This report, a product of CMP’s Collaborative Learning Initiative, describes the rationale for and conditions that warrant a holistic approach to conservation efforts. Through a very ambitious and rapid-fire effort, a 30-member holistic approaches working group crafted this product, which includes a clear definition of a “holistic approach,” a situation assessment that lays out when more holistic approaches are needed, a working theory of change, and thoughts on when and how to use this approach with success. The work is grounded in the context that a significant portion of the world’s high-conservation-value areas are occupied, surrounded, and/or owned or managed…

CMP and CCNet members have updated the basic presentations supporting the Conservation Standards Steps 1-2. These presentations use high-quality photographs and reduced text on slides, and they include detailed presenters’ notes. As new presentations are developed, they will be added to the site. If you are interested in reviewing and giving feedback on these basic CS Training PowerPoints, please fill out this feedback form. English Presentations Folder French Presentations Folder

Southern Palawan in the Philippines is home to the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, the headwater of 33 watersheds and the habitat of newly discovered plants and of wildlife unique to the Palawan faunal region.  Illegal mining, poaching, unbridled agricultural growth, and forest overexploitation pose very real threats to the landscape, a major contributor to the world’s biodiversity.  In 2017, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sought to address these threats through an initiative called Protect Wildlife. Protect Wildlife used all stages of the Conservation Standards to facilitate collaboration among…

In Chile, the Conservation Standards were used to evaluate protected areas (PAs) across an entire country. Chile manages its PAs through its National System of Protected Areas (SNASPE). In 2015, in order to improve the SNASPE, Chile began using all the stages of the Conservation Standards. Improving the SNASPE had the potential to help the staff of 83 PAs plan for and address a host of threats. The staff of all 83 PAs, using the common language of the Standards, prioritized threats to focus on, outlined strategies (and annual activities) to reduce those threats, and annually reevaluated which threats and…

Chile is the endemic home to the world’s southernmost palm tree, the Chilean Wine Palm. For centuries, the tree has been heavily exploited, largely for its sap used to make palm honey (a practice that was not regulated until 1941). Chilean Wine Palms used to number in the millions but are now estimated to be fewer than 130,000. La Campana National Park is home to the largest surviving population of Chilean Wine Palms (about 60,000 individuals). Identifying this population as a conservation priority for the park in 2016, the Chilean National Forest Corporation (CONAF) decided to use all stages of…

There is significant potential to reduce illegal wildlife trade through training and collaborating with airport staff. To take advantage of this potential, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) initiated the Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership. Born out of a 2015 collaborative action planning workshop, ROUTES partners included the US government, Airports Council International (ACI), the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, the International Air Transport Association, TRAFFIC (an environmental NGO), and the World Wildlife Fund. ROUTES used stages one through four of the Conservation Standards (Assess, Plan, Implement, Analyze & Adapt) to collaborate with these…

Winners of the 2020 Conservation Standards Case Study Competition, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the International Crane Foundation (ICF) have been working together to conserve crane populations and their ecosystems across Africa. Both organizations are committed to critically examining their work and looking for ways to improve it. Through the encouragement of a donor and other colleagues, EWT and ICF discovered the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation (the Conservation Standards (CS)) as a process that could help support their commitment to learning and improving. Both organizations quickly embraced the CS and began a journey to deeply integrate…