No abstract

The IUCN World Parks Congress is a once in a decade event that has traditionally been a major forum for advancing global protected area policy and practice. The Congress this November in Sydney Australia will be run along eight streams; addressing biodiversity, climate change, health, ecosystem services, development, governance, indigenous peoples issues and youth; cross-cutting themes address marine issues, capacity building, World Heritage and a New Social Compact. In the following extended editorial, the organisers of the various streams lay out their aims and hopes for the 2014 Congress.

No abstract

Despite global environmental policies calling for expanded representative, well-connected and effective protected areas, a significant proportion of areas governed and managed by local communities and indigenous peoples is largely under-documented by formal mechanisms and therefore not counted. International processes to inventory protected areas have been underway for decades, but only recently have diverse governance types been included in global databases. We outline the history and context of the development of the Global Registry of indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and areas, abbreviated as ICCAs. This registry was developed through a long-term consultation process and an international partnership. The Registry adheres to principles of Free, Prior Informed Consent and uses the same technical infrastructure and data standard as the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). We describe the local benefits of global registration for those who have participated, such as reduced conflict around mining prospects and increased revenue from community-based tourism. We also highlight globally relevant findings from the Registry: over 70 per cent of registered ICCAs have biodiversity conservation as a core objective, and registered ICCAs represent all IUCN management categories. We discuss the increasing alignment of the ICCA Registry with the WDPA, and describe the importance of both databases for documenting and analysing ICCAs. Lastly, we argue that careful documentation of these areas can enhance their value for effective biodiversity protection, and for the achievement of global conservation and development targets.

No abstract