Halfway through the decade, COP17 is the moment where the world will examine progress towards its global nature targets. One thing is clear – action at the scale required to meet these targets needs multi-stakeholder action and outside-the-box thinking, going beyond traditional siloed conservation action. Crucially, the challenge is to no longer rely on isolated one-off conservation projects, but to test effectiveness of implementation tools and approaches, and replicate and scale up those actions that work to meet the KMGBF targets by 2030. But what are the implementation tools that help translate local success in into broader, including global, impact? And how can they be embedded into conservation practice?

Told through the epic journeys of migratory birds between internationally important wetlands across continents, this event will explore three key implementation tools driving action in three countries, led by three different stakeholder groups. These demonstrate how partnerships can scale conservation action and impact, using the example of the East Atlantic Flyway.

From the peatlands of Iceland to the coastal wetlands of England and Senegal, we’ll look into the implementation tools and approaches that are enabling effective conservation delivery. This will include exploring the roles of: municipal government planning action, blended finance models, and civil society capacity building.

The event will also explore the overarching enabling mechanisms that tie these stories from across the flyway together, including World Heritage nominations and Single Species Actions Plans agreed by countries under the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), showing the value of synergies across conventions.

Each of these elements link directly with the COP17 agenda items of ‘Engagement with subnational governments, cities and other local authorities’, ‘Resource mobilisation’, ‘Capacity-building and development and technical and scientific cooperation’ and  ‘Cooperation with international organizations and bodies established under other conventions’, providing an excellent opportunity to ground the COP negotiations in the reality of conservation delivery.

With representatives from government, business and civil society, this event will show the crucial importance of collaboration, both between stakeholders and across continents. If we are to make the next years count, we must move beyond individual projects and focus on scaling the mechanisms, partnerships and tools that enable effective conservation impact across borders.

The format of the event will be innovative and interactive, following the migration of Black-tailed Godwits and other Icelandic breeding waterbirds along the East Atlantic Flyway, stopping off with them at internationally important wetlands to see the implementation tools which are being used to protect, manage and restore them, while supporting people and the climate, and helping to deliver the KMGBF.