GWP NEWSLETTER | August 2018
Dear Colleagues,
Today we celebrate World Elephant Day to raise awareness of the plight of the world’s elephant population. Several of the Global Wildlife Program's (GWP) national projects identify elephants as their priority species, and through tackling specific threats those projects seek to ensure elephants have safe and secure land to move in, that they are away from communities with whom they share resources to avoid conflict, and that those engaged in illegal wildlife trade are prosecuted by improving evidence collection and intelligence gathering. Please read our latest blog and video dedicated to this day.

In the past two months we have launched four videos, one of which has surpassed 225,000 views! These videos take you on a journey to the serene Van Long Nature Reserve in Vietnam all the way to magnificent Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique where the rangers share their stories of courage, challenges and conservation, to high above Niassa to fly with World Conservation Society pilot Philip McLellan.

In June, the GWP organized a successful conference with the government of Mozambique on nature-based tourism in conservation areas (conference documents in Portuguese, and blog) that was attended by 500+ participants and leveraged $600 million in investments for conservation and tourism.
 
Also in June, at the Sixth GEF Assembly in Da Nang, Vietnam, the GWP hosted a side event where we presented on the theory of change and our partnerships with governments, donors, intergovernmental organizations, implementing agencies and the private sector, and co-hosted an event with Vietnam's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam on tourism for biodiversity conservation.  Read the Vietnam blog. 
 
We would also like to showcase the new publication the World Bank country partners in the Republic of Congo put together on approaches that can enhance the economic value of wildlife resources for local communities and governments as a contribution to poverty reduction, economic development, and conservation as a way to counter the alarming rates of poaching in the Western Congo Basin, and an innovative picture story the UNDP India team has put together on the snow leopards.
 
We hope you can join us at our monthly virtual events and for the annual conference to be held in Zambia from October 29 – November 1, 2018. Email as for more info.
 
Thanks, The GWP Team 
Ensuring a world where elephants aren’t the next dinosaurs
GWP Program Manager Claudia Sobrevila highlights the GWP’s country projects working to save elephants from Gabon and Mozambique, to Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Video: Protecting elephants from the air
Niassa National Reserve is the most important elephant range in Mozambique with 42% of the national elephant population (4,441 elephants). In this video, you can fly over Niassa with World Conservation Society (WCS) pilot Philip McLellan who monitors the elephants and checks for poacher camps or any incidents that could help the rangers find poachers.
GWP videos highlight the commitment of rangers
The GWP honors the heroic efforts of forest guards and rangers who risk their lives to protect wildlife and forests. Watch our recent videos created by Raul Gallego Abellan documenting rangers' work of violence, conservation, and courage in Vietnam & Mozambique released for World Rangers Day 2018.
Rowing a boat for tourism and development in Vietnam
Communities engaged and benefiting from wildlife have a greater stake in protecting them. Read a story of a mother and woman who rows the boat for tourism in Van Long Nature Reserve in Vietnam.
Video: Protecting Vietnam’s nature, langurs & livelihoods through nature-based tourism
Through the story of Nguyen thi Ngoan, this video that premiered at the Sixth GEF Assembly captures the link between biodiversity conservation, economic development, and poverty alleviation as it applies to Vietnam but the narrative of which resonates around the world.
Engaging a global community to mitigate human-wildlife conflict (HWC)
In June, the GWP, and the IUCN SSC HWC Task Force convened a group of 10 HWC experts and practitioners at Oxford University to design a global community of practice (CoP) on HWC. The CoP brings stakeholders together to improve HWC mitigation practices through training, capacity-building, mentoring, and networking.
Levering PPPs in Mozambique to scale conservation and development
The government of Mozambique, together with the GWP and the World Bank, held a first-of-of its-kind conference to transform the landscape of Mozambique by focusing on nature-based tourism. Eight memorandums and agreements—totaling approximately $600 million in investments—were signed to facilitate PPPs in conservation areas. 
Tune in to the GWP's Virtual Knowledge Events
Upcoming:
Natural Capital Accounting for Biodiversity Conservation
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 @ 8:00 AM EST (no registration necessary)
In person: World Bank Room # MC 7 – 500
Natural capital accounting (NCA) is a way to capture the importance of nature and translate it into economic terms that can be understood and factored into decision making by governments. This virtual event will present case studies from Asia and Africa and provide an overview of the importance of NCA to governments to meet sustainable development goals, develop tourism, and find innovative methods to calculate payments for ecosystem services. 
Or, join by phone : 1-650-479-3207 Call-in toll number (USA/Canada) |  Global call-in numbers
Meeting number (access code): 732 870 504 | Meeting password: 9DQ3RRF
Replay prior events:
To receive regular updates about virtual events, please email: gwp-info@worldbank.org
GWP partner resources
There may only be 5,000–7,000 snow leopards left in the world found in mostly inhospitable and treacherous mountain highlands in Asia. In Ladakh, India, hunters turn protectors of the elusive snow leopard through an eco-tourism initiative. Learn more here.
Follow the GWP on Twitter via @WBG_Environment