ARCHIVE Newsletters 2013

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1 ARCHIVE Newsletters 2013 IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management North America & Caribbean Region March 2013 May 2013 July 2013 September 2013 November 2013 Page 1 of 3

2 March 2013 Dear Members of IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management-NA&C, As IUCN enters its new quadrennial ( ), the Commission on Ecosystem Management in the North American and Caribbean region has not only reappointed most of its members but also has been growing at a considerable rate. It now totals 119 like-minded individuals from across Canada, the U.S., and the non-spanish speaking Caribbean. We thank you for taking the time to fill out the online reappointment survey. The survey format allows us to more easily update your contact information and institutional affiliations. More importantly, we can now capture the interests of our regional members and compile lists of potential member contributions to CEM s priority areas. Your comments were very insightful and helped us consider new ways to organize and stimulate actions within the region. More surveys like this will be forthcoming to help us determine Thematic Group interests to be passed along to CEM s global group leads for inclusion on updates, workshops and initiatives in our region and overseas. Stay tuned. Thanks in advance for your in-put. To keep our regional membership growing, please continue to nominate colleagues who have an interest in networking with fellow scientists and policymakers or those who are leaders in their respective fields. Our goal is to have the best minds and expertise on board for CEM and IUCN priority areas to provide the scientific backbone that influences international policy and conservation today. Nominations can be sent to Charlotte Moser, Regional Chair, CEM-NA&C, at cm.iucn.cem.nac@gmail.com. If you don't think we have your updated CV, please forward it to our membership coordinator Brock Blevins (bblevins37@gmail.com) so we can send it along to the IUCN Secretariat. Update: Priority CEM Projects IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) The Commission on Ecosystem Management-North America & Caribbean will participate in a panel discussion about IUCN s new Red List of Ecosystems at 2013 Biodiversity Without Boundaries, the annual meeting of NatureServe in Baltimore on April 17. NatureServe is the U.S.-based contractor overseeing ecosystem mapping in North America and Latin America for the Red List, a major initiative launched in September 2012 at IUCN s World Conservation Congress in Jeju. The Commission on Ecosystem Management is a partner in implementing the RLE. See the NatureServe conference website for more information. Page 2 of 3

3 Edmund Ed Barrow, head of the Ecosystem Management Programme at the IUCN Secretariat in Switzerland, gave several brownbag lunch presentations about the RLE during a week in Washington in February. One of the presentations was hosted by Pact International and was coordinated by a CEM-NA&C member. Several CEM-NA&C members attended Ed s presentations, either in person in Washington or by teleconference. For information about RLE, visit its new website at Resilience A workshop Linking restoration science to risk assessment and resilience in ecosystem management is being organized by CEM-NA&C for the 5 th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Madison, WI in October Steve Edwards, who heads the resilience initiative on the CEM Steering Committee, is coordinating the workshop. For information about the meeting, visit the Society for Ecological Restoration website at People News New Director of IUCN s Washington DC Office Dr. Frank Hawkins has been named the new Director of IUCN s Washington DC office, starting April 1. He takes over full-time from Mary Beth West, who has been part-time director since 2010 and is moving to California. The IUCN Washington D.C. Office works with IUCN Members in the U.S., global institutions, and the U.S. donor community to further conservation worldwide. It also supports IUCN s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York. A conservation biologist and policy advisor, Frank holds dual Canadian- British citizenship. He was previously Senior Vice President at Conservation International. For 20 years until 2007, Frank worked primarily in Madagascar, with CI and other NGOs, where he conducted research on birds, lemurs and carnivores, worked closely on green economy policy and land-use planning issues, and emphasized the value of nature as the basis for sustainable development, particularly in Africa. He has collaborated with the U.S. government and U.S.- based institutions on a range of policy issues based on that field experience, including links between economic growth and natural resource use, mechanisms for promoting green investment, and multi-stakeholder engagement processes. IUCN Secretariat EMP Staff in the Washington DC Office At the global level, IUCN s Commission on Ecosystem Management works closely with the Ecosystem Management Programme (EMP) at the IUCN Secretariat. Two staff members from EMP will soon be working out of IUCN s Washington DC office. Kate Brown, a New Zealand native, coordinates IUCN s management of the Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA) from Washington. Soon to be announced will be IUCN s Senior Programme Officer for Climate Change Adaptation, with emphasis on ecosystem-based adaptation, who will also work out of Washington DC. Page 3 of 3

4 Regional Communications Did you know that CEM-North America and Caribbean is the only one of CEM s 14 regions across the globe with a webpage hosted on the IUCN web portal? You can visit the page at Also, don t forget to join the CEM-NA&C group on Linked-In. This tool is increasingly useful in helping professionals in widespread geographic networks stay in touch. Since this is my first regional CEM newsletter as your new Regional Chair, I want to express my enthusiasm for the potential that the Commission holds for this region. IUCN is a unique organization and I feel privileged to participate in advancing its principles as a CEM volunteer. I look forward to working with you to broaden our network in the U.S., Canada and non-spanishspeaking Caribbean. Best wishes, Charlotte Moser Regional Chair IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management North American & Caribbean Region Page 4 of 3

5 North America & Caribbean Region May 2013 Dear Members of IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management-NA&C, The recent review of CEM Thematic Groups has resulted in almost 20 topic areas where Commission members can network within their specialties. The organization of Thematic Groups varies widely and, like nature itself, is self-organized by members. If you want to connect with and learn from CEM peers globally, I urge you all to join one of the following Thematic Groups. Providing the opportunity for pro bono environmental experts to create and manage such groups is one of the ways that make IUCN s democratic organizational framework so unique. Sign up by sending an to Pat Hawes at the Secretariat at patricia.hawes@iucn.org. Information about each group and addresses for leads can be found by clicking on the group name in the left menu bar at Regional leads for CEM Thematic Groups and Priority initiatives Members from CEM s North America-Caribbean region now head four Thematic Groups or key CEM initiatives. They are: Ecosystem Restoration Keith Bowers (South Carolina) Ecosystem Services - Emmanuelle Cohen Shacham and co-lead Sasha Alexander (New York) Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems Group (MTEG) - Peggy Fiedler and Chen Yin Noah (California) Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change - Liette Vasseur (Ontario) Thanks to all for taking on these important roles. Click the Group links at the URL above to see what our CEM colleagues are doing in these topics. Page 5 of 3

6 Update: Priority CEM Projects Work begins on Americas IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) The team coordinating IUCN s Red List of Ecosystems for the Western Hemisphere met in late April in Boulder, Colorado. Supported by a $1.9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the IUCN Red List of the Continental Ecosystems of the Americas aims to document endangered ecosystems from Alaska to Patagonia by NatureServe is the U.S.-based contractor overseeing the Americas mapping, but the overall project is a consortium of partners including the IUCN Secretariat, NGO members and Commission members throughout the Americas. An announcement is coming soon about opportunities for CEM-North America members to participate in the mapping activity in our region. Visit the website at The Provincial Government of Manitoba, Canada, gave a nod to the Americas RLE in a mid-april press release announcing a new law that extends protections to endangered or threatened ecosystems. North America s first ecosystem protection legislation, Manitoba s law will empower conservation officials to stop activities that would endanger habitat and ecosystems, expanding the Province s Endangered Species Act. Toronto s George Greene, one of IUCN s regional councillors for North America and the Caribbean, was quoted in the press release. Kudos to Manitoba! If you know about other similar legislative plans, please let us know. Upcoming Events 2014 IUCN World Parks Congress, 2013 SER World Conference, The CEM Steering Committee decided in April to focus Commission participation at the 2014 World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia on Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change. Angela Andrade from the CEM Steering Committee is liaising with the U.S. National Park Service, which is leading the climate change stream for the Congress. To stay updated, visit the Congress website at Steve Edwards, a member of the CEM Steering Committee, is coordinating a session on resilience at the 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Madison, WI. in October The panel abstract will be posted soon at Please let us know if you plan to attend the conference. Page 6 of 3

7 People News IUCN Secretariat EMP Staff in the Washington DC Office Ali Raza Rizvi has joined the Ecosystem Management Programme team as IUCN s Programme Manager, Ecosystem-Based Adaptation. A native of Pakistan, Ali was previously Regional Group Head, Ecosystems and Livelihoods, IUCN Asia, based in Vientiane, Lao PDR, and IUCN s regional climate change and resilience programme coordinator in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the global level, Ali will work out of the Washington DC office focusing on ecosystem-based adaptation. Regional Communications Thanks to Chucri Sayegh (Quebec) for keeping the regional CEM Linked-In page updated. If you haven t already, please make sure to join this popular online networking tool at Also, don t forget to visit the CEM-North America and Caribbean webpage on the IUCN portal To keep our regional membership growing, please continue to nominate colleagues who have an interest in networking with fellow scientists and policymakers or those who are leaders in their respective fields. Our goal is to have the best minds and expertise on board for CEM and IUCN priority areas to provide the scientific backbone that influences international policy and conservation today. Nominations can be sent to Charlotte Moser (Washington DC), Regional Chair, CEM-NA&C, at cm.iucn.cem.nac@gmail.com or to our membership coordinator Brock Blevins (Washington DC) bblevins37@gmail.com. Best wishes, Charlotte Moser Regional Chair IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management North American & Caribbean Region Page 7 of 3

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11 September 2013 Dear IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management-North America & Caribbean, The summer has ended with a flurry of activities for the North America & Caribbean region of IUCN s Commission on Ecosystem Management. Following the CEM Steering Committee in Nairobi, Kenya, later this month, the pace of activities is certain to pick up more for CEM-NA&C at 2013 Society for Ecological Restoration 5 th World Congress Assessment to Recovery: Setting priorities for restoring ecosystem capacity CEM North America & Caribbean is coordinating a workshop on October 10 at the th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Madison, Wisconsin, organized by the Society for Ecological Restoration. Coordinated by Stephen Edwards, CEM Steering Committee, the workshop Assessment to Recovery: Setting priorities for restoring ecosystem capacity will explore ways to make technical, sociological, and financial recovery resources available to citizens and land managers for ecosystem restoration anywhere in the world. Keynote presentations will be made by Michael Jennings, IUCN CEM-NA&C member from University of Idaho; Mike Jones, Swedish Biodiversity Centre and Chair, Resilience Task Force, IUCN CEM; and Keith Bowers, Biohabitats and CEM Thematic Group Lead on Ecosystem Restoration. For background on the CEM Thematic Group on Ecosystem Restoration, click here. Ecosystem Services Thematic Group at ESP Conference, Indonesia, August 2013 With 166 members globally, the Ecosystem Services Thematic Group (ESTG) is one of CEM s largest, including 26 members from North America and the Caribbean. The 6 th Annual International Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) Conference in Bali, Indonesia, on August was well represented by CEM-NA&C members. Emmanuelle Cohen Shacham, ESTG lead who moved to the U.S. this summer, reports that the CEM thematic group coordinated three workshops at the Bali conference: An Ecosystem Services Approach to Landscape Restoration and Sustainable Livelihoods: Are the Available Tools, Assessments, and Frameworks Ready for Prime Time?; Tools and Incentives for Restoring Ecosystems and their Services (Special Session); and Practical Applications of the Ecosystem Services Concept in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems (MTE): Towards an MTE Assessment, coordinated by U.S.- based Chen Yin Noah, co-lead of CEM s MTEG. Page 11 of 3

12 CEM Priority Projects Red List of Ecosystems- Americas CEM members with expertise in particular ecosystem types are invited to participate as volunteers to review Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) inputs and results for upland, wetland, and selected freshwater ecosystems in the Americas from Alaska to Patagonia. NatureServe ecologists are preparing short typespecific conceptual models of ecosystem stress and response, along with map materials for use in the assessment. In early 2014, each type will be assessed to determine its RLE status. Reviews are needed from September 2013 through February The number of types reviewed, and depth of a particular review, will vary depending on the CEM member s expertise and interest. If interested in participating, please contact CEM member Patrick Comer (pat_comer@natureserve.org) for information, indicating geographic/ ecosystem type(s) of expertise and interest. Instructions about how to access materials and provide review and feedback will be sent to you. People News New Senior Manager, Landscape Restoration, joins IUCN Secretariat staff based in Washington DC Dr. Miguel Calmon joined IUCN s Global Forest and Climate Change Programme (GFCCP) team on August 1 as Senior Manager, Landscape Restoration Knowledge, Tools and Capacity. Based in Washington, D.C., Miguel is a Brazilian National who will spearhead the delivery of new knowledge, tools, and capacity aimed at facilitating the restoration of 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested lands by 2020, known as the Bonn Challenge. Miguel has worked in various capacities for The Nature Conservancy, including as Director of the Atlantic Forest Conservation Programme and Director of the Forest and Climate Change Programme in Latin America. He also served as Coordinator of the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP) from , for which he continues as Vice-Coordinator. Miguel holds a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Penn State University with a post-doc in crop modeling from University of Florida. His master s degree is in irrigation engineering (K.U. Leuven-Belgium) and his B.A. in agronomy (UNESP, Sao Paolo, Brazil). REMINDER CEM Global newsletter, 17 September deadline CEM is seeking items for its global September newsletter. CEM member activities (research, workshops, etc.); announcements; and publications are all welcomed. Contributions should be 150 words maximum with one picture if possible and a contact or website for further information. Please send items to Tedros Mehdin (ecosystemnews@gmail.com) by 17 September. Page 12 of 3

13 Regional Membership Nominations IUCN s regional CEM seeks members with expertise in Disaster Risk Reduction, Ecosystembased Adaptation (in relation to climate change), Red List of Ecosystems, Resilience in Ecosystems, and Managing Ecosystems (Ecosystem Services). If you have colleagues who could contribute to CEM priorities or Thematic Groups, please nominate them for membership. Nominations for CEM membership are made at the regional level. CEM members can submit nominations to Charlotte Moser, Regional Chair, at cm.iucn.cem.nac@gmail.com. Please attach a candidate s CV and a completed CEM Membership Application Form available at Regional membership coordinator Brock Blevins will follow up and update CEM membership records at the IUCN Secretariat in Gland, Switzerland. Please send us your member news, including links to publications and presentations. Bookmark the North America & Caribbean webpage for updates and for archived copies of our newsletter. We thank you for your continued support and interest in furthering the priorities of the Commission and IUCN. Best wishes, Charlotte Moser Regional Chair IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management North American & Caribbean Region Page 13 of 3

14 Dear IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management-North America & Caribbean, November 2013 The North America & Caribbean region of CEM is a large one. With 20+ countries and Caribbean island nations where Spanish is not the official language, this region includes a wide range of ecosystems and environmental challenges where CEM expertise is needed. Focus on Ecosystem-based Adaptation: CEM Expertise from North America Head of CEM s Thematic Group on Climate Change Adaptation, Liette Vasseur from St. Catherines, Ontario, represented CEM in mid-october at a GEF Special Climate Change Fund meeting in Beijing, China. More than 60 participants from 16 countries and 15 global/regional networks attended the workshop aimed at knowledge-sharing about ways to build climate resilience through ecosystem-based approaches (EbA). Three least-developed countries were selected for pilot programs: Mauritania, Nepal, and Seychelles. The EbA case study that Liette conducted in Sudbury, Ontario, was one of five North America case studies presented in Washington DC at a workshop at the Wilson Center on November 6. The workshop was convened to inform Human Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters: Ecosystem-based Approaches, a global research study under way by London s Royal Society. As regional CEM Chair, I presented Liette s study along with EbA studies on the Mountain Bark Beetle (Colorado) and the Flint River Basin (Georgia). Other U.S. case studies presented were Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) scenarios from hurricanes Katrina (Louisiana) and Sandy (New Jersey). If you have case studies for EbA or DDR from this CEM region, please let me know at cm.iucn.cem.nac@gmail.com. If you would like to join the EbA Task Force, contact Liette at lvasseur@brocku.ca. Regional CEM Engagement in 2014 World Parks Congress The climate change adaptation stream for IUCN s 2014 World Parks Congress brought Angela Andrade, CEM Deputy Chair based in Colombia, to Ft. Collins, Colorado, in October. With the Steering Committee decision to focus CEM activities at the Congress on adaptation, Angela is coordinating the Commission s participation at WPC. In Colorado, she met with Leigh Welling, Chief, Climate Change Response Program, for the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). NPS is a lead organizer for two WPC streams Responding to Climate Change and Improving Health and Well-Being. Earlier in October, the global Steering Committee for the Congress met in Harper s Ferry, West Virginia, to map progress on the global meeting scheduled for November, 2014, in Sydney, Australia. Regional CEM members were invited to an IUCN-Washington reception for the Steering Committee. Registration for the Congress begins later this month. CEM members are invited to submit in-put about CEM contributions to Angela at a.andrade@conservation.org. Page 14 of 3

15 Caribbean CEM member presents at Jamaica UNEP meeting on Land-Ocean Connections CEM member Noureddine Benkeblia from the University of the West Indies presented a poster session in early October at the Second Global Conference on Land-Ocean Connections in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Coordinated by the UN Environment Program, the meeting was the first in Latin America for the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities. More than 120 scientists, experts, policy makers and NGOs gathered to make recommendations towards the implementation of the Manila Declaration. GPA emphasizes the interconnectedness of activities on land and how they impact on the oceans, with a focus on pollution prevention, reduction and control, proposing ways to address these impacts through international and regional cooperation. Its three priority categories are marine litter, nutrients and wastewater. The Jamaica meeting led to discussions about the impact of pollution on coral reefs threatened by coastal urbanization and tourism. Noure s poster session was a case study from Jamaica on climate change and its impact on crops and productivity. Task Force formed to review feasibility of new CEM Thematic Group on Arctic Ecosystems At its September meeting, the CEM Steering Committee decided to form a task force to review the feasibility of creating a new CEM Thematic Group on Arctic Ecosystems. Based on task force recommendations, a decision will be made in Canada chairs the Arctic Council through 2015, followed by the U.S. until Regional CEM members interested in participating in the task force can contact Piet Witt, CEM Chair, at wit@syzygy.nl. Regional Membership Nominations IUCN s regional CEM seeks members with expertise in Disaster Risk Reduction, Ecosystembased Adaptation (in relation to climate change), Red List of Ecosystems, Resilience in Ecosystems, and Managing Ecosystems (Ecosystem Services). If you have colleagues who can contribute to CEM priorities or Thematic Groups, please nominate them for membership. Nominations for CEM membership are made at the regional level. CEM members can submit nominations to Charlotte Moser, Regional Chair, at cm.iucn.cem.nac@gmail.com. Please attach a candidate s CV and a completed CEM Membership Application Form available at Regional membership coordinator Brock Blevins will follow up and update CEM membership records at the IUCN Secretariat in Gland, Switzerland. We thank you for your continued support and interest in furthering the priorities of the Commission and IUCN. Best wishes, Charlotte Moser Regional Chair IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management North America & Caribbean Region Page 15 of 3