Global Species Action Plan

In brief

The Global Species Action Plan (GSAP):

• Brings together an outline of the species conservation actions required to implement the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, with supporting tools and guidelines.
• Aims to assist all relevant actors in achieving the species Goal and Action Targets for 2030.
• Is applicable to all levels of species conservation action, from global to local. It is relevant to diverse actors, from international biodiversity conventions to national and local governments, from the private sector to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and civil society.
• Is being developed with input across IUCN, including the Secretariat, SSC and IUCN Members, and with strong engagement from Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).
• Will contribute to the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Introduction

The alarm has been raised repeatedly about the decline in biodiversity across the planet. By allowing this decline to continue, we erode the very foundations of our traditions, economies, livelihoods, food security, health, and even the existence of life worldwide.

The GSAP addresses the deterioration of our life support system through the essential but often neglected lens of species conservation. It calls for collaborative efforts by the biodiversity-related conventions[1], by State and non-State actors, and society as a whole: indeed everyone must accept responsibility for addressing the nature emergency and act now to ensure we pass on a rich natural heritage to future generations.

Given the crucial role species play in the livelihoods and economies of people all over the world, and in the ecosystem services on which they depend, maintaining healthy populations of species and ensuring the benefits from them are managed equitably and sustainably is an essential requirement to deliver the SDGs, in particular Goals 14 and 15 which aim to assure a healthy and sustainable planet.

The 2019 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services revealed that 75% of Earth’s land surface has been significantly altered, 66% of the oceans are degraded, over 85% of the global area of wetlands have already been lost, and vertebrate species have declined on average by 68% since 1970. Around 25% of species of animals and plants assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^TM are threatened, suggesting that around 1 million species may already face extinction, many within decades. Transformative action at scale is now imperative to reduce the causes of biodiversity loss. Without such action, there will be a further acceleration in the global rate of species extinction, which is already at least tens to hundreds of times higher than the average background extinction rate over the past 10 million years.

The impact of this biodiversity crisis on people’s lives and livelihoods cannot be understated – with far reaching consequences for all aspects of human health, food and water security, climate, society and economy. Comprehensive, inclusive, equitable and science-based responses are needed to ensure that species conservation is at the heart of sustainable development.

[1] The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the World Heritage Convention (WHC), the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRWC), and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)

The Abu Dhabi Call for Global Species Conservation Action

The GSAP has been developed in response to the Abu Dhabi Call for Global Species Conservation Action which emerged from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Leaders’ Meeting in Abu Dhabi, 6-9 October 2019. The Abu Dhabi Call seeks to elevate species conservation holistically on the broader global agenda and highlight the need for urgent and effective action to address the unprecedented, unsustainable, and growing impacts on wild species from human activities. The Abu Dhabi Call also promotes the need for a clear and ambitious species Goal for 2050 and specific targets on species for 2030 within the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. It calls on the world’s governments and international agencies to develop and support an ambitious Programme of Work on species conservation.

The crucial role of species

The millions of species that occur on land, in freshwater, and in the ocean have evolved over millennia and form the web of life that sustains the planet. Species and their populations are the building blocks of ecosystems, individually and collectively securing the conditions for life. They are the basis of soil formation, decomposition, water filtration and flow, pollination, pest control and climate regulation. Species are the primary source of food, income, raw materials and other resources for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Species are an essential part of the history, culture, tradition, and folklore of every culture on Earth and their aesthetic values and spiritual roles provide comfort, inspiration, and cultural well-being as well as opportunities for recreation. 

The long history of species science and traditional knowledge, and the decades of efforts to map, measure and monitor species, provides a unique basis to develop long-term targets that are clear, meaningful and capable of measurement, as a means to monitor achievement of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Conservation of species, and the ecosystems that they make up, is critical if we are to address the climate change crisis and reduce the risks of emerging pandemics.

The roles fulfilled by species include:

• Species and their interactions are the fundamental building blocks of ecosystems
• Species act as indicators for the intactness, connectivity, functionality, and health of ecosystems, and in many cases have direct value as sentinels for the health of our own species
• Keystone species, such as pollinators, seed dispersers, browsers, and predators, are essential to ecosystem function, and also to agriculture 
• Genes are expressed through species and individual organisms and genetic diversity is assessed at the level of species’ populations
• Livelihoods and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities all over the world are dependent on healthy populations of species’, and their sustainable use requires appropriate management
• Direct use of species forms the basis of major economic sectors, such as fishing and forestry
• The wild relatives of crops and domestic livestock are a repository of irreplaceable genetic material with potential for future adaptation and therefore contribute to food security
• Effective management of Protected Areas and internationally recognised sites, such as World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Sites and Biosphere Reserves relies on accurate knowledge of species’ ecology, biology, populations, and demography
• Restoration of habitats and ecosystems involves remedial measures for their constituent species, including reinforcement and reintroduction
• Ensuring ecological connectivity and movement between species’ populations is central to ecosystem integrity at land- freshwater- and seascape level
• Assessments of species vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change inform future scenario-planning and adaptation measures

The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework

The CBD’s Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework brings together all the actions needed to secure the life-support systems of the planet. The overall Vision for the Framework is for a world that by 2050 is “Living in Harmony with Nature”. The Framework consists of four Goals, each with milestones to be achieved by 2030, and 20 Targets. The Post-2020 Framework is being negotiated through the CBD and it is due to be adopted at the 15^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the CBD in 2021. Developing and implementing an effective and comprehensive programme of actions to conserve species is integral to achieving the entire Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Global Species Action Plan

The Global Species Action Plan operationalises the Abu Dhabi Call and supports the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework by providing a unified plan for species needed to attain the Framework’s targets and goals.

Saving species comprehensively means preventing extinctions, conserving threatened species, and recovering depleted populations of more widespread and abundant species. There is ample evidence that conservation action works. Many species have been saved from extinction or had their status improved, native species and ecosystems have recovered following eradication of invasive alien species from islands, and habitats have been restored and rewilded. The last decade has seen an impressive array of innovation and new technologies, approaches and solutions providing major opportunities to accelerate our collective impact on species conservation. By sharing experience and expertise, and committing the necessary resources more strategically, we can massively scale up success for species survival, recovery and persistence at healthy levels.

The main threats to species are: destruction, degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats; unsustainable and/or illegal hunting, capture or harvest of species; invasive alien species; pollution; and increasingly, climate change and ocean acidification. In addition, existing and emerging infectious diseases are having an increasingly devastating impact on species, including humans.

For most threatened species, a combination of threat abatement and site protection will be enough to allow populations to recover. However, for some other species, typically those at highest risk of extinction, these measures alone will be insufficient. These species will require targeted interventions, for example through habitat management, supplementary feeding, provision of breeding sites, reintroduction into the wild, translocation, and ex-situ measures (captive breeding in zoos and aquaria, or propagation in botanic gardens). Ultimately, action ‘on the ground’ is crucial. In addition to the actions needed, the GSAP will also list the resources available and link to an online toolkit and training support.

Actions required

The GSAP can be implemented at global, regional, and national levels. Ensuring synergies between these levels and coordination among all stakeholders is key to achieving the transition from global policy through to planning and effective action on the ground.

Action required at global and regional level

• Analyse global trends, and formulate and coordinate global policy concerning species (CBD, IPBES) 
• Ensure effective implementation of MEA processes, resolutions, and decisions (CITES, CMS, Ramsar, WHC, IPPC, International Whaling Commission (IWC), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on species conservation
• Produce assessments of the global extinction risk and recovery status of species, through the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Green Status of Species
• Maintain and update global biodiversity databases (World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas (WDKBA), standards, and guidelines
• Compile and coordinate the implementation of range-wide action plans for species (single and/or multi-species), habitats, and ecosystems, where appropriate
• Plan and act at landscape, freshwaterscape, and seascape scale
• Maintain and restore ecological connectivity especially for migratory species and species whose populations span national boundaries
• Manage key transboundary sites including protected areas and Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)
• Address threats that have supranational dimensions, such as climate change, disease, pollution, unsustainable wildlife use and illegal trade (working across the full trade chain)
• Adopt a One Health approach that is inclusive of the health and survival of wild species
• Coordinate policies and action through thematic and/or regional forums
• Establish regular mechanisms for reporting on progress on all of the above in a clear, transparent way

Action required at national level

• Develop and update National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with national-level species conservation targets that match the scope and ambition of global level guidance 
• Prioritise action for threatened species for which the country has internationally important populations
• Fulfil commitments under international agreements (e.g., CBD, CITES, CMS, Ramsar, WHC, IPPC, IWC, UNFCCC)
• Compile National Red Lists and national Red List Indexes
• Designate, adequately resource, and effectively and equitably manage a representative network of Protected Areas and OECMs covering all Key Biodiversity Areas and other sites of biodiversity importance (including those of high ecological integrity) 
• Manage Protected Areas and OECMs as part of ecologically connected networks, ensuring management of ecological corridors enables flow of species and ecological processes
• Build species considerations into all spatial planning and governance processes
• Develop and implement national action plans for threatened species or taxa (or work plans for national implementation of global plans)
• Set priorities for species conservation, accounting for globally threatened species and other species of global and national conservation concern

Action required by other key stakeholder groups

• Donors and the philanthropic community: increase substantially the resources invested in conservation; ensure any use of species and their habitats is legal and sustainable; seek innovative mechanisms for financing species conservation to ensure adequate and sustainable sources of funding in future 
• The private sector: set, implement, and monitor ambitious commitments to use the Science Based Targets for Nature framework throughout production and supply chains to address their impacts on species and habitats
• Investors, and financial institutions: Ensure that financial flows and development project financing is based on safeguards that direct such investments towards positive impacts on species and benefit threatened species, as well as critical sites and habitats
• Technical agencies, non-government organisations, and international conventions: provide supportive tools, guidance, knowledge products and capacity reinforcement to assist governments and other stakeholders in evidence-based decision-making and implementation to support species
• Zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, and museums: scale up commitments to support the conservation of species in situ and promote the One Plan approach.
• All people, especially youth: recognise the importance of species, make a stand and speak up for all species

GSAP team

Dr Jane Smart, Global Director, Director of IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Group and Global Species Programme.

The IUCN Secretariat is leading the development of the GSAP, and is supported by a team comprising of IUCN Global Species Programme (GSP), IUCN SSC Chair’s office, IUCN SSC Members and IUCN Member Organisations.

Timeframe

The GSAP will be introduced at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in September 2021. The final version of the GSAP will be launched at the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP-15) by the end of 2021.

For more information, please contact species@iucn.org.