Category: Discovering the IUCN in Canada

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Ocean Wise

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: Ocean Wise

Ocean Wise became a member of the CCIUCN in 2017.

CCIUCN activity highlights 2017

Education and communication
  • In April we participated in the #NatureForAll dialogue in Vancouver and welcomed the Children and Nature Conference to Vancouver Aquarium for a special evening event.
  • In June we launched https://ocean.org our millennial focussed public engagement portal
  • In July and August, we hosted the Howe Sound and Cambridge Bay scientific Bio Blitz150 events as well as contributed to the Stanley Park public engagement Bio Blitz.
  • In time for the National Conservation Summit in November, we were pleased to supply the #NatureForAll campaign with 1,000 pins to acknowledge and identity members and supporters.
  • Throughout 2017 we were pleased to submit three #NatureForAll stories relating to our Youth leadership Program, Shoreline Clean Up and Curriculum Programs.
  • Throughout 2017 our in person ocean education programs reached over 300,000 participants https://education.ocean.org/
Ecosystem management
  • In February, we released the Ocean Watch Report http://oceanwatch.ca/
  • Based on several years of research focusing on marine ecosystem indicators, we identified seven reporting themes. These themes taken together touch on ecological, socioeconomic, cultural, and governance aspects of ecosystem health and provide a window to the whole picture of what is happening in an area.
Species survival

Endangered

  • Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa)
    Participant in Amphibian Ark and member of the Oregon Spotted Frog Recovery Team. Active Oregon Spotted Frog breeding and release program.
  • Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)
    Participant in Amphibian Ark and member of the B.C. Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Team. Active Northern Leopard Frog breeding and release program.

Threatened

  • Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
    VA – coordinates the AZA SSP and participates in SSP. CORI – mother and calf acoustic communication studies Arctic & St. Lawrence.
  • Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus)
    Animals onsite are owned by UBC and are in a conservation focused research program.

Special concern

  • Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
    Coordinate and participate in SSP
  • Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena vomerina)
    Research and Marine Mammal Rescue rehab and release
  • Seat otter (Enhydra lutris)
    No SSP but particpate in studbook
  • Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus)
    No SSP but involved in field research project with UBC.
Protected Areas

Ocean Bridge http://bridge.ocean.org/

During 2017 we developed our national marine conservation youth service program in collaboration with our partners Parks Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.

 

 

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Peter Molnar

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: Peter Molnar

Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Scarborough.

I am an active member of the Polar Bear Specialist Group, and the PI of the ‘Quantitative Global Change Ecology Lab’ at the University of Toronto Scarborough. My research on polar bears focuses on physiological and population dynamics models to understand and forecast impacts of climate change. Research on other species ranges from muskoxen and caribou in the Canadian Arctic to jaguars and other large cats in Costa Rica, and focuses on climate change and land use change impacts on these species, in particular through existing and newly emerging parasites and pathogens.

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Kim Taylor Thompson

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: Kim Taylor Thompson

I am new to the IUCN and I have been working with Harry Jonas on the guidelines for OECMs. This has included review of the guidelines,  providing case studies, and ongoing application of the guidelines as I work classifying natural heritage areas as protected areas , OECMs ( if I should find one), or as not qualifying towards Aichi 11.

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Dan Kraus

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: Dan Kraus

Dan-KrausDan Kraus is Nature Conservancy of Canada’s National conservation biologist. He is a member of the Species Survival Commission and Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group. He co-authored Freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas of Canada and the upcoming IUCN report on forest conservation and restoration.

Dan’s blog “Protecting what matters most: Identifying and conserving freshwater key biodiversity areas” describes some of the work that NCC has done with the IUCN.

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Lana Ciarniello

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: Lana Ciarniello

a woman standing next to a stream with a bear in the background
Image: Shawn O’Connor

I am Co-Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Bear Specialist Group’s (BSG) Human-Bear Conflicts Expert Team (HBCET). I have been Co-chair for two terms (last term and this term) and a HBCET member since 2011.

The BSG is part of the IUCN and the SSC. The goal of the BSG is to promote the conservation of bears and their habitats across their distribution world-wide, and to foster cooperative relationships with organizations such as the International Bear Association, other IUCN Specialist Groups, management agencies, educational institutions, captive facilities, citizen’s groups, and non-government conservation organizations (NGCO).

The HBCET exists to provide science-based technical assistance on the prevention or reduction of human-bear conflicts to create a positive effect on human-bear coexistence. Currently, the HBCET has 18 members, representing 4 Continents and 9 Countries (Canada, Croatia, Ecuador, Greece, India, Italy, Turkey, United States and Venezuela). Types of bear conflicts vary enormously around the world, and so do the feasible methods of mitigation, and our members work closely on HBC issues with 7 of the 8 bear species across all 4 continents where bears occur (Polar bears have their own HBC expert team). Our most recent activity was to host an International HBC workshop held in Quito, Ecuador, Nov 2017 (Full with waiting list).

My team’s current initiative is to design a Global Human–Bear Conflicts mitigation manual that captures the variation in HBC in a meaningful way and is useful to people working in the field as well as to governments.

As for me personally, I am an independent Research Scientist that mainly works with bears in BC.

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Ariadne Angulo

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: Ariadne Angulo

A woman standing next to a river
Ariadne visiting a strategic site in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2014. Image: M. Abadie

I am Co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG), a 270+ member, 7700+ species specialist group with a global and class-level remit. The ASG’s mission is to provide the scientific foundation to inform effective amphibian conservation action around the world. The ASG Secretariat works to coordinate ASG’s amphibian research and conservation activities through three main pillars: the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP), ASG Regional Groups, and the Amphibian Red List Authority.

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: James Thorsell

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing: James Thorsell

thorsell

I worked at IUCN HQ for 23 years as head of the Protected areas program, then as Head of the Natural Heritage program. I semi-retired in 2003 and moved back to Banff where I still act as Senior Advisor to the World Heritage Programme. My main activity these past 15 years has been to advise on World Heritage issues in China and have undertaken 18 field missions there. I am also involved in assisting on study tours to the western mountain parks by various Chinese delegations.

 

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.

Discovering the IUCN in Canada: Pierre Iachetti

There are over 500 people in Canada who are actively involved with the work of the IUCN and/or the CCIUCN. Many are members in one or more IUCN Commissions. Others belong to IUCN or CCIUCN member organizations. This occasional series will highlight their IUCN-related work in Canada.

Introducing:  Pierre Iachetti

iachetti

I am on the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management and World Commission on Protected Areas. I also serve on a few sub-groups – Nature-based Solutions Thematic Group, Resilience Thematic Group, Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Mitigation Thematic Group. I have been involved with the IUCN for about 12 years. I have developed research and tools for conservation science and planning, reviewed reports, held a fellowship at the IUCN for a couple years, and provided subject-matter expertise. In my previous work with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, The Nature Conservancy, and provincial, state and federal agencies we developed several ecoregional conservation assessments for the Pacific Northwest of North America using IUCN classifications.

 

Would you like to share your IUCN-related initiatives? Contact us at cciucn@nature.ca.