The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, agreed at COP10 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan in 2010, lay out a blueprint for stemming biodiversity loss by 2020. Aichi Target 11 specifically identifies the need to expand the number and area of protected areas to at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water habitats and 10% of marine areas globally, while many of the other targets are also related directly to the improved planning and management of protected areas. Generating support for a substantial increase in conservation areas, however, will require stronger social and economic arguments to engender the necessary political support for effective action.

Climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss will become some of the greatest environmental challenges in the next decades, exacerbated by rising temperatures, more erratic rainfall and rising pressure on land and natural resources. Protected areas are the cornerstones of biodiversity conservation but also provide multiple goods and services that contribute to livelihoods and can help countries and vulnerable communities to cope with a wide range of environmental problems. However, they can only fulfil these functions if they are effectively managed to maintain healthy ecosystems and are recognized as an essential part of sustainable development.

The full day event organized by IUCN/WCPA and CBD LifeWeb Initiative will focus on the key roles that protected areas, under different governance and management regimes, can play in promoting cost-effective and sustainable solutions to climate change and land and resource management. Presentations and country case studies will illustrate how protected areas can provide ecosystem-based approached to adaptation, help people to cope with climate change, combat desertification, maintain essential water services, safeguard biodiversity and contribute to food security and disaster reduction thereby contributing to achievement of the Aichi targets and Millennium Development Goals.

Protected Areas Day Wednesday 10 October 2012 - 11:15am to 8:00pm Novotel Hotel, Rio Conventions Pavilion at COP 11 Format: Four sessions over one day. Formal presentations and panel discussion.

Session 1 - 11:00 - 12:30: Working towards the Aichi Targets: The Central Role of Protected Areas

Session 2 - 13:15 - 14:45: Protected Areas as Natural Solutions to Climate Change and other Global Challenges

Session 3 - 15:00 - 16:30: Protected Areas for Marine Conservation, Blue Carbon and Sustainable Fisheries

Session 4 - 17:00 - 18:30: Opportunities for Mainstreaming Protected Areas into Policies and Programmes

LifeWeb Cocktail - 18.30 - 20:00

Visual/Exhibit Materials: Expect to have some posters and publications

Speakers: Invited speakers, including heads of protected area agencies and representatives of NGOs and community organizations

Contacts for coordinator and communications/media:
Kathy MacKinnon, WCPA (kathy.s.mackinnon@gmail.com)
Charles Besancon, CBD LifeWeb Initiative (charles.besancon@cbd.int)