IUCN COMMISSION GROUP

IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group

Overview and description

Description:

Today, people share the Earth with an estimated 8.7 million species. Of the 1.3 million that have been identified and described, 116,000 have so far been assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened ...

Ms Caroline LEES

Chair

Caroline joined the CPSG staff in 2011 as a workshop facilitator and PVA modeller. Before CPSG she worked with zoos in the UK, Europe and later in Australasia where her work included evaluating field conservation efforts and providing policy advice, training and technical support to enhance the sustainability and conservation-relevance of ex situ wildlife populations. She continues to apply these skills at CPSG, to species conservation planning projects that aim to integrate more and less intensively managed populations under a single umbrella, using CPSG’s “One Plan Approach”. In recent years Caroline has led CPSG’s evaluation programme, focusing on the short, medium and long-term impacts of science-based, stakeholder-inclusive planning on conservation outcomes for species. Her current priorities include CPSG’s “Assess-to-Plan” (A2P) project which, through collaborative multi-species planning methods, is aiming to connect more threatened species to the conservation action they need using the information and expertise concentrated within the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species programme.

More about the Specialist Group

The focus of CPSG is to scale up effective species conservation planning in the SSC in order to support efforts to conserve and restore populations of species under threat and ultimately to halt species extinctions. CPSG helps save threatened species by increasing the effectiveness of conservation efforts worldwide.

We support an integrated approach to species conservation planning through the joint development of management strategies and conservation actions ...

CPSG’s mission is to save threatened species by increasing the effectiveness of conservation efforts worldwide. For 40 years, we’ve accomplished this by using scientifically sound, collaborative processes that bring together people with diverse perspectives and knowledge to catalyze positive conservation change. We provide species conservation planning expertise to governments, Specialist Groups, zoos and aquariums, and other wildlife organizations.

Specialist Group work

Its approach to planning is deeply rooted in a set of principles that emphasize sound science and the meaningful participation of key stakeholders. These principles are used to guide a series of planning steps that continue to evolve in response to the increasing complexity of today’s wildlife conservation challenges. Taken together, these principles and steps are important elements in the development and implementation of effective species conservation plans.

Understanding the approach to conservation planning

This style of planning has been shown to provide a turning point for those involved in conserving species, helping them transition to more effective ways of collaborating.

ASSESS TO PLAN (A2P)

A2P uses analyses of IUCN Red List data and the input of local specialists, to identify next steps towards action for these groups, and the individuals or agencies best placed to take it. It is designed to work either as an integral part of the IUCN’s Red Listing framework—combining Red List workshops with the A2P process, where possible—or as a stand-alone process for groups of species with published Red List assessments.