Task force accomplishments 2006

[Click here for Task force accomplishments 2003-2004]   [2005] [2007]

Task force planning. The task force leadership decided to take an incremental and exploratory – rather than strategic – approach to planning its activities. Specific work plans are under development.

Best practice guidelines. The task force committed to producing a volume on cities and protected areas in the Best Practice Guidelines Series of the World Commission on Protected Areas (see below under Working Group on Urban Protected Areas).

Best practice workshops. The Task Force co-sponsored the first of a projected series of workshops on practical ways of connecting urban people, cities, and nature. Urban Nature 2006 was held in Cape Town, South Africa, in February 2006, as a side-event to the general assembly of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.  Deputy Task Force Leader George Davis of the South African National Biodiversity Institute took the lead.

Proposals for several future such workshops are under consideration. Some will be stand-alone meetings; others will be held in conjunction with major conferences..

ICLEI Local Action for Biodiversity initiative. Several task force members participated in a workshop held in Rome, Italy, in June to plan this initiative of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (see above), which will focus on the role of municipal governments. Task force members present in various capacities, in most cases representing governmental entities, included Paolo Giuntarelli of RomaNatura, whose organization kindly hosted the event; Gregg Oelofse of the City of Cape Town, South Africa; Debra Roberts of eThekwini Municipality (Durban, South Africa); and task force leader Ted Trzyna.   

Working Group on Urban Protected Areas. This working group, set up in July 2006 under the chairmanship on Deputy Task Force Leader Pedro da Cunha e Menezes, will focus initially on producing a volume on urban protected areas in the Best Practice Guidelines Series of the World Commission on Protected Areas.

UNEP conference in Nairobi. Along with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Kenya Wildlife Service, the task force organized a one-day African Regional Workshop on Cities, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity at the Africities 4 Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in September. Task force members Pedro da Cunha e Menezes, Brett Myrdal, and Ted Trzyna were among the speakers. See http://new.unep.org/dpdl/urban_environment/Events/Africities.asp.

Urbanization and protected areas. At the request of IUCN's Programme on Protected Areas, task force leader Ted Trzyna wrote a paper, Global Urbanization and Protected Areas: Challenges and Opportunities Posed by a Major Factor of Global Change — and Creative Way of Responding, which was published in January 2007. The paper draws mainly on case studies in Kenya; South Africa; and the Californias, a binational region including parts of Mexico and the USA. However, its "lessons learned" and conclusions draw from the task force's work since 2003. This paper is part of a three-year UNEP/GEF-funded project on impacts of global change on protected areas. This project identified several themes for further research and discussion.

Technical and policy assistance. Task force members explored several opportunities to provide assistance in specific metropolitan areas or groups of cities. 

Web site. The task force Web site was regularly updated. In 2006, the site had some 58,000 page views.  

Other activities:

-- Informal exchanges. International visits and exchanges continued, including this year among Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, the UK, and the USA..

-- Circular e-mails. Periodic e-mails to task force members provide news and report on members' activities related to task force goals.

Task force membership:

-- At year's end, the task force had 83 members from 24 countries.

-- New members are being appointed to the task force selectively, based primarily on recommendations of other task force members, as well as IUCN leaders and member organizations.