida) from November 6-13. This global Congress will have a special focus on the importance of wild nature and protected areas in addressing climate change, and will issue a statement to this effect to the UNFCCC negotiations in Copenhagen in December. WILD9 will also focus delegates on the importance of looking to the CBD’s COP10 in Nagoya, and the need to build a strong movement in support of the PoWPA and new protected areas targets. There will be multiple training opportunities and workshops before, during and after the Congress on a very wide range of topics, from climate change to nature photography. The event is endorsed by President Felipe Calderon and Environment Minister Juan Elvira. Confirmed plenary speakers include Jane Goodall, Pavan Sukdhev, Amory Lovins and Mario Molina. In terms of IUCN, WCPA Chair Nik Lopoukhine will be in attendance, as will a number of IUCN Councillors and WCPA members. We have also invited the IUCN Secretariat leadership to attend and we will be awarding the Kenton Miller Award at WILD9. Please see www.wild9.org for more information or to register.
With best regards,
Cyril Kormos
Vice President for Policy
The WILD Foundation
Regional Vice-Chair, North America and Caribbean
IUCN-WCPA
PO Box 9451
Berkeley, CA 94709
T/F: 510-883-1424
C: 510-862-5359
Emily Loose
Site Manager
The WILD Foundation
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