The text of this book is printed on paper made from wood fibre from well-managed forests certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The France-IUCN partnership aims to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It supports projects in countries of particular interest for France, in European overseas territories, and at the global scale. It provides technical expertise, both in mobilizing French organizations and experts, and by seconding senior staff to IUCN. The Partnership includes the ministries of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Agriculture and Food, and Overseas territories, as well as the French Development Agency (AFD). Created in 2005, the partnership builds on results achieved over time. From 2017 to 2020, it will reach nearly 9 Million Euros. www.iucn.org/fr/partenariat-france-uicn Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) is one of the three departments within the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University. Its mission is to advance scholarship concerning management and use of natural and cultural resources for recreation, tourism, and sport through innovative social science research, teaching, and public engagement. The department aspires to be a community of scholars dedicated to preparing students to be lifelong learners and leaders in a global society committed to developing parks, recreation, tourism, and sport resources that improve the quality of life and are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. cnr.ncsu.edu/prtm The IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist (TAPAS) Group is a voluntary network of over 500 people. The mission of the TAPAS Group is to provide a platform for protected area practitioners and others, where expertise and knowledge is shared, sustainability awareness is enhanced, collaboration and dialogue is facilitated, leadership is developed, and innovative solutions are fostered, in order to support the oversight of sustainable tourism in protected area systems. www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/wcpa/what-we-do/ tourism-tapas The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which entered into force in December 1993, is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. With 193 Parties, the Convention has near universal participation among countries. The Convention seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices, and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders, including indigenous and local communities, youth, NGOs, women and the business community. The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, held in 2010, adopted a revised and updated Strategic ...

The effectiveness of flagship species as a conservation tool is controversial, and amphibians are not usually regarded as meeting the strategic criteria that flagships demand. Capitalizing on the historical, cultural and economic importance of the Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum at Lake Xochimilco, Mexico, a conservation programme for this species and its habitat was developed using the Axolotl as a flagship. The threats to the lake are complex and stem from the unsustainable use of its resources. The needs and livelihoods of local stakeholders must therefore be taken into account before attempting to address the threats. The programme therefore focused on developing nature tourism by training local boatmen (remeros) in environmental interpretation. Surveys showed that the boatmen increased their incomes and job satisfaction after training, and that the environmental interpretation programme improved relevant knowledge and awareness of visitors. Although ongoing threats mean that reintroduction of captive‐bred Axolotls is not appropriate, zoos with captive populations of Axolotls supported the programme regionally and internationally by providing publicity, funds, staff expertise, training support and themed educational activities. By raising both funds and awareness for the wider conservation of Lake Xochimilco, the Axolotl is probably the first amphibian flagship to be launched successfully.

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The ability of volunteers to undertake different tasks and accurately collect data is critical for the success of many conservation projects. In this study, a simulated herpetofauna visual encounter survey was used to compare the detection and distance estimation accuracy of volunteers and more experienced observers. Experience had a positive effect on individual detection accuracy. However, lower detection performance of less experienced volunteers was not found in the group data, with larger groups being more successful overall, suggesting that working in groups facilitates detection accuracy of those with less experience. This study supports the idea that by optimizing survey protocols according to the available resources (time and volunteer numbers), the sampling efficiency of monitoring programs can be improved and that non-expert volunteers can provide valuable contributions to visual encounter-based biodiversity surveys. Recommendations are made for the improvement of survey methodology involving non-expert volunteers.

For decades, researchers have worried about people’s understanding of climate change. Although this understanding varies by cultural context, most studies so far have taken place in industrialised countries. Few studies have explored understandings of climate change in the global South. Through standardised questionnaires and semi-structured interviews conducted in southern Ecuador, this article explores differences between urban and rural dwellers and compares these with farmers’ understandings of the causes, consequences and risks. We found urban and rural dwellers hold a similar understanding to that found in other nations, but articulated in ways that reflect their particular realities. Despite reporting firsthand experience of the agricultural effects of climate change, when prompted, farmers do not link climate change to their own experience. It is thus important to go beyond judging knowledge as correct or incorrect, and instead, incorporate local realities in the climate narrative.