22233359

11

Table of content

1

WHY SHOULD YOUR PROTECTED AREA JOIN BACKGROUNDGOAL OF IAPAWHAT IAPA DOES?WHO SHOULD JOIN IAPA AND HOW IT WORKS?CURRENT MEMBERS OF IAPA

International Alliance of Protected Areas BylawsWork Report of the IAPA 2015/2016Annual Work Plan of 2016/2017

BACKGROUNDInternational Alliance of Protected Areas

(IAPA) was proposed by Changbai

Mountain National Nature Reserve during

the Changbaishan Eco-Forum in 2013.

The first and second General Assembly

(GA) of IAPA were held in Changbaishan

and Shennongjia National Nature Reserve,

China. The third GA will be held in

Changbaishan National Nature Reserve on

25 Sept. 2016. By July 2017, there are 61

PA members joined in IAPA.

With strong support of Jilin Provincial

Forestry Department and Changbai

Mountain Protection Development Zone

Management Committee, IAPA is officially

established in 2016 and affiliated to

the International Society of Zoological

Sciences (ISZS). ISZS which provide

support on international cooperation and

technical aspects.

GOAL OF IAPAThe IAPA unites all kinds of protected

areas (PA) in the world to promote

more effective management and

conservation. The IAPA will promote

coordination, collaboration and

cooperation among PAs at national,

regional and international levels, via

closely working with existing organizations

endeavored to PA conservation. The IAPA

will strive to attain a rational and ethically

balanced relationship between humanity

and nature.

Executive Committee:Chair: Dr. XIE Zhongyan, Director,

Changbai Mountain Protection

Development Zone Management

Committee, Jilin, China

Vice Chair: Ms. SHEN Xingna, Director,

Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve,

Sichuan, China;

Vice Chair: Mr. Wang Daxing, Director,

Shennongjia National Nature Reserve,

Hubei, China

Secretary General: Mr. LI Zhihong,

Director, Changbai Mountain Nature

Conservation Management Center, Jilin,

China

Chief Scientist: Dr. XIE Yan, Co-

coordinator, Protected Area Working

Group of ISZS.

Members:

Dr. Frederik Venter, Kruger to Canyans

Biosphere Reserve, South Africa

Dr. Tatiana Yashina, Science Director,

Katunskiy Biosphere Reserve, Russia

Mr. Jiang Shiwei, Director, Wanglang

National Nature Reserve, China

Advisory Committee:Chair: Dr. John MacKinnon, UK

Vice-Chair: Dr. Wang Ding, China;

Members: Dr. Jeff McNeely, USA, Mr.

Valeriy Neronov, Dale Mequelle, Russia.

WHY SHOULD YOUR PROTECTED AREA JOIN

2

INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PROTECTED AREAS (IAPA)

WHAT IAPA DOES?1. Develop cooperation and

communication mechanisms among

the world’s PA to share advanced

conservation management policies and

technologies, in order to jointly improve

management standards of PA;

2. Promote species survey and

monitoring in member PAs by

adopting compatible technologies that

allow comparative analyses and facilitate

information sharing among members;

3. Promote trans-regional

endangered species conservation

and monitoring actions jointly taking

by member PAs, via formulating

conservation strategy and survey and

monitoring methods for long distance

migratory endangered species.

4. Promote monitoring and mitigating

the impact of global climate change

on biodiversity, via developing and

applying standards of indicators,

technologies and databases.

5. Promote conservation education

and eco-tourism, enhance public

awareness of the importance of PA

conservation, and reduce the threats

to PAs. Improve the social status and

influence of PAs, and increase support

to PAs from society.

6. Explore the possibility to positively

involve the local communities in

finding sustainable livelihood.

WHO SHOULD JOIN IAPA AND HOW IT WORKS?The members of IAPA shall be only

organizational members of protected

areas in the world. Any other international,

regional, national, local, professional

organization involved in the field of PA

management and conservation can join in

as observers.

Annual IAPA member’s meeting shall

be held at least once a year to review

the IAPA work reports, elect officers

and EC members, and develop annual

workplan of IAPA members. The meeting

will be held by Changbai Mountain Nature

Reserve in every even-numbered year

and by other IAPA member protected

areas every odd-numbered year. The

Changbaishan Mountain Nature Reserve

shall assume the responsibility to sustain

the IAPA member meeting whenever

IAPA member is absent or unable to

act. The IAPA will be mainly financed by

the Changbai Mountain National Nature

Reserve which will finance the permanent

Secretariat.

CURRENT MEMBERS OF IAPAMembers outside of China:● Indonesia: Mount Merapi NP, Gunung

Halimun Salak NP, Gunung Rinjani NP,

Bukit Tiga Puluh NP;

● Mongolia: Uvs Lake Strictly Protected

Areas;

● Nepal: Annapurna Conservation Area,

IF YOU ARE REPRESENTING A PROTECTED AREA ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD

3

Chitwan NP;

● Russia: Katunskiy State NBR, Altaiskiy

State NBR;

● South Africa: Kruger NP;

● Thailand: Thap Lan NP, Thungyai

Naresuan East Wildlife Sanctuary；

● Italy: Fondazione Roffredo Caetani NP,

Nebrodi Regional NP.

Members from China: ● Jilin：Changbai Mountain NNR，

Wangqing NNR， Chagan Lake NNR，

Momoge NNR，Huangni River NNR，

Hani NNR，Xianghai NNR；

● Heilongjiang：Cuibei Wetland PNR，

Fenglin NNR，Baoqing Qixinghe NNR，

Bacha Island NNR，Zhalong NNR；

● Sichan: Wolong NNR，Wanglang

NNR，Maozhai PNR，Dongyanggou

PNR， Longxi-Hongkou NNR，

Tangjiahe NNR，Xuebaoding NNR，

Micang Mountain NNR；

● Shanxi：Niubeiliang NNR， Changqing

NNR，Taibai Mountain NNR；

● Guangdong：Xiangtoushan NNR，

Dinghushan NNR，Shixing Nanshan

PNR，Nanling NNR，Chebaling NNR，

Nanxiong Xiaoliukeng-Qingzhangshan

PNR；

● Guangx：Nonggang NNR；

● Inner Mongolia：Dalai Lake NNR，

Saihan Ul NNR，Da Hinggan Ling

Hanma NNR，Horqin NNR；

● Yunnan:Xishuangbanna NNR，

Gaoligong Mountain NNR；

● Jiangxi：Duchang Migratory Birds

PNR，Poyang Lake NNR，Wuyi

Mountain NNR；

● Hubei：Shennongjia NNR；

● Hunan：East Dongting Lake NNR；

● Liaoning: Shedao-Laotieshan NNR，

Liaohekou NNR；

● Anhui：Yangtze Alligator NNR；

Jiangsu：Yencheng NNR；Gansu：

Qilian Mountain NNR。

Note: NP=National Park; NNR=National Nature Reserve; NBR=Nature Biosphere Reserve; PNR=Provincial Nature Reservewww.iapa.pub

4

Article 1. Name "The International Alliance of Protected

Areas,” hereafter called "IAPA". It was

initiated by the Changbai Mountain

National Nature Reserve in 2014.

Article 2. Purpose The IAPA unites all kinds of protected

areas (PA) throughout the world to

promote more effective management

and conservation. The IAPA will

promote coordination, collaboration and

cooperation among PAs at national,

regional and international levels, by

working closely with existing organizations

dedicated to effective management of PA.

The IAPA will strive to attain a rational and

ethically balanced relationship between

humanity and nature.

Article 3. Objectives3.1. Develop cooperation and

communication mechanisms among

the world’s PA to share advanced

conservation technologies and

management experiences in order to

improve management levels of PA;

3.2. Promote species surveys and

monitoring in member PAs by adopting

compatible technologies that allow

comparative analyses and facilitate

information sharing among members;

3.3. Promote trans-regional conservation

of migratory endangered species and

monitoring actions jointly taken by member

PAs, through formulating conservation

strategies and an effective survey and

monitoring system.

3.4. Promote monitoring and mitigating

the impact of global climate change

on biodiversity, via establishment

of standardized indicator systems,

technologies and databases; and

promoting management of PAs designed

to adapt to climate change.

3.5. Strengthen conservation publicity and

education, enhance public awareness of

conservation so as to improve the social

status and influence of PAs and reduce

threats of human activities to PAs.

3.6. Explore sustainable development

strategies in order to provide guidance for

the synergetic development between local

community conservation and economic

growth.

3.7 Promote cooperation with

organizations combating environmental

crime at site, national and international

levels; and to coordinate this with other

agencies and organizations that are

working on the issue.

Article 4. LanguageThe official languages of IAPA shall be

Chinese and English.

Article 5. Members and Observers5.1. Protected areas from anywhere in the

world can apply to join IAPA as institutional

members. Relevant professional

5

International Alliance of Protected Areas Bylaws

(Sept 2016, Changbaishan, Jilin, China)

organizations from local, national, regional

or international levels can also apply to join

IAPA as observers.

5.2. Joining of the IAPA requires the

submission of a membership application

form or an observer application form to

the IAPA Secretariat. After examination

and approval, the Secretariat shall send

the PA a digital certificate which confirms

the formal membership. PA members can

withdraw from IAPA upon submission of a

written notification to the Secretariat. The

withdrawal comes into effect after being

approved by the Secretariat.

5.3. If any member PA or observer is

absent from the IAPA General Assembly

for three consecutive years, and the PA

submits no report related to the IAPA work

scheme for three consecutive years, the

Secretariat has the right to cancel the

qualification of member or observer.

5.4. Commend individuals or organizations

that make important contributions to the

development of IAPA of the year on the

General Assembly.

Article 6. Rights of IAPA Members and Observers6.1. Members has rights to vote at the

General Assembly. During the two

consecutive General Assemblies,

members may exercise online voting

rights.

6.2. Observers may attend the General

Assembly and make suggestions and

proposals.

6.3. Members and observers may

participate in all activities organized by

the IAPA, acquire IAPA funds and relative

activity information, make suggestions to

the IAPA and exchange PA information

with other IAPA members.

Article 7. Obligations of IAPA Members and Observers7.1. To support and facilitate the purposes,

activities and governance of IAPA;

7.2. To help implement relevant IAPA

activities and submit work reports before

the General Assembly.

7.3. To attend IAPA General Assembly.

7.4. IAPA officers, members and observers

shall observe strictly the bylaws and other

relevant rules and regulations of IAPA.

No activity shall be held in the name of

IAPA without a written approval from the

Secrerariat.

Article 8. Organizational Structure 8.1. The Executive Committee (hereafter

called "EC") is the highest standing

institution of IAPA shall provide guidance

and supervision on IAPA’s management

and operation.

8.2. EC officers shall include one Chair,

two Deputy Chairs, one Secretary,

one Chief Scientist, two to four regular

members. The maximum size of the EC

shall be an odd number with no more than

nine members in total.

8.3. The tenure of each session of EC shall

be four years. Officers of the first session of

EC are elected through recommendation.

The subsequent session of the EC shall be

elected via General Assembly before the

end of the previous session.

8.4. Election of officers shall be held

by paper ballot or by appropriately

secure electronic ballots. The names of

candidates for offices shall be published in

advance of a mail ballot.

8.5. The Secretariat is a standing executive

6

institution of IAPA and is responsible for

IAPA’s management and operation.

The Secretariat is located in Changbai

Mountain National Nature Reserve.

Staff, funds and properties are under

the jurisdiction of Changbai Mountain

Protection Development Administrative

Committee.

Article 9. Executive Committee 9.1. The Chair of the Executive Committee

shall be responsible for convening IAPA

conferences, programs and other relevant

meetings, and shall promote practices

related to the development of IAPA.

9.2. The Secretary shall keep records of

the IAPA and shall perform other duties

as may be necessary or assigned by the

Chair. The Secretary shall assume the

duties of the Chair whenever that person

is absent or unable to act. The Changbai

Mountain Protection and Development

Administration Committee shall provide

necessary office space, personnel

and financial supports for functional

management and operations of IAPA

Secretary.

9.3. The Chief Scientist shall solicit and

arrange scientific programs for IAPA and

shall coordinate programs with other social

organizations. The Chief Scientist shall

substitute for the Chair in the event that

both the Chair and Secretary are unable to

act.

9.4. In case any EC officer is not

able to continue to execute duties

for uncontrollable reasons, following

measures shall be taken: if the Secretary

or the Chief Scientist shall leave position

in advance, the Chair shall consult with

the EC to appoint a Vice Chair or Chief

Scientist to complete relevant work before

the next election. If the Chair position is

vacant, the EC shall appoint one Deputy

Chair to carry out relevant work.

Article 10. Advisory CommitteeMembers of the IAPA Advisory Committee

(AC) are top experts in the fields related

to PA conservation and effective

management. Former IAPA officers or EC

members could become AC members. The

IAPA AC shall have a Chair and a Deputy

Chair, elected by a simple majority of votes

by AC members. The IAPA AC will provide

advice to IAPA EC on important issues

to IAPA. Its members should take part in

IAPA activities and help to promote the

development of IAPA.

Article 11. IAPA Meetings 11.1. IAPA General Assembly shall be held

at least once a year to review the IAPA

work reports of the Secretariat or working

groups and EC members and to organize

relevant workshops and trainings. The

meeting will be held by Changbai Mountain

National Nature Reserve in every even-

numbered year and by other IAPA member

protected areas in every odd-numbered

year. If a member PA proposes to hold the

meeting in an even-numbered year, it shall

apply in advance to the IAPA Secretariat. If

no member PA is willing or able to hold the

meeting, Changbai Mountain Protection

and Development Administration

Committee shall assume the responsibility

to sustain the IAPA member meeting.

11.2. During each General Assembly, IAPA

will review achievements and problems in

the past year, predict future development

and trend among PA conservation and set

work schemes of IAPA for the next year.

11.3. Special IAPA meetings may be held at

other times and places on call of the Chair.

7

Notice shall be sent to all IAPA members

and observers sixty (60) days in advance

of any such meeting.

Article 12. Member’s NewsletterIAPA publishes a Members Newsletter. The

Secretary shall be in charge of Members

Newsletter editing and distribution.

Article 13. WebsiteA permanent IAPA website (www.iapa.

pub) will serve as a medium for discussion,

the preparation of IAPA workshops and

General Assembly and the provision of

information useful to members. The site

will be operated and updated by the IAPA

Secretary and directly linked to the hosting

member of the next IAPA member meeting.

Article 14. Finance and BudgetThe running expenses of IAPA shall be

supplied by Changbai Mountain Protection

and Development Administration

Committee. The IAPA Secretariat and IAPA

members will look for additional funding

together for other costs.

Article 15. Amendments to the Bylaws Proposed amendments to the IAPA Bylaws

must be originated by the Executive

Committee. IAPA members may submit

suggested amendment to the Chair of

the Executive Committee to be approved.

Amendments must be agreed by at least

two-thirds of IAPA members present at

the General Assembly or by at least two-

thirds of the members responding to a mail

ballot. Proposed amendments receiving

at least two-thirds votes in the affirmative

become effective 30 days after the ballots

are counted.

Article 16. OthersIAPA shall observe all laws and regulations

in China, defend the rights of China, and

shall not carry out any activity that is not

included in Articles 2 and 3.

8

1 The completion of relevant registration processes.

The preparation and establishment of

the International Alliance of Protected

Areas (IAPA) has been hugely supported

by the State Forestry Bureau, Chinese

Academy of Sciences, conservation

organization both domestic and

overseas. Especially via guidance

and support from the International

Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS),

IAPA is now affiliated with ISZS and

has become legally establishing in

China. This ensures activities held by

the Secretariat in order to promote

international communication.

ISZS has also established the Protected

Area Working Group to help IAPA on

membership development, assist its

forum and General Assembly, organize

theme reports and communication,

develop and maintain a website and

data management system, edit and

distribute Newsletter (twice a year),

promote IAPA, and carry out relevant

research cooperation and training.

2 The growth of IAPA regarding both scale and influence.

Since the beginning of the IAPA, 45

PAs have registered as members,

including 34 PAs in China and 11 from

other countries. Ten international

conservation organizations have

registered as observers. Among these,

8 members and 5 observers joined

after the General Assembly (GA) at

Shennongjia National Nature Reserve.

3. Implementation of workplan 2015/2016 set during the last GA.

During the past year, through

common efforts by the IAPA Executive

Committee and Secretariat, six key

tasks have been completed properly,

including the compilation of member

guidelines, regulations on IAPA

members, the revision of IAPA Bylaws,

the establishment of the IAPA official

website (www.IAPA.pub, figure 1) which

showcases international conservation

activities and work progresses of IAPA

members, the design of IAPA logo (figure

2). The logo is blue and green, which

represent land and ocean PAs, and

also plants and marine life. The various

animals on the logo indicate that PAs

are the homeland for wildlife.

Figure 1: IAPA Website (www.IAPA.pub)

9

Work Report of the IAPA 2015/2016

Figure 2: IAPA logo

Meanwhile, we carefully chose

experiences of IAPA members and

global PAs. Also, on September 27,

IAPA members and observers are going

to discuss and learn on issues regarding

staff structure and competence

standards of protected areas and the

finance strategy of protected areas.

4 International exchange activities

During October 2015 and July 2016,

IAPA member Tangjiahe National Nature

Reserve went to Kruger National Park

twice to exchange. Between 20 and 23

October 2015 and an “Announcement

of Cooperation” was signed. A group

from Shennongjia National Nature

Reserve also visited KNP between 10

and 12 July 2016. I was able to have

very fruitful discussions and field visits

with both groups from these beautiful

Chinese nature reserves.

Over and above these groups a

delegation from China led by the Deputy

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry,

Mr Chen visited the KNP. They form

part of the China-South Africa Youth

Volunteers Programme in Wildlife

Conservation.

In our discussions and field trips

we discussed the key biodiversity

conservation and management issues

related to the KNP. These include

conservation management issues such

as:

● Environmental crime,

● Veld fire management and veld burning

program;

● Alien biota control (including Working

for Water, a job creation initiative to

eradicate alien plants);

● Ecological restoration (wetlands and

erosion control);

● River and Water in the Landscape

management;

● Buffer zone and contractual park issues

(including GL TFCA);

● Damage Causing and Problem Animals;

● Wildlife products management including

rhino horn, ivory, meat, hides and skins,

as well as sustainable resource use of

natural materials;

● Environmental Management issues

(impact assessments for developments

close toe the KNP boundary and within,

environmental auditing);

● Environmental Interpretation;

● Tourism, etc.

This initiative has the potential to create

strong ties between the KNP, Tangjiahe

NR and other protected areas in China

and South Africa. It is recommended

that a more structured approach is

followed in the future to benefit both

countries.

10

Goal of IAPA:

The IAPA unites all kinds of protected areas (PA) in the world to promote more effective management and conservation. The IAPA will promote coordination, collaboration and cooperation among PAs at national, regional and international levels, via closely working with existing organizations endeavored to PA conservation. The IAPA will strive to attain a rational and ethically balanced relationship between humanity and nature.

1 Establish the IAPA working committee in BeijingWorking with the International Society

of Zoological Sciences (ISZS),

establish the IAPA working committee

in Beijing, to promote communication

among PAs, and providing technical

support to them.

2 Enhance the cooperation with international conventions and

organizations.a) Communicate with international

conventions like Convention on

Biological Diversity and Ramsar

Convention, in order to integrate

IAPA‘s works with other relevant

PA projects. IAPA members will be

encouraged to develop biodiversity

conservation plans and conduct

education on these convention.

b) Sign an agreement before the end

of Dec. 2016 with IUCN’s World

Commission on Protected Areas

(WCPA), develop training plan during

March~May 2017, conduct training

during the time of GA in October 2017;

develop a systematic training plan for

member PAs including online training.

3 Establish and develop electronic communication platform

a) Gather member profiles and put them

on the IAPA website before the end

of Dec. 2016; further complete the

11

International Alliance of Protected Areas

AnnualWork Plan of 2016/2017

functions and uses of the Chinese

and English versions of the website;

regularly update the work progress,

research results and international

cooperation of IAPA members.

b) Establish a wechat group of IAPA to

promote communications among IAPA

members;

c) Invite an IT expert to serve as an

advisory committee member by the end

of Dec. 2016, to promote effectiveness

of communication and support for

protected areas through social media.

4 Develop a series working groups to promote solid work on priority

needs of IAPA membersa) Monitoring and Evaluation Working

Group: Dr. Zhang Zhibin will lead the

preparatory work to select the Chairs

and members of the working group

by the end of Dec. 2016. The WG will

develop its workplan, and conduct work

on developing monitoring objectives,

technologies and criteria, and working

with member PAs for demonstration.

In 2017, IAPA will focus on promoting

sharing of data and results on trans-

regional migratory endangered species

conservation and monitoring actions.

IAPA will seek to establish a sharing

data mechanism on the same species

or the same ecosystem among IAPA

members. The working group will also

promote development of the species

genetic resource bank.

Education Working Group: Ms. Shen

Xingna will lead the preparatory work

to select the Chairs and members of

this working group by the end of Dec.

2016. The WG will develop its workplan,

and conduct work on developing text

books, training plan and introducing

materials from other countries. It will

support IAPA members to establish

freely available education systems

for local students, civil servants and

communities.

5 Preparation of establishing IAPA Fund to support alliance

development, provide funding support to species genetic resource bank development, monitoring and evaluation, members activities and communication.

Dr. Xie Zhongyan, the Chair of IAPA

and Mr. Li Zhihong, the Secretary

General, will take the responsibility.

6 Promote IAPA development and promotion

a) Initiate publishing the IAPA member’s

Newsletter to share members’

conservation experiences and effects.

b) Actively increase members throughout

the world.

c) Actively promote international

cooperation and exchanges among

IAPA members, conduct training on

research, conservation and monitoring;

and promote IAPA members to

participate in international and

domestic meetings.

d) Promote wider sharing of scientific and

technological achievements of IAPA

members. The Advisory Committee

will give guidance, assessments and

suggestions on research programs of

IAPA members.

12