2021 Global Congress

The ILCN/ELCN Global Congress has been rescheduled for December 8-10, 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into even greater focus the importance of land conservation across multiple scales for the well-being of human and natural communities. We look forward to convening our global community of practice to share experience, best practices, and our renewed commitment to accelerating effective private and civil society contributions to international conservation targets.

In light of ongoing uncertainty regarding international travel, the 2021 Global Congress will be a hybrid event. We will meet both online and in-person at Món Sant Benet near Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. More information regarding session proposals, agenda, and registration information will be forthcoming in coming months.

Information regarding the 2021 Global Congress will be updated regularly on the following website: Global Congress 2021

For comments or questions, please contact Chandni Navalkha (cnavalkha@lincolninst.edu) or Jim Levitt (jlevitt@lincolninst.edu) at the ILCN, or Tilmann Disselhoff at Eurosite-ELCN (tilmann.disselhoff@elcn.eu)

We look forward to seeing you in December!

Why Barcelona

Catalonia is at the forefront of private and civic land conservation in Europe and globally, with organizations such as Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera and the network Xarxa per a la Conservació de la Natura (XCN) leading a growing community of land conservation practitioners in the region.

Hosting the Congress in Barcelona also highlights the 2017 launch and and recent successes of the European Land Conservation Network, which have included:

A workshop on legal tools for conservation in Rovaniemi, Finland in 2018
A workshop on incentives for private land conservation in Madrid, Spain in 2018
A workshop on cooperative models for private land conservation in Sighisoara, Romania in 2019

Inspired by the beautiful Catalonian landscape, the ELCN and the ILCN looks forward to exploring how practitioners around the world can continue to learn from one another and work to advance the private land conservation movement.

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ILCN/ELCN Webinars

In the lead-up to the 2021 Global Congress, the ILCN and ELCN will host a series of webinars on key emerging topics. The webinar schedule and links will be updated regularly below.

VIEW WEBINARS

Earth Day Plenary and Webinars

The following are past ILCN/ELCN webinars. Recordings of these webinars are available at the links below and on our Resources page.

Featured Resources

Available Now

Resifarms — Boosting ecosystem services on non-productive farm land

Speaker: Ander Achotegui, Head of Sustainable Agriculture and Foresetry at Fundació Emys and Coordinator of the Resifarms project

Description: Farmland represents 40% of EU land. Agriculture can sustain high levels of biodiversity and be highly productive, but if managed too aggressively it can pollute and degrade the environment. There is a well-known synergy between agricultural production and semi-natural habitat conservation (ponds, forests, etc.) but it is still scarcely applied. The Resifarms project is preparing a toolkit and training sessions for farmers and technicians of Spain, France, Italy, Czech Republic and Romania to build up their skills. This webinar will explain the different problems Resifarms aims to tackle, the solution the project suggests and the different actions that are being and will be conducted.

View the recording here

Available Now

Land Conservation, Health and Well-Being

Speakers: Rand Wentworth, Louis Bacon Senior Fellow in Environmental Leadership, and Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Dr. Sadiya Muqueeth, Director of Community Health at the Trust for Public Land; and Dr. Carles Castell, Head of the Natural Areas Department at the Barcelona Provincial Council.

Description: This webinar will focus on the role of open space, parks, and protected areas as a critical part of public health infrastructure, offering multiple benefits for physical and mental health. Speakers from the United States and Spain, two of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, will share their perspectives on how land conservation contributes to health and well-being, and the urgency of ensuring equal access to quality green spaces for all.

View the recording here

Available Now

The Natura 2000 Protected Areas Network- the History and Future Outlook for Integrating Conservation on Private Lands

Description:

Natura 2000, a network of protected areas covering 18% of land and 10% of marine waters for the most valuable and threatened species and habitats across all 28 countries of the European Union, is the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world. Join us for a webinar exploring the creation of the network; its evolving approach to integrating conservation on private lands; and its results for nature and biodiversity conservation in Europe. Speakers will share reflections on the history, context, and future outlook for Natura 2000 and private land conservation, providing an opportunity for conservation practitioners, land managers, and protected area coordinators to get in-depth perspectives into the achievements, lessons learned, and broader implications from this unique effort.

View the recording here