IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress

The first IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress brings together leaders, citizens and interest groups to discuss the role of protected and conserved areas in safeguarding Africa's iconic wildlife, providing vital ecosystem services, promoting sustainable development while conserving Africa's cultural heritage and traditions.

Parallel Plenary: Promoting effective and equitable networks of PCAs in Africa

Panel 2: Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) - can they fill the gap?

Wednesday 20 July, 10:30-12:00, KCC Auditorium

Speakers : 

• Gordon Nwutih Ajonina, Cameroon Wildlife Conservation Society
• Charles Doumenge, CIRAD
• Solofo Ralaimihaotra, MIHARI Network
• Francis Okalo, IUCN

This panel will present OECMs and how they contribute to effectiveness, equity , connectivity, and representation. OECMs allow for the inclusion of rightsholders and stakeholders who contribute to conservation through area-based conservation outside formal protected areas, including IPLCs.

Speakers will discuss will discuss needs for more marine PAs, and share experiences of the management and business plan development process for Cameroon’s first marine national park in Central Africa. Africa’s traditional, spiritual and cultural values contribute to area-based conservation and are essential to achieve management objectives at national, regional and global levels. This will bring stakeholders in charge of conservation and land use planning to better understand the differences and complementarities between PAs and “conservation” areas. But this requires improved policies and legal frameworks to help secure communities’ rights and collaborating with them to be in charge of sustainable management of their resources and ensure effectiveness of the management measures they adopt. Participant, in groups, will address questions such as: How can community conserved areas be respected and recognized as OECMs? How can we increase the importance of marine conservation contribution to OECMs? What is the role of conservation on private lands, agricultural lands or other lands/areas in government control, etc.?

Clinic Session: Other Effective Conservation Measures for Land

Friday 22 July, 12:00 - 14:00, Central Africa Pavilion

Session led by Charles Doumenge, CIRAD researcher, and Florence Palla, Vice-President of the World Commission on Protected Areas for Central and West Africa, regional coordinator of the RIOFAC project.