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This project aims to reduce and mitigate negative environmental impacts of the key development sectors (agriculture, infrastructure, tourism), which were recognized in the 2018 State of Environment Report as the main national drivers of biodiversity and habitat degradation.The Cook Islands GEF-7 Project ENUA is being implemented by the Cook Islands National Environment Service (NES), with assistance and support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners.Below are 2024 quarterly progress reports of this project. 

UNESCO’s new publication "Indigenous knowledge, ancestral places: navigating change in UNESCO designated sites" offers honest accounts of resilience from many different perspectives told by Indigenous Peoples whose territories intersect with UNESCO designated sites across the world.

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As the climate warms, coral reefs face more frequent and severe impacts from thermal stress while a greater proportion of tropical cyclones are expected to reach the strongest categories. Understanding the impacts of extreme cyclone waves and reef recovery dynamics is essential to support projections of reef communities under future climate scenarios.

The report High-risk forests, high-value returns: A co-benefits assessment for decision-makers examines the global significance of conserving “high-risk forests” or tropical forests with high deforestation risk, covering about 391 million hectares.

Our planet is facing an unprecedented and accelerating biodiversity crisis, driven by human activity and compounded by climate change, which is bringing ever more severe weather to a world already strained by poverty and inequality. Species are disappearing at accelerating rates, entire ecosystems are collapsing at alarming speeds, and millions of people struggle to secure the most basic needs of water, food, energy, and safety.

At World Trade Organization (WTO), the key characteristic according to which support to agricultural producers is classified is their ability to distort international trade rather than their incidence and impacts on social or environmental dimensions. There is a lack of studies and analytical framework to guide policy decisions, such as understanding how specific support, in general, and in different agricultural sub-sectors, are linked to biodiversity, economic, social, and trade outcomes. In this context, our work contributes to filling this gap.

Assessments of coral reef biodiversity generally focus on corals and fishes, although there is a variety of other taxa that live within the structure of coral reefs. Rubble cryptofauna includes sessile and motile species that inhabit dead coral and coral rubble and play critical roles in coral reef ecosystems. The examination of rubble cryptofauna can provide insights into the health and functioning of modern coral reefs.

Marking 60 years of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List), this report captures its beginnings and tracks key milestones and achievements. It explains how the IUCN Red List is used to conserve species, provides pointers to useful Red List resources and highlights priorities for the future.

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This guide aims to help businesses navigate the rapidly evolving voluntary biodiversity credit (VBC) markets and decide
 whether and how to engage in VBCs.
It is intended for companies that want to help halt biodiversity loss or restore and regenerate biodiversity in the context of nature-positive strategies. It is relevant for those with biodiversity strategies in place, those in the process of developing a biodiversity strategy, or those considering one.

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Aim: To present a short, practical guide to integrate climate change mitigation (CCM) into Protected and Conserved Area (PCA) management and decision-making and as a companion to the WCPA technical report Enhancing climate change mitigation in protected areas.
Audience: PCA managers and decision-makers who are interested in how CCM relates to PCA management, how PCA management can support CCM, how to incorporate CCM into existing management plans for PCAs and how to develop policies on the creation and management of PCAs for CCM.