The GWP is buzzing with energy after the November 2023 Annual Conference in Bangkok, co-hosted with the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation; UNDP; and IUCN. It was our first to include countries participating in the new GEF-8 phase of the GWP and brought together 140 participants from GWP countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, along with GWP partners and supporting GEF Agencies. 

As the GWP grows, so does the logo! During the conference, a new logo was introduced. The addition of people to the logo recognizes the important role of the communities we work with. They are foundational to the link between wildlife conservation and development, and to the GWP's long-term success.

In the rest of this newsletter, you will find resources from the GWP and partners, and opportunities to add skills through expert-led webinars. The GWP hosted a webinar on countering corruption in wildlife trade and conservation and, as part of raising awareness for International Anti-Corruption Day on December 6th, the UNDP-GEF-USAID Project "Reducing Maritime Trafficking of Wildlife between Africa and Asia" recently produced two videos. One, on their work combating illegal wildlife trade through ports, highlights the importance of identifying networks for illegal wildlife trade. The second summarizes work on capacity building in controlled delivery investigations and how this approach improves investigators' ability to identify and target translational criminal organizations.

We wish you all the best in the new year!

Warm regards,

The GWP Coordination Team

World Bank

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the most pressing issues facing biodiversity conservation and development and a topic of increasing political attention. The GWP carried out a global survey of human-wildlife conflict perceptions and a desktop review of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to assess whether they mentioned human-wildlife conflict and, if so, in what context. According to the survey, 73% of government respondents perceive human-wildlife conflict as an increasing concern, while only 23% perceive it as sufficiently addressed and well managed. Take a look at the brief to see the high-level results.

This was the second workshop in a series of knowledge exchanges convened by TRAFFIC to enable GWP countries to bring behavior change more effectively into their projects. The workshop introduced social research, a tool increasingly important for conservation, which should be applied at the onset of conservation planning. Read the summary to learn about a simple, five-stage process for social research with practical examples. 

The GWP organized two workshops with the aim of exploring the crucial yet often ignored role that the media can play in mitigating human-wildlife conflict.  The workshops enabled participants to understand why and how to engage with media through a successful case study on human-leopard conflict in India.

UNDP: Combating Wildlife Crime Through

Awareness-Raising

This case study, completed by UNDP and WildAid under the GEF-USAID financed GWP project “Reducing Maritime Trafficking of Wildlife Between Africa and Asia”, discusses the importance of effective messaging, strategic messengers, and visual identity to deliver impactful campaign materials. Based on the experience of the ‘Join Our Team! Defend Our Wildlife’ campaign, the study contains key lessons and practical recommendations for stakeholders who are planning similar initiatives. 

IUCN: A Guide to Expanding Protected & Conserved Areas Under the UN Global Biodiversity Framework

This paper provides six principles that guide governments to achieve a high-quality protected area network, providing the best chance of halting and reversing biodiversity loss while upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. 

The winners of the Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards were celebrated during the Global Wildlife Program annual conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

In this two-part online course developed by the World Bank, decision makers will learn how to balance economic, environmental and social considerations within a landscape. It is designed to help sustainability practitioners learn how to deal with the complex problems posed by the conflicting demands of different sets of groups and set priorities and boundaries.  Flyer | Register

Learn more about approaches to tackling illegal wildlife trade in these videos from the UNDP-GEF-USAID project “Reducing Maritime Trafficking of Wildlife between Africa and Asia” about combating illegal wildlife trade (IWT) through ports, capacity building in controlled delivery investigations, how customs companies in the East African Community are securing their supply chains against exploitation and trafficking, and how financial investigative techniques are helping track and prosecute IWT intermediaries and kingpins.