Important: Online Voting on IUCN Motions Commences

Important: Online voting on IUCN Motions commences

ACIUCN Briefing to Australian IUCN Members

This is an important reminder for all Australian IUCN Member Organisations that the electronic voting for IUCN Motions commences this week and will be open from 03 August 2016 (at 12 noon GMT/UTC) until 17 August 2016 (at 12 noon GMT/UTC).

This briefing note provides Australian IUCN Members with an overview of the key dates, processes and links to IUCN information in order to facilitate effective engagement in both the online voting process from 3-17 August and subsequent voting at the Members’ Assembly in Hawai’i from 6-10 September.

Overview After two months of IUCN Motions being open to a facilitated online debate by Members, the Motions Working Group has identified 85 motions that will be subject to an electronic vote ahead of the 2016 World Conservation Congress. A further 20 Motions will be discussed further and voted on during the Members’ Assembly at Congress in Hawai’i.

Where do I access the latest information on Motions? All IUCN Motions information can be viewed on the Motions page of the IUCN Portal, as well as via a link from the Members Zone of the Congress website. Additional information circulated by IUCN via email in the past month is appended to this briefing note (Appendix 1).

The Motions – which Motions are voted on when? Following the online discussion in June and July, a total of 85 Motions will be voted on electronically from 3 to 17 August, with 20 Motions referred to the Members’ Assembly for further discussion and voting at Congress.

1. Online pre-Congress voting – 3-17 August 2016 The list of 85 Motions to be voted on online before Congress is provided in Annex 1 of both the voting guidelines and the online Motions discussion report. Details for each Motion can be accessed on the general Motions page. Members should familiarize themselves with the Motions prior to casting their votes. For details on how to vote, see the voting guidance note below.

2. Voting during the Members Assembly of Congress – 6-10 September 2016

a. IUCN Governance Motions (6 Motions) – The following six Motions relate to proposals that if implemented would result in significant changes to IUCN’s governance and Members are strongly encouraged to critically evaluate these prior to Congress:  A - Including local and regional governmental authorities in the structure of the Union  B - Including indigenous peoples’ organisations in the structure of the Union  C - Election of the IUCN President  D - Members’ Assembly’s sole authority to amend the Regulations pertaining to the objectives, nature of the membership and membership criteria (follow-up to decision 22 of the 2012 World Conservation Congress)  E - Enhanced practice and reforms of IUCN’s governance  F - Proposed amendment to Article 6 of the IUCN Statutes concerning the dues of State and political/economic integration organisation Members adhering to IUCN

b. Motions referred to Congress from the online discussion process (8 Motions) - The following eight Motions were referred to the Members Assembly by the Motions Working Group to undergo further discussion, after a consensus was not reached during the online discussion process (Discussions report, Annex 2):

 7 - Closure of Domestic Markets for Elephant Ivory  37 - [Conservation of [private] [privately] protected areas] [Supporting the Voluntary Conservation of Private Lands]  48 - Protection of primary forests, ancient forests and intact  forest landscapes  53 - Increasing marine protected area coverage for effective marine biodiversity conservation  59 - IUCN response to the Paris Climate Change Agreement  61 - Take greater account of the ocean in the climate regime  74 - Strengthening corporate biodiversity measurement, valuation and reporting  90 - Phasing-out the use of lead ammunition in wetlands and replacing it with non-lead alternatives

c. Motions warranting debate at the global level (6 Motions) – The following six Motions were previously identified by the Motions Working Group as warranting debate at the global level:

 26 - Protected areas and other areas important for biodiversity in relation to environmentally damaging industrial-scale activities and infrastructure development.  49 - Advancing conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction  63 - Natural Capital  64 - IUCN Policy on Biodiversity Offsets  65 - Improving standards in ecotourism  66 - Mitigating the impacts of oil palm expansion and operations on biodiversity

How will the online vote work? Step-by-step instructions on the electronic voting process are provided in the voting guidance note circulated to all Members on 24 July 2016. Members are strongly encouraged to read this prior to commencing voting.

Ensure your eligibility to vote: 1. Nominate your ‘Authorised vote holder’: Members must nominate a single ‘Authorised vote holder’ to vote on behalf of the organisation. Ensure that you have nominated your vote holder by 27 July 2016 as per section 4.16 of the Union Portal guide. This person will receive the link to the electronic system to cast the vote on 3 August. Refer to Email 1 in the Appendix.

2. Ensure you have completed ‘Accreditation’: In order to vote and be eligible to speak at the Members’ Assembly in Hawai’i, all Members must have nominated an Authorised vote holder (as outlined above) and this person must be ‘Accredited’ to be able to access the voting cards and speak. Ensure the nominated person is accredited by 31 July (the following Accreditation Guidelines outline that later accreditation may lead to delays in receiving voting cards). Refer to the Accreditation webspace and the Accreditation Guidelines for full details.

3. Nominate a proxy vote holder ( for Members unable to attend Congress): Any Members unable to send a delegation to Congress but who wish to vote on Motions during the Members’ Assembly must also be accredited and then nominate a proxy vote holder to vote on their behalf. A proxy can be given to another IUCN Member (i.e. only an accredited vote holder) or National Committee (i.e. ACIUCN for Australian Members). Please ensure that you advise your preferred Member or ACIUCN if you wish for either to vote on your behalf. Refer to the Accreditation webspace and the Accreditation Guidelines for proxy details.

Preparation for voting Ensure that you read the recommended documentation:

• Official Congress documents • Congress Agenda • Motions and Governance Motions • IUCN Statutes, including Rules of Procedure of the World Conservation Congress, and Regulations • Election candidates’ pages • Guidance on voting and elections at the Members’ Assembly (document to be published in August 2016)

IMPORTANT: If you have not received information from IUCN on the Motions voting process or nomination of your authorised vote holder, please advise either ACIUCN Director, Katherine Zischka or IUCN Oceania Membership Focal Point, Ruci Botei. Appendix 1: Summary of IUCN Congress emails relating to Motions voting

[24/07/16: Email from IUCN Members’ Coordination Unit]

1. Electronic vote by IUCN Members on motions: Guidance Note

Dear IUCN Members,

Further to the communiqué from the IUCN Motions Working Group on the electronic vote on motions, which will open at noon GMT/UTC on 3 August 2016 and close at noon GMT/UTC on 17 August 2016, we are now contacting you to provide you with a guidance note on the electronic voting process.

We urge you to read this document carefully as it gives step-by-step instructions on how to complete the e-vote. Reading it in advance will help you when it comes to the voting process itself.

Members are also kindly reminded to indicate their Authorized vote holder via the Union Portal no later than 27 July 2016, following the instructions set out in section 4.16 of the Union Portal guide.

Members are also reminded that only IUCN Members in Category A (States and Governmental Agencies) and Category B (national and international non-governmental organizations), which have paid their membership dues up to and including 2015 will be eligible to vote and will receive the link to the electronic system to cast their vote(s) on 3 August 2016.

The final versions of the motions sent to the e-vote are available online. At present, it is still possible to view all historic material (previous version of motions and comments made on motions during the electronic discussion). However, to ensure that there is no confusion during the electronic vote, all historic material will be hidden on 3 August. It will be made available again after the electronic vote.

Should you need any more information, or if you need help with anything, please contact your Membership Focal Point or the Members' coordination unit of the Union Development Group.

We thank you for your attention to this matter.

With best regards,

Members' Coordination Unit Union Develoment Group

[19/07/16: Email from IUCN Members’ Coordination Unit] 2. IUCN: Additional documents for the IUCN World Conservation Congress Dear IUCN Members,

With less than two months to go until we meet at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, in Hawai’i, USA, taking place from 1 to 10 September 2016, it is my pleasure to send you the second set of electronic Congress documents: click here

While the first set of documents which was issued on 1 June 2016 concerned all documents requiring decisions of the Congress, this second set merely concerns reports transmitted to Congress. With the exception of the Council’s Report and the Report of the World Commission on Environmental Law which will follow soon, this completes the publication of official Congress documents tabled for the 2016 Members’ Assembly.

On Friday 15 July, you received a communication of the Motions Working Group concerning the motions submitted to the electronic vote opening on 3 August 2016 and the motions tabled for discussion and vote during the Congress in Hawaii.

Should you have any questions, please contact us on [email protected] or your Membership Focal Point.

Best regards,

Members’ Coordination Unit

3. Note from the Motions Working Group to Members

Dear IUCN Members,

Please click here to read an important note from the Motions Working Group to Members on the online discussion and submitting Motions to electronic vote ahead of the 2016 World Conservation Congress in Hawai’i, USA.

For questions related to the motions process, please contact: [email protected]

Best regards,

The Motions Team

Documents/Documents/Documentos: • Note from the Motions Working Group • Message du Group du travail des Motions • Mensaje del Grupo de trabajo sobre Mociones

4. Accreditation system for IUCN Members’ Assembly now online! Dear IUCN Members and representatives of recognised National and Regional Committees,

We are pleased to inform you that the online Accreditation system for the Members’ Assembly of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Hawaii 1-10 September 2016, is now open.

IUCN Member and recognized National/Regional Committees delegations wishing to exercise their voting and/or speaking rights during the Members’ Assembly must get accredited using the online system.

Due to the recent changes implemented in the Rules of Procedure of the World Conservation Congress, we strongly encourage you to read the detailed Guidelines on Accreditation for the IUCN Members’ Assembly.

We kindly ask you to note the following important points:

• Accreditation Deadline - 31 July 2016

Member and recognized National/Regional Committee delegations are kindly requested to complete the accreditation of their Head of Delegation via the online system by 31 July 2016. While the system will remain open after this date, getting accredited before then will ensure a smooth and quick process onsite to retrieve the voting/speaking card.

Delegations unable to attend the Members’ Assembly are strongly encouraged to give a proxy to another accredited Member eligible to vote, or to an accredited representative of a recognized National/Regional Committee from the same country/region as them. In order to do so, they must also get accredited through the online system.

• Access to the online accreditation system and procedure to get accredited

Only official representatives of IUCN Members and recognized National/Regional Committees, as recorded in the IUCN database (primary contact and additional primary contact(s), Head of organisation, Authorized vote holder and Chair) may access the accreditation system in order to assign a Head of Delegation or give a proxy. Please follow your organisation’s internal rules and procedures to assign the role of Head of Delegation.

To access the online accreditation system, click here. Your username and password are the same as the ones used for other IUCN online systems (Congress registration, Congress Portal, Union Portal).

Only Members in order with their membership dues up to and including 2015 may exercise their voting rights at the Members’ Assembly. More details on Members’ rights can be found in the Guidelines.

• Heads of Delegation The IUCN Congress 2016 aims to be the most gender-responsive Congress in IUCN’s history. It will comply with the Union’s Gender Policy as well as the various mandates adopted by IUCN’s General Assemblies. In line with the IUCN Congress Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, Members and National and Regional Committees are encouraged to nominate women as Heads of Delegations.

The Head of Delegation of a Member or Regional/National Committee must be registered to participate in the IUCN Congress to get duly accredited for the Members’ Assembly. Only the Head of Delegation may vote and/or speak on behalf of the Member /Committee he/she represents and is the person who will receive the voting/speaking card onsite.

• Information on voting and election We also strongly recommend that you read/familiarise yourselves with the following:

• Official Congress documents • Congress Agenda • Motions and Governance Motions • IUCN Statutes, including Rules of Procedure of the World Conservation Congress, and Regulations • Election candidates’ pages • Guidance on voting and elections at the Members’ Assembly (document to be published in August 2016)

For any questions not addressed in the Accreditation Guidelines for the IUCN Members’ Assembly, please contact: [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can also contact the Membership Focal Point in your region.

Best regards,

Members’ Coordination Unit Union Development Group