Dear GWP Friends and Colleagues, |
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Last year ended and the new one began with exciting new commitments and knowledge exchange opportunities. In December, the CBD COP-15 culminated in the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a historic agreement to address the loss of biodiversity with 23 targets to contribute towards the vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050. This is a sign of hope for nature and will help scale up efforts to conserve species, protect and restore key ecosystems, and conserve and sustainably manage entire landscapes and seascapes. There were two GWP-supported events at the GEF Pavilion raising the profile of wildlife conservation and rangers (see below), which included the participation of government representatives from GWP projects in Malaysia, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Gender mainstreaming gained momentum at both the CBD COP-15 and the CITES COP-19. The GWP recently published a blog on gender equality including tips for teams to better integrate gender into project activities.
The second edition of the Tools and Resources for Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) report has been launched. It includes many new resources to support NBT destinations and stakeholders to recover from the pandemic’s devastating effects on tourism. The associated e-library includes these new resources, please explore it!
The upcoming International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) and Coexistence, led by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Human-Wildlife Conflict & Coexistence Specialist Group and supported by the GWP, will take place March 30–April 1, 2023. GWP project teams and HWC practitioners from around the world will gather at the University of Oxford to promote peer-to-peer learning across sectors and actors on the topic for partnerships and collaboration across people and institutions working on human-wildlife coexistence.
Coming up on March 3rd is World Wildlife Day. As a global partnership, we are excited about this year’s theme of “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation.” The success of the GWP is a credit to all of you—our partners in wildlife conservation. We look forward to continuing the strong partnership as the Wildlife Conservation for Development Integrated Program (WCD IP) is established.
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Warm regards,
The GWP Coordination Team, World Bank
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A new resource for the resilient recovery of nature-based tourism |
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Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic have reverberated across the NBT sector since the publication of the first edition of the NBT tools and resources report in July 2020. This second edition launched in December 2022 aims to collect and share the many resources that have emerged over the last two years to support NBT destinations and stakeholders to recover and reset in the face of the pandemic. A new chapter has been added on COVID-19 resources.
Watch a recording of the launch webinar to learn more about how tourism operators, organizations, and governments are looking to measure the impacts of travel on nature and be more sustainable.
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In wildlife conservation, gender equality brings win-win returns |
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There are multiple approaches to mitigate the threats posed by environmental degradation, illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and HWC, but they are often gender blind when they should be gender equal. IWT exists in the same gendered social spheres as everyday life. This blog by the GWP's Wendy Li and gender advisor Joni Seager discusses how gender considerations are gaining momentum, how gender is being mainstreamed in GWP projects, along with three tips to progress down the gender pathway. |
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Replay GEF Pavilion events from the COP-15 biodiversity conference |
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The GWP, in partnership with the International Ranger Foundation, WWF, ICCA Consortium, and the German Government (GIZ), participated in a side event with the GEF on the vital role of rangers and discussed the importance of supporting and reforming the ranger workforce to meet the post-2020 targets.
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The GWP also co-organized the event ‘Conserving Wildlife for People and Planet’ that focused
on national efforts to combat IWT, prevent and mitigate HWC, and promote wildlife-based economies.
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TRAFFIC engaged to provide technical support to GWP projects on behavior change & demand reduction to curb IWT |
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The World Bank has contracted TRAFFIC to provide technical support to GWP projects on behavior change and demand reduction. Activities will include virtual capacity building webinars and mentoring, developing practical guidance for project teams, and an e-library on the GWP website for easy access to useful resources and tools. A guidance note on entry points for behavior change interventions across wildlife management and trade chains is also under preparation. This work will also support countries that will join the GEF-8 WCD IP—which among others, encourages the integration of behavior change approaches to address drivers of wildlife loss as one of the selection criteria for the program.
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From GWP projects & partners |
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Testing an innovative way to capture & share lessons learned in countering IWT |
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An action-learning pilot exercise was conducted between September 2022 and February 2023 to take stock of useful lessons from the GEF-6 GWP national projects under the UNDP-GEF-USAID Project: Reducing Maritime Trafficking of Wildlife between Africa and Asia. It consisted of five interactive online workshops, three online surveys, and a study tour during which participants came together to learn from GWP Kenya and help one another identify and reflect on learning from each country.
The overview, agenda, resources, key takeaways, and participant testimonials can be found here.
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Tackling IWT cybercrime through Indonesia’s Cyber Patrol Team |
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The increasing use of the internet has affected the pattern of IWT, with online transactions rising. This poses challenges for law enforcement officers to accurately target the perpetrators. Considering this trend, the GWP Indonesia GEF-6 project supported the government to establish and operationalize a cyber patrol team.
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Free screening tool for companies/investors to prioritize biodiversity action |
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WWF's Biodiversity Risk Filter, launched at Davos in January, is a portfolio screening tool to help companies and investors prioritize action on what and where it matters the most to address biodiversity risks for enhancing business resilience and contributing to a sustainable future. Its tools are aligned to support key global initiatives and reporting frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), and the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), and help better inform business strategies, target setting, and investment decisions. |
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Recent publications and news |
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Guidelines to reduce disease risks in and around protected and conserved areas (PCAs) & strategies for sustainable tourism operators in PCAs |
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PCAs are affected by disease risks and impacts in wide-ranging ways, as demonstrated by recent epidemics. Their potential role in disease prevention, detection, response, and recovery is significant—to reduce spillover risks and effectively prepare for disease events. |
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The IUCN/EcoHealth Alliance Guidelines provide an orientation for PCA managers on relevant sources of risk, with actions to strengthen systems for disease management across PCA contexts. A key message is that protected areas can and should play a vital role in One Health approaches to reduce disease risk and improve human, animal, and environmental health.
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The accompanying One Health Principles provide a focused look at tourism-relevant aspects of PCAs. Six core principles highlight practical strategies for tour operators and wider tourism industry stakeholders.
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New initiative to restore ecological connectivity in large landscapes |
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The goal of Wildlife Connect is to protect, manage, and restore ecological connectivity in large landscapes—enabling large-scale wildlife movements and sustaining the benefits they provide for ecosystems and people. A collaboration between WWF, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group, and the Convention on Migratory Species, the initiative will coalesce around four demonstration landscapes in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
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ASEAN Handbook on Legal Cooperation to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade |
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This updated handbook aims to provide law and policy makers, criminal justice officials, and law enforcement officials in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries with information on legal frameworks and policies and other associated tools to prosecute wildlife crimes. The development of the handbook was driven by ASEAN Member Countries through the ASEAN Working Group on CITES and Wildlife Enforcement and the leadership of the ASEAN Secretariat, Thailand.
In addition to providing updates and enhancements reflecting legislative and policy changes since 2016, the handbook incorporates relevant information and policy guidelines on zoonotic diseases and COVID-19. The handbook was supported by USAID, WWF, the World Organization for Animal Health, and ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
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Looking for ways to grow your conservation technology knowledge and skills this year? |
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In Season 4 of WILDLABS Tech Tutors, expert speakers will cover tools and topics that help address conservation challenges unique to East Africa, while also opening up new tech skills to the global community.
Sessions are delivered Thursdays virtually from 4-5 PM EAT/ 1-2PM GMT. Every tutorial is posted on their YouTube channel.
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Tune into partner and GWP Webinars |
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World Wildlife Day is coming up on March 3rd. World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Juergen Voegele will be speaking at the global event in Washington D.C., organized by CITES to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. On the WWD YouTube channel you can see video messages from representatives at the UN, TRAFFIC, CITES, CMS, and also the World Bank’s Global Director for Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy, Valerie Hickey.
The livestreamed event is on: Friday, March 3 I 10:00 AM EST / 16:00 CET
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December 2022
GWP Legacy Series: Lessons from GWP Gabon and the Republic of Congo Projects
The GWP Legacy Series is a webinar series that highlights the impact and results of GWP projects that are closing. This webinar focused on lessons learned from the GWP projects in Gabon and the Republic of Congo and provides useful information for other projects to overcome barriers in implementation.
Other past webinars can be found here.
To receive regular updates about virtual events email:
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Follow the GWP on Twitter via @WBG_Environment |
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Subscribe to the GWP Newsletter here
GWP Program Video (updated May 2022):
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This newsletter is published by the GWP Coordination Team
We welcome your submissions of news, events, and publications at
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