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There are many global initiatives that provide information, resources and tools for practitioners at protected areas. Due to the nature of these initiatives, they tend to be broad-scale and do not necessarily hold information about many of the smaller protected areas such as those in the Pacific where many protected areas fall under local indigenous conservation and management. However, some of these global networks and partnerships provide practitioners with tools that can be adapted for use anywhere. You may also find that there are training, funding and other opportunities that can help you with efforts in your own location. 
 
Below are descriptions of some global protected area networks and partnerships providing information and support to practitioners around the world.  There are also a large number of other networks and partnerships that can provide conservation and technical assistance in various forms.

 

Contemporary Ra¯hui: placing Indigenous, conservation, and sustainability sciences in community-led conservation

Resource sustainability requires recognising and developing pathways to integrate local and Indigenous knowledges alongside conservation and sustainability sciences within management practices and governance.

Contribution of Marine Conservation Agreements to Biodiversity Protection, Fisheries Management and Sustainable Financing in Fiji

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has just finished a report on the "Contribution of Marine Conservation Agreements to Biodiversity Protection, Fisheries Management and Sustainable Financing in Fiji."The report documents the degree and scale to which Marine Conservation Agreements (MCA

Cost-effective priorities for the expansion of global terrestrial protected areas: Setting post-2020 global and national targets

Biodiversity loss is a social and ecological emergency, and calls have been made for the global expansion of protected areas (PAs) to tackle this crisis. It is unclear, however, where best to locate new PAs to protect biodiversity cost-effectively.

COVID-19 and protected areas: Impacts, conflicts, and possible management solutions

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, management authorities of numerous Protected Areas (PAs) had to discourage visitors from accessing them in order to reduce the virus transmission rate and protect local communities.

Current trends suggest most Asian countries are unlikely to meet future biodiversity targets on protected areas

Aichi Target 11 committed governments to protect ≥17% of their terrestrial environments by 2020, yet it was rarely achieved, raising questions about the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework goal to protect 30% by 2030.

Custodians of the globe’s blue carbon assets

Over the last decades scientists have discovered that seagrass meadows, tidal marshes, and mangroves – “blue carbon” ecosystems – are among the most intensive carbon sinks in the biosphere.

Data-driven approach for highlighting priority areas for protection in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction

One of the aims of the United Nations (UN) negotiations on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is to develop a legal process for the establishment of area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, in ABNJ.

Defining ‘science-based targets’

Setting targets for addressing major planetary concerns is an essential prerequisite for concerted global action (both inside and outside multilateral environmental agreements) and is necessarily a societal and political process, requiring negotiation and convergence among oftenconflicting intere

Designing protected area networks that translate international conservation commitments into national action

 Here we undertake a cost-effective approach to protected area planning in Guyana that accounts for in-country conditions.

Diverse values of nature for sustainability

Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being addressing the global biodiversity crisis still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature’s diverse values into decision-making.

Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) and Commercial Activities

  • Deep Sea Mining contract areas in ABNJ
  • Purse seiner pollution observer incidents across region
  • Regional fishing vessel density
  • Purse seiner pollution observer incidents and purse seiner vessel density

eDNA metabarcoding as a biomonitoring tool for marine protected areas

Monitoring of marine protected areas (MPAs) is critical for marine ecosystem management, yet current protocols rely on SCUBA-based visual surveys that are costly and time consuming, limiting their scope and effectiveness.

Engaging the tropical majority to make ocean governance and science more equitable and effective

How can ocean governance and science be made more equitable and effective? The majority of the world’s ocean-dependent people live in low to middle-income countries in the tropics (i.e., the ‘tropical majority’).

Enhanced regional connectivity between western North American national parks will increase persistence of mammal species diversity

Many protected areas worldwide increasingly resemble habitat isolates embedded in human-modifed landscapes. However, establishing linkages among protected areas could signifcantly reduce speciesloss rates.

EQUITABLE AND EFFECTIVE AREA‐BASED CONSERVATION: TOWARDS THE CONSERVED AREAS PARADIGM

In 2018, the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a decision on protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).

Essential indicators for measuring site-based conservation effectiveness in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

Work on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework is now well advanced andwill outline a vision, goals, and targets for the next decade of biodiversity conser-vation and beyond.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a large multi-use MPA in protecting Key Biodiversity Areas for marine predators

Marine protected areas can serve to regulate harvesting and conserve biodiversity. Within large multi-use MPAs, it is often unclear to what degree critical sites of biodiversity are afforded protection against commercial activities.

Evidence that spillover from Marine Protected Areas benefits the spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) fishery in southern California

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designed to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services. Some
MPAs are also established to benefit fisheries through increased egg and larval production, or the

Faster Ocean Warming Threatens Richest areas of Marine Biodiversity

The vulnerability of marine biodiversity to accelerated rates of climatic change is poorly understood.

Final Evaluation of the project “Forestry and Protected Area Management in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Niue (GEFPAS-FPAM)”

This report presents the findings of the Final Evaluation of the six year1 Global Environment Facility – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (GEF-FAO) Forest Protected Area Management (FPAM) in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Niue project, which was implemented between January 2012 a

FINAL REPORT - Seabird Survey of Aleipata Offshore Islands, Samoa. 24-26 October 2022

The Aleipata group of offshore islands have been identified as one of eight Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Samoa. They are located at the south-eastern end of Upolu Island at 14o3’447.28”S, 171o25’23.84”W (Nu’utele) and 14o4’22.11”S and 171o24’36.17”W (Nu’ulua) offshore.

First Quadrennial Pacific Sustainable Development : Executive Summary 2018

This Pacific Sustainable Development Report 2018 (PSDR) is the first quadrennial Pacific progress report on sustainable development. The report outlines high level trends on progress to date, as well as baseline information.

Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis

Heino M, Kummu M, Makkonen M, Mulligan M, Verburg PH, Jalava M, et al.

Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in the Pacific Islands Region, 2014-2020

The 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas held in Suva, Fiji, December 2013 produced and adopted a new Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in the Pacific Islands Region 2014-2020.

From livelihoods to equity for better protected area conservation

Meeting social goals is widely considered essential for effective biodiversity conservation. The dominant approach to meeting social goals has focused mainly on support for local livelihoods, but this has often proved inadequate for achieving either social goals or conservation effectiveness.

Gains in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services from the expansion of the planet’s protected areas

Protected areas safeguard biodiversity, ensure ecosystem functioning, and deliver ecosystem services to communities. However, only ~16% of the world’s land area is under some form of protection, prompting international calls to protect at least 30% by 2030.

Gaps in Protection of Important Ocean Areas: A Spatial Meta-Analysis of Ten Global Mapping Initiatives

To safeguard biodiversity effectively, marine protected areas (MPAs) should be sited using the best available science. There are numerous ongoing United Nations and nongovernmental initiatives to map globally important marine areas.

GEF Tracking of Aichi Target 11 Progress

GEF Tracking of Aichi Target 11 Progress

Track the progress of GEF funded projects by country under Aichi targets 11 and 12 by registering for the "Project Mgt Information System" at the bottom of the GEF splash page.

Global Biodiversity Outlook

Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 - Summary for Policymakers

Humanity stands at a crossroads with regard to the legacy it leaves to future generations. Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, and the pressures driving this decline are intensifying.

Global Protected Areas as refuges for amphibians and reptiles under climate change

Protected Areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. Here, we collated distributional data for >14,000 (~70% of) species of amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) to perform a global assessment of the conservation effectiveness of PAs using species distribution models.

Global protected areas seem insufficient to safeguard half of the world's mammals from human-induced extinction

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of global conservation and central to international plans to minimize global extinctions.

Global Reef Expedition - Final Report, Khaled Bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation

The expedition was conducted by KSLOF, a US-based nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health.

Global trends in protected area connectivity from 2010 to 2018

Connectivity of protected areas (PAs) is needed to ensure the long-term persistence of biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery. The Convention on Biological Diversity agreed in 2010 to have 17% of land covered by wellconnected PA systems by 2020 (Aichi Target 11).

Going Big in the Pacific Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas in the Pacific Ocean

The definition of large-scale marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean is fundamental to the achievement of global marine conservation targets.

Governance Assessment for Protected and Conserved Areas (GAPA) - Methodology manual for GAPA facilitators

This manual provides detailed guidance for assessing the governance quality of protected areas (PAs) and other conserved areas (CAs) and any related conservation and development activities.

Governance, Equity and the Green List

Good governance is fundamental to effective protected area (PA) design, planning, and management operations, and the degree to which these are equitable in terms of the recognition and engagement of key actors, and the distribution of benefits and costs/burdens.

Governing Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction: Roles and Opportunities for the Private Sector

The entry into force of the “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” (BBNJ Agreement) marks a historic moment.

Guidelines for conserving connectivity through ecological networks and corridors

Ecological connectivity is the unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth.

Guidelines for privately protected areas

These guidelines, prepared by the Privately Protected Areas and Nature Stewardship Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, offer a range of best practices for establishing PPAs and securing effective longterm conservation on private properties.

Harnessing island–ocean connections to maximize marine benefits of island conservation

Islands  support  unique  plants,  animals,  and  human societies found nowhere else on the Earth. Local and global stressors threaten the persistence of island ecosystems, with invasive species being among the most damaging, yet solvable, stressors.

Heavy reliance on private finance alone will not deliver conservation goals

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework envisages an increasing reliance on large-scale private finance to fund biodiversity targets.

High Seas Biodiversity Treaty Policy Brief

This introductory brief's target audience is professionals from governments, civil society, private sector, and other stakeholders who know multilateral processes and treaties but are not “BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) experts”. It is an easier