Iucn Protected And Conserved Areas

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Member Union, has been in operation for over 70 years, working towards a sustainable future for both people and nature. The IUCN’s vision guides the work of the Union: a just world that values and conserves nature. “Drawing on a large and diverse membership, and thousands of volunteer experts, with a global reach, IUCN is focused on the crucial mission of safeguarding the natural world and rebuilding a healthy and equitable planet for people and nature.” Protected and conserved areas – national parks, wilderness areas, Indigenous and Traditional Territories (ITTs), community conserved areas, nature reserves, Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), and so on – are a mainstay of biodiversity conservation, while also contributing to people’s livelihoods, particularly at the local level. Protected and conserved areas are at the core of efforts towards conserving nature and the services it provides us – food, clean water supply, medicines and protection from the impacts of natural disasters. Their role in helping mitigate and adapt to climate change is also increasingly recognised; it has been estimated that the global network of protected areas stores at least 15% of terrestrial carbon. Helping countries and communities designate and manage systems of protected and conserved areas on land, in freshwater, and in the oceans, is one of IUCN’s main areas of expertise and a key focus of attention of IUCN’s work. Effectively managed systems of protected and conserved areas have been recognised as critical instruments in achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Protected and Conserved Areas (PCA) Team works to promote the implementation of global standards for fair governance and effective management of systems of protected and conserved areas.