Progress towards the achievement of Target 12 by the Friends of Target 12, June 2014

Alliance for Zero Extinction Partnership (AZE)

Of the 587 Alliance for Zero Extinction sites harbouring the last remaining population of an Endangered or Critically Endangered species, nearly half have some level of protection. Meanwhile, 230 sites in 39 countries do not overlap any protected areas, and should be prioritised for immediate protection as a contribution to Aichi targets. Safeguarding these small areas that collectively span only 93,000 km2 is an effective strategy to halt the extinction of hundreds of imperilled species (Hsu et al, 2014).

Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA)

In 2013 the Amphibian Survival Alliance made a bold move to align our vision with that of Target 12 - We envision a world in which the extinction of known threatened species of amphibians has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.

Target 12 now underpins our every action as an Alliance. As we move forward we are eager to engage with other active Friends of Target 12 to increase our collaborative impact under this initiative. Over the course of the next two years we will be investing in the conservation of a range of species at priority sites around the world. With the launch of the Leapfrog Habitat Conservation Fund a multimillion-dollar annual habitat conservation fund, we are now well positioned to help our partners drive forward vital conservation efforts. Some of the projects already supported by Leapfrog are highlighted below and many more are still to come.

In addition to habitat protection, the Alliance has been actively funding work to reduce the negative impact of diseases and exotoxins to amphibians and with this being the 50th year of The IUCN Red List, we are actively fundraising for the upkeep of the amphibians on The IUCN Red List while directly supporting the reassessment of species affected by our projects.

 Amphibian Red List Authority

The IUCN SSC Amphibian Red List Authority (Amphibian RLA) is the branch of the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) responsible for maintaining the amphibian extinction risk assessments on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

To equip our new partner institutions and new individual RLA members to update amphibian assessments, remote training on the Red List methodology and associated tools was completed by 23 Amphibian RLA members, 10 interns and two Amphibian RLA institutional partners from 2013 to date. In addition, four Red List training workshops were conducted in 2013-early 2014, both directed at RLA members (Sydney, Australia and Chengdu, China) and the wider scientific community (Salvador, Brazil and Iquitos, Peru).

To facilitate collaboration between RLA members and the wider herpetological community on the assessment or reassessment of amphibian species, the Amphibian RLA launched a new and improved Amphibian Assessment Forum online platform. This tool was developed in collaboration with ASG and iNaturalist. Four regional or national-themed forums are already in place, with an additional two in the process of being set up for Panama and the Philippines. The Amphibian RLA is exploring the development of more forums as more working groups are set up and new institutional partners join the Amphibian RLA.

Last year saw a total of 412 amphibian extinction risk assessments and reassessments submitted and published on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. A total of 205 amphibian assessments and reassessments have already been submitted for Red List version 2014. While this is a significant improvement from previous years, the work is far from over. The number of reassessments that need to be completed by the end of 2014 is well over 4,400. This high number is due to the 10-year lifespan of IUCN assessments, and most amphibian assessments were published in the 2004 Global Amphibian Assessment initiative. In addition, over 800 newly described species also need to be assessed for the first time.

 Habitat Protection

A consortium of partners including the Amphibian Survival Alliance, Rainforest Trust (RT), Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) and the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) came together to enable local partner Fundación Jocotoco to purchase 6,100 acres of critical wildlife habitat in Antisana, Ecuador. Previously, Fundación Jocotoco had purchased Sunfohuayco, an adjoining property of close to 6000 acres. The mammoth property acquisition will create a permanent refuge for three threatened species of frogs from the genus Pristimantis found nowhere else and the largest population of Andean Condors in the Northern Andes.

The 6,100 acre property, called Hacienda Antisanilla, was acquired to complete a project by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ecuador, Fundación Jocotoco, the Municipality of Quito, and the Quito Water Authority that will both protect endangered species and secure an important source of drinking water for Ecuador’s capital city. The total protected area by this group amounts to approximately 270,000 acres.

Antisana is of critical global importance for biodiversity and highlighted as an Alliance for Zero Extinction site due to the presence of no less than three species of threatened frogs – Pristimantis acerus, Pristimantis ignicolor, and Pristimantis lividus - found nowhere else. Sadly, the Jambato Toad (Atelopus ignescens), once common in Antisana, has already gone extinct.

Another notable conservation success for amphibians is the Sierra Caral of Guatemala. In May of this year, Guatemala’s National Congress created the Sierra Caral National Protected Area, making it the nation’s first federally protected area to be established in seven years. The core of the new 47,000-acre protected area is the Sierra Caral Amphibian Conservation Reserve.

The Sierra Caral, an isolated mountain range near Guatemala’s Caribbean coast, is not only home to many endemic species, but is also a natural corridor and meeting place for many North and South American species.

The protected area provides habitat for a dozen globally threatened amphibians – five found nowhere else in the world – and three species of threatened birds. Scientific explorations in the Sierra Caral have resulted in discoveries of new beetle, salamander, frog, and snake species.

A consortium of more than twenty international conservation groups, led by GWC, partnered with FUNDAECO to raise the funds needed to purchase the original amphibian reserve. Critical support also came from the Amphibian Survival Alliance, Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, Rainforest Trust, International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), American Bird Conservancy, and Conservation International, among others.

 Important Amphibian Areas

The goal of Important Amphibian Areas (IAAs) is to identify, protect and manage a global network of sites important for the long-term persistence of amphibian populations across their natural ranges. It is a systematic approach to identify those sites that contribute significantly to the maintenance of amphibian diversity, and for which a site-based approach is appropriate - similar to BirdLife’s successful IBA program. The sites are a subset of Key Biodiversity Areas and follow the same methodology, only restricted exclusively to amphibian species.

We are developing the IAA concept together with IUCN, which is developing new standards for KBA definition, and BirdLife, which currently curates the existing KBA-IBA database. We have discussed with AmphibiaWeb the possibility of using their mapping skills to set up an online IAA catalogue, aided by the California Academy of Sciences and the University of Trier.

Bern Convention (Council of Europe)

In the framework of its Programme of Activities for 2013-2014 the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) has carried out a series of activities targeted at assisting its 51 Contracting Parties in their work towards reaching Aichi Target 12, and namely:

 Combating wild-bird crimes through prevention, investigation and prosecution of illegal killing, trapping and trade of wild birds

Illegal killing, trapping and trade of wild birds are among the main causes of human-driven mortality of migratory birds. Concerned by the extent and negative trends of these activities in the European continent, in 2011 the Bern Convention promoted the organisation of the first "European Conference on illegal killing of birds" (Larnaca, Cyprus), delivering the so-called “Larnaca Declaration” to promote a “Zero tolerance approach toward illegal killing of birds” - as well as Recommendation No. 155 (2011) on the illegal killing, trapping and trade of wild birds. In order to move forward from the “vision” set in Larnaca to the “Action” and concrete implementation, the Parties to the Bern Convention met again in Tunis, in 2013, and prepared the “Tunis Action Plan for the eradication of illegal killing, trapping and trade of wild birds, 2013-2020”. The Tunis Action Plan has been then adopted by the Standing Committee through Recommandation No 164 (2013) on the implementation of the Tunis Action Plan 2013-2020 for the eradication of illegal killing, trapping and trade of wild birds. The Action Plan foresees the setting-up of concrete tools in the field of enforcement of legislation, biological matters, institutional aspects, and awareness and education. The implementation of the Action Plan started already this year with, among others, the setting-up of a European Network of Special Focal Points for illegal killing, trapping and trade of birds in charge of sharing experiences and knowledge, ensuring synergies at national and international level among all relevant bodies, identify the most suitable interlocutors and experts for each of the specific issues related to wild-bird crimes. The Action Plan receives the

support and contribution of other Multilateral Environmental Agreements, the European Union, INTERPOL, BirdLife International and the European Federation of Association for Hunting and Conservation (FACE). The progress in the eradication progress is monitored by the Bern Convention’s Group of Experts on the Conservation of birds. More information: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/Nature/Bern/Meeting_072011_en.asp

 International Species Action Plans: European Action Plan for the recovery of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Following the conclusions of an international “Workshop on the recovery and reintroductions of the Osprey in Europe” (France, 2013), and noting that the species already disappeared as a breeding bird from over fifteen European countries, the Standing Committee to the Bern Convention commissioned this year the drafting of An action Plan for the recovery of the Osprey. The Action Plan will mainly focus on the recovery of the species but will also consider the opportunity of reintroductions based on careful studies, depending on the situation of the species in given countries. The final aim of the Action Plan will be to improve the conservation status of this flagship species. The Action Plan will be presented to next Standing Committee meeting (Strasbourg, France, 2-5 December 2014)

 Conservation of native plants and animals

The Bern Convention continues to be actively involved in the work towards preventing, minimising and arresting the negative impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on Europe’s native flora and fauna. In the past five years the Standing Committee to the Bern Convention has commissioned and endorsed a number of targeted Codes of Conduct, IAS and activities such as Horticulture, Zoos and Aquaria, Botanic Gardens, Hunting, or Pets. The Convention is now working on other pathways related namely to recreational fishing as well as to management of protected areas and IAS. These codes of conduct are a useful tool for increasing awareness on the impact of IAS and federating the efforts of a wide range of stakeholders (including the business sector) through voluntary, sound and specific measures. More information: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/nature/bern/IAS/default_en.asp

 Guidance on Fungi-gathering and biodiversity

The European Charter on Fungi-Gathering and Biodiversity was prepared in cooperation with IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group to address recreational and commercial gathering of wild and indigenous fungi in Europe, in accordance with the inspiring principles of the Bern Convention. The Charter contains a non-binding set of principles and guidelines based on common principles and good practices for sustainable gathering of fungi species in Europe. The Standing Committee to the Bern Convention has adopted the Charter at its 33rd meeting (3-6 December 2013) through its Recommendation No. 168 (2013) on the European Charter on Fungi-Gathering and Biodiversity.

BirdLife International

Over 1,300 (one in eight) bird species are threatened with extinction, including 197 Critically Endangered species. BirdLife’s Preventing Extinctions Programme was launched in 2008 in response to this crisis, to deliver conservation action – underpinned by science – where it is most needed. The development of two communities plays a central part in the Programme: BirdLife Species Guardians

– experts who take the lead in conserving threatened species in their country; and BirdLife Species Champions – organisations or individuals who raise awareness of and fund the vital conservation that is so urgently required.

In its first six years, the Programme has already begun to turn the tide by taking action for 40% of all threatened species and 67% of all Critically Endangered species with known populations. Nearly all of BirdLife’s 122 national Partners have implemented projects to improve the fortunes of threatened bird species, with 85 BirdLife Species Champions committing their support, and 46 BirdLife Species Guardians so far appointed to lead efforts to save 59 Critically Endangered and 11 Endangered species.

Of the 115 Critically Endangered species with known populations for which BirdLife has taken action since 2008, 80% are judged to have benefited. Of those benefiting, 20% are judged to have improved in status, and 63% are considered to be declining less rapidly; for the remaining 17%, their status is unchanged, but would have deteriorated without action. For example: habitat restoration has led to an increase in the population size of Azores Bullfinch; Asian vultures are benefiting from a ban on veterinary use of the drug diclofenac; Tahiti Monarch has benefited from the control of invasive alien rats; encroaching scrub has been cleared from grasslands supporting Liben Lark in Ethiopia; and a State Park has been designated in Brazil, protecting almost the entire population of Restinga Antwren.

BirdLife reassessed the status of all bird species (more than 10,000) for the 2012 IUCN Red List, and will do so again in 2016.

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)

The reported annual financial contribution of BIAZA members to biodiversity conservation has risen to nearly £13 million based on our latest calculations. However we expect this to be an underestimate that doesn’t fully account for the zoo ex situ conservation spending, for which we are now making revised estimates. This funding contributed to at least 733 projects in collaboration with 371 partner organisations during the most recent year of available data. Activities carried out between these projects included biodiversity conservation research/monitoring, education, habitat conservation, livelihood development, reserve management, conservation breeding, animal reintroduction, engagement with policymakers, and environmental sustainability.

Guidelines have also been produced for all BIAZA zoos on species and habitat management, sustainability, site management for native species and biodiversity action planning for native wildlife.

BIAZA zoos also reached more than 21 million annual visitors and more than 1.3 million school children, through information signage, talks, shows and social media, and national curriculum-based taught sessions.

In addition, a number of parliamentary events in 2014 will strengthen relationships with MPs and policy makers, and BIAZA continues to be a strong voice in legislative decisions relating to biodiversity.

Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of Biodiversity, Ministry of Environment of Brazil (ICMBio)

Brazil has more than 13% of the world's biota (Lewinsohn & Prado 2005), a characteristic that inspired the conception of a megadiverse country (Mittermeier et al.1997). To promote the conservation of biodiversity and work towards Aichi Target 12 (T12); the Ministry of Environment mandates to the Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation of the Biodiversity (ICMBio) to promote and execute programs of research, protection, preservation and conservation of the biodiversity, especially endangered species.

Understanding the conservation status of biodiversity is the basic starting point for a robust planning of measures that must be taken to reduce the extinction risk of species and ensure their survival. The assessment led by the ICMBio, covers all vertebrate animals and a number of invertebrates, considering their ecological, economic and social importance, following IUCN guidelines.

 Partial Results Until 2014, the extinction risk of 7,647 taxa of the Brazilian fauna was validated, being 6,809 vertebrate and 838 invertebrates. To reach this number, 55 assessment workshops and two validation workshops were performed, with the participation of 929 researchers. The remaining vertebrate species and other groups of invertebrates are currently being assessed and the results will be published in the coming years.

Among the invertebrates, species from five taxonomic groups have been assessed and by the end of 2014, individuals from 15 other groups will have been assessed. The assessment of all vertebrate groups is currently in progress and will be complete by the end of 2014.

Among the 7,647 taxa, 131 were identified as non-eligible for the Brazilian assessment, being categorized as Not Applicable (NA) because they occur marginally in the national territory or present occasional records.

The larger part of the assessed taxa (71.74%) is not in any category of threat, being categorized as Least Concern (LC). The taxa which were categorized in any category of threat correspond to 11.58% of the total assessed, and a small fraction (3.1%) qualifies as Near Threatened (NT).

With the result of this evaluation there is the indication that 1051 species are threatened in Brazil. This total includes the 886 species assessed as threatened by ICMBio and the 165 taxa of the official list of threatened species which did not have their status reviewed by ICMBio.

 Species Conservation The Brazilian strategy to achieve T12 involves the proposal to have all threatened species under a “protected regime”, meaning it is either present in a protected area and/or has action plans in place.

From the 1,051 threatened taxa, 472 are contemplated or predicted to be included in a PAN, and 636 have been recorded in at least one Protected Area. Several taxa occur in Protected Areas and also have an action plan. In total, 769 have a conservation strategy. The 282 species which do not currently have a defined conservation strategy must be a priority in the near future, with the implementation of at least one of the protection measures. The categories of extinction risk indicate which species require urgent action.

IFAW’s contribution to achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 12

Peter Pueschel, Director for International Environmental Agreements

Aichi Biodiversity Target 12 of the United Nations Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020: “by 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained”. Please see here some highlights and examples of what the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has done to contribute towards the achievement of this Target 12.

Wildlife crime ranks among the most dangerous and damaging of international crimes. It has major economic, social and environmental impacts. It leads to violations of human and environmental rights, the precautionary principle, contributes to damage of ecosystems and rural livelihoods, undermines good governance, accountability and the rule of law, threatens national security and devastates local communities and wildlife based business. And of course it undermines progress to achieve Target 12 by increased pressure on endangered species. Therefore, one of IFAW priorities is to stopping wildlife trafficking, working with governments, coalitions and international bodies and helping train those on the front lines of law enforcement.

As part of a worldwide wildlife enforcement capacity building initiative by IFAW we are organising such capacity building workshops to implement wildlife conservation obligations from CITES and other international agreements throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean. To date, more than 2500 governmental representatives at the forefront of this struggle have been trained to combat illicit trade and about 10.000 rangers and forest guards to more effectively combat poaching since 2006.

Just recently, for example, More than 200 park frontline staff were trained and equipped at Central India’s Pench National Park, and an IFAW-WTI enforcement team helped the Maharashtra state forest department in the seizure of tiger and leopard skins, as well as 21 leopard claws, and the arrest of the perpetrator. IFAW organized separate wildlife trafficking workshops in Lebanon and in Kazakhstan for customs officials, border police and wildlife law enforcement agents from these and surrounding countries.

IFAW further partners and assists governments with the US Department of State, the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center Network and the Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority to develop a wildlife enforcement network for the Horn of Africa region (HAWEN) as a complementary force to the Lusaka Task Force Agreement and other international enforcement authorities, like Interpoal and ICWWC who we cooperate with as well.

So IFAW cooperates with INTERPOL on Operation WORTHY, Operation WENDI, and Project WEB to crack down on wildlife traffickers and seize ivory, rhino horns, weapons and other animal derivatives. For even more effective collaboration IFAW recently signed INTERPOL’s Environmental Crime Programme’s first-ever Memorandum of Understanding with a non-governmental organization to fight wildlife crime.

An IFAW report led to a raid on shops selling ivory, and our monitoring of wildlife markets in China resulted in a large decrease in endangered species auction sales this year. IFAW also organized a capacity-building workshop of 30 front-line customs officials to develop skills to detect and prevent wildlife trafficking. This goes hand in hand with intensive consumer awareness campaigns and cooperation with the private sector, like internet market provider in China and India, but also

countries in regions like Oceania, Europe and North America.

IFAW believes protecting endangered wildlife requires rescuing individual animals that are injured or orphaned as well as proven wildlife population and habitat conservation strategies and action to assist local communities living alongside animal populations. That rescued rhinos gave birth to three calves in Manas National Park (India) is an indication that rehabilitated animals can thrive in the wild. The new mothers had been rescued, rehabilitated at and released from the IFAW-WTI’s Wildlife Rescue Center and released into the park.

Also around Manas National Park and Reserve Forest IFAW installed cooking stoves, fabricated with local raw materials, in three clusters of villages around the protected area. As fuel consumption is reduced by about one kilogram per person per day, these stoves will save an estimated 2,500 trees annually from felling and help restore this habitat important for a number of endangered species, including rhinos, tigers and the Asian elephant.

More than 196 orphan bears have been rehabilitated at IFAW’s Bear Rescue Center in Bubonitsy, Russia and released into the wild over the past decade and a half.

IFAW was part of a team of researchers who fitted four elephants in Amboseli National Park, Kenya with GPS satellite collars to map out migratory routes, critical corridors and seasonal variations on habitat use. Data gathered will identify critical habitat for conservation.

Studying Ecological Networks of Southern African Elephants Professor Rudi van Aarde and his team in the Conservation Ecology Research Unit (CERU) of the University of Pretoria (UP) released a report “Elephants – A Way Forward” calling for a “solutions focused” approach in developing networks of habitats that will address the needs of elephants. IFAW has been a partner to CERU for years and works with governments in taking the research results into new management plans and policies.

IFAW has many campaign and project activities to reduce demand for wildlife products particularly of endangered and protected species. ‘Unveiling the Ivory Trade’ iPad App and Digital Magazine “Unveiling the Ivory Trade”, an interactive iPad app and digital magazine, examines the threat ivory sales pose to the survival of elephants in the wild. IFAW’s “Think Twice” campaigns, which urges travelers in many countries not to buy products made from endangered animals, launched recently at two important airports in China and South Africa. IFAW launched an awareness campaign in three cities of the Congo called “Our Elephants Are Not For Sale.”

For years IFAW runs an Animal Action Education Programme to empower young people and communities to take positive action for animals. The Programme reaches more than 5,000,000 young people now in more than 20 countries every year, often with specific focus on endangered species.

To be more successful in conservation, IFAW advocates that future conservation and sustainable development policies need to be guided by ecological and biological sustainability, the ethical treatment of wildlife and the precautionary approach in governmental policies, and environmental legislation and management plans. So we were part to convince the Australian government to rule that seismic surveying in a whale hotspot would need to undergo stricter environmental impact assessments. Australia also created one of the world’s largest networks of marine reserves, covering more than 890,000 square miles.

For many years we have worked to improve the level of protection for endangered sharks and

manta rays, which was achieved through listing decisions in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and increased protection commitments in other multi-environmental agreements, such as CMS (Convention on Migratory Species). In partnership with government agencies and other stakeholders, IFAW further organizes and undertakes enforcement capacity building efforts in many parts of the world, to ensure compliance and good implementation of such decisions.

Around the globe IFAW is working with all sectors of society to improve wildlife conservation and animal welfare. We are international, with local expertise and leadership in all of our field offices. Our work connects animal welfare and conservation, demonstrating that healthy populations, naturally sustaining habitats and the welfare of individual animals are intertwined. In our work we rely on best science available and believe in a precautionary approach in case of scientific uncertainties. We combine our hands-on projects on the ground to inform and influence policy, while we are sensitive to the needs of communities and work for solutions that benefit both animals and people.

For more information, please visit our webpage www.ifaw.org and view our Glossary and Statements of Principle.

IUCN SSC - Antelope Specialist Group

The IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group co-organised, facilitated or participated in strategic planning workshops for four Critically Endangered antelopes; worked with government departments in Eritrea and Iran on planning for antelope conservation; provided project / grant support for two Critically Endangered antelopes and several less threatened species; carry out reassessments of the status of 120 antelope taxa for The IUCN Red List (ongoing).

• Worked with Department of Environment (Iran) on status assessment, conservation planning for antelopes in Iran.

• Worked with Forestry and Wildlife Authority (Eritrea) on status assessment, conservation planning for antelopes in Eritrea.

• Co-organised conservation strategy workshop for Western Derby Eland Tragelaphus derbianus derbianus (Critically Endangered), Senegal.

• Co-organised conservation strategy workshop for Dama Gazelle Nanger dama (Critically Endangered).

• Facilitated planning workshop on Mountain Bongo Tragelaphs eurycerus isaaci (Critically Endangered).

• Participated in CMS workshop on Saiga antelope Saiga tatarica (Critically Endangered), Kazakhstan.

• Provided project and/or grant application support for Hirola Beatragus hunteri (Critically Endangered) and Giant Sable Hippotragus niger vardoni (Critically Endangered).

• Reassessing the status of 120 antelope taxa for The IUCN Red List (ongoing).

IUCN SSC - Grasshopper Specialist Group

• 268 Red List assessments for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ from 2012-2014

• Successful intervention concerning a planned project of the French Armée to build new weapon storages in the habitat of the Crau Plain Grasshopper (CR species)

• Strategic Conservation Planning Workshop for the Crau Plain Grasshopper

• Research on the ecology of Red-List Orthoptera on the Canary Islands and Seychelles

• Successful translocation of the Mercury Islands Tusked Weta (CR species – possibly EW)

The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN)

The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network has made significant progress in its commitment to Friends of Target 12 by signing on Stella McCartney Ltd as a Founding Corporate Member of WFEN. Stella McCartney is the first global fashion brand to support the development of Wildlife Friendly® products helping both people and the planet.

WFEN Corporate Members are committed to creating beautiful products that are made in a manner that respects the producers, land, and wildlife. In addition, WFEN and its members work to empower and educate consumers to create change on the ground by providing a market incentive for farmers, ranchers, artisans and local communities to improve their production practices for threatened and endangered wildlife around the world.

WFEN and its Certified Wildlife Friendly® and Predator Friendly® certification programs represent grassroots conservation heroes from around the world including two World Bank Development Marketplace Award winners, a U.N. Equator Prize winner, leadership in the world’s marketplace for REDD+ Carbon Offsets, a Time Hero for the Planet, and a National Geographic Big Cats Initiative grantee. Certified Wildlife Friendly® products contribute to the conservation of over twelve million hectares of diverse wetlands, forests, and grasslands; protect keystone endangered species in Asia, Africa, and Latin and North America, including the Snow Leopard, Elephant, Cheetah, Spectacled Bear, and Wolf; and benefit over 200,000 people through increased food security, income and employment. For more information visit: www.wildlifefriendly.org

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

 The IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants

Plants are poorly represented on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Only approximately 6% of the estimated 380,000 vascular plant species have been assessed globally making a response to Aichi Biodiversity Target 12 a challenge. In the absence of this comprehensive assessment, an alternative

approach is to take a random sample of plants and undertake repeat assessments of the sample over time to detect changes in threat status. Through this approach we can provide an overall view on whether threatened plants are moving closer to extinction of whether conservation interventions are causing an improvement in status. In a collaborative effort between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum, London, the IUCN Sampled Red List Index (SRLI) for Plants project gives, for the first time, an accurate view of how plants are threatened across the world. Species assessed for the CBD meeting in 2010 are now published on the global IUCN Red List website, with the headline figure of 1 in 5 species of plants threatened. Several scientific articles are in press or being submitted for publication in 2015 and this will establish an important baseline from which changes can be measured.

 Where do we go from here?

Ongoing research and data collection will reveal even more information on the status and trends of the world’s plants. For the Convention on Biological Diversity ‘Aichi’ Biodiversity Targets of 2020, we aim to reassess the SRLI species as part of an ongoing global monitoring effort, so threats and trends can be understood. An extensive global network of botanists, academics and conservationists needs to be mobilised to establish an international monitoring scheme. Species will be reassessed in the field as part of ongoing monitoring efforts so threats to plant survival can be understood and documented as well as the overall trend in the status of plants over time.

 The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation Target 2 - An assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species, as far as possible, to guide conservation action

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation is a CBD process acting in parallel with the Aichi targets and many are aligned. Target 2 of the GSPC to be delivered by 2020 is closely aligned with Aichi Target 12 and any progress on one target will be mutually beneficial to the other. Kew is co- ordinating a baseline response to Target II by compiling conservation assessments from existing datasets. This will be followed by a triage approach to identify a subset of species that are classified as ‘Threatened’ or ‘Possibly Threatened’ so that they may be prioritised for full Red List assessments.

 Other Red Listing activities

Kew is also actively involved in other regional or taxonomically focussed projects aiming to generate baseline Red List assessments for example in the UK Overseas Territories, Peru drylands, Cameroon and Guinea, the Palms in Madagascar and UK Fungi.

Technology to expedite the process of Red Listing plants is much needed and Kew has led on developments such as GeoCAT, a web-based tool for rapid, data driven Red List assessments. Also, Kew initiated a project to deal with batch transfer of assessments from external systems to the IUCN SIS system, the completion of which should help achieve a spike in global plant assessments as many assessments presently exist in other systems.

Kew is helping to build a strong foundation of Red List knowledge by supporting Red List training, hosting at least one course annually and often undertaking courses in partner countries, helping to strengthen Red Listing capacity.

San Diego Zoo Global

San Diego Zoo Global is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in animal care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature. We are helping to lead the fight against extinction, one species at a time. Outlined below are some key examples of the progress that we have made in the past year toward achievement of Target 12: “by 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.”

 Mountain yellow-legged frog recovered after wildfires.

In 2002, fewer than 200 mountain yellow-legged frogs were left in the streams of Southern California's mountains. Four years later, a group of tadpoles was rescued from fire-damaged habitat and brought to the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. A team from San Diego Zoo Global, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife worked together to reintroduce and re-establish a wild population in the San Jacinto Mountains. Reintroduced males are now beginning to show signs of breeding behaviour and scientists hope to see wild-hatched frogs in this area for the first time in 20 years.

 Tecate cypress preserved for the future.

San Diego Zoo Global partnered with The Nature Conservancy, the Bureau of Land Management, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to preserve the Tecate cypress, a conifer found in Southern California and parts of Baja California, Mexico. Numbers of this noble tree have declined rapidly in the past decade. Plant ecologists collected seeds from one of the last remaining cypress stands in California and established a nursery to produce seedlings. Thousands of seeds were frozen and placed in the Native Plant Gene Bank at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, protecting the species from loss by wildfires in the future and providing a critical resource for future restoration efforts.

 Wild-hatched condors now in Baja California, Mexico.

Overall, the California Condor Recovery Program now produces 12 to 15 chicks produced annually in the wild. Combined with birds raised in managed care, over 50 condors join the species count each year. In Baja California, Mexico, where San Diego Zoo Global is leading the recovery effort, the first released condors have become parents, with two chicks successfully fledged last year. As more wild condors transfer to natural foods and lead poisoning becomes better controlled, a full recovery of this iconic species could be achieved over the next decade.

 Baby pocket mice born.

In an emergency rescue effort, 30 Pacific pocket mice founders were brought to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Housed and monitored at an off-exhibit area, this endangered species, an important seed disperser in its habitat, bred for the first time in 2013 and produced 16 offspring, which are now part of 2014 breeding efforts. Eventually, these young mice will be released into coastal habitat to bolster the remaining critically endangered wild population.

 Island iguana population growing.

Twenty years ago, Anegada iguanas were declining and in serious danger of extinction due to the heavy predation of juvenile iguanas by feral cats. Scientists from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research partnered with the Fort Worth Zoo and the British Virgin Islands National

Parks Trust in 1997 to begin raising hatchlings on Anegada Island until the juveniles were large enough to survive in the wild. To date, 179 headstarted iguanas have been released on Anegada Island, nearly doubling the size of the wild population.

 Gorillas protected in the wild.

Ebo Gorillas were identified in 2002 by San Diego Zoo Global researchers in Cameroon's Ebo forest. Numbering less than 25 animals, the gorillas are isolated from the 2 currently recognized western gorilla subspecies and may represent a unique form of gorilla. In 2012, the San Diego Zoo's Central Africa Program established the Clubs des Amis des Gorilles (Gorilla Guardian Clubs) in two villages located less than two miles from the gorillas' habitat. The groups actively work to monitor and protect the rare population.

 First captive breeding of mangrove finch.

The mangrove finch is the most threatened bird in the Galápagos Islands. Threats to the remaining 60 to 80 birds include introduced rats, cats, and disease, with the most deadly hazard being botfly larvae, which infest nests, overtaking and eventually killing chicks. San Diego Zoo Global is partnering with the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park to employ hands-on techniques to nurture eggs and then chicks until they are large enough to avoid botfly infestations. To date, 15 chicks have been raised and released into the mangrove forest on Isabela Island.

 Rare Hawaiian bird ready for reintroduction.

In 1994, the ‘alala (or Hawaiian crow) population dipped to just 20 birds and the species is extinct in the wild. San Diego Zoo Global's Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife to turn the tide for this last corvid in the Hawaiian Islands. Thanks to the successful breeding program at our Keauhou and Maui Bird Conservation Centers, the alala population has now increased to 108 birds and there is now the possibility of releasing alala back into the wild in coming years.

 Little Green Guards Program expanded to Vietnam and Madagascar.

Founded in 2011, the Little Green Guards is a conservation education and outreach program for children. In China, our focus has been in Guizhou province in the Fanjingshan and Mayanghe nature reserve areas. Each reserve hosts a unique assemblage of flora and fauna. Fanjingshan is home to the world’s only population of Guizhou snub-nosed monkeys, with fewer than 700 individuals remaining. In Mayanghe, the main target for protection is the Francois langur. The existing population of 400 represents about 60% of the entire global population. Because monkeys are well- liked by children, the Little Green Guards program is using primates as conservation ambassadors to raise children’s awareness of wildlife and habitats. Over 800 primary school children and 1,800 families had benefited from our program. Starting this year, the program is being developed in Vietnam for the protection of the endangered red-shanked douc langur, as well as in Madagascar for the protection of the endangered indri and 12 other lemur species.

 San Diego Zoo Global joined the worldwide movement to promote sustainable palm oil.

As stewards dedicated to the conservation of wildlife around the world, San Diego Zoo Global recognizes the devastating impact the palm oil industry is having on tropical forests worldwide. In 2013, San Diego Zoo Global joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The RSPO was

formed in 2004 via the combined efforts of conservation organizations with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm. In joining the Roundtable, SDZG stands alongside other conservation NGOs in helping to educate the broader community about the impacts of palm oil on rare plants and wildlife. As only the second RSPO member with accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), we are working with other organizations to foster an awareness of environmental responsibility and conservation of natural resources in areas where palm oil production has an impact.

 New translocation guidelines were developed to streamline the return of desert tortoises to their native habitat.

Mojave Desert tortoises are facing many threats today, making recovery of this threatened species especially challenging. Massive solar energy developments going up across the desert are just one of the latest threats. The only way to save tortoises that are in the path of these developments is to translocate them to other areas with suitable habitat, but concern over the possibility that these translocations could result in the spread of disease has made it difficult to move the animals in a timely manner. As a result, scientists at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research organized a disease risk analysis workshop to facilitate these desert tortoise translocations. A group of experts was assembled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Desert Tortoise Recovery Office to assess the disease risks associated with these urgently needed translocations. The outcome is a new set of recommendations that will significantly streamline the health screening process prior to any animal movement. As a result, future tortoise translocations will be able to move forward quickly, efficiently, and most importantly, safely, providing a brighter future for this threatened species.

 Camera trapping studies revealed the highest densities of jaguars ever documented in the wild.

Seldom seen, jaguars specialize in hiding from prey and attacking by ambush. Until recently, scientists were uncertain about how many remained. Camera traps have provided a window into their world, rendering informative pictures of this shy, reclusive species in the wild. Scientists from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research tested various patterns of camera trap deployment and discovered that previous studies of jaguars had greatly overestimated the number of individuals present. We are currently using these new, improved methods to compare jaguar densities in landscapes with different human use patterns. Thanks to methodological improvements in camera trapping, we now have the tools to understand which human activities are compatible with wildlife and which are not. Most exciting of all, we have found that the southwest Amazon in Peru has the highest densities of jaguars yet documented.

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)

Aichi Biodiversity Target 12 of the United Nations Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 states that “by 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained”. Here, a short overview is provided of the progress made by zoos and aquariums towards the achievement of Target 12.

There were 68 species that underwent an improvement in conservation status according to an assessment of the status of the world’s vertebrates on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Hoffmann et al. 2010; Science 330: 1503–1509), all but four due to conservation measures. For

these 64 species, conservation breeding was implemented as a major or minor conservation action that led to an improvement during the period of change in 16 and three species, respectively. Therefore, according to Hoffmann et al. (2010), 19 of the 64 species showing genuine improvement in IUCN Red List status due to conservation measures benefitted from conservation breeding.

These figures were subsequently contested (Balmford et al. 2011; Science 332: 1149–1150) and updated (Conde et al. 2011; Science 332: 1150–1151): there were 13 instead of 16 species identified for which conservation breeding was implemented as a major conservation action. According to Conde et al. (2011), for at least nine of these 13 species, zoos and aquariums also provided substantial logistical, technical and/or financial support. Overall, it seems that conservation breeding in zoos and aquariums has played a role in the recovery of one-quarter of those vertebrate species whose threat status was reduced according to the IUCN Red List.

Breeding animals in human care followed by reintroducing them back into the wild was one of the most frequently cited conservation actions that led to improvements in IUCN Red List status (Hoffmann et al. 2010). For birds, conservation breeding and reintroduction helped prevent the extinction of six out of 16 species that would probably have gone extinct in the absence of conservation measures (Butchart et al. 2006; Oryx 40: 266–278). For mammals, conservation breeding and reintroduction were more successful in improving conservation status than other conservation actions (Hayward 2011; Biodivers. Conserv. 20: 2563–2573) and contributed to the genuine improvement in IUCN Red List status of nine species (Hoffmann et al. 2011; Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 366: 2598–2610).

According to the above-mentioned evaluation (Hoffmann et al. 2010, 2011; Conde et al. 2011), species previously classified as Extinct in the Wild that have improved in IUCN Red List status thanks to the reintroduction of captive-bred animals include the Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) and California condor (Gymnogyps californianus). Thanks to the same conservation actions, the threat status of the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), European bison (Bison bonasus) and red wolf (Canis rufus) was reduced from Extinct in the Wild already before the time period considered.

There are 32 animal species currently classified as Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List. Examples include the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus), Guam rail (Gallirallus owstoni), Wyoming toad (Anaxyrus baxteri), Yarqon bleak (Acanthobrama telavivensis) and Socorro isopod (Thermosphaeroma thermophilum). Thirty-one of these species are actively bred in zoos, aquariums and other animal propagation facilities, which prevent their outright extinction; 17 species are managed in a studbook-based breeding programme. Zoological institutions are uniquely placed to contribute to the conservation of species that are no longer found in the wild, with reintroduction efforts using captive-bred animals already being implemented for those six species classified as Extinct in the Wild mentioned above.

For more information on how zoos and aquariums are fighting extinction: Gusset, M. & Dick, G. (eds) (2012) WAZA Magazine 13: Fighting Extinction. Gland: WAZA Executive Office, 41 pp.

Zoos Victoria

Native Species Recovery:

• Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Perameles gunnii (IUCN-EN) – 47 animals bred at Melbourne & Werribee Zoos released at Woodlands Reserve, close to Melbourne. Zoos Victoria allocated $800,000 to protect habitat and employ program management officer, significantly boosting likelihood of recovery of this species in the wild. • Southern Corroboree Frog, Pseudophryne corroboree (IUCN-CR) – 387 eggs produced at Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary released at sites in Mt Kosiuszko National Park. Together with Taronga Zoo in Sydney, these releases are critical to ensuring wild survival of this species. Captive breeding success with this species was published in Amphibian-Reptile Conservation at http://www.amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/ • Northern Corroboree Frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi (IUCN-EN) – 109 frogs bred at Healesville Sanctuary transferred to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (Australian Capital Territory) for release. • Orange-bellied Parrot, Neophema chrysogaster (IUCN-CR): 24 parrots bred at Healesville Sanctuary released in south-west Tasmania, with post-release monitoring provided by ZV. This release has increased the known wild population by more than 10%. • Tasmanian Devil, Sarcophilus harrisii (IUCN-EN): 8 devils bred at Healesville Sanctuary released on Maria Island, Tasmania. • Baw Baw Frog, Philoria frosti (IUCN-CR): two egg masses collected on Mt Baw Baw and raised at Melbourne Zoo. Tadpoles successfully metamorphosed and 60 young frogs developing well. This action is delivering a key objective in the Recovery Plan and already adding to our knowledge of the behaviour of this cryptic and poorly-known species. • Helmeted Honeyeater, Lichenostomus melanops cassidix (IUCN-CR): 12 birds bred at Healesville Sanctuary were released into Yellingbo Nature Reserve, Victoria, increasing the wild population by almost 10%. ZV staff also contribute to ongoing monitoring of released and wild birds. • Mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus (IUCN-CR): 13 possums bred at Healesville Sanctuary released at Mt Buller, Victoria, one of only three remaining wild populations. The release has boosted the wild population at that site by approximately 15%. Post-release monitoring and ongoing captive research is provided by ZV staff.

Community Engagement:

• “Seal the Loop” community conservation campaign: 182 collection bins in place along the Victorian coastline, with 59 Victorian communities coordinating collection of 10km of fishing line per year (reducing impacts on marine wildlife). See http://www.zoo.org.au/get- involved/act-for-wildlife/seal-the-loop • “Beads for Wildlife” community campaign: more than 900 north Kenyan families are being supported through sales of bead products through Zoos Victoria (see http://www.zoo.org.au/get-involved/act-for-wildlife/beads-for-wildlife ). This is benefitting protection of wildlife and habitat, with Zoos Victoria also undertaking collaborative research to quantify social and wildlife outcomes.

International Conservation Partnerships:

• Philippine Crocodile Recovery, Crocodylus mindorensis (IUCN-CR): Zoo Victoria collaborated with field partner, Mabuwaya Foundation, to release 16 head-started crocodiles in community-managed crocodile sanctuaries in Isabela Province, northern Philippines. Zoos Victoria staff also worked with Mabuwaya to improve husbandry at the rearing station. Deputy Director of the Mabuwaya Foundation, Marites Gatan-Balbas, received a Whitley Fund for Nature Award at the 2014 awards ceremony in London in April - see http://whitleyaward.org/winners/taking-local-action-to-save-the-worlds-rarest-crocodile/

• “Kicking Goals for Wildlife”: as part of the partnership between Zoos Victoria and the Northern Rangelands Trust in northern Kenya, ZV is working with people across the NRT’s Melako Community Conservancy to roll-out an eco-social program designed to engage the Conservancy’s warriors in conservation through sport - http://www.zoo.org.au/news/zoos- victoria-launch-kicking-goals-for-wildlife . The program is being launched to coincide with the World Cup and will have measurable outcomes for people and wildlife, including Grevy’s Zebra.