Decision COP 14/8

The Conference of the Parties,

Recognizing the relevance of international initiatives, experiences and activities, such as the Latin American Technical Cooperation Network on National Parks, other Protected Areas, and Wildlife (REDPARQUES) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Man and the Biosphere Programme and its World Network of Biosphere Reserves, for their contribution of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures,

Welcoming the upcoming third Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Protected Areas (Lima, March 2019);

Recognizing the work related to socio-ecological production landscapes under the Satoyama Initiative,

1. Welcomes the voluntary guidance on integration of protected areas and other effective areabased conservation measures into the wider land- and seascapes and on mainstreaming these into sectors, as well as the voluntary guidance on governance and equity, contained in annexes I and II, respectively, to the present decision;

2. Adopts the following definition of “other effective area-based conservation measures”:

“Other effective area-based conservation measure” means “a geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio–economic, and other locally relevant values”;

3. Welcomes the scientific and technical advice on other effective area-based conservation measures, contained in annex III to the present decision, to be applied in a flexible way and on a case-bycase basis;

4. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, relevant organizations, in collaboration with indigenous peoples and local communities, to apply the voluntary guidance contained in annexes I and II, on integration and mainstreaming, and governance and equity of protected areas and other effective areabased conservation measures, as appropriate, in accordance with national circumstances and legislation, and consistent and in harmony with the Convention and other international obligations;

5. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, relevant organizations, in collaboration with indigenous peoples and local communities, to apply the scientific and technical advice on other effective area-based conservation measures contained in annex III, also taking into account, where appropriate, the 2016 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples on the theme “indigenous peoples and conservation” 2 and the 2017 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment,3 including by:

6. Encourages Parties and invites other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous peoples and local communities to take into account the considerations in achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in marine and coastal areas, as contained in annex IV to the present decision, in their efforts to achieve all elements of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in marine and coastal areas;

7. Also encourages Parties and invites other Governments, relevant organizations, and indigenous peoples and local communities to share case studies/best practices and examples of management approaches, governance types and effectiveness related to other effective area-based conservation measures, including experiences with the application of the guidance, through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention and other means;

8. Invites the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre to expand the World Database on Protected Areas by providing a section on other effective area-based conservation measures;

9. Invites the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other expert bodies to continue to assist Parties in identifying other effective area-based conservation measures and in applying the scientific and technical advice;

10. Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to available resources, and in collaboration with partners, Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and indigenous peoples and local communities, to provide capacity-building, including training workshops, to enable the application of the scientific and technical advice and guidance contained in the annexes to the present decision;

11. Urges Parties, and invites other Governments, relevant organizations and donors in a position to do so to provide resources for capacity-building and technology transfer, and to support Parties and indigenous peoples and local communities to identify other effective area-based conservation measures and to apply the scientific and technical advice and guidance;

12. Urges Parties to facilitate mainstreaming of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures into key sectors, such as, inter alia, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining, energy, tourism and transportation, and in line with annex I.