Each year, the working group agrees on the theme for a shared working study, which aims to share the good practices, identify the leverages and obstacles in order to better address the solutions. The co-creation of the study ensures the members’ interest in the discussed topics, thus guaranteeing their commitment. In addition, aiming towards common goals enhances the synergies among the working group.
For example, a working group focused on the mobilization of employees identified 11 examples of successful practices such as organizing nature visits on site, displaying signs presenting biodiversity issues of operational sites, organizing events and moments of exchange with specialists, identifying a biodiversity referent, organizing training sessions or competitions.
Two fundamental aspects to efficiently mobilize the employees were determined:
On one hand, the requirement to elaborate an engaged social approach led by the top management of businesses (CEOs);
On the other hand, the importance of promoting measures that lead to action and promoting their experiences.
Define a collaborative framework through a co-created study with the chair approval
Diversity of ideas and skills to enlarge the spectrum of the opportunities to protect and restore biodiversity and the spectrum of envisioned solutions.
Regular reporting to the working group members on the on-going and realized work
Bringing together different stakeholders enhances communication and understanding between cross-sector stakeholders around a common goal. A common goal can facilitate the publication of studies and tools needed by the working group members in their activities.
Bringing external speakers from the IUCN network to share their expertise on the ongoing study enables to go deeper in the discussions as well as to answer to raised questions.
The working group serves as a dialogue platform to find better solutions for biodiversity.
The chair is made up of French IUCN Committee teams and an President is elected usually among the business partners for a three-year mandate. The President shares with the IUCN team the concerns of businesses in order to guarantee a relevant agenda.
The dialogue is reinforced first through a virtual meeting to agree on the yearly agenda based on a chair’s proposal, and then complemented by two face-to-face meetings per year. An improvement the last years has been the organization of sites visits on a voluntary basis from our business partners to learn from each other and confront the practices through concrete actions. It gives an insight on the replicable actions as well as the context-specific ones. According to the needs, more meetings and exchanges can be organised throughout the year.
Bi-monthly newsletter, with space given to the members to share their initiatives
Diversity of members: scientists, NGOs, business biodiversity managers, protected areas managers, government representatives from the ministry of the ecology, representatives from the new governmental agency for biodiversity, international representatives of IUCN
Trust and transparency between members
The confidence built with the business partners thanks to long-term partnerships enhance a fruitful participation among the working group members based on co-construction.
It is essential not only to engage all relevant stakeholders, but also to have an IUCN internal dialogue without companies to define risks and opportunities beforehand.
It is important to have an appointed focal point who agrees the agenda of the meetings and animates the discussions. The focal point should support working group members’ initiatives to put on the agenda their insights, struggles and solutions to deal with biodiversity issues that are raised.
A diverse multi-stakeholder group ensures that different views are expressed and results will be widely shared and accepted in order to co-create solutions. The business representatives in the working group are specialized in biodiversity. A next step would include business members coming from non-environmental departments, such as the purchase department to further incorporate biodiversity issues in the whole company.
Eco-tourism can be an effective tool for generating income for conservation and rasing the profile of conservation programmes in protected areas. Developing eco-tourism attractions such as hiking trails and interpretive programmes in protected areas allows people to access places which would be otherwise inaccessible. It allows people a chance to appreciate the environment and become supporters of conservation. It also provides conservation programmes with a new source of sustainable funding.
Facilities for eco-tourism ventures, such as trails and interpretive signage or tours.
National or local strategies for eco-tourism promotion and assistance.
Active participation from protected area managers to support eco-tourism in their parks.
Close working relationships between protected areas managers and local or national tourism authorities is important to ensure eco-tourism activities are appropriate, ethical and safe.
Taking an ecosystem approach when managing protected areas is crucial. The cloud forest on St Helena is a threatened habitat that supports numerous endemic species of plants, animals and fungi. Rather than working at a species level, it is important to consider habitats as functioning ecosystems, to manage them holistically, and to integrate the management of land, water and living resources.
Good knowledge of all aspects of the ecosystem, including land, water and living resources.
Adopting a protected area management plan that integrates all aspects of the ecosystem.
Political will to carry out an ecosystem approach for protected area management.
Managers of protected areas may be reluctant to adopt an ecosystem approach if they feel that they don't have a good understanding of all aspects of an ecosystem. In these cases it may be more useful to adopt the principle of ecosystem approach with a view to working towards it over time.
One of the most important recipe for the success of the deer census is that each couple of operators has to be composed of people from different categories: beginners with experts, hunters with animal activists, rangers with students, people from different regions, etc.
Every night the couples composition is different, so all the participants have the opportunity to meet different people and different areas of the National Park.
Also the social and scientific events are organized to emphasize the occasions of experience exchange between all different kinds of participants.
The entire organization is focused on mixing participants of different categories as an important rule for the succes of the project.
The registration and logistics organization software created and managed by the Park agency do not allow the participants to express rigid preferences on accomodation and on pairing with specific persons during the official activities.
All participants are being informed why these rules are so important.
Combining people of different categories is an important rule for this monitoring activity, mainly for three reasons:
operators of the same category could have an interest in altering the data on the censed number of deer: if hunters declare more deer they could be called to reduce that number; for the same reason animal activists could have the interest in declaring a reduced number.
in the past, it happened that couples of operators of the same category (expecially hunters, that are obliged to partecipate to have the hunting permission) decided to rest in the forest instead of counting deer in a proper way. Mixed couples are controlling each others.
mixed couples are the best opportunity to exchange experiences and to break down cultural barriers.
Under IUCN India's LfN program, a corporate is provided with customized and targeted sessions for enhanced learning on globally accepted tools and research. This helps corporates in building their capacities and catalyze organization's transition into sustainable business practices.
Understanding the audience, company's operations and agreeing with the senior management on the customized capacity building program ensures that key personnel in their operations have an enhanced understanding and appreciation for incorporating natural capital into business operations;
In addition to company specific sessions, the annual event (masterclass) provides peer-to-peer learning platform from the industry's best practices to the wider communities;
There is a need to design, develop and implement sector specific tools and modules to be able to meet expectation of the companies.
The nature of the capacity building sessions should enable the staff to set realistic short-term and long-term goals.
Peer-to-peer learning not just from within the region but from global experts should be augmented.
Under IUCN India's Leaders for Nature program, it is important to ensure that adequate due diligence is conducted for all potential members; in order to understand the corporate’s perspective and commitment towards natural capital.
A due-dilligence process of Risk Opportunity Matrix (RoM) is carried out via information available on the internet, and sustainability and audit reports of corporates. This enables IUCN to evaluate opportunities and risks in partnering with companies.
The level of commitment from senior management of the companies on issues related to biodiversity conservation and natural capital, among others, is reflected via resource allocation (both human and financial).
Commitment from senior management ensures that policy related to natural capital is incorporated in the business operations and is included in the vision of the company. Lack of such leadership and vision would lead to reduced capacities of personal and willingness to address these issues.
